I apologize for not posting as much as usually. I do have a good excuse though: for the last three weeks I’ve been working exclusively on a crochet project that was taking up nearly all of my time. I thought it was going to take me quite a bit longer to finish, and since I had a hard deadline, I had to keep ploughing forward. But, it is nearly done already!

Chinese Dragon Shawl (unblocked, sans beads)

The pattern is Chinese Dragon Shawl from the Fall 2012 issue of Interweave Crochet. The yarn is Nazli Gelin Garden 10 in colour Valentine, a nearly perfect Chinese red. And, ladies, I am in love with this shawl.

For all intents and purposes, the shawl itself is complete. But, I still need to block it and gild the lily. The sides and bottoms will have over 1000 black beads crocheted on, and the top will have a pretty little scalloped edge added after the beads are attached. Unfortunately, I have to wait until Sunday for the beads. But that is okay, since I don’t intend to wear the shawl until the 31st. Still, I’m glad I managed to finish it ahead of schedule.

Close-up of dragon and fire

The shawl is made in a technique called filet crochet, which in a way reminds me of cross stitch. Essentially, you are crocheting a mesh where some of the squares are left open and others are filled in. You work from a chart, much like a cross stitch chart. In fact, because the filet crochet meshes are square, you could actually convert a simple cross stitch chart into filet crochet.

Clover Crochet Hook

I also wanted to share with you my favourite crochet hooks: Clover Soft Touch. Thanks to some great sales over the past year, I’ve managed to put together a full set of both the smaller steel sizes and the larger aluminum sizes. I find the handles to be soft and very comfortable in my hands, and the hook end is well made and smooth. They are infinitely more comfortable to use than plain crochet hooks. I don’t think I would have been able to crochet for hours like I did if I had been using a regular hook.