Fair Isled

Fair Isle Hat
Hmm...me thinks this hat really isn't truly Fair Isle, as that needs to be a pattern from the Fair Isles (at least from what I can remember), but still...

Back when I was pregnant with EM we had several midwives at our birthing center. One I grew particularly close to. I think it was just her nature to get close to 'her mamas'. Caring, always wanting to know more about you, lighting up when you come into the room, remembering every detail of conversations that happened months ago. That is her. She is also Jewish, so while we had different beliefs, we still had a deeper connection.

When time came for us to birth she was there. In fact she never left my side. We had a water birth for EM and she was there encouraging me, pouring warm water over my belly (which was sticking up out of the water), and giving me spiritual encouragement. I felt that she was such a blessing that I wanted to do something for her in return.
Any time I was knitting at the center she would melt over the project, which was usually a baby sweater. So I knew I needed to knit her something. But what? Turns out she had never owned a winter hat. What? She lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota for years, but never had a winter hat?!? That was going to change!

Then came the hunting for the perfect project. She is very conservative in what she wears, and looks fabulous in purple and deeper rich tones. Once I found Yayayarn's project (ravelry link) I was smitten and knew what the perfect project was. The pattern is by Shelia Joynes and was featured in multiple magazines/books by Vogue Knitting.
In an attempt to keep the hat from becoming too long I omitted the second vine pattern. I also changed up the color scheme quite a bit. There were so many things I loved about knitting this pattern, but since it was so long ago I really can't remember much about it. I do remember that I used a tubular cast-on, and did the ribbing in 1x1 with a solid color. If I were to knit it again I would go down a needle size on the one-color rows as my stranded gauge is a little tighter than my one-color gauge.

The Classic Elite Fresco was also wonderful to knit with. So soft. I felt like the gauge was a little too loose to be ideal, but it worked and most importantly fit properly.
And our midwife loved it. There isn't much better than knowing that your love, time, and attention has gone into something to keep someone you love warm on super cold Minnesota winter days!
Fair Isle Hat project page