sooo, here's the first blogpost in a series called "things i've made last year but haven't posted yet" ;) 
i really needed a new pair of mittens as my kochoran mittens were completely worn out after 5 years of good use. i mended the thumb several times, which is fine, but they were starting to get thinner and thinner, and too cold for winter. i ordered some Drops Nepal online (to get free shipping on the yarn winder i wanted to buy, we all know how that goes), in a gorgeous grey-blue-ish colour.
for the mittens i used the staff mittens pattern, because i loved the cable/seed-stitch combinaton. i really liked this pattern, although i would use a different thumb inset if i were to knit them again. i knit them a bit too big so there was room for a fleece lining. 
 next
 up was a hat. i wanted something that matched the cable/seed-stitch 
from the mittens. i considered several patterns but decided on the Peasleeville hat, which had an interesting construnction (you knit the 
cabled headband first, then pick up stitches for the hat), and a more 
complex cable pattern... 
 to make sure i wouldn't have to frog or start over, i worked with life lines after each cable repeat. the cable part was the hardest part, obviously, and after that i finished it in a couple of evenings.  
   i made the hat a bit longer to get a slouchy effect, which hides my bun a bit. and, for extra warmth, i also hand-sewed a fleece lining in the hat. the color of the fleece is not exact, but who cares? :)
 i must say, i'm not 100% convinced of how the hat looks on me. it's just not entirely "my style"... i think i have yet to find the perfect hat pattern for me and my ever-lasting bun. i'm tempted to give headbands a try but i'm afraid my head will be cold. has anyone got any experience with that?
but, all in all, i'm still very pleased with how this set turned out. :) 
 







 
