Holy Cowl

I knit up this super toasty warm cowl and finished it yesterday. I used up the leftover (precious) Malabrigo (color-Taureg) from my Bird in Hand mittens.

Let me take this opportunity to sing the praises of cowls in general. Many of you know that I HATE to knit scarves. Sure, I've done it before and more than likely I'll do it again. Scarves just happen to be my least favorite thing to knit. It's not like they're difficult. I think that is one of their problems. By the time I'm halfway through it, I don't want to do it anymore. Then by the time I'm finished I'm so sick of it I don't ever want to see it again. Plus, I don't like wearing scarves much anyway. They get caught in things and get lost.

Enter: the cowl. These knit up super quickly. I made mine in simple stockinette but you can do pretty much any stitch combo you want. You can even make one that wraps around and add a spiffy button so you don't have to pull it over your head. Mine is long enough to pull up over my ears, mouth, and nose. It's not too bulky so if I scrunch it down around my neck, it is comfy. The yarn is soft and warm. I love it.

I'm knitting another cowl for my knitting school knit-a-long over at christynelson.net. If you wish to experience the joy of the cowl, head over there to learn how to make one yourself.

Beware: It has come to my attention that if you decrease the number of stitches in your cowl to make it fit a little more snugly around your neck, don't forget to increase again before casting off. This could prove to be very embarrassing when you go to put your cowl on and it won't go over your big head. If you frog back a few rows and then do some increases, it will be perfect and will go over your head--no problem!

Holy Cowl

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2009/01/holy-cowl.html