Once more with feeling

Remember the beautiful mohair shawl that looked like a starlit sky? Well, I've spent the last two days frogging it. You don't know what patience is until you've frogged 22 rows of mohair!

When I wound the mohair on my ball winder, it made two huge balls and I figured it was easily enough for a shawl. I followed the directions in Lily Chin's book and used the crochet hook she prescribed. After I had crocheted about a foot of material, I could see that I was running out of yarn for the first ball. Moreover, the mohair seemed too dense and didn't feel very soft. Unless I wanted to make a glitzy and fairly rigid shawl for a five year old, something had to be done. So I did it ... I ripped it out and started over.

This time I'm using a huge crochet hook and the fabric has a better hand. I still may not have quite enough for the shawl, but I can add something else on the ends as long as the fabric is draping properly. Onward and upward.