Vintage Friday — Bone/Steel Crochet Hooks

Today’s show and tell is a group of bone and steel crochet hooks.  They belonged to my Grandma Minnie.  She died 30 years ago this month and these crochet hooks were in a box of hooks I inherited.

I don’t know whether my grandmother was the original owner of these hooks or if she inherited them from someone else.  The Boye steel crochet hooks haven’t changed much from those that are still available today.  There are two steel hooks that don’t have the Boye name.  One only has the size and the one on the far right has the size on one side and a cross hatched diamond on the other side.

I wasn’t sure whether the cream-colored hooks were ivory or bone, but I did some research this week and upon close inspection the hooks have a parallel grain line which is indicative of bone pieces.

I honestly havn’te used these tiny hooks, except to pull obvious loose threads from between the layers of a quilt.

Still Got It

My Grandma Minnie taught me to crochet when I was in third grade.  Even then I was an over achiever.  The first project I started was a red, white and blue granny square afghan.  Notice I said started.  I never finished it.  My tension changed a great deal over time and the first squares were much smaller than later ones. 

When my grandma died in 1981 I inherited most of her sewing stuff as well as her knitting and crocheting tools and patterns.  The crochet hooks are still in the box she used.

(Anyone remember those Ayd’s weight reduction candies?  As a kid with an extreme sweet tooth, I didn’t care that they were intended for weight reduction, if I found them I scarfed them down like carmels!)  There are some old hooks in there that are either bone or ivory.

Anyway, it has been several years (15 or 16) since I’ve done any crocheting.  So what brought on this sudden urge to crochet?  It was actually Guy’s doing.  He suggested we needed a doily for the top of an antique mall find.  Wednesday I stopped in at Hobby Lobby used my 40% off coupon to buy Ultimate Pineapples for Your Home and some crochet thread.  Then I got to work.  This afternoon while sitting at the orthodontist I finished my project.

Yep, I’ve still got it!  Here it is in the place for which it was made.  We’re using the biscuit can as an end table.