Our Favorite Crochet Hook Makers

My state of Connecticut is finally getting back to normal after experiencing a freak autumn snow storm that delivered in many areas over a foot of snow.  Because trees still contained full canopies of leaves, many came crashing down under the heavy weight of snow, causing massive power outages.  (Our second major outage within two months!) We were one of the nearly one million families that were effected by the power outage -- ours lasted eight fridgid days.  My father's, who lives right down the road from me, lasted nine.  And as I type this, there are still many residents without power. 

Fortunately cities and towns, such as mine, opened their schools as emergency shelters.  My family and I spent many hours there, taking advantage of having (generator) power to recharge batteries, get a warm meal, shower, and most importantly, to keep warm.  For me, the emergency shelter offered more than that:  it was also a social hub for keeping up with the news, as well as an outlet to "crochet in public."

Tempers Flare Over 6 Days Of Conn. Power Outages: MyFoxNY.com

I met many wonderful crocheters (and knitters); I helped two young girls learn how to finger crochet; and on one evening, showed how a swift and ball winder worked in turning hanks of yarn into quick, usable cakes (balls) of yarn.  At one point my activities caught the eye of a reporter and I was interviewed briefly for an evening segment on Connecticut's Fox News ... 

One of the most frequent questions I was asked was, "Where do you get your crochet hooks?"  The majority of my crochet hooks are handmade/handturned.  Although I have created a crochet hook on my own (I took a class with Nancy Nehring a few years back on how), I am more of a collector.  We call the art of collecting crochet hooks as HAS.  HAS stands for Hook Acquisition Syndrome. 

Some of the hooks I own that were purchased online: Graydog (formerly sold on eBay for a number of years); Brainsbarn, DyakCraft (formerly GraftonFibers), Celtic Swan, and many, many others.  If you follow me on Twitter, then you already know I have been discussing rewarding myself  (for surviving a stressful week without power) with a custom GLASS crochet hook, to be crafted by Chris of www.knittingglassguy.com.  Naturally once I officially add the hook to my collection, I will be photographing it and featuring it in an upcoming blog entry.  

I also purchase crochet hooks from various events, such as a few years ago from The Eastern States Exposition; from Stitches East (back when it was held in New Jersey); or I receive them as gifts, such as the crochet hook I recently mentioned that my brother-in-law gave me (maker is unknown as it was handcarved in the 1800's).  Collecting hooks is not hard, you just need to give it time and keep your eyes open.

And this brings me to question who are your favorite crochet hook makers?  Go ahead and be an enabler; I have room in my heart & home for more crochet hooks.   ;)