Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Guinness, A Rematch, please .. re: World's Largest Crochet Hook

For quite some time I have been interested in which crochet hook should be crowned the World's Largest. I've actually been accumulating links on my Hooks and Stitches blog to the various articles and videos  could find after exhaustive searches so that my decision stays as fact driven as possible.

Today I received the latest Talking Crochet enews with an article on this very topic. It states that "Jeanette Huisinga of the Yarn Studio in Casey, Ill., who teamed up with Jim Bolin, also a resident in this small, central Illinois town, to compete for the Guinness World Records for the largest crochet hook." They won the title and I do wish them the most sincerest Crochet-ulations.  But did Guinness get it right? Their finished hook measured 6 feet, 1.5 inches long and 3 inches in diameter.

Ah, but what about Jimbo's hook? I mentioned his "Diplohookticus Jimbosei" hook in my article, "CrochetingWithDee.com: Magic Wands, Part II." Jimbo states here that his hook measured 57.87 inches long and 6 inches in diameter.

... and what about the other contender?  Let's not forget about that lady in the 1955 film, crocheting with a whoppingly long crochet hook who needed an assistant to ensure her hook wouldn't be hit by passing cars ...

To help me visualize these hooks, I drew out some basic rectangles and then called my son over to help me with a bit of math.  Here is what we compiled (if you right-click onto the image and select "open in new window or tab, the image should be much larger):


Based upon what we compiled, Jimbo is still the front runner.  Jimbo had stated that "The wise folk at Guinness informed us that the largest crochet hook in the world wasn't "unusual" enough to merit recognition."

I say lets ask Guinness to a rematch.  Wouldn't that be fun to watch?  :)

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Pom Poms on the Fly!

The conclusion of the Tenth Annual "60 Scarves in 60 Days" Challenge took place on November 30th.  This year, I crocheted a total of 12 scarves with matching hats that were donated locally at the beginning of this month.
Why is there a credit card in this picture???
(one of the scarves & hats I crocheted for the 60/60 Challenge.)


Mr Dee, being observant as I worked on my last set, asked me why I don't share my little "time saver" tip...  I replied, "I plan too, I just need to find the time."

What he observed was me creating a pom pom utilizing fake credit cards various companies sent out in hopes of me opening an account with them.  Gift cards, the plastic kind, also work equally well during those times you cannot locate your Clover Pom Pom maker (which I absolutely LOVE!).

Here is how I use fake credit cards and used gift cards to make pom poms on the fly:

Recycle those fake credit cards and used gift cards as a Pom Pom maker!


Quick, easy, and from recycled materials.  Easy, right?  :)