INTERNATIONAL CROCHET DAY , SEPT. 12 CONTEST

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

I used a random number generator to pick the winner of the custom International Crochet Day hook, and it did a FANTASTIC job! The winner all the way from London England is NEZUMI
Nezumi (not her real name of course) studied fashion design at The London College of Fashion and did her work experience with the wonderful designer Bill Gibb.
After a few years and an opportunity to return to study part-time, she studied for a City & Guilds in Crochet, Machine Knitting and Embroidery,and Teaching Adults. She started teaching and also designing knitted and crocheted swatches through agents, plus continued to design and made garments and jewellery for sale.
Her website NezumiWorld started in 2002 as a creative ideas textile site. The crochet part of the site was put in place first and it just got bigger & bigger and is now mainly a crochet only site (there are some hidden knitting and craft/textile stuff which may make an appearance in 2010), There so many different styles of crochet and the site continues to grow monthly.
Nezumi has patterns for sale on Ravelry and some free ones too, look out for more coming soon.

Check Nezumi's blog at:

http://nezumiworld.blogspot.com/

Now to make this beautiful little block of wood into a hook worthy of such an artist!

Thanks everyone for entering!

Jimbo




I know. This doesn't look much like a hook, does it? BUT this is a block of what I think is the most beautiful wood in the world. AND I will turn this block of wood into a hook for the winner of this year's International Crochet Day contest. You can see exmaples of Bois de Rose hooks below this post. It indeed IS a very beautiful wood.
What is International Crochet Day? Well the date is Sept. 12, a day to celebrate and promote the gentle art of crochet. Its a growing event around the world and with your help will grow even bigger.
How to promote crochet on Sept 12? Well that's a part of the contest. What will YOU do to promote crochet? Last year we had well over a hundred entries from folks who committed to promote crochet by doing contests in their blogs, asking local yarn shops to promote crochet on Sept 12, crocheting in public, offering to teach others to crochet, and more. MANY of the entries for the contest came from outside the US, and that's a very good thing, since this is "International", a gathering of crochetiers from all over the globe to let others know about the crochet art.
THE CONTEST: This year I welcome and invite crochetiers from all countries to participate in this contest by promoting the art of crochet. You can enter the contest simply by telling me what you'll do to promote crochet on International Crochet Day (ICD). You can enter by posting a comment here in my blog, or if that doesn't work, simply email me at:

jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

I'll do a drawing from entries and announce the winner on Sept 13. The winner will have a choice as to the style and size of the hook to be made, custom to her/his desires (within reason, of course).

An excellent example of International Crochet Day promotion has been by the amazingly talented and gracious, Sônia Maria who publicized the contest in her HUGELY popular Brazilian crochet blog, Falando de Crochet!

Oh, and to those kind and faithful followers of my blog, your entry will count twice!

Good luck to all, and HAPPY INTERNATIONAL CROCHET DAY!!!


Jimbo

Birthday hooks up for sale!

Thanks for the birthday wishes! It's a good day. I noticed that I'm not in the obituary column in the newspaper, and that's good news. My lovely daughter in law, Carla made me a Huckleberry pie from Deadman Crick Huckleberries (don't get much better than that!). I'd share if I could. And I've been busy making hooks... that's good too! Actually these have been in the works for some time now but it's a good day to put them up for sale, so without further old hook maker blather here goes.

From left to right:

First up is a Portland Oregon Plum wood hook. I made this from a dead branch that I rescued from a plum tree in the back yard at my son, Lance's place in Portland Oregon. Beautiful wood! Light in weight, smoooooooth, strong and beautiful grain. It's an I (5.5mm) and is 7 1/2 inches long (19cm). With thumb rest. Price: $25 (sold)

Next is another Plum wood, only this one is from Germany. German Plum. Very pretty wood and, like the Portland Plumm, is light and strong. It's an H (5mm) and is the same length, 7 1/2 inches, (19cm) long. Has a thumb rest. A little more cost wise since this is store bought wood: $30 (sold)

That brings us to the "fumed" maple. Dark wood that smells sooooo good when turning. It too is a nice light weight and, being maple is a nice strong hook wood.
No thumb rest on this one, I'll carve one if buyer requests. Its a Bates 7 size (4.5mm) and is 7 1/2 inches, (19cm) long. Price: $25 (sold)

Next up is another of the beautiful figured Granidilla from Mexico or South America. If you look a couple of posts below this one, you'll see more of this amazing wood. Copied from that sale: "I bought the board because the company said this wood has a high level of "Chatoyance". And what's Chatoyance? Picture a highly polished Cat's Eye gemstone. You get the impression of seeing deep into the stone and the reflected highlights seem to move as you turn the stone in the light. This wood is like that. Trouble is, this kind of wood is very hard to photograph to show its amazing beauty. This outstandingly beautiful figured wood is very hard and is often used for musical instruments. This hook is an H (5mm) with a thumb rest and is about 7 1/2 inches (19 cm) long. Price: $40(sold)

Last but not by far from least is a Deadman Crick Bush Maple hook. This wood has to be seen up close to appreciate the subtle but very pretty grain. The light blond color is pretty enough in the picture, but to really see the grain, you have to get up close. Nice and light and strong. It's an I (5.5mm) and is a longie, at 8 1/4 inches (21cm) Price: $25 (sold)

As before, please email me with your order. First orders get the hook(s).
If you'd like to buy, email me at

jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

Since this is a direct sale thing, there's no time limit. I'll simply edit this post to indicate when a hook is sold.

Thanks for dropping by!
Jimbo

Please also note the special Boies de Rose hooks for sale below.. still taking orders!

think I'll go eat some cake now

Bois de Rose #7 Hook for sale

(sold)




more!! Hook on the left is a K, $55 (sold) that is on it's way to Brazil!

Center hook is an H (5mm) $55 (sold) 8 inches long (25cm).

Hook on right is an F $55 (sold) that was a special order for a FAT grip. Interesting eh?


Is it fair to say that Bois de Rose is the most beautiful exotic wood in the world? It might not be, since every wood is beautiful in it's own right. But it's been said about Bois de Rose. Intrigued, I've been looking for Bois de Rose wood for some time now. And I found some in Portland this past week end. In my opinion, if this isn't the most beautiful wood in the world from the color and grain figure viewpoint, I can't imagine what would be.

This wood has been enticing me for a long time now and I couldn't wait to make some of this amazing wood into a hook. And here it is. The color is just incredible. Very hard, as you would expect a rosewood to be, but I just can't get away from the color. Regal.

Bois de Rose is prized by luthiers who make very high end guitars and it's typically written up as being an instrument grade wood. So why not a crochet hook? Isn't a crochet hook an instrument, used to make beautiful things?

I have enough of this incredible wood to make several hooks, and I doubt that I'll be getting more soon,if ever, because it's so rare.

I can make two other hooks at this length. Others will be taken from a shorter piece of stock and will be a bit shorter in order to minimize waste. Ordered sizes can be from F (3.75mm) through L (8mm)

What I'm proposing is to sell this one outright, then take orders for Bois de Rose hooks from the remaining supply that I have available. These hooks will sell, depending on what is ordered, starting at $55.

This particular hook? (sold) It's a Bates size 7 (4.5mm) and is 7 1/2 inches long (almost 19cm) long. Price? $55

Ask about a custom order at:


jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

And thanks for dropping by!
Jimbo

Kode Bluuz

This past week-end Karol and I drove down to Portland Oregon, where our son Lance lives. Lance just got a great job, but it's in San Diego so we wanted to go down before he moves. Just isn't going to be so easy to visit him in San Diego. Portland is MUCH closer. Anyways, here's where we went this past Saturday. This is a marina on the river where we got to go spend the afternoon on houseboat (it's the white on waaaay down toward the end).




Here's a shot of just the best lookin babe around.... AND she's been my wife as of TODAY for 42 years! (Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!!) How she ever puts up with me...


See where Karol's sitting? We got front row seats for a concert on the river!! Lance is the bass player in Kode Bluuz, a ten piece band that can blow the room away. They're that good.



Seriously. But Lance, our son the bass player in the umpire's cap? Well you just had to be there. Not sure where he got his talent. Well ok, I AM sure. He got it all from Karol, who is VERY musical on top of being the best lookin babe around. Bytheway, that's Ray on the drums... another amazing voice.





And Bill the keyboard guy and still ANOTHER great voice! Bill's retired like me and does metalworking. Twould love to get together with that guy and make some stuff.






Kode Bluuz
And here's Lance and Robin, the lead singer. Robin should be on stage big time. And she's as sweet a person as she is a singer.

There are several other band members that aren't pictured here. Not that they weren't phenomenal.. just that not all my pictures came out so good. So Amy, John, Doug, Chris, Mike and Garrett, I apologize for my inept photojournalism, but you guys are awesome!

So as you can see we had a fantastic time in Portland, seeing Lance off; eating, drinking and getting way too much sun. Portland is a really liveworthy city that I really enjoy visiting. Sad that we won't be able to visit Lance there, and that we'll not likely get to see Kode Bluuz again. But that was one of those week-ends that in a few months from now, when I'm sitting in my rocker in "the home", will bring a smile.


AND while in Portland, Lance and I went over to "Gilmmerwood" an Exotic wood store and I spent half my gross national product on what lots of wood aficionados call "The most beautiful exotic wood in the world", Bois de Rose. The color of this wood is just breathtaking. Reminds me of a beautiful sunset. Ah but you'll see. I'll be introducing a hook in Bois De Rose soon, very soon. AND I picked up some Portland Oregon Plum (from Lance's Plum tree out back), AND some other tantalizing woods that I've not turned into hooks yet.


A little Jimbo travelogue! Thanks for dropping by!

To think, this might have become a ball point pen...AUCTION is OVER

note... I lied. I read on the turning blank that this hook came from, that it is a piece of Zircote. It's not. This is Brazilian Rosewood!! I should have known better. The two don't have the slightest resemblance. Sorry!!!


(click to enlarge)

There's inherent beauty in all wood. Nature is the perfect artist, and this crochet hook displays an excellent example of nature at it's best.

This hook (both pictures are of the same hook) came from a little piece of Brazilian Rosewood that otherwise would likely have been sold to someone making ball point pens. Not to speak down to pen makers, some are amazing artists; but ball point pens just don't speak to me, and it seems a shame to use such absolutely beautiful wood on a pen that will function just as well or better in a plastic tube. And who makes art with ball point pens? Crochet hooks, and especially THIS crochet hook is destined to make art.

I think a wood piece should be just that.. a wood piece and the less involvement with manmade materials, the more chance the beauty of the wood has to show itself. So, I'm glad to have had the chance with this piece to make what might become a functional heirloom. Never heard of a ball point heirloom, have you? But there I go again. Don't be so cynical, Jimbo.

Ok ok.... so What's amazing about this particular hook, besides having astounding color, figured grain and smoothness; is the little blond topknot. That's not paint or stain, folks. And it's NOT laminated. That's the SAME wood as the rest of the hook. A little natural highlight. A beauty mark. Sort of makes a statement, eh?

While making this hook, I was thinking G (4mm), but to do that, I'd have to remove much more material and that little blond topknot would have disappeared. So, having some control over the issue, I decided to make it an L (8mm). I left just as much wood on this hook as I possibly could because, well what isn't hook is chips and sawdust and I don't like to waste such beautiful wood. I started with a blank that was just over 8 inches long. This hook is a little over 7 1/2 inches long (19cm).

Is it for sale? Yeah! The porch needs a roof!

Lets do this one at auction because I just can't ask what I think it's worth. We'll make it short and end bidding this Thursday night at 10pm Pacific Time.


To new bidders: I try to post bids as they come in. I'll not be here ALL the time... so if your bid doesn't show up right away, not to worry. Your bid will be posted as soon as I'm able to get to them. Identical bids are entered by first bid posted, so if your bid is the same as another, I'll go by which ever one mailed first. Also please increase bids by $5 minimum. Email bids, if you like, to me at


jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com


Bids:
Vicki goes $20
Amy says $25
Karen goes $30
Amy bumps it up to $35
Carla jumps in with $45
For some reason this didn't post right, but the final bid came in at $55.

And thanks for dropping by!!
Jimbo
Oh and please note the post below and come whittle with me!

COME LET ME TEACH YOU TO WHITTLE A HOOK

photo: Sunset from West Camano
by Tim Wilcox ~ APOGEE Communications ~ apogeecomm@aol.com

Got plans for October 17 - 21? Love emerald green islands, orcas, fresh seafood, and crochet? Ever had a hankering to whittle a hook? Well here's your chance! I'll be teaching hook whittling on Camano Island, a beautiful spot in Puget Sound WA; at the first annual Crochet Liberation Front Retreat. And if you need more incentive, there will be a number of other class sessions by famous crochetiers and just about the best crochet comradarie you could imagine. And the setting? Well you see the picture above.

I'll be teaching two classes. One on how to turn a stick into an heirloom crochet hook, and another on converting bamboo knitting needles into useful objects (crochet hooks).

Take a look at the registration information at


http://www.crochetliberationfront.com/retreatinfo.php


I'm really looking forward to passing on what I've learned about hook whittling. Its a rewarding thing to do, and the hook you make will have special meaning to you.

Jimbo

Hooks by DeadmanCrick Bramble

Up for sale are two hooks made from that pretty but dangerous bramble bush up on the Ranch. I call it a bramble bush because it has these really long and lethally pointed thorns that always seem to draw a small blood sample when I go to collect hook wood from it's dead branches. Ah but it's worth it. What's a couple pints of O+ when you can get this kind of result? Beautiful contrasty crochet hooks that are very hard and a feast for the eye. Plus they have a history. They're from the bramble bush down by the crick where I watched a standoff between some White Tail Deer and a small flock of wild turkeys. They'd chase each other round that bramble bush first one way then the other. Hard telling who won, but the deer did finally run off so it looks like the turkeys won.
Anyways, these hooks are very pretty and made from the same stick. The top hook is a K (6.5mm) and the bottom hook is an I (5.5mm). They're both about the same length, at a smidge under 7 inches (17.5cm).

Here's the deal. For you today I'll sell these hooks for $25 each. Not a bad price when you consider what I went through to bring them into Hookdom.


As before, please email me with your order. First orders get the hook(s).
If you'd like to buy, email me at

jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

Since this is a direct sale thing, there's no time limit. I'll simply edit this post to indicate when a hook is sold.

Thanks for dropping by!
Jimbo

I hook: $25 SOLD

K hook: $25 SOLD