Author: Caryn

Wooden ergonomic crochet hook

On By CarynIn Craft

Well this was fun! I made a crochet hook out of a chunk of mesquite. Rather than a straight dowel (which are harder to hold and manipulate), I made a handle shaped to my hand, then chiseled out an indentation for my thumb. Then I shaped the actual shaft and hook. It took me a couple tries to get the length right (I used some scrap cotton to test), but found a good length and refined the head. I sanded down to 400 grit and sealed with tung oil. The shaft is a size K hook. I could probably have gone smaller, but we’ll see how this one performs. I sent it off to my Mom for the holidays!

Finished mesquite crochet hook
Back of crochet hook with wood burned lettering
Side of crochet hook

Hatching

On By CarynIn Craft

I finished the first experiment with weaving with hatching.

Front of cotton woven cloth
Back of cotton woven cloth

Things I like: Hatching! Neat, neat technique with so many possibilities, and solid joins between colors.

Things I learned: Pay careful attention to each pass. Finding a missed warp thread four passes later is frustrating. No, I didn’t unweave, this is a learning piece. Also, weaving in the ends makes lumps on the back. Also, marking the warp threads with washable ink means you have to give the item a proper wash, not just a blocking. Even that doesn’t guarantee the ink will wash out of the white areas.

Details: approximately 8”x8”, 100% cotton weft, warp suspected cotton (from stash), woven on an 8 sett frame loom. First row twined to space warp threads. Warp drawn through piece to finish.

Fetching fiend

On By CarynIn dog
Missy is a fetching fiend

She didn’t start out understanding fetch, but now that she has figured out the game, she is obsessed. This is her favorite ball. She has a larger version that is for outside fetching. She will chase other balls, but this one out ranks all contenders.

We started out with ball chase. I had four or five tennis balls and she would chase one, and as she started to head back, I would throw another, until she was dropping the ball near me before I threw the next one. Then she discovered the blue ball had more use than just a chew toy. We are now working on getting her to place the ball in my hand. She completely understands when I point at the ball and open my hand, which makes it fun!

Crashed, but still obsessed

Wooden tongs

On By CarynIn Craft

And the reveal… wooden tongs! I made wooden tongs as gifts this year. I used mesquite wood for the blades and wedge, but wasn’t confident with glue joints so learned to set brass pins. I posted on that previously, but didn’t show what I was actually making (spoilers).

Mesquite wood tongs shaped and sanded to 400 grit

After shaping and sanding, I did my usual water rinse to raise the grain, and was quite surprised that the mesquite was still quite smooth. I ran over everything with 400 grit again, just to be thorough. I added some embellishments with wood burning, then sealed with butcher block conditioner (which is a food safe mix of oils and wax).

Finished pair of tongs