Friday, February 6, 2009

Question From Reader: Where is Graydog?

Dear Dee,
I have been reading your blog for a while now and know you love Graydog crochet hooks. I can't find them on ebay. Can you tell me where I can purchase them? Thank you.



You're right; I do love my Graydog crochet hooks! Graydog crochet hooks have been sold on ebay by Bill and Jill since 1998. I purchased my first Graydog in 2001 and have been collecting them ever since! At the moment you will not find any Graydog crochet hooks available for purchase/auction on ebay as Bill and Jill are taking some time off. Jill assures me they will return to offering us beautiful hooks in the future. To ensure you don't miss their return to ebay, you can set the ebay option to be notified when an item you're looking for comes up for auction -- it's a great feature ebay offers!

In the meantime, I would like to recommend you try crochet hooks made by Brainsbarn.com (Brian will customize them for you if you'd like) and GraftonFibers.com (they are producing their hooks for retailers, so check your LYS). Jimbosfrontporch.blogspot.com has beautiful hooks too; and a visit to Jimbo's blog is a must to see where he gets his inspiration from. You see, there are so many wonderful hand-turned crochet hooks for us to try, that I believe it is a personal journey to find the crochet hook -- or hooks -- that will enhance your crocheting experience. I recommend trying all crochet hooks that cross your path to find that perfect balance of shape, weight, and style that fits your personality and crocheting style!

Thanks for writing in!
~Dee

Readers: Do you have crochet hook recommendations not covered here? Do tell!

5 comments:

woolmountain said...

Heh Dee, I also have a large collection of the wooden hooks, some graydog also, but recently I came across this gentleman, Arts-in-Crafts, from central america, and his hooks are terrific. Here is an address to his ebay store:

http://stores.ebay.com/crafts-crochet-hooks-laying-needles

Leslie

ddd said...

My favorite crochet hooks are Brittany hooks. They are wooden, smooth and whenever I have the chance to use the sizes I have, I go for the Brittany as opposed to metal. I will eventually have an entire set of them, I'm sure!

Sheila
www.mountainsofyarn.blogspot.com

CrochetingWithDee.com said...

Janice emailed: "Speaking of hooks I am trying to find a hook that KP Johnson used in her Twists and Turns w/Tunisian class. It has a long metal hook and a white plastic handle. No company name or markings. She used it for jewelry but I was hoping to be able to purchase larger hook sizes for other tunisian and bullion work. Any ideas. I have been all over Rav. and the web looking..Thanks."

Dee Responds: Hi Janice, I remember that class; I loved it! Those crochet hooks she provided to us were made by Annies Attic, called "Cro-tat" hooks. You are right, there are no markings on the hooks, or on the packaging they came on. You can check eBay, or while supplies last, you can purchase one from my "Goodie Shop" found on my webste at www.CrochetWithDee.com.

daughter said...

Hi Dee,

What a great blog-spot you have!

Maybe it's tooting my own horn, but I wonder if you've tried any of my (WOODbyC) crochet "HUG HOOKS" yet? I've been turning hooks and hairpins, especially, for years, along with a line of shawl pins and laying tools. My eBay customers like them very much (I've got over 1600 positive feedbacks) and it's a pleasure to do this work. I also make one-of-a-kind beads to embellish crochet projects...and they're available FREE!
Here's the link to my eBay store:
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/WOODbyC__W0QQ_armrsZ1

Cheers, Cynthia (I'm the "C" in WOODbyC)

Mel said...

I LOVE my Graydogs, and enjoyed e-mails with Jsill. Saddened they stopped creating them (but good for my budget), but encouraged that it is only a temporary break.

Of course, I just LOVE the hooks by Brian Bergmann of Brainsbarn hooks!

Also LOVE my Sonshapes by Joanne Sullivan (and her hubby Mark), but she also has stopped creating them.

Also LOVE the Rosewoods by Deborah Doyle.

There are a lot of other wood turners who make great hooks, but some are not so great, or maybe not so great for your style of crochet. One other that I sorta like is named "Uncle Paw-Paw". Have a lovely lemonwood by him that I love working with.

Mel (W. Htfd, CT)