Posting Day!

I've posted SIX new hooks on eBay, including another Tori Amos inspired hook. (Hint, she's the one on the left!)

However, before I go further on that topic, I'll tell you about the lovely little gal on the right: I couldn't resist creating a hook with more of my swirling dotted designs, thusly came the ~Winds of Summer~ crochet hook. I happen to think that blue and white go very very well together, and I love to try to create different combinations. Usually, I like to add a band of turquoise gemstones, however, with this hook, I thought I'd do something different.

I was inspired by the lovely summery weather we had a couple days ago, (it's been raining for weeks now!), and so after turning this hook, I thought I'd add some feather-light decorations. I painted the swirl carvings with turquoise and blue-colored metallic acrylics, and they came out to look very jewel-like indeed. The photo doesn't really give a great idea of texture, but it's just beautiful in the hand!

That little gal on the left was inspired by Tori Amos' song "Never Seen Blue," a B-side from her From the Choirgirl Hotel album era. I took some of the lines to heart, obviously, and thought about them a great deal as I was designing this hook. "Some boy you are to wear my color red/wear it very proudly"...

I usually play "Never Seen Blue" with "Beaulah Land" as they are both blue-colored songs to me. However, when I thought about the lyrics above (and those that follow), the meaning changed for me, and I wanted to make a hook that more accurately reflected those new meanings. (It's interesting -- I've been studying her music for about 8 years now, and I STILL hear something new each time I play a song!)

Anyway, I carved some wonderful textural flame-like designs on both sides of the hook, which wrap all the way around. I added a 3mm brilliant-cut Cubic Zirconia, (a real CZ, not a crystal), set in Argentium(R) Sterling Silver. (See the June 11th post below for info about Argentium (R) Sterling.) It sparkles sooooooo beautifully! The sparkly-ness is REALLY difficult to capture in a photograph. No matter what camera angle I tried, the light reflected off the top facet, making it look white.

I guess I'm going to have to ask for help on the photographs! Actually, there are some pretty good tutorials out there on photographing jewelery, so I hope to have a better photo for the next hook.

Well, back to work... I've got to get ready for the AAW Symposium next week!!!