Janine Bajus | Knitigating Circumstances

I tried my hand at another fairisle hat a few weeks ago, but didn’t get photos until this weekend.

This is the Janine Bajus Raven Hat, and like my previous Cascade Hat (blogged here), is designed by Janine Bajus. She apparently used this design as a teaching tool in her workshops in fairisle knitting and it is easy to see why. It is a very simple pattern to work and to memorise. It was easier to make than the Cascade Hat, and I think only part of that is due to my increasing ease with this technique.

I knitted it in the colours suggested on the pattern page, using Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift, which is a really lovely yarn for working fairisle. I thought that the hat would be too long as written and wanted to shorten it; I did this by leaving off the first 6 rows of the pattern (starting the fairisle section at Row 7) instead of trying to re-calculate the decreases on the crown. I think this worked out well and it keeps the crown pattern intact:

I do feel as if the top of the hat is a little bit pointy. Blocking certainly helped flatten out the crown, but I think that perhaps I didn’t do the best blocking job. I may try to block it again.

This hat has very nice colourwork. I especially like the way the teal and the tiny bit of copper livens up the purples. I am happy with how it turned out. This guy, however, seems to think otherwise:

You can’t please everyone.

A few weeks back, I posted about my Bousta Beanie, a fair isle hat which I determined would be the beginning of my personal Project Fair Isle. As I reported there, I had some difficulties, mostly because this Project is not just about knitting Fair Isle, but about learning to be comfortable with two-handed knitting (holding one strand in each hand).

I have now finished my second project, also a hat, and let me tell you, I am loving Fair Isle knitting!

I love the colours, I love the subtle and the not-so-subtle variations, I love the intricacy and also the simplicity of it (two hands, two sticks, two yarns, two colours to a row). It feels creative and fun. And, yes, my left hand is slowly starting to get the hang of it!

This is the Cascade Cap, designed by Janine Bajus of Feral Knitter. I am officially in love with everything Janine designs and want to make them all. Some of you may be familiar with her amazing Salmon Coming Home vest:

The Cascade Caps pattern has two colourwarys: one is knit in neutrals and the other (the one I’ve knit) is called the Winter colourway and the colours were “inspired by a drive across the Cascade Mountains one cold December”. I’ve made it in the colours the pattern calls for using Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift. I love the way this yarn takes to colourwork:

I love how portable hats are when one is knitting with penguins:

This pattern has the most fantastic crown; I think it is glorious:

I knit this hat for Doug, and am happy to report that he seems to like it:

The hat is knit in fingering weight yarn and is very light, but also warm and quite water-resistant. This is good because Doug is in the UK where it is cold and dark and rainy, while I am back in South Africa again (this time in Jo’burg) enjoying the sunshine. (Not that I would ever gloat about it!)

Yes, I am definitely getting the hang of it! I’ve already bought the yarn for the next installment in Project Fair Isle!