Treasure Hunt

I'm a recovering eBay junkie and I'm especially bad when it comes to antique crochet hooks. I've been pretty good lately, but when Vickie sent me a link to this, I had to bid on it. And I won! This set is in exceptional condition. The lining on the case is intact, as are the exterior closures.

According to the seller, this set was given to Mary Goodwin Tompson of South Berwich, Maine on Christmas, 1863. The set has five different sized hooks that can be screwed into the handle. All are very tiny (the smaller ones are about the size of a sewing needle) so they were probably used for crocheting lace.

The handle appears to be Murano glass (could be agate, but looks more like glass). According to Nancy Nehring: "An upper class woman in the last half of the nineteenth century displayed her status in several ways. One way was to engage in fine needlework. If she chose crochet, this meant working intricate lace patterns in fine threads. Most of the crochet hooks from this time period had fine steel hooks.

A second way to display one's wealth was to have expensive needlework tools to use (and to show off) when one went visiting. Examples are: brass ormolu set with aquamarines possibly Indian, porcupine quill mounted in silver possibly Indian, brass with reversible steel hook that could be stored in body when not in use, glass paperweight with brass wire decoration possibly Murano glass from Italy, agate handle with brass mount. 1860-1880."

At last week's Ventura ArtWalk, we found this: It's a blown glass paint brush. How great is that?!? With Dick's interest in home remodeling and stained glass work, this was a 'must have' for us. It is fun, whimsical and beautiful, all at the same time.

The artist is Teal Rowe of Ojai. At the show, she had these hanging on a tree, like Christmas ornaments. (If you visit her website, be sure to look at the wearable glass pieces in her gallery.) We have one of her vases that we picked up during a tour of her studio last year. She plans to have another one in November; we'll definitely be there.