Vintage? Old? Passed down?

This is the front page of 'The Irish Times' today, taken in Galway. Many places in Galway, Clare, the Lee Valley, Cork, Kerry, Longford, Mayo and Leitrim are flooded with numerous people put out of their homes, houses under water, roads closed, hospitals and homes for the elderly under threat of flooding and folks cut off.
Meanwhile 'Concern' and other charities have appeals out for drought victims in Kenya, parts of Australia are suffering their worst drought in a long time,and a great number of places would love some of our rainfall. Things really are topsy turvy and people at both ends of the spectrum need our support.

Yesterday when visiting Ulla's 'Vintage Thursday' I was most entertained to see her dressmaking patterns...which are much the same as the ones of Mum's I'm still using, not just for myself but also my teenage girls! Which made me think, and take a look at the tools I use every day, and the one item which I immediately noticed was my crochet hook.

Just a crochet hook, yes? Well for a start it is made of bone or ivory, and secondly it belonged to my Great-Grandmother who was married in 1903 in her thirties, and already a great knitter by then. Mum thinks she crocheted edgings onto her knitted garments and shawls, of which Mum still has several. I learned to crochet using this hook and it is only recently that I've acquired some other hooks in different sizes. This hook has travelled all over the world with me since I was a child, crochet being such a portable craft!

Although I treasure the hook for its associations it is just one of my tools. Now I've just finished a set of ornaments for the Christmas tree, made using my old crochet hook and about to post them on Etsy. New decorations made from an old tool- I love tradition!

Here's the workshop!
Have a dry day folks, and spare a thought for those enduring both too much water, and too little.