This shawl is worked top-down, starting at the back of the neck. It can be made smaller or larger by varying the number of rows.

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          **Spinning “The Webs of Mirkwood”**

What to crochet next from my stash of Hobbii yarn, I wondered? (Or “Hobbit yarn” as my husband mistakenly calls it)

There was a nice purple and fuchsia cake, with a goodly amount of yardage (always a welcome discovery, when you are a crocheter of shawls) and it had an evil look about it. It even transitioned eventually into a mysterious-looking black – nice for an edging, I thought.

How about something dark and dangerous, something delightfully wicked? My mind wandered over the journey to The Lonely Mountain in “The Hobbit”, and my eyes gazed up at – MY SPIDER PLANT! Ah yes, beautiful and wicked: a Spider Web, complete with evil Spiders! (And how appropriate to crochet with Halloween approaching!)

I used the lone Shell on Row 1 to represent Bilbo - terrified of the giant Spiders of Mirkwood, but somehow finding the courage to rescue his friends. Bravely wielding my crochet hook (as Bilbo wielded Sting), I added lots of webbing then deep rows of vicious Spiders with long, dangly legs - making sure to use some of each of the luscious colors in my cake!
And now, alas, my tale must come to an end. But I succeeded in my perilous battle with the evil Spiders and so can present to you:
The Webs of Mirkwood…