sweater: self-made, pattern here // leggings: Urban Outfitters // boots: Hunters // glasses: BonLook* // mittens: self-made, pattern here // headband: self-made, similar pattern here // legwarmers: self-made, pattern here

*This is an affiliate link, which means I may get compensated if you decide to shop at BonLook. You won’t pay more by clicking through my link and you’ll be helping to keep peneloping.com running! :]

 It’s snowing!!! I wasn’t planning on taking photos today but I’d been meaning to post this sweater and the snowflakes were so fat and glorious I couldn’t resist.

Anyway, this post is a four-in-one! As I was getting dressed I started thinking about before I started knitting and I have no idea how I ever survived winters. Granted, I lived in California where “winter” really has to be put in quotes, but I do remember constantly being cold. Thank god for wool.

When I came across this pattern I absolutely loved how the sample garment looked and decided to go with the suggested yarn in the exact colorway they used. I never in a million years would’ve picked this one off the shelf but the end result is so cool! This is what it looks like on the skein:

Where does all the purple come from??? It’s like magic.

I forgot to photograph them but the pattern also includes lined pockets which I did in a solid purple wool. Super cozy to stick frozen fingers into. Anyway, I made a few adjustments to the pattern which you can find on my Ravelry page. After trying out all kinds of button styles I decided that toggles were the cutest. I got mine at the sadly now-closed Windsor Button in downtown Boston.

The mittens are the Give a Hoot pattern, which I shortened to be fingerless. Other than that it’s a solid and straightforward pattern that I highly recommend, especially for impatient beginners. The Leg Warmer pattern by Jane Richmond is magical and super simple, and I actually recently bought yarn to make two more pairs. I think for my next pair I’ll do contrasting colors, with a marine blue tweed on top and a mustard tweed on the bottom so that I can flip them upside down depending on what color I’m in the mood for.

And finally, the Braided headband pattern is one of my favorites for winter. I don’t always like to wear my hair down and it’s nice to have an ear-covering option that allows for updos. I made some major adjustments to mine (actually the only thing that’s the same is the actual cable lol) and I realized after trying to recreate it from my Ravelry notes that my Ravelry notes make absolutely no sense. Ignore those. I’ll rewrite one that’s not gibberish soonishly.

Sidenote: If you want to pick up a pair of Hunters, they’re currently available at Costco at 50% off the retail cost!