A recipe for you!

(moved to make way for Hook related stuff... please use this blog's search box to find "recipe", it should show up with Golda's recipe) Thanks!!

Ironwood and Flowering Crabapple et al Auction IS CLOSED!!!

THANK YOU ALL FOR BIDDING! HIGH BIDDERS PLEASE CONSIDER USING THE "MAKE A DONATION" BUTTON FOR PAYPAL PAYMENT OR CONTACT ME FOR OTHER PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS.
THANKS AGAIN!
Jimbo



Photo 1 (click to enlarge... its worth it!)



Photo 2 (click to enlarge... this is worth it too!)

Ok folks.... due to HUGE popularity of the last ironwood hook, I've made another. This time the wood is two tone. You might have trouble believing this... but the hook in photo 1 is the same as the hook on the left in photo 2! And neither photo does the hook justice. You just have to experience it up close and personal. The salt and pepper side of the hook looks rough... oh noooo its not, not at all. Smooooth as a Jimbo hook otta be, and a MAJOR contrast with the other side which has the same salt and pepper at the hook end, but a framed masterpiece of nature in the multi red, bronze, honey.. and well like I say, you just HAVE to see it in person. If I had to choose, of all the hooks I've made, this one would be in the top 5 for grain beauty. Nuff said. Technically, its a 6 1/2 inch long F (3.75mm)! You don't see many Jimbo F hooks, but then you don't see many Jimbo Ironwood hooks either. The ironwood is strong enough that I feel confident making the smaller size. I had to sharpen my tools twice while making this single hook. Oh and this beauty is 6 1/2 inches long.

And the other hook?? Well its no slouch either! This is another Flowering Crab apple hook with contrasting grain going from a hint of pink cream to the layers of color you see in photo 2. I think I've told you the story about the friend who had a little pile of this wood waiting for his firepit. Just think of it.. all that beauty sacrificed for a fleeting hour or so of mesmerizing fire. Well needless to say I rescued some pieces that were in line for the sacrificial pit and you see the results. Beautiful! Technically this hook is a K and it's 7 inches long.

Oh and maybe you're wondering about the, dare I say it.... shhhhhh.... knitting needle in the background? I made my sweetie pointy sticks with tulip wood hearts on top for Valentine's day. And what you see is a project she's working on... she's beautiful, smart, a wonderful wife, momma, and Memaw (gramma).. and a knitter... go figure. Needle-ess to say they're not for sale. Well maybe I should'nt be so hasty.... she might be willing to part with them.. I haven't asked. But she sorta treasures them, I hope.


And now part 2:



Well, a couple of posts ago (scroll down to see) I made the very first in the known Universe "Hookstopper" wine stopper of Maple and Maple is white so you'd expect it to be used for white wine, eh? Logical? So in fairness, I just had to make a red "Hookstopper" for red wine.
Same material... Maple; but the wood has been dyed with a bright red analine dye. Still the color turned out a wee bit orangeish... a color that I'm finding I don't mind at all especially on a green bottle. The cork is the same as the last auctioned "Hookstopper", a ribbed silicone doohickey that works really well to seal a bottle. Actually I'm told these silicone stoppers are much better functionally than the chrome stoppers you see with rubber O-rings...eventually the chrome will corrode and fall off into your wine. So I'm told.
The hook part is an N (10mm) and its 5 inches long and its totally functional. You might use it to crochet a wine bottle bib? You'll be the hit of your next crochet group/wine tasting. Not an good idea though, to crochet with the wine bottle attached.


and now

Part 3:



These are the two other hooks I alluded to above. Both came from my back yard, where this picture was taken.
First we'll look at the top hook. Next door to my house is an open area with lots of locust trees. Last winter almost every tree over there lost branches.. several fell in my yard and wall-a! Hook wood!! Now I have a love hate relationship with Locust. I love the wood, its hard, very hard.. and really beautiful to look at. And I love to look at the trees. The branches go everywhich way and against a dark sky in an evening when the sun decides to shine just at sunset... well those trees are just strikingly beautiful. The down side is that they shed small sticks with thorns and the seeds really don't like to be raked. Oh Noooo they want to burrow into your yard and make little trees. Ah but i digress again.
This hook is just so pretty....no that's not the word. This hook is handsome!! Yeah that's it! Handsome! Ruggedly Handsome, and it's a K (6.5mm); 7 inches long.

Now the next on the block is a pretty blond with the beauty mark. Ok I shouldn't say beauty mark, but that's what I told you before and now I'm having second thoughts,a rare thing for me cause first thoughts don't come easy let alone second ones. I'm thinking now like its more like a small oval abstract painting. In reality, its a bit of bark that I intentionally left on this hook just because its so intreguing for contrast. And I like it. I keep going back to look at and that's one criteria for "ART"... so it MUST be art. High art. Mom Nature's art! None better.
Anyways this hook is also from a fallen branch; this time from a maple tree in my back yard that broke under heavy snow load last winter. Broken branches great hooks make. Creamy white and a beguiling little abstract bas relief bark piece original by Mom Nature.
Little Blondie with the high art is an H (5mm), 6 1/2 inches long, and is as light as a little hunk of fluff.

ok ok on to the low down


For now, lets let this auction run till next Tuesday MORNING this time... just 5 days away. That's so afterwards I can sneak off to the Ranch for a couple days mid week. SO, this auction will close Tuesday Morning March 3 at 10am Pacific Standard Time.

As per usual, you can email me your bids at:


jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

I'll try to post bids as they come in.

And thanks again for dropping by! Great to have visitors! Sit a spell... take your shoes off. Make yourself at home!

Jimbo


Bids:

Ironwood F:
WooHoo already a bid! Jobug says $40
Candice goes to $50
Catherine raises it to $55
TLC is here with $60
Nicole hikes it up to $75
TLC goes to $80
Nicole comes back with $85





Flowering Crab apple K:
Amanda's opens for $10
Ms Kitty... $20
Candice here too.. $25
Lolly's back for another hook.. goes to $30
Candice raises it to $35
Lolly's hanging in there.. $40


Hookstopper II:
Yay!! A bid!!!
Amada loves the color.. $10
Becky sees the need... $20
Amanda comes back with $25
Oh and did I say this is signed and numbered "Jimbo 2" under the silicone cap, thereby making it EXTREMELY valuable at the 3017AD Antique Roadshow??



Locust K:
Alice likes the little K.. #25
Lolly again to $30




Blondie H:
Elle starts us at $20
A. Nonymous goes to $25
Nicole says $40
A. Nonymous: $45
Nicole goes to $50
Lolly takes it to $60
Nicole! hikes it to $65
Good Golly its Lolly!..$70

WOOOHOO I've BEEN NOMINATED FOR BEST HOOK MAKER!!!

HOLEY COW!!

For those who don't know, the Crochet Liberation Front is a 3,101 member group in Ravelry (a fiber related community), who's purpose is to promote Crochet and equality to knitting.

I'm all for that!

Anyways... I've been nominated by the Crochet Liberation Front for Best Hook Maker 2009!! What an honor to even be nominated... especially when you see who the other nominees are!! Its humbling just to be mentioned alongside those guys.

Gotta calm down now and take deeper breaths. Ok easy does it....


Just have to publicly thank the folks who nominated me. I'm really honored.


Jimbo

oh.. you want to check it out? Here's the link...


http://www.crochetliberationfront.blogspot.com/

Three Doozies AUCTION IS OVER!! THANK YOU ALL FOR BIDDING... ANOTHER AUCTION TOMORROW

(click to see more detail)

Doozie: An adjective used to describe something as having rare character (from the Jimbo Dictionary of everyday terms)

Ok folks are waiting for these so I'll get right to it without further Hogwarsh (Hogwarsh: a classification term coined by Jimbo's mom, for a large part of his bright ideas as being suspect at best). Ah but I digress...

okok

What we have here are three hooks that are of outstanding character, so we'll call them Doozie 1, Double Doozie 2 and Triple Double Doozie 3.

Doozie 1 is the middle hook you see in my scrubbed but still messy from General Poly Finish hand. I know, I should have held the hooks in different order so the number sequence would flow better but hay that's the way I roll. (digressing again eh).
Well the middle hook is distinguished from any other hook in the known universe by a little caramel colored core that runs along the shank and into the thumb rest. The hook is made from a ornamental crab apple branch that I rescued from a friend's fire pit. (I had to trade some softwood for it though, but there I go digressing again).
Beautiful hook! And there's more you don't see... at the trademark Jimbo hook bell shape at the handle end are some really pretty knots (one that's opened up a bit so I filled it for smoothness sake).
Doozie 1 is a H on the Bates gauge and is a really comfy 6 3/4 inches long.


Double Doozie 2 is the biggest hook of the three and is the one in my hand thats closest to the really nice watch Karol got me for Christmas (ah but there I go again!!) This hook is just absolutely amazing. I made it for the smell of it, the absolute phenominal beauty of the wood, and where it came from. Oh and of course it's made to inspire beautifully original freeform crochet work too. This hook is made of genuine Louistown Montana Juniper... and it smells like I'd hope heaven would. In fact I didn't even put finish on the hook in hopes the buyer will be able to take a whiff and be transported to the bluff overlooking the Missoui River Breaks where this hook was once part of a Juniper bush that made the air around the area just, well, Perfect!
To keep some of the character of that bush, I've left a part of the handle, and a small area opposite the thumb rest in its original skin... not bark, mind you... but bare wood that's been grayed from exposure to Montana winters. Which brings me to the crack. There's a crack in the bare gray area of the hook, opposite the thumb rest. I didn't fill it, because its not in an area where it would cause problems and I think the hook should stay as natural as possible. HOWEVER, if it makes you nervous, and you're the high bidder, I'll fill it before sending it out. Your choice.
This hook is Lewistown Montana size.... L/M (8.5mm).... unique to encourage freeform art.

Now the Triple Double Doozie. This is I think, the HARDEST hook I've ever made. And I've made some hard hooks. I think its even harder than the ebony hook I made a while back. Its made of Ironwood. Take it from Jimbo... Ironwood lives up to its name. I've heard of it before, but I've never seen it up close and personal. Pictures of ironwood that I've seen before show a blondish kind of homely looking wood. Not this one!! This hook is just absolutely BEAUTIFUL! And in the right light, you can see tiny twinkles... I'm thinking from tiny particles in the wood. Maybe THAT'S what dulled my tools so quickly! But it's smooooooth as a baby's bottom.
Sizewise this Ironwood beauty is a G, and its 6 1/2 inches long.

And you can email your bids to me at:


jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

We'll end this contest next coming Wednesday night Feb.25 at 10pm Pacific Standard Time.

And as always.. thanks for dropping by. Makes my wrinkled old heart all warm to have you stop by for a visit.


To the bids!!

left to right

The Montana Juniper L/M:
A. Nonymous starts it with $25
Lolly is here with $35
A. Nonymous goes to $40
Lolly's not backing down..$50!


The Ornamental Crab apple H:
A. Nonymous again with $25
Diane wants it for $35
A. Nonymous is back with $40
Alice dropped by on her way to the Mad Hatter's with $45

The Ironwood G:
you guessed it..A. Nonymous here too with $20
Candice says $25
Joann is here! $30
And A. Nonymous again..$35
Candice comes back with $40
Wendi bids $50
Shelley bumps us up to $60
Wendi rebumps it to $65!
Shelley re-rebumps to $75
Alice can't go without bidding $80!
With three minutes to go, AB bids $86!!
Alice/..$87






Oh and the HOOKSTOPPER auction is OVER!!! Kari is the high bidder!




Info about this amazing invention are a couple posts below this one.. but i'll keep posting the bids here for convienience. Bids, bytheway will close on the HOOKSTOPPER auction tonight at 10pm..

Hookstopper bids:

Bids:

Amanda gets the distinction of being the first bidder/investor for the first ever "Hookstopper" brand combined crochet hook and wine bottle stopper.... $10

Beth S. immediately ups it to $20

Amanda's smitten.. $50!

Kari's 1.5 times more smitten!! Smitten and a half...$75!

And the winner of the Valentine Hook is......

Kro Shey! What a great name, eh? Can't tell you more about this person other than that Kro Shey answered all three questions about the FARA video correctly!

Congratulations Kro. Let me know where to send the hook, if you would.

And thanks to everyone who entered. And thanks too for helping spread the word about Friedreich's Ataxia.

More coming.

Jimbo

My VALENTINE

The greatest Mom to our sons, cuddly Memaw to her grandkids, dedicated Daughter of her Momma, loving sister to her siblings... and EVERYTHING to her husband.
Happy Valentine Day, Sweetie!!!

FIRST EVER IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE!! AND YOU CAN BID ON IT!!!

And you saw it HERE!! Never before has there been a combined Crochet Hook / Wine stopper. To my knowledge its the first in the known universe! A true collectible, soon to be worth tens of dollars at the Antique Road Show, eh?

So everyone knows wine and crochet go together like biscuits and gravy, like hot dogs and ketchup...the Pooh and Honey! Well, now you have an excuse. If you want to crochet, you have to remove the hook from the wine bottle. While the bottle is open, well you might as well have a little glass while you're crocheting, and when you're finished crocheting, you can re-seal the wine bottle with the genuine silicone stopper on this first ever "Hookstopper" brand bottle stopper/crochet hook, and you don't need to remember where the hook is! How convenient is that???

And what an incredible conversation piece!! Say you're having some wine snob friends over. Not to worry! You find your cheapest bottle, uncork it, and replace the cork with your genuine Jimbo "Hookstopper" tm crochet hook/wine stopper, set it on the table and who will ever notice that you're serving cheap wine?! Plus the conversation will turn to crochet and what better topic?

Can you hear it now?
them: "My that's an interesting bottle stopper you have there!"
you: "Ah but wait, there's more!!"
you: "This, my wine snob friends, is the very first Jimbo "Hookstopper" brand combined crochet hook and wine bottle stopper ever made!"
them (swooning): "OOOOOOOHHH Would you like to sell it?"
You: "Are you KIDDING!? That's the ORIGINAL "Hookstopper" brand combined crochet hook and wine bottle stopper!
You: "And you know what else? I used it to make that wine bottle cozy."
them: "Yes, I noticed. But it's covering the label on the bottle."
You: "Yup..first ever "Hookstopper" brand combined crochet hook and wine bottle stopper in the known universe. Have some wine?"
them: "Yes please, and do you mind if I crochet?"
you: "Sorry... but you can get your own "Hookstopper" brand combined crochet hook and wine bottle stopper by contacting Jimbo on his blog.
them: "Do you mean THE Jimbo!? That ruggedly handsome hook maker?"....

etc.




I tell you, friends, this little hook/stopper has just endless possibilities.

And it can be YOURS!!!

Now because I'm anticipating bids pouring in...and to keep blogger from too much stress, I'll make this a short auction and close it this coming Tuesday night Feb. 24th at 10 pm Pacific Std. Time.


And you can email your bids to me at:


jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com


Oh, about the #1 "Hookstopper" brand combined crochet hook and wine bottle stopper:
for carbon dating purposes to prove authenticity..its made of birdseye maple, salvaged from an old cutting board that I made for Karol way back in the late 60's. It's 6 and 3/16 inches long and to make it even more difficult for those shady art forgers, it is 9.60 mm at the shallow end of the gullet. So it's not an N but not quite an M either... Unique!


An investment sure to appreciate in such troubled times? Good as gold?? I'd say that's an absolute Maybe!


Think of it! Where were you when man first made a footprint on the moon? When Obama was elected President? When Ron Popiel introduced the "Pocket Fisherman"? And now you can say.... you were there, when the very first "Hookstopper" bramd combined crochet hook and wine bottle stopper was introduced to the world!


Jimbo

Bids:

Amanda gets the distinction of being the first bidder/investor for the first ever "Hookstopper" brand combined crochet hook and wine bottle stopper.... $10

Beth S. immediately ups it to $20

Amanda's smitten.. $50!
Kari... HOLEY COW!! $75

Library Hook #1

I'm experimenting here, with an idea that's been rolling around in my mostly empty head for awhile now. To start a crochet hook library that folks can belong to and check out hooks for free (well, except for postage) for a fixed time.
The hook you see above (its the same one as a couple posts below) is the first hook that I thought I'd put in the library. Its HUGE and might not be something you could justify buying, but might like to try out for a special project. Its 1 1/4 inches in diameter (3.3cm) and close to a foot long. Made from Fir, so it might be too fragile for really nasty metallic or abrasive fibers.
If this works.. I'll add other interesting hooks to the library in the future....as they pop into my head. Probably they'll be odd sizes or experimental shapes that I'll make and lend out either for testing or for special projects you have in mind.

How do you become a member of the International Jimbo Hook Library (hooo that sounds IMPRESSIVE!), and how do you check out the hook? Not sure how to go about it.
What if to join the library, you "become a follower" of this blog, and agree to be responsible for postage from my house to yours and back, and for $25 if the hook becomes damaged or lost while under your control. That's less than the value of the hook, but hay this is a library, eh... not meant to make $$.
We'll set check-out time at two weeks from my sending mailing date to your returning mail date. I'll pay the postage to begin with, you pay the amount you see on the box when you return the hook... just enclose cash in the box.
Does that sound ok?
And to check out the hook, you simply be the first to post a remark, indicating your wish to check out a particular hook (only hooks that will be pictured in this post).

Remember this is an experiment. Subject to change. If you have suggestions, I'm eager to have them.

Lets see if this flies.

Jimbo

Three Hooks, Three styles AUCTION IS CLOSED

THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR BIDS! HIGH BIDDERS PLEASE USE THE "MAKE A DONATION BUTTON HERE IN THE BLOG FOR PAYPAL PAYMENT OR CONTACT ME FOR OTHER ARRANGEMENTS. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR BIDS..... ANOTHER AUCTION COMING SHORTLY



(click on the image to enlarge for detail... well worth the wait)


Yup the snow is still here.. that's what you see in the background besides my hand and the three hooks that are up for bids.
Can't sell you the snow (as much as I'd like to) or my hand (cause that's the one give away.... let me 'give you a hand'" heh... but the hooks... well they're for sale to the highest bidder!


Let us start from the left. This hook is made from a flowering decorative tree and the contrasting colors in the grain is pretty amazing. There's the blond coloring that makes up the bulk of the hook, then a tan layer that blends with a mahogany red that blends again with the tan, all in an hourglass shape that is formed by the similar hourglass shape of the hook grip.. which i call a universal grip. The hook is a 7 on the Bates gauge (4.5mm), and its 7 3/4 inches long.


The middle hook is a real beauty. Made from Pacific Madrone (I think.... seems like I can't be sure of ANYTHING anymore). But whatever kind of wood it is, its absolutely beautiful. Honey colored wood with fine iridescent grain, and places where I left some bark are rich brown. I doubt you can fully appreciate this hook from the picture. Size? Its a H according to MS Bates.. and is almost 8 inches long!It has the trademark Jimbo hook shape with a thumb rest.



And the right side hook is another trademark jimbo shape.. the semi-egg. This hook is made from good ole Deadman Crick Aspen and is shaped to nestle oh so comfortably in the palm of the hand, to be gripped by the ring and little fingers so the rest of the fingers and thumb are freed to manipulate your fiber masterpiece. The hook is a P sizewise, and 5 inches long. Not a hook for pencil grippers, but those who use the underhand "toothbrush" grip should find this hook amazingly comfortable (I've been told that time and again by those who use them).

So there you have it....

And you can email your bids to me at:


jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

We'll end this contest next coming Wednesday night Feb.11 at 10pm Pacific Standard Time.

Oh and don't forget to enter the contest (see the heart shaped hook post several posts below this one... and you could win a truly unique little heart shaped hook on Valentines day!

And thanks for dropping by!!
Jimbo


Bids:

Flowering 7:
Sherri's starting this one at $10
Candice goes $15
Cathy's Birthday bid is $25



Madrone H:
Candice again with $15
Amanda takes it to $20
Candice is back with $25
Amanda! $30
Candice comes back with $35
Amanda!! $40 (this is starting to look like a tennis match!)



Semi-egg P:
Sandra bids $25

I made it. Will they come?

Son of Diplohookticus Jimbosai. Second biggest hook I've ever made.
See, I've had this really cool piece of very tight grain fir in my shop forever. Must have been a closet rod at some time in the past. But lately I've been eyeing it for crochet hook potential. So a couple days ago I decided to start working on it and see what came of it. And Wall Ah!
So for specs? Its 33mm (1.3 inches) in diameter, and just a little under a foot long (30cm).
Now the question.... who would use such a hook and what could it make? It is fully functional. Might be useful with multiple plys of yarn, or maybe even unspun roving! It'd be fun to see what some clever crochet artist could make with it.
Maybe I'll loan it out... sort of like a library book only we'd call it a library hook?
Tell me what you think.


Oh.. and thanks for dropping by
Jimbo

The weekend up at the ranch on Deadman Crick

click images to enlarge

We had a fantastic weekend up on the crick with our very good friends the Austins, Dick and Debbie. And as you can see the snow is still there. In fact the weather was a mite cool (about 16 degrees when this shot was taken) and the snow was sparkling and the sky was blue and oh it was just downright purty.
You can see the cabin in the background, and the old Apple tree in the foreground. Its amazing to think of all the places that wood from that tree has traveled.



Here is one of the many boulders on the ranch. And if you look close you can see rabbit tracks leading to and from that clear spot on the boulder face. I'm guessing that the bunny went there to maybe warm itself a little from the heat stored in the stone during the bright day. But we don't get many animals around nowdays because of the snow depth and the cold and warmer places down the hill. We haven't spotted a deer on the ranch for weeks. Too bad. I put feed out for them but the only takers are ravens and maybe a rabbit or two.

Oh well, they'll be back.

But for now, its pretty easy to hear the crick down in the meadow, although I did hear coyotes in the night... and the stars!!! Holey cow. Wisht you could have been there!

More later..
Jimbo