Winter's Warmth

I finished another pattern and I'm pleased as punch.  It's called Winter's Warmth, and if you're so inclined you can check it out Ravelry here.
















It's knit in the round, from the bottom up with the two ear-flaps being knitted first.  I really enjoyed knitting it, I found the cables kept it interesting while not being overly fussy.  If you're new to cabling it's really not as difficult as it looks, you basically just slide a few stitches to a stitch-holder, knit a couple other stitches, then knit the stitches on the stitch-holder.  That's all it is, and patterns for knitting with cables will tell you how many to put on the stitch-holder then how many to knit.

I've always gotten a lot of comments from people who don't knit or new knitters who say cables look hard and I always try to take the time to explain that they're really not because I think they're so stunning and I absolutely love the feeling I get when I try something new and succeed.  Also, I think cables are awesome for new knitter's self-esteem because then, whenever other people see their project they're like "Ooooooh, that looks hard.  You're REALLY talented."

The pattern is written in one size, it fits me (I have an average-sized head for a woman) and my two year old (he likes his hats loose, I don't know why, but it stays put on his head so I'm going to go with that counts as fitting him).

This is also the pattern that I submitted to a magazine in the summer, it was rejected but I really like how it turned out.  I'm also really happy that I went ahead and submitted it, I would really really like to get patterns published.  One of my goals for next year is to put together several proposals for publication next winter and having been through the process once is something I think I'll find really helpful this year.  Even though the process will be slightly different for different magazines I honestly think the biggest hurdle I faced while applying this year was the intimidation of doing something new.  It feels silly, but being able to say "I've tried before and trying again is no big deal" makes things so much easier.  So maybe next year you'll see one of my patterns in print, but at the moment you can find them in my Ravelry store, and I'm happy with that for now.