Fair Isle Hat Again


I've finished another fair isle hat this past week.  I've been calling this knit doodling because I'm just flying by the seat of my pants with creating a design to use up all the odds and ends of left over alpaca wool that was saved for this very purpose. Cardinal rule number one of a knitter-save all of your scraps and half skeins!

Compared to this hat, I went up a needle size and only had one fair isle design element.  There are five colors in the recent hat:  black, white, maroon, burnt orange and a dark gray.  Lucky for me, I've used up the scraps.

Now I'm thinking of digging into my worsted wool pile that is buried in a closet to cast on some more hats.  The creating is addicting and you know me, I love the thrill of not knowing if I have enough yarn and what will I do to solve the dilemma.

For now, I'm back to shawl knitting.  What is your favorite hat pattern these days?

Comments

  1. AnkeJanuary 7, 2014 at 8:15 AM

    Beautiful hat and great way to use up leftover yarn. Are you keeping this beauty for yourself, or is somebody else going to be the lucky recipient?

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2014 at 8:19 AM

    Great job! It's beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. BonnyJanuary 7, 2014 at 8:32 AM

    I love your knit doodling - very creative! I'm better at texture than fair isle, so my favorite hat patterns at the moment are Waffle Hat http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/waffle-hat and Antler Hat http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/antler-hat. Stay warm with your hats!

    ReplyDelete
  4. DonnaJanuary 7, 2014 at 9:55 AM

    Woohoo!!! Look at you go! I love it.

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  5. Caffeine GirlJanuary 7, 2014 at 10:11 AM

    I love the phrase "doodle knitting" -- but I love the idea of it even more. I can improvise with beads and pens, but not knitting. I still need a pattern.
    My favorite hat pattern is Ida's Kitchen from Kristin Kapur.

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  6. Kathleen Shaw January 7, 2014 at 10:24 AM

    lovely hat! I would say that my favorite hat patterns these days is baby hat pattern from the book More Last-Minute Knitting Gifts.

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  7. Lisa UotinenJanuary 7, 2014 at 10:25 AM

    So you made up the Fair Isle hat as you went along? It's fabulous! And I'm wondering if I could doodle with some of my leftover worsted yarn to make a fun hat....thank you for this creative idea.

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  8. DiannaJanuary 7, 2014 at 10:28 AM

    Another beautiful project completed. It makes me envious that you make up your own patterns like this!

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  9. Tracey ~ CloverJanuary 7, 2014 at 10:31 AM

    You are just so talented, I love the hat.
    I knit a hat a few weeks ago [still no ravelry page],
    the Ribby Toque by Carol Sulcoski. I really like how it turned out and have plans to knit more in the future.

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  10. debby emadianJanuary 7, 2014 at 10:56 AM

    I loved the black and white one and now I really, really love this one. I haven't made a hat for ages...in fact I don't remember every making one. Something to put on my small project to-do list.

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  11. thecrazysheepladyJanuary 7, 2014 at 1:08 PM

    I'm fixin' to start a second hat :-). This one with ear flaps!

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  12. LeanneJanuary 7, 2014 at 1:18 PM

    Gosh I'm in love with your new hat - I'm getting very tempted to really start knitting.

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  13. Kim January 7, 2014 at 3:48 PM

    I love that hat, gorgeous!

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  14. elnsJanuary 7, 2014 at 5:50 PM

    I swear I posted a comment earlier ... grumble ... so somehow if it duplicates, I apologize!
    I love these hats you are doing. So I guess my favorite pattern is watching yours!I love the idea of stashbusting, very much/ Do you have any of these doodles available to share/sell to us unimaginative and/or lazy knitters. You have them in different weights and pattern mixes. Really pretty!

    Will be shawl watching next!

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2014 at 6:16 PM

    I'm not sure many people consider knitting a thrill but I know just what you mean! Looks great. I'm in awe of making it up as you go along.

    ReplyDelete
  16. SueJanuary 7, 2014 at 9:42 PM

    'Knit doodling'--I love it! You are a knitting wonder, Karen! What a fabulous hat (I loved the first one, too). And what a great way to use up scrap yarn--the results are truly gorgeous.

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  17. Mama Gone GreenJanuary 7, 2014 at 11:27 PM

    you are amazing. I have a lot of scraps, and I need to learn how to do something like this to use them up. Please move to Portland and be my knitting guru.

    ReplyDelete

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