Should have been a quick knit....

This is my first cowl, but it may be an unusual shaping technique - you start by knitting back and forth to create an arc shape, then join and knit in the round to complete it once the inner edge of the arc is long enough to fit over your head.

 

The pattern is called "Appia" by Hilary Smith Callis. It is based on a traditional reversible striped lace pattern called Roman Stripe.  On my mannequin above, I have the fabric spread out so you can see the lace - in the photo below, I was trying to show off the picot edging - something else I did here for the first time.

In real life, it would be scrunched more around the neck.  They say these cowls keep you warm - we'll see.

I bought the yarn a couple of weeks ago at Southeast Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF).  It is a hand-dyed merino-cashmere-nylon blend sock yarn, and was delightful to knit with.

I don't know why it looks blue under the "daylight" fluorescents in my studio. 

 In reality it's a beautiful soft gray called "Seattle Sky"

Here's the unusual shape, doubled up on my bed.  The neck opening is the angle at the upper right, the center back seam is the short side on the right.

I probably knitted this entire project twice.  It's an easy pattern, I just made a lot of little mistakes and wouldn't see them for a couple of rows.  But I'm motivated to make a few more cowls, especially with a forgiving yarn like this one.  It did not give me any difficulty despite all my knitting and unknitting and reknitting.