gar... broken hook...

Ever used a plastic crochet hook?

A few weeks ago I picked up a set of the Susan Bates plastic crochet hooks, and even though they seemed a bit flimsy, I liked how they felt in my hand and how the yarn slid across the hooks. Today I was just tinkering around with an amigurumi and the head of my size H hook just snapped clean off! I guess I should have seen that one coming...

I think I'll reserve the rest of my plastic hooks for looser stitch projects...

mmmm... coffee...

Coffee... the home-roasting experience...

action shot...

fresh coffee... one of the best aromas and tastes for sure...

I come in peace...

Here is Alpha... a sweet little martian looking for new friends...

The pattern will soon be available here on my blog as a free pdf download. Happy face... I love him :)

corks...

I ordered some wine corks from the net about a week ago and they came in the mail yesterday... [ebay is wonderful]. My hubby split them into halves so we can make a cork board for our office.

in pieces...

put me together, pretty please...

published continued...

Here is my harmonic oscillator demo that was published to the Wolfram Demonstrations project...

published...

Yes... I have published! I am so thrilled that both of my demos were published to the Wolfram Demonstrations Project. I'm waiting for the harmonic oscillator demo to be updated, so here is just the spectroscopy demo for now...

yet another comfy crochet hook...

Here is another comfy hook... I went with a different design for this one with a much larger diameter, and I have decided it is even more comfortable this way. I also sanded this handle grip, while wet, with 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. This really smoothed the surface and gave it a slight sheen.

front...

back...

whoa... zoom... I molded indents for fingerplacement...

hook in hand... nice fit!

they say patience is a virtue...

As of yesterday, I submitted two demonstrations to the Wolfram Demonstrations project... one about simple harmonic oscillators and another that simulates rovibronic infrared spectra of rigid diatomic rotors. This is really the first milestone of my chemistry graduate work... a culmination of about six months of work since I had to learn a new program to develop these demos. I am super anxious to hear back from Wolfram as to whether they will be published or not... and now it's the weekend so I have to wait even longer. Hopefully I will hear back early next week. I did find a neat demo on the site that produces some really amazing patterns... I am currently using one as my desktop background.

These patterns are produced by superimposing rotated screens of parallel lines. The Mathematica player needed to play around with the patterns and other demos is available as a free download on the site.

Well, off to the store... the xbox just died...

comfy hooks...

Now that's more like it!

Making tight stitches can really wear on my hooking hand... so to make my smaller crochet hooks more comfortable, I have started to mold polymer clay into a handle grip. This method is ideal because I can increase the diameter of the handle to the size and shape that feels most comfortable and make it more eye catching... transforming any old hook into a hook made just for me... ergonomic... just the right look and fit.

If you want to give this a try here is what to do...

• preheat oven to 275 °F (135 °C)
• work the polymer clay (I use Sculpey III) until it is soft
• mold the clay around the handle of your crochet hook into a shape that fits your hand the best
• place hook on an oven-safe glass dish and bake 15 minutes for every 0.25" (~6mm) of clay
• remove from oven and allow to cool
• enjoy the comfiness and crochet to your heart's content

pattern almost done...

Geez, time sure flies... I thought I would have finished designing my first pattern by now. Oh well, it is almost done. He is a sweet little amigurumi martian... still trying to think of the perfect name for him. So the first mock up is done. I decided last night to make it a second time, you know, to work out any kinks and maybe try a different color combination. Super cute, though, and I am really happy with how he looks so far. I can't wait to share...