Polymer Clay | The Whole Knit & Caboodle

Hooked on Clay!

by wholeknitandcaboodle

The last few evenings when my hands are sore from crocheting stuffies I’ve been playing around some more with polymer clay. It’s been a nice break for my hands and it’s a lot of fun.

For the longest time I told myself that I couldn’t use a crochet hook with a handle because I bought a foam one on a whim one time and it was awful! It covered the thumb rest and part of the throat of the hook, it made holding the hook feel awkward. It was change. And I didn’t like it.

I’ve been drooling over some of the amazing hooks put out by a couple of the pages I follow on Facebook and decided that my poor Red Heart hooks needed a facelift. I decided not to sculpt anything for them- I wanted a slim, streamline handle that I would be comfortable holding for a long period of time.

After some smooshing and mashing, wrapping and rolling, here’s what I came up with:

I think I may be “hooked” on polymer clay!

I should get close-ups of some of my favourites- I really love them and they’re actually really comfortable. The designs on some of them are really pretty and I know I’ll never be able to duplicate them, they sort of fluked into existence. Maybe with a little practice I’ll be making clay canes like a master and I’ll be able to create some really remarkable ones 🙂

On another note, I released my Shy Pig (Piglet) pattern last week and the response was astounding! In my short time as a designer who sells her patterns I’ve had the pleasure of being on Craftsy’s top 20 leaderboard a couple of times. Usually around #14 or #15 but it’s always a thrill to be up there with established designers such as Bonita Patterns and Frayed Knot.

When I released Shy Pig, he was #1 for about a day and a half! #1! It was amazing. I even took a screen shot (photos or it didn’t happen, right?)

The #1 Pig! For a day and a half!

Sure, he was on intro special while he was #1 but I’m still so proud of the achievement. When hubby came home from work that evening he insisted we order sushi in celebration (though I think he just wanted sushi 😉 ).

Crochet Polymer Clay

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Clayin’ Around

by wholeknitandcaboodle

Heaven help us, I’ve found another crafting obsession. So many people I know are into making polymer clay handles for crochet hooks. I’ve never used one (I like my hooks naked) but I’m taking part in a gift exchange and have decided to make a set of covered hooks for my “giftee”. I watched some tutorials, harassed some people I know who are into clay and picked their brains. I went to Michaels armed with a 50% off coupon and bought a big sample pack of Primo Sculpey. I was a little scared to open it- it sat on my kitchen table for days and I’d pick it up now and then, poke at the colours through the little windows in the box and set it back down.

While I was digging through my craft stash I found a couple packages of Sculpey III I bought a few years ago for another project. They had been opened and the clay was hard and crumbly but after kneading it for a while I got it to a state where I could actually do something with it. I figured it was good enough to practice with and when I’m confident I’ll open the pretty new stuff.

The lady I’m making the set of hooks for likes things that are sort of creepy-cute so I’m going with a skeleton/skull theme. When I was in elementary school my music teacher played “Danse Macabre” for our class. This little skeleton guy makes me think of that.

Still needs to curing and a coat or two of sealant but not too bad for a first attempt!

I definitely need a little more practice but I’m happy with my trial run. I’ll use this one for a little while and if I can get used to using a covered hook the next set I make will be a peacock set for myself 😉

I also found an empty Penaten Cream can that I may cover and pretty up. Ahhh!! SO many ideas for this clay. We’re in trouble.

Crochet Polymer Clay