It’s time for my annual rant about spending hours crafting beautiful hand-stitched bookmarks only to hide them inside books, where few people can see and enjoy them.

Me? I prefer to keep my needlework out of the book, visible to me and the world. I attach my needlework to ribbons or shepherd’s hooks and allow them to mark my spot while the needlework acts like a flower, drawing attention to itself and the book to invite closer inspection by passersby. This way, we get the best of both form and function.

Needlework attached to shepherd’s hook.

This year, I’ve discovered yet another option for setting our needlework free from book interiors: the P-Hook.

No, this is not a crochet hook. It is more or less a shepherd’s hook, but with a loop handle for easy grabbing.

That loop, my friends, begs for needlework.

Two things I especially like about these little gizmos: they come in colors–good colors, at that–and you can get twelve of them for $7.00 here.