"Some [projects] are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." With apologies to Francis Bacon, this cowl was absolutely the latter. This is probably one of the most challenging knitting projects I've tackled and took nearly 3 years to complete. I'm a big fan of the FO and my mom (to whom I gifted it) was thrilled, but I'm not sure if I'll be making another any time soon.
Pattern: Colette cowl knit in Lux Adorna artists palette. Used size 7 16" circular needle.
New skills: Kitchener stitch
Lessons: Save learning two-handed fair isle for smaller projects like hats. I knit just over half the cowl knitting two-handed, but getting correct tension while learning continental was so hard and I wasn't having fun. I frogged the part of the checked section I was working on (I was already done the hearts), and restarted using English only and switching my working yarn. Much faster / more comfortable.
A tail 4x the circumference of the cowl left just enough to Kitchener stitch all the way around.
Using some vinegar while blocking works to prevent the dye from bleeding.
By thoughtfully sewing in ends (pulling the tail away from the previously knit section, and taking care to sew into colored blocks instead of white ones) the gaps around the seam stabilized and looked very clean on the FO.
What I'd do differently: Something weird happened at where I'd joined my round while Kitchener stitching. I did my best to clean it up, but it's still a little wonky. I want to spend more time practicing this technique. Otherwise, I'm very happy with the changes I made midway through the project – they saved a lot of pain and regret down the line.