To Shell or not to Shell

This is the unfinished back of my next cushion cover. I always seem make things with shell patterns, even granny squares are just a variant of shells. So I looked through my book of crochet and knit stitches and found cross hatch. I tried it but found it too tedious because it involved trying to crochet into 2 chains every few stitches. Like having to do a foundation row over and over again.

After a few rows I decided to rip it out and start again. This time instead of trebling into the two chains I did the two stitches into the three chain space, sound familiar? Yep I realised after a few rows it was just another variation of a shell. It seems I can't get away from them. The fabric it made was quite strange, it has a 3D ripple across the surface making it look rather like corrugated cardboard. Each column sticks up. I tried photographing it but it's hard to see, I hope those bits explain it properly. I don't know how it will work out on a cushion cover as generally these are made with flat fabric. But I think it would make a lovely scarf, maybe in a thinner yarn worked with a big hook, but then it might loose that strange ripple effect. Sometimes I have more ideas than time and now I want to be done with this and try my scarf idea out even though I have at lease two more projects in the pipeline. Never, ever enough hours...still better to have ideas than lose my crochet mojo and have no ideas and no enthusiasm. I should just write these ideas down and then I'll have enough to keep me going in the fallow patches.