Why crocheters sometimes gloat

I know, I know, this is a knitting blog. But I crochet long before I started knitting and even though I mostly prefer the fabric and textures and variety I can create with knitting, every now and then I just want to get something done. NOW. And every now and then the lure of the hook calls.

And so it was that I came to pick up a couple of Doris Chan's books, as mentioned in my last post, and then some yarn to go with and one of my wonderful, hand-tooled crochet hooks (purchased many, many years ago at an art fair in San Francisco). A few chains, single and double crochet stitches later, and I finished this:

Yes this, dear reader, is the reason crocheters gloat. I started this on Monday afternoon. By Tuesday evening, I had it about half complete when I decided I didn't like the gauge the recommended hook size was giving me, so I frogged it and started over. This afternoon (Friday), I finished it, gave it a good soak, and there you see it on the blocking board.

No way I could finish a knitted lace shawl that fast.

Specs:

Pattern: Blue Curacao shawl from Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan

Yarn: Soft Lux from Classic Yarns (aka Rowan RYC) - 64% extra fine merino, 10% angora, 24% nylon, and 2% metallic. I used five, 137-yard skeins with about half of the final skein left over.\

Hook size: I went up a couple of sizes to a J (6.0mm) to get a more open look. The picture shown in my last post was when I was using the smaller sized hook.

Extras: I added some clear, silver-lined beads along the bottom edge to give it just a little bit of weight for draping.

Finished size: Approximately 58" x 41" blocked.

A note on my blocking: I chose to just lightly block this, not shaping it a lot. I could have pulled the fans out into more defined scallops, but I like it the way it is on its own. :)

The picture doesn't really do it justice. You can't see the gold metallic wraps on the yarn or the beads. But I didn't get it blocked until after the sun went down, so this is the best I could do for now. Maybe I can get a better shot tomorrow.

Anyway, this was an excellent quick project. I still have lace on my knitting needles, too, but when I need a quick fix, the crochet hook is coming out of hiding!