Logo Knits

Okay, apparently I went a short hiatus...wasn't planning to be gone for almost a week!  That's what happens when things get busy.  :)  I've been doing lots and although I'd love to share it ALL right now, that would be an insanely long post (and sometimes mine are too long already) with far too many pictures and by the time I got to the end, none of you would be reading any longer!

You may remember me mentioning way-back-when a logo that my friend, Tonya, designed (check out her blog HERE). You may also recall that instead of paying her, we arranged a trade of sorts.  She designed my logo, I knit her something. Now that she's finally in receipt of those items, I can finally share them with you all!

Now all you Ravelers out there know how many patterns are available on Ravelry...so it was nice to have some guidelines of what to look for.  Mittens would work, fingerless mitts of some kind, maybe a hat.  But the hat needed to be a beanie style that fit snugly on the head.  Okay, so immediately I knew which mittens I had to put on the list.  And there were a few hats I'd admired way back when I first started knitting.  Of those hats, only a few fit the requirements.  So I knit the Phenomenon Mittens (Bella Mitts) and the Hurricane hat.  The pattern I chose was a surprise, but it wasn't hard for Tonya to figure it out.  She didn't know about the hat, so I kept that to myself. :)  The only other requirement we talked about was color.  I had the option of a turquoise-peacock type color, mustard yellow or rusty orange.

So on to the knits!  I LOVE these mittens!  There are several versions of these mittens on Ravelry, all inspired by the movie Twilight and the car crash scene.  Bella is wearing these mittens.  Some patterns are more accurate than others.  I chose to knit Phenomenon mittens.  This pattern was nice because it was free and accurate!  Giant cables run up the back of your hand, almost to the elbow.  This creates a wonderfully thick, dense fabric perfect for winter.

The palms are a criss-cross type stitch pattern that avoid any holes and like the cables, are really dense.  These puppies will be warm!  I also like that the remainder of the mitten is designed with ribbing, which lends this pattern to fitting a lot of people's hands and arms.

As I was knitting these, I kept trying them on, one to make sure things were going well, and two....well...they were just cozy!  I finished the first mitten fairly quickly.  The second mitten?  Not so much...in fact, I must have really liked the first mitten because I started to knit 2 right-hand mittens.  Yep, got all the way to the top of the thumb gusset before I realized my mistake.  R-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-p! Back to the beginning.  I did eventually get the 2nd mitten done, but having to rip back when I'd gotten so far really affected my knitting mojo for these mittens.

(Look!  Finished thumbs!!)

All that aside, I'm definitely making these again. Everyone needs a pair of mittens like these.  I obviously voted for the rusty orange. The yarn is Knit Picks Shine Worsted held double in the colorway, Marmalade.   The yarn was a bit pilly, but I think the stitch pattern and cables will help keep that to a minimum.  I didn't notice any shedding while trying them on again...and again...and again...

I also have to mention quickly that this orange is such that my camera had a difficult time picking the right color.  To me, the photos sometimes looked intentionally altered for dramatic effect, but the color is really just that rich.  :)

Which brings me to the Hurricane hat.  I actually cast on and finished up this hat well before I even thought about the mittens.  And hats are so, so quick to knit.  I was itching to try this pattern and figured I could get it done in a day or two.  At the time I had SO many projects I was working on or needed to finish that I didn't dare touch the mittens.  But the yarn, it kept calling to me.  Yes, it was in a box, behind a chair, in another room where I wouldn't be tempted (because I was), but it was sneaky, sneaky and knew just how to get my attention.  It would say things like "Come on, it's just a little hat, it'll be finished in no time." and "If you knit with me now, it'll help your concentration on your next project, get me out of your system."  Well, it worked.  I caved in and cast on and before I knew it the hat was done, almost too quickly!

I've seen this hat knit in a lot of different ways and there are some really cool versions out there.  Some variegated yarns look awesome with this hat because the swirl pattern really does create a "hurricane effect." (Again, I used KP Shine Worsted in Marmalade.)

I knit this a little longer than the pattern directed because I wanted to make sure it fit over Tonya's ears.  Living in Iowa, it's not a good idea to leave your ears exposed in the winter.  Manny the Mannequin was a willing model and thought the hat looked nice on him.  He wanted to keep it for himself but I told him we'd make him one that's all his own.  He thought that was a fair trade.

These two projects have been off my needles since October 17th, so this post has been a long time coming.

But one last thing before you go!   You haven't seen my logo yet - the entire reason for knitting those lovely mittens and hat!  Tonya did a fantastic job coming up with a logo that was just what I was looking for.  And she's been patient enough to help me trouble-shoot when needed.  The logo is simple but perfect.  You can also see this as a button on the right-hand side of my blog.

And maybe I forgot to mention, Tonya's a graphic designer that does awesome work!  She designed X's birth announcements almost 2 years ago.  If you'd like to see more of her work, you can see it at Pink Dot Designs.

Thanks, Tonya!  I hope you enjoyed working on the logo and that your mittens and hat keep you toasty and warm through the soon-to-be-cold weather!