Progress

I'm making progress on the mystery CAL from Sarah London's site. Ten of the 11 graduated squares in Part 1 are done (square #1 has 2 rows; #2 has 3 rows; #10 has 11 rows, etc.) Part 2 came out early this morning, so I'm a little bit behind but I think I can catch up tomorrow before Part 3 arrives on Friday. I'm thinking this is going to be a Christmas tree of some sort; we'll see if I'm right in a few more days.

While I've been crocheting, Dick has been busy making wood Tunisian hooks. The only Tunisian hooks readily available are metal and only in smaller sizes like "H" and "I". Larger sizes and/or wooden hooks are almost impossible to come by.

First batch on the improvised drying rack.

The first batch was oak, cherry and walnut in "J" and "K" because those were the sizes I needed for my classes. Most of those hooks were gone the first night, so the next batch will be more "K's", along with some larger M/10mm hooks.
And after that? Fancy hardwoods! Can't wait to get my hands on those.

Wooden Goodness

Look what hubby made me! A holder for my collection of fancy crochet hooks. The entire thing is walnut, one of my all-time favorite woods. Dick turned the spindle from a piece that was harvested in 1947 and has been drying for the past 60+ years. It's perfect for displaying my little pretties. And now that I've got pictures of the gorgeous holder, I can start loading it up with hooks.

Dr. Hook

I should have been a doctor. Check this out: New technique for varicose veins.

Thanks for the link, Jovita.

Mother's Day

Look what Dick made me for Mother's Day. It's a hand-turned holder to display some of my antique crochet hooks. The center section is maple burl and he filled some of the wood's natural voids with turquoise. The top and pedestal are Madagascar ebony. The base is elephant ivory from the 1920's (pre-ban). He's been working on this for over a month. I knew he was turning something for me but I had no idea what the final product would be. My photos don't begin to do justice to this - it is stunningly gorgeous.I love it! Happy Mother's Day y'all!

FiberWoods

Dick finished the first batch of 'for sale' crochet hooks. Each is made individually by hand and polished to a high gloss. The handles are made from various hardwoods and the thumbpads are carved from ivory. These hooks are similar in style to the Clover Soft Touch hooks, which I find more comfortable than traditional round hooks. The three white hooks in the middle of the photo are hand carved from (pre-ban) elephant ivory.

From left to right: Imbuya (SOLD), size "H"; Canarywood and Ebony (SOLD), size "H"; Padauk with Ivory hook, size "D"; Bloodwood with Ivory hook (SOLD), size "G"; Purpleheart with Ivory hook, size "D"; Bolivian Rosewood (SOLD), size "G-7" (4.5mm); Bloodwood, size "H"; Zebrawood, size "G" (SOLD); and Tulipwood (SOLD), size "G-7" (4.5mm).

All-wood crochet hooks - $35 each; Ivory hook with wood handle - $55 each.
Don't see the size you need or the wood you want? Custom requests cheerfully considered.

Padauk with Ivory hook, size "D" - $55

Bloodwood with Ivory hook, size "G" - $55 (SOLD)

Purpleheart with Ivory hook, size "D" - $55

This One's MINE

I talked Dick into giving me my Valentine's present at 12:05 a.m. (Hey, it was officially Valentine's Day at midnight. I think I showed remarkable restraint by waiting a whole five minutes.) I knew he'd been working on something, but didn't know exactly what. This . . .

is elephant ivory (pre-ban), ebony, and padauk. Isn't it gorgeous?? I can't believe how tiny the hook looks and how carefully he had to work to get the point exactly right. The good news is that he has more ivory - both elephant and walrus - and plans to make more hooks with ivory. But this one is all mine!

Hooks and Socks And Friends, Oh My!

This is the first 'real' crochet hook (not a prototype) that Dick has finished. It's bubinga, ivory, and ebony. The handle is a little shorter than I like - the next batch will be slightly longer - but Sharon said it fit perfectly in her hand, so it went home with her. Dick has about 10 more handles done, just waiting for him to carve the hooks. Zebrawood, canarywood, tulipwood, bubinga, cocobolo . . . . not sure what others he's done. They look beautiful and the balance is fantastic. (Can you tell that I love them?)

The last part of the sock class was tonight. I was hoping we'd get through the gusset and foot, and at least start the shaping for the toe. That was a little optimistic. The heel turn and gusset took awhile to explain - those 10 rows are the hardest part of the project - but everyone made it through. And the socks all fit! I love all the different colors and types of yarn that were used. Custom-made, custom-sized socks, as promised. Everyone promised to finish both socks and bring them in for me to admire. Can't wait to see them!

Vickie, Wenona, Ellen and I try to get together once a month to craft. We don't always make the 30-day interval; in fact, it's been about six months since we last met. But yesterday we were finally able to mesh our schedules and hang out for the day at Ellen's. Vickie's lockerhooking a rug with fabric left over from her quilting days; Wenona was crocheting the Martha Stewart 'Coming Home' poncho; Ellen was crocheting a prayer shawl; and I worked on a demo sock for tonight's class and got pointers on finishing my knit scarf. It was a wonderful day. Thanks, guys!