Cypress, native to the swampland of the Southern United States, is an awesome tree, and a beautiful wood to boot. Silky smooth and twice as charming, the gently mellifluous graining has gentle gradations of honey-colored lines that make working with it a dream.

Fir is both light in color and in weight. Generally cream colored with light brown grain lines, fir takes a silky smooth finish that seamlessly goes with the feather-weight heft.

Hemlock is a type of spruce, and very famously known as the drink that killed the philosopher Socrates. Of course, only the berries are poisonous, and working with a crochet hook made of Hemlock isn't likely to put your life at risk, (unless of course, you're crocheting on the roof of a 40-story building in a high wind). Altogether a very softly grained wood, and very light to hold.

Holly is one of my most beloved woods -- when you've worked with Holly, you never forget it. The most beautiful pieces are snow white in color, (with almost invisible grain lines), and they cut like a dream. After working, my whole shop seems to be filled with "snow drifts" of the wonderful white winter wonderland shavings of Holly. It polishes to a beautiful shine, and also has the extra-cool connotation of being associated with Christmas, so I do use quite a lot during the holidays. On rare occasions, a neat knot will show up, adding character to the piece.

Ivorywood is a bit more yellowish in color than Holly, very like fossil ivory -- the teeth and tusks of prehistoric animals. It's one of those soft-yet-sturdy woods that I enjoy using.

Magnolia is one of the sweetest, most equisitely perfumed woods one can ever work with. The scent is of the enormous Magnolia flowers that grow on those trees. Unfortunately, the aroma doesn't carry over to the final piece, but working with it is a pleasure. Subtly-grained, with a greyish-white color.

Maple (Ambrosia) is surely food sent from the gods for all the little critters that lived inside the tree. Of course, nowadays, the former residents have been evicted, but they left beautiful blue/green-ish streaks running up along the grain lines. Of course, they also left their doorways intact, so pieces made with Ambrosia Maple often have a tiny little hole wich would have marked their entranceway.

Maple (Curly figure) is definitely one of my most favorite woods. I LOVE the chatoyant shimmers that ripple down its length! It's almost magical to see these 3-D light refractions, and then, when you reach to touch them, it's perfectly smooth -- almost like a hologram. The best part is, it's all natural :)

Maple (Spalted) is caused when fungus starts infiltrating a tree, and it generally spreads along the grain lines, creating wonderful patterns of abstract art. Sometimes, the areas between the lines takes on a slightly darker color, giving the effect of ancient sepia-tone maps. A fun wood to use because the look of the final piece is highly unpredictable.

Knotty Pine reminds one of log cabins and seemingly ancient floorboards, of home-cooked dinners, and logs on the hearth; warm cozy quilts and that general fuzzy feeling of home. The knots that appear can range from very light in color to deep black.