Sunday 3 February 2013

Storytelling Sunday:Pick Your Precious|Granny's crochet hooks.

If you have arrived from the CCW Blog Hop, then you are very welcome and you can find the hop here. Please feel free to hang around and read on about Storytelling Sunday. 


First Sunday in the month? It is time for Storytelling Sunday hosted by Sian over at High In The Sky. Everyone is welcome with short or long stories, photos, layouts or simply words. Always such good stories and blogs to find and spend time reading. Sian has suggested that we pick our precious things to tell stories about this year which is splendid. 



This month I want to tell you about a recent precious gift, my maternal Granny's crochet hooks. My dear Aunt heard that I was attempting to learn to crochet and so she dug out my Granny's hooks for me. I cannot tell you how much these spurred me on to learn and the pleasure I get from using something my Granny used. I love the container they came in too.

I love that there are so many different sizes and quality, the blue plastic one, I can imagine may have been a freebie from a magazine, or maybe a 'starter' hook for one of her daughters or grandchildren? The teeny-tiny ones? I cannot wait to be able to do such close work. Both she and my Aunt made lace, although mainly done on a cushion with a million weighted threads...wait, I have just thought of a precious for another month :)

Now, I am a new starter at this, in fact after it being a new years resolution for 2012, it was only this past month that I finally feel I 'get it'.


I first properly had a go at our UKS social group's retreat last March and it was painful, I couldn't get how to chain the foundation for a looooonnnnnggggg while. As my Mum said when she saw me on my return home it was like a "cow shooting a musket", which is definitely a Granny saying!


I am completely ham-fisted where textiles are concerned, Mrs Mcklintock my home economics teacher would have agreed.


However, I have been determined to succeed, I don't wish to be able to hook anything amazing, just make some small doilies and flowers as embellishments for my papercrafting. I tried a few youtube videos, I bought a book, I started buying a serial 'how-to' magazine but I just wasn't getting it. I put the hooks and yarn away in a shiny new clear plastic box and it peeked out reproachfully at me from where I put it behind the sewing machine. 


Then in September as part of Shimelle's Learn Something New Every Day she encouraged us to try something new each saturday, well I persevered one saturday evening and managed a few rows of stitches that were ok. 


Flushed with success at being able to go up and down, I looked at the crochet flower book and wondered how on earth I could go round corners into a circle.


Back in the box it went.


My friend Sue then sent me a link to a youtube series from the wonderful Olivia, aka girlybunches. One evening (waiting for the snow to start falling) a couple of weeks ago I sat down and watched and she completely demystified it for me and by the time the snow started falling at about 00:50 I had made a doily. Just like that.


"* *** ******"


That was not swearing in euphoria, it was what I would have said if I had let my punster side out (which I didn't), she would have said I was hooked. I bet you are glad I didn't let her get away with that cheap hook-in tag line.


I like to make a layout for Storytelling Sunday, it has usually been one of my favourite layouts each month and so I chose a great sketch and idea to follow this month. Wilna Furstenburg has posted two fabulously inspiring videos over at 2 Peas for the In The Mood To Scrap series. I am almost embarrassed to link my layout to hers as "cow shooting a musket" didn't do it justice, no nice white frame, pink pawprints all over it lol. "cow shooting a musket"'s friend "impatient cow" joined in and even though Wilna said leave the impasto overnight, she had to stick her finger into the best bit at bedtime and splodged it. Oh dear. Anyway, it was good painty fun and although it doesn't have quite the skill, I am pleased with it well enough. 


In the spirit of the thing I wanted to try a more delicate yarn to try the longed for embellishment. I bought some mercerised cotton this week and attempted to make the doily in half-size as my first scrapbook embellishment and as you can see it was pretty much a disaster, but the only way is up from here and surely this is the best layout to put it onto


Thank you so much for reading and I will hopefully see you next month. 

22 comments:

  1. I think it's lovely that those crochet hooks have been passed on, I love your little doily

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  2. I love that you are using your grannys hooks, its lovely.

    The doily is brilliant & the Lo great, even the splodges.

    I like you have tried, I however unlike you, have not succeeded! I'll have a look at the clip you mention & see if it casts any light for me!

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  3. Well done you for persevering, your doily looks amazing. A great story and next time can you show us the container that Granny kept her hooks in?

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  4. Jennie x Many thanks for sharing.
    Imagine all the hands that held those hooks , all that history, love it

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  5. You did it, though! You really did it! (coming from someone who has been talking about learning to crochet for a long time now. I need to do it and those videos sound like just the job) And, yes, the crochet hooks would be precious to me too - I have the knitting needles my dad bought for my Mum not long after they were married and I feel the same way about them. A brilliant story

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  6. My sister, who crochets beautifully, has our nan's hooks - such a special thing to have something that someone dear to you has used lovingly. I enjoyed your story as always, Jen. You have a way of transporting your reader right to where you are. And well done on presevering with the crowsh*tting. :lol:
    Sue x

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  7. loving your purple doiley Jen, but love the way you tell it even more!

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  8. Oh wow! that doily is stunning ~ the stitches are very complicated and it is all so even and ...perfect! Well done :D And I love the story you have told and sharing your 'precious' . Thank you xx

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  9. Oooh love the impasto on the layout. And I am in awe of your perseverence with the crochet. How fab to be able to use those precious hooks

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  10. well done...keep going. I find it much much easier than knitting! great layout.

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  11. Well done you for sticking at it. Your doily looks great on you layout. Crochet is so much fun. You should check out "Attic 24" and have a look at some of the things that Lucy has made. She has tutorials for a lot of things too.

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  12. I am really impressed with your doily. I have given up trying tomlear to crochet - I just don't get it! How lovely to have your grandmother's hooks though. A lovely story.

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  13. Ok firstly .... Thank you, thank you, thank you ... I too have been trying to learn to crochet. I've bought the DVD, the beginners magazine, books, even been to a class .. Have I learnt it, have I heck lol. So I'm going to give your YouTube link a go :) I adore that you've scrapped your achievement, but even more so I love that you've learnt using your granny's needles :)

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  14. Having attempted to crochet for the first time just this past week...I a highly impressed by your doily..and love your collection of hooks!
    Alison xx

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  15. I think it's lovely that you have those hooks. This story could so easily have been mine, after 30 years of trying crochet finally clicked with me at the end of last year. Your doily looks great and I love the layout.

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  16. Your story is lovely and so familiar. I also have my grandmother's crochet hooks, and some that my grandfather hand made. It didn't make me a better crocheter but I loved holding them in my hand. I am a knitter and find it cumbersome to hold a crochet hook.

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  17. So lovely you have your Grandma's hooks, bet she'd love that :) I'm another who has been meaning to crochet - did actually manage a couple bits last year for LSNED too. Think I'll go looking for those youtube videos and see if that helps!

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  18. I love the LO and well done on the crochet. I may have to check out the videos as I struggle with it as well (have done for years) and I love your finished results

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  19. Well done - I'm really impressed with your doily. I haven't done any crocheting in years but always used to love doing it. No hooks from my Mum but I did get her knitting needles.

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  20. I think I shall have to go watch that video and de-mystify crochet for myself! I would so love to learn.

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  21. Brilliant! (and nice layout too, btw). It is a good, good feeling to accomplish your first bit of crochet. I taught myself from youtube (I heart youtube) and I LOVE crocheting now. It also makes me a bit smug becuase neither my Nan nor Mum as knitters could do it.

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Aren't you lovely, you have made me smile =)