Crochet Hook Hybrid

I love cute & I love quirky, I love simple & I love useful. I love things that pretend to be other things, things that look like one thing but are used to do something completely different or have a use other than what is expected or what was originally intended, a true dual-purpose object…

I collect pens, not just average pens, usually pens with funny or cute images, sweet improper sayings or just in fun shapes & colors. Sometimes they have parts that move, like the pen on the far right (almost cut off in the photo) is pom pom purin’s little bump of a tail on his back side, his ears move up & down when the pen is clicked open & he has a little brown butthole! Seriously! I bought him just for his chocolate snowflake!

When I have loved a pen so much, to the point of empty or bought a pen purely based on its looks & then come to find out it has crappy ink, what can I do? Throw it away? NEVER! ..find a new hand happy use ..OH YES! I love these perfectly adorable useless pens. Don’t get me wrong I can toss a ugly pen without hesitation, but what pen lover buys ugly pens?

Empty Pen + Crochet Hook = Dual Purpose Recycled Object = ergonomic grip, beefs up those tiny steel hooks so they don’t kill your hands & its CUTE to boot! Here’s what I did…

I just emptied out the ink stick & made sure my steel hook could go into the metal tip far enough to be useful, if it’s plastic you can easily enlarge it with heat.

This would work with any hook/pen combo. I use a “knife grip” when it comes to holding my hooks & I love this! I can only imaging a “pencil grip” person would LOVE this even more!

I filled the end of the barrel with beads to keep the hook pushed up tight into the tip and to also keep it from moving around, giving it almost a self leveling base to rest on & it was super easy to add more or take out beads to make it fit perfect. You could stuff the end with cotton or tinfoil or put some glue it in too. I wanted something removable, just incase I didn’t want it to be permanent or I wanted to switch out the hook size.

The clear barrel on this worked out perfectly, I can still see the hook size..awesome! I liked the cap too, so I just popped it on the back end, no glue, but you could!

You can make it even more colorful & comfy by adding a squishy rubber pencil grip to your new creation. P.S that red one smells like WATERMELON!

My hook hybrid was inspired by these from LadyWillow’s Designs, if you would rather have a downloadable PDF she has one up on her website.

A perfect way to recycle & reuse! Save the earth & Save our hands!

and then there was more…

Cripes I always do this, make loads of “samples” trying to get it just right!

It’s frustratingly good, .good because I get to work out designs and colors that have been on my mind and in my queue, freeing up mental storage and eating away at the yarn hoard is always excellent, freaking out on sweet edgings and nerding out on the numbers gives me endless pleasure. Frustrating because it’s a lot of ripping back to switch this or that up, not writing down changes I make & then swearing my way around a silly potholder, telling myself it’s a use stash only project and then wishing for colors I don’t have. Getting it perfect, then thinking WTF I now have to make 5 of these!

The mojo is there, the complete loyalty and devotion to a solitary pattern is not, although now it’s narrowed down to 2 patterns, 2 lovely patterns.

No. 1

This sweet little sun hat potholder is from an old issue of Workbasket Magazine. I found a copy of it tucked inside another vintage booklet, so I am unsure of what year or issue this was originally published in (if you know pop in and tell me!) I did happen across a FREE version of it online right here!

The pattern calls for #10 thread and a 1.65mm hook, but when I made one up as directed it was a tiny 6″ across. I really wanted it a bit bigger, so I re-wound my thread into a center pull cake, that way I could hold it double (pulling one strand from the center and 1 strand from the outer), I used a 3mm hook to work the “new” thread for the front and back. Finished size is now 8″ ..perfect!

I worked this one in tea stained white thread, but it ended up looking slightly grubby, well lets just call it “creepy antique wedding dress from the attic” looking, and I’m kind of loving this one.

No. 2

A Japanese pouch/coin purse Pattern from the book 50 Crocheted Motifs & 22 Works, you can find the book at yesasia!

Again I used #10 thread held double and a 3mm hook to jumbo size it to 8″, but this time for the back I used worsted wt cotton to beef it up a little, I thought this was brilliant, until I tried to match the thread front to the worsted back (I’m a dope) the stitches were not 1 to 1, I fussed with it forever & finally got it sorted and settled in.

Potholders on Parade

Time for a little kitschy kitchen crochet!

With the upcoming potholder swap, I’ve had potholder on the brain! Well, more so than normal! Although I havent completely settled on a pattern just yet, I’ve been busy in the test kitchen so to speak. I really love to use old patterns from the 30’s – 70’s leaning towards the more obscure & having fun with color or lack there of. I have to love what I’m making so much, that it’s hard to let it go, otherwise how could I possibly enjoy working on it in the first place!

I don’t (well rarely) do requests, you get what I give & that’s how I roll.

Some of these potholders are fresh from my hook & others have been around for a little while.

Clicking on the name of the potholder will take you to my Ravely project page (full of pattern notes & good stuff), if there is an online link, I will put it in somewhere after the name :)

1: Lilac this was a study in over dyeing yarn & a tribute to our late bloomer lilac shrubs. I used sock yarn & the something pretty block by Mille.

2: Mitered Square used this modular pattern & added a garter border.

3: Pale Roses a Japanese pattern.

4: Chrysanthemum another Japanese pattern.

5: #23 and another Japanese pattern.

6: Cabbage Love used this Tunisian (afghan) pattern & cross stitched a fat cabbage on it! I do really ♥ cabbage!

7: Granny you can get this look using any granny square. (P.S working color like this is a total pain in the ass)

8: Scottie the original pattern uses thread, but I made mine in worsted cotton. I ♥ him…all JUMBO & awesome! Found an archived version of this pattern here! (I Linked it up on Ravelry page too!) ..be impatient! (click it!)

9: PH Sachiyo another Japanese pattern, this one is from the American book: Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts Lacy Crochet. (full of excellent patterns!)

10: Woven a very unusal German topflappen pattern from here (yes it’s in German but you’ll get the general idea from the pictures :)

11: Flower yes, yes another Japanese pattern.

12: Scallops one of my very favorite patterns.

13: Meat I am disgusted & in love at the same time! I used this AWESOME chart from Lady Linoleum.

CROCHET YOUR WAY TO A BEAUTIFUL (kitschy) KITCHEN!