Markers and a Shawl

Here is the first set of stitch markers I have received for the month of September for the Stitch Marker Swap.

All the way from Massachusetts come these beautiful blue little gems. Each one is made with a glass bead of a slightly different shape so you can keep track of which stitch repeat you're working on, with a bonus contrasting light blue marker for the beginning of rows.

Thank you, Swap Buddy, I just love blue, and I love these markers!

I had purchased 6 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun in color #312 Edwardian (charcoal gray) several months ago with a prayer shawl in mind. I knew I wanted to make a simple rectangular shawl, large enough to cover the head if needed. I just needed to choose a stitch pattern for it. I knit swatches and played around with it but wasn't happy with it at all, so I put it away for a while.

I have been craving a little crochet lately, and I got the idea to try crocheting the shawl instead. So I played around with swatches and found a stitch texture that I like for this project. A simple shell stitch, shown here in a swatch using Red Heart Super Saver yarn and a size H crochet hook so that you can see it well, it's made as follows:

(sc=single crochet, dc=double crochet)
Chain a multiple of 4, plus 2 chains.
Row 1: Sc in the 2nd chain from hook, *skip one chain, make 3 dc in the next chain (one cluster made), skip one chain, sc in next chain* repeat to end. Chain 2, turn.
Row 2: Dc in the first sc (chain 2 plus 1 dc=2dc made), sc in the center stitch of the first cluster, *make 3 dc in the next sc, sc in the center stitch of the next cluster* repeat across row ending with 2 dc in the last sc. Chain 1, turn.
Row 3: (chain 1=1 sc made) *make 3 dc in the next sc, sc in the center stitch of the next cluster* repeat to end of row. Chain 2, turn.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until desired length.

Here is the progress so far on my shawl. I started with chain 78 using a size K crochet hook with a single strand of the Homespun. I've finished one skein of yarn, and the piece measures 30" wide and about 13" long. By the time I've used up all 6 skeins it should be a good, proper length for a shawl of this type.