I learned magic loop to make the Adipose, and it's come in *so* handy for making amigurumi. dpns and my RSIs just don't mix, so magic loop is the only way to go for me.

Your shawl reminds me of the baby blanket I made that started out as a 6" square and ended up as a 40" one, with each row taking about 20 minutes to do. I'm sure your shawl will be gorgeous when it's done, but those long rows really do suck.