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.

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.

Ruby Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, September 2015. Here's another variation of Mary Ann Stephens's "Amaryllis Hat."

Color Variation

Verona, Wisconsin, September 2015. I designed only the colors of this tam; it's a variation on the "Amaryllis Hat" (designed by Mary Ann Stephens) I had finished last month. I used 11 shades of Jamieson's "Shetland Spindrift."

This tam, too, will be part of the silent auction for the "Sparkle of Hope" event.

"Amaryllis Hat"

Verona, Wisconsin, August 2015. Mary Ann Stephens designed this tam. I liked the pattern because it reminded me of Lithuanian motifs (in particular, the tulips).

Every time I say "amaryllis," I think of "The Music Man."

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).

The Other Tam

Verona, Wisconsin, January 2015. Here is the second tam I completed this month.

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.

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).

A Woof in Sheepy Clothing

A Yorkie sports a fair-isle dog coat.

Knit the matching "Sheep Heid" and blanket.

Rocky-Mountain Tam

Verona, Wisconsin, January 2013. The design of this tam is identical to two tams I knitted last year; see here and here. All I did was rework the color palette. This tam has reached its recipient, who tomorrow celebrates a birthday in Colorado.

Tam-for-a-Keeper Reunion

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

Same-Tam-Same-Year Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, January 2012. Another tam has landed safely at its new home. This fair-isle tam features the same design as one I recently finished, but I again reworked the colors.

Tam-Has-Landed Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, January 2012. A finished fair-isle tam; it measures eleven inches in diameter.

UPDATE ONE: I wrote about the planning of this tam here.

UPDATE TWO: The tam is an adaptation of this pattern.

Tam Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, January, 2011. I generally don't like to knit small objects. I knitted this tam as a color experiment while planning the design of a sweater. Knitting is the perfect thing to do while watching television.