I think it would be fair to say that my neighbours think that I am crazy.  At least once a week one or the other of them catches me engaging in what can only be described as eccentric behaviour.  Taking my meals outside to take pictures of them.  Standing on ladders and stools, camera in hand.  Or the time one of my neighbours knocked on the door and it took me ages to get to him. "Sorry," I said, slightly out of breath. "I was just standing on the kitchen counter taking a photo of the mess when Georgia moved the stool and I couldn't get down".  

We've lived here a year.  I'd like to think that they are used to this whole scenario. And so, when my neighbour walked past the window yesterday as I was taking pictures of crochet hooks, I am going to pretend he thought "What an awesome and interesting neighbour I have" instead of "What is that psycho woman doing pointing a camera and a SHARP hook in the direction of my house".

Pictured left to right Prym 4.5mm, Bates Silvalume 5.5mm, Bamboo 5.5mm

Yes, I said SHARP crochet hook.(Can you see where I am going with this?  Or is this one tangent too far?)

The vast majority of crochet hooks avilable in the UK have dull and rounded hooks and tops, like the prym one pictured.  Some people prefer that and that is fine, but I simply can not crochet with them.  The rounded hook and top means (for me at least) that the hook is harder to insert into the stitches, yarn is more likely to split, and because the hook is more shallow, I find myself dropping stitches a lot more frequently. 

The silvalume hooks are hard to get ahold of here and I admit to buying some every time I visit the US.  (In searching today, I have found 2 suppliers who are willing to ship to the UK.)  

When I was looking for hooks for my crochet workshop, I was adamant I was not going to hand out a dull hook. Fortunately, I found these these bamboo hooks on ebay. Julie was very helpful and threw in a few different kinds to try.  They are really lovely quality and sharp.  They are also more affordable than importing the Bates hooks and available in a wide range of sizes.  They do squeak a bit at first, but with a bit of use the oil in the wool greases them up nicely.  I am not certain they would sail through acrylic like the Bates hooks do, but still very nice.

What was I saying about being awesome and interesting?