fo: magnanimity cowl

Pattern - Cowl: Magnanimity 
Yarn - Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick Solids (124 Barley)
Ravelry project page - here

I knitted this cowl using a knitting kit I won way back at the end of November via a give away which Julie hosted on her wonderful blog. I cast the cowl on pretty soon after receiving it, but it took a back seat while I worked on larger projects. In the spirit of my crafty challenge this month I was determined to get this cowl finished.

The kit was splendid! Sent from Jennifer of Brome Fields, it included the printed pattern, 2 balls of wool, circular knitting needles, a stitch marker and a tapestry needle, all neatly packaged in a lovely small calico bag, which is now filled with another knitting project of course! I was really impressed with the kit and the speed in which Jennifer sent it over to me, I'm just sorry it took me so long to finish it and share it with you.

The cowl is worked in the round (my favourite way to knit, I can no longer deny this) and uses simple knit, k2togs and yarn overs to create a wonderfully effective texture that looks almost cabled, but without the hassle. You mustn't be deceived by the simple pattern though - if you aren't careful you will lose whether you just did a k2 or k2tog+1, which does alter the finished pattern significantly if done wrong. I did make one mistake after picking up the cowl a month after putting down, and didn't make a note of what I just did and had to guess. You can't see it in the pictures though so I won't bother pointing it out eh?

Once I just allowed myself time to get the cowl finished it worked up in no time at all (just a couple of evenings) and it is so warm and soft and cosy! I don't usually like single round cowls, preferring ones you can wrap round twice, but this one is so chunky it keeps all the warmth in and can tuck into my coat quite happily to keep the wind at bay. I also ADORE Lion Brand yarn, and miss being able to buy it at Jo-Ann's whenever I wanted while I was at uni in Illinois. It's quite a treat to have it again!
That's on more WIP in the bag :)