Long Loom

I don't know what to think about my adventure with the long loom. So far, I've put about 3 hours into it and seem to have little to show for it. At this rate it'll be next Christmas before I can use it!

Of course the yarn curls up like it does when you make hats on the round looms. So that means I'll have to crochet a border of some kind and hope for the best later.

I'm wondering if it the resulting 'blanket' will look more like a miniature fishing net. Will it be a pain in the butt if it keeps getting stuck on toes or fingers?

And it is shrinking up from what the length of the loom is so I can't even count on it being as big as I'd anticipated. This loom is 22 inches long so I thought the product would be about 45 inches wide when complete (since I'm going in a horseshoe pattern around the loom). It may end up at 32 inches if I'm lucky.

I hate having a project that doesn't feel right. Like, I hate thinking about pulling all my work off and just crocheting, while at the same time feeling like I'm wasting my time to keep on with what I'm doing. Has anyone else ever done what I'm doing before? I'd like some input.