High bidders please click on "make a donation" box in the left margin of this page to use paypal for payment. If paypal is not your choice for payment, please email me and we'll make other arrangements.
Thanks everyone for bidding!!
(click on photos for more detail) *****
I know I've been tardy with my blog and hook sales lately, but it's not that I haven't been making hooks! Other things got in the way. Ah but the hooks are coming and there should be lots more to follow this group.
Oh, the hairstick/shawl pins. They're here to show folks what they can expect to turn out in my upcoming carving class on Camano Island for the Crochet Liberation Front Retreat. I'm hoping they will inspire folks to sign up for the class. I'll also be teaching hook carving and button making... hope to have some sample buttons to show soon too. The class will be part of the retreat and you can find more information by going to
http://www.crochetliberationfront.com/crochetcama-retreat-information/
I went last year and I can't say enough good things about it.... the setting was incredible, on the banks of Puget Sound... the atmosphere was just perfect, friends were made, crochet topics were learned and experienced, our host and Fearless Leader Laurie Wheeler and an amazing group of talented crochetiers guided us through 4 days of fun and camaraderie , the memories of which will make me smile for years to come. And it's happening again!! If you can, please sign up and come join us!! If you'd like more information about my classes, please don't hesitate to contact me at
jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com
Now for the hooks. You see something new? Yes the hooks are standing! I've made a group of hooks from wood that I thought was pretty enough to be displayed. Yet the hooks are also VERY functional! And I'm going to do an old fashioned Jimbo hook auction for their sale. So here we go!
Starting from left to right,
Hook #1 is the only hook in the bunch that's not made of local hardwoods. Its made of Jobillo, a Central American hardwood that had dark streaks that almost look like burn marks. Its a very hard wood and, as you can clearly see, is a beautiful wood albeit a bit heavy compared to the other hooks in the group. It's an I size on my Bates "Knit Check" gauge.. 5.5mm; and it's 7 3/4 inches long.
Hook #2 is a VERY rare and beautiful piece...so much so that I just had to leave as much of the foot as possible in view. This hook is as much a piece of Mother Nature's best sculpture, AND it came from the fabled apple tree up on the ranch where Jimbo hooks had their birth. Just this last week-end I sat on the front porch of the cabin whittling hooks and watching the deer gather around the base of the old tree, eating apples that are starting to fall. A week before, we saw a momma bear and cub stopping by the old tree looking for apples. That old tree does so many things. It feeds the deer and bear, gives us apples for pies if we like, provides places for the Robins, Goldfinch and Humming Birds to rest and feed, and it drops branches that are too old and dry to support apples. Those discards have spent their useful lives feeding and sheltering the animals and are ready to become beautiful and useful again as hooks for you. This piece was one that you'd have NEVER thought could ever have become a hook, and I was amazed that the wood at it's core was so firm and ready to become a piece of art. It's a hook that I've been hesitating to sell just because it's such a majestic thing to look at. Ah but there's a mill to buy, to make lumber for the rest of the porch and perchance a bunkhouse for the grand kids.... so it's up for bids. Since this is such a rare beauty, I'm thinking the bids should start at $75. High. Maybe nobody will bid and it will stay here with me? Not a bad prospect at all.
Technically, this hook is a 7mm (between a K and an L) and is 7 5/8 inches long.
Hook #3 is another beauty from the old apple tree..... just not such a striking grain pattern as the sculptured hook #2. Still, it's from that same fabled old apple tree. It's such a generous tree, giving me all that nice wood for hooks, eh? Anyways, this hook is a Bates Gauge H (5mm) and is 7 5/8 inches long.
Hook #4 is another beauty. This one was rescued from the local "Waste to Energy" plant (we used to call it the dump). I was unloading trash one day next to a couple in a nice truck as they were unloading some amazingly pretty branches from an ornamental tree they had removed from their lot. Turns out the tree is what some call a Thunder Plum, from its beautiful dark leaves. I asked, and they gave me a few of the branches. I cut them up into blanks, let them dry and crack for a year or so, separated the cracked parts and Wall-AH! HOOKS! This one is an I and it's 7 3/8 inches long.
Hook #5 is yet another hook from the old Apple Tree... amazing eh? This one has a foot with what is left of a deep cleft that almost led me to believe there wasn't a hook hiding in there. But a little patience and see what came out!! It's another beauty with some remarkable grain pattern and, of course, history. It has pedigree. A little spalting here, a little bark on the foot... all remind the user of where this hook came from. Kind of makes the mind wander to the meadow up Deadman Crick. So the tree and me are sharing with you. The tree sheds the branches, I use them to make you hooks and leave what I can to show you the character and legacy of this old landmark. The hook is an H (5mm) and is 7 1/2 inches long.
All the above hooks have a comfy thumb rest.
Now for the bids. You can bid on any one or more of these hooks simply be e-mailing me at
jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com , and letting me know your bid. I'll post bids as they come in* and run the auction until Wednesday, Sept. 21. The auction will close at 10pm Pacific Std Time on that date. Please bid in $5 increments. Ties will be broken by the time the bids are received. The first bid received in a tie wins.
Ah its nice to get back in the saddle! Been too long!!!
And as always, THANK YOU for dropping by! I like the company!
Jimbo
*I won't always be in front of my computer, but will post bids as soon as possible.
***** Bids over $30 get a FREE Hairstick/Shawlpin
Bids:
Hook #1
Kath bids $35
Kristin bumps it up to $45
Hook#2 SOLD....$80!
Hook#3
Kay bids $10
Nicole from Australia bids $30
Hook#4
Kathryn's here with $30
Kath with $35
Kathryn says to say "Get out of my way, Kath" and bids $40. Heh! Determined, that Kathryn.
Hook#5
Kath bids $35
