Borealis, in Three Takes

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Verona, Wisconsin, August 2016. I designed this cardigan based on colors I had used last year for a tam. The motif is the same one that I used in this sweater and in this one.

This tam is for me.

Verona, Wisconsin, January 2016. I've knitted many tams over the last few years, but I never made one for myself. Now I have a hat, too.

Finished

Verona, Wisconsin, December 2015. Here's a new cardigan. The motif, based on a Latvian mitten, is the same one I used in another sweater. Janine Bajus kindly made her interpretation of the motif available to me. I designed the colors based on cowl and tam I knitted earlier.

One More Tam

Verona, Wisconsin, September 2015. This is the "Garnets Tam" designed by Janine Bajus. It's the same design as "Summer Lake." I've now completed the projects for the silent auction.

New Tam

Verona, Wisconsin, June 2015. Here's a tam I just completed. This one isn't a gift; I will be donating it to the "Sparkle of Hope" event's silent auction. This is "Summer Lake," a design by Janine Bajus.

It takes about 23 hours to complete a fair-isle tam. A fair-isle sweater takes about six weeks (when I knit at a pace of four hours per day).

Tam season returns.

Verona, Wisconsin, January 2015. I usually knit a couple of tams every winter. This one is the first of two I recently completed. This is Janine Bajus's "Foggy Cove" design.

It's finished.

Last year, I posted scans of the swatches I knitted after I had taken Janine Bajus's "Design Your Own Fair-Isle Workshop."
 
I finished the sweater based on a swatch I designed from that workshop:

Verona, Wisconsin, September 2013. You see, I did choose the green swatch. I call this sweater "Baltic Bog."

A Matched Set

Last year, I posted a photo of a fair-isle tam that I knitted for a friend's birthday. Although I generally don't like to knit small things—namely, socks and mittens—I sometimes make tams for birthday gifts or as gestures of friendship. 

I recently expanded my pool of giftable items: I designed a cowl to match one of the tams that I had knitted last year. Here is the result:

Verona, Wisconsin, January 2013. I didn't decrease the number of stitches to achieve the narrowing at the top; instead, I reduced needle sizes, moving from a 3.5mm at the bottom to a 2.5mm at the top of the piece. When I blocked the cowl, I also soaked the top four inches in a cup of boiling water to narrow it further.

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Verona, Wisconsin, January 2013.  I used nine shades of undyed (natural sheep colors) Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift. I bought the yarn from Janine Bajus, the Feral Knitter.

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Madison, Wisconsin, January 2013. The cowl meets the tam. My Mom thought the cowl looked like a micro-mini skirt!

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Althouse models the matched set (photo by Meade).

Swatches, in Three Takes

Here are three swatches I knitted based on the principles I learned at Janine Bajus's Three-Day Design Your Own Fair Isle Workshop.

The design of each is the same; only the colors differ.

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Verona, Wisconsin, July 2012. Do you have a favorite?

Design Your Own Fair Isle Workshop

This week, I served as one of the hosts of Janine Bajus's rich "Three-Day Design Your Own Fair Isle Workshop." Janine is a fair-isle designer based in Berekely, California. She also runs the Feral Knitter online shop. Janine had arrived in the Midwest to attend Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp. Janine graciously added several days to her Wisconsin visit so that we could stage the workshop.

I had knitted one of Janine's tams, and I was delighted to learn fair-isle design from a master.

Nine students attended the workshop. Some were from Wisconsin; others traveled from Iowa, Ohio, and Connecticut. Janine guided us through the process of selecting an inspiration for our work, choosing colors based on hues, value, and proportionality, and working swatches to test for color and motif.

This was a most rewarding experience. I am grateful to Janine for fitting us into her schedule. Thanks also to Amy Detjen, who assumed the role of organizer and financial manager. We all appreciated the catered lunches created by our lovely local yarn shop and café, The Sow's Ear.

Verona, Wisconsin, July 2012. Finished garments inspired us to explore design alternatives.

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Verona, Wisconsin, July 2012. Janine explains the process of her color and motif selections.

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Verona, Wisconsin, July 2012. It was fun to spend three days with such motivated knitters.

A Fair Isle Cat ...

... over at Feral Knitter, knitted by Karen Hust.

(The "Kitty toes" photo at the link illustrates why I don't knit "little things.")

Tam-for-a-Keeper Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, February 2012. I thank Janine Bajus of Feral Knitter for graciously making this pattern available to me.