Posted on 23 Comments

Spotted in the wild

274/365: Oct 1 - Six hooks in progress

I haven’t had my polymer clay supplies out in some time. (My dining room thanks me – it’s been neat and clean for months – some kind of record around here!) But, when I do have the clay supplies out, and I am cranking out batch after batch of handmade crochet hooks, it might seem to me as if I have crafted thousands of the darn things and that they are as ubiquitous in the crochet community as an unadorned Susan Bates metal G hook.

But in reality, nothing could be farther from the truth. I have probably made a few hundred hooks in my time, and they are scattered far and wide. Most people have never heard of my little hook-making operation – a fact about which I am not complaining, because too much more popularity would only chain me to the work table in an utterly unsustainable way.

(Although I wouldn’t refuse just a little more notoriety, if it came my way.)

02 hooks

I say all this so that you will understand what a pleasant jolt it gave me the other night to spot my hooks “in the wild.”

Last night it was too close to bedtime to put on any tv shows of any substantial length, but it was too early for me to want to head upstairs just yet. I remembered I had a Craftsy class I hadn’t yet watched (Professional Finishing for Perfect Crochet (w/ Linda Permann)), so I figured I’d entertain myself with the first lesson.

I got it all set up on the Google TV, pressed PLAY, watched Linda start to talk about neatening up the edges of a flat crochet piece, and that’s when I saw it: my hook! In fact, I sat up straight and said aloud, “hey! that’s my hook!”

273/365: Sep 30 - Making a lot of hooks this week. Finishing the first batch.

I know I sold hooks to Linda. I know she writes books and patterns, and teaches online classes. So it should not have been such a surprise to see her using one of them. Still, there on the big screen it jumped out at me, and I kept thinking, “How cool! My hook is on TV!”

Part of the excitement, I imagine, is that I watch these classes on my television, so what most people are seeing on a computer or tablet screen, I’m seeing in 37 glorious inches. I’m sure it gives inflated importance to the whole thing…

But still: Cool! My hook is on TV! 😉

This has me thinking, of course, that maybe it’s time to make some more. I’ve had many months (or has it been a year already?) to recover from the last hook-making sessions, and there are currently only six of them left in the shop.

I may even be inclined to open up the shop for custom orders sometime next month. Would there be any interest in that? (When you place a custom order, I make a hook exactly to your specifications – size, brand, handle pattern, type of thumb grip, etc.)

05 hooks 02

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Are you in the market for custom crochet hooks for yourself or maybe for gift-giving?

Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve had any interest in getting out my clay supplies. Maybe I should see my stuff out in the wild more often! It seems to be the jolt I need.

(BTW, that Craftsy link up there is an affiliate link, but I would have written this exact same post, even if it wasn’t. The usual disclaimers apply.)

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Posted on 23 Comments

23 thoughts on “Spotted in the wild

  1. Count me as someone who’s interested! I love the aluminum set you made me a few years ago and would love to have a steel set to go with it.

    1. Cool! I haven’t had much interest in getting the clay out all year, but I’m definitely starting to feel the itch…

      1. Hey, if you can make me a set of Susan Bates steel hooks (basically all the sizes that exist — I think there’s something like 10 or 12), I’d give you free rein on the actual designs — I’d just ask for blues, greens, and/or purples as the color scheme, and thumb rests. Aside from that, I’m not picky on exact designs.

        1. I can definitely do that. I think you’ve all sold me on re-opening up the shop for custom orders, so when I’m ready I’ll let you know. Definitely sometime within the next week or two. Thanks!

  2. I love hearing about your clay endeavors. It is inspiring to hear about your process of making the hooks and see what designs you do. I have been crocheting for years and I am just getting into polyer clay and love seeing what you do. My husband got me one of your hooks last Christmas and I love it!

    1. I’m so glad to hear that!
      You know, it’s been some time since I wrote a polymer clay tutorial, but I’ve been thinking about sharing my technique for making hooks…

  3. What I’d love is a site/ or graph that tells how to convert other loom patterns into a pattern for the Martha Stewart Loom, that being said I have one of your loom tools and I LOVE it, maybe I should learn to crochet so I can get one of your lovely hooks!

    1. That’s an interesting request. I’ve thought a lot about converting needle patterns to loom patterns, but never loom to loom. I don’t have a whole lot of Martha loom experience, but it’s an idea worth thinking about!

      If I may just put my salesperson hat on for just a second… 🙂 there are some handy non-crochet uses for crochet hooks. For one thing, they are super helpful if you drop a stitch in your knitting. A crochet hook helps you grab that dropped stitch and weave it back into the fabric before dropping it back on the peg. Also, the crochet cast-on for knitting looms requires a hook.

      Or, you could learn to crochet 🙂 I’ve only been doing it for 3 years, myself!

  4. Very cool!!! I would definitely buy some. 🙂

    1. Glad to hear it! I’ll let you know when I’m ready to take orders.

  5. i’ve been a fan or yours for years — purchased earings, buttons, pens, etc and love your work and your blog (your sheet/pillowcase collection to die for!!) and it’s really good to see the clay out for hooks, but i believe you need to also do some new pens with the same gorgeous colorS the hooks receive … i don’t crochet (and don’t really want to!) and i don’t know anyone who does, but i know a lot of people who use pens ….

    just a suggestion … LOL …

    darlene harris

    and, as long as i’m asking, you *could* use fine points for the pen itself …. ;-)))

    1. Thanks for the feedback! I usually open up the pen section for custom orders at the same time as the hooks, os if there are patterns that grab you, that would definitely be do-able. Generally, I don’t make new pens unless they are specifically ordered, since I have so many already made.

      Good point about the fine point pens. I don’t actually have any of those, but I could certainly get some. Next time I’m at Staples… blue or black?

  6. I personally think PC should cover anything not moving, Lisa. Just sayin’ 😉

    1. Heh. I have certainly had points in my life where I have agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment! At this point, I have become open to letting some things be covered in crochet, too 🙂

  7. Oh wow! How cool!
    I wouldn’t say no to adding a few of those hooks to my set – they’re so pretty!

    1. Thanks for the complement! I’ll definitely do a custom run in the next few weeks. I’ll let you know when that is!

  8. YAY! I would be interested! I stalked the internets and bought the last of my fave hooks available (the clover aluminum, which are discontinued) a while ago for whenever you open this up again to custom pieces. Your hooks really are my favorite and I loved using them in my class. Plus, the decoration and stamp makes it so easy to tell the difference between sizes. 🙂

    1. Cool 🙂 I have quite a few Clover hooks stashed away, too. Knowing they were disappearing, I snagged them any time I saw them in my travels. I plan to get the custom ordering up and running in the next few days – I’ll post when I do!

  9. I’m in too! I love using tools with a little pizazz to the! Let me know when you’re ready I might be interested in quite a few!
    Congratulations on being famous!

    1. LOL! Thanks 🙂 I’m going to try to open up custom ordering this week. I will post again when I do!

  10. […] I heard you loud and clear – you’d like me to make more crochet hooks! I wasn’t going to do it this year, but you’ve twisted my […]

  11. Any chance you’ll be opening custom ordering again soon? I’m interested!

    1. I would like to! I’ve got a couple of busy weeks ahead, so realistically it may be June before I can do it, but sometime between now and then there should be an announcement. You can subscribe to my Handmades Shop mailing list, if you’d like to keep on top of it. Thanks!

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