Big Herringbone Cowl - Finally Finished!

My mom is a knitter. She's been knitting for a long time, it's her go-to hobby. Besides gardening. And playing soduku. One of the things that facilitates this hobby for her, is that she lives on a farm. With sheep! And, where there's sheep, there's wool. I liked making things, she knew how to knit, and we had a large selection of free wool for me to choose from. It's easy to see how I started out knitting. I'd make a hat here, a scarf there, some mittens. I had a lot of fun choosing patterns and colors. But it wasn't really my thing, and eventually I found quilting, which is why most people are reading this - so bear with me for the rest of this brief post.

Completed cowl blending into my weathered door. 

I saw some other blogger's (sorry, don't remember who) completed Big Herringbone Cowl by the Purl Bee when I first started reading blogs a couple years ago. I knew I had to make it! My mom actually got me some softer yarn from the place that processes our sheep wool, and I was off! Not being a 'real knitter', and it being two years later, I don't remember the details about the yarn.

My starting point. 

I started knitting everywhere, on the train to school, watching Hulu, when travelling. But the darn thing was so big it was taking forever. So I lost momentum. And then I just kinda hid it in a drawer. I finally decided to finish it this past week because, a) I lost my other circle scarf, and it was getting cold, and b) I put it on my finish along Q4 goals, so at least I can check it off my list!

Left side 'right side', right side, 'wrong side'. 

The herringbone stitch is a little tricky, but repetitive once you get the hang of it. The hardest part is coming back to it and trying to remember which row I was knitting (there are two rows that alternate to make the stitch). If I were so inclined, it would be fun to make this again using two colors. However, the likelihood of that happening is slim to none - just not a knitter any more.

Me and Dino, my sunshine (or ghost cat). 

I still need to block the scarf (something I've never done before), because I think that will help keep the edges from curling up. I've worn it a few times and it is nice and warm, and less scratchy than most of the yarn in my mom's stash. Win!