VALENTINE CROCHET HOOK AND HOOK AUCTION is OVER! and the winner of the 2014 Jimbo Valentine hook is......Debbie Oliver!!!

First off, here's the 2014 version of the annual Valentine Jimbo Hook.  It's made of Maple, with a hand shaped Red Heart inlay set in a polished matrix of brass filings.  Pretty?  It could be yours!  My Valentine gift to you.  All you need do is either enter a comment to this post, OR email me.  Please only ONE entry per person. The contest will close at 10pm Pacific time on Valentine's Day. Monday, Feb,. 17th
A personal note.  Of the Valentine Hooks I've made and gave away, this one was the most challenging, so I'm hoping there will be lots of interest and entries.
Good luck!

And now for the AUCTION!

A fine bunch of hooks from a fine selection of wood.  I'll detail each below.  You can examine each hook in the separate photos and email your bids, identifying your hook choice(s) by number, and your bid amount to jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com .  I'll post bids as they come in just as soon as I can.  Please increase bids by $5.00 minimum.
We'll run the auction till Sunday Feb. 16th  Monday Feb. 17th and end it at 10pm Pacific Time...  Ok here we go.....

Hook #1

This is the first of several bear pruned Deadman Crick Apple Wood hooks in this auction.  I was able to collect a remarkable assortment of highly figured wood from this past apple harvest and this one is a prime example.  Highly contrasting grain sets these hooks apart from any other apple wood you'll find, at least as far as my experience goes.  This hook is a K (6.5mm) and is 7.25 inches long.

Bids:
Jane bids $20


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Hook #2

Hand carved genuine Deadman Crick Apple Wood.  Just so I wouldn't loose the touch, I hand carved a hook from this interesting piece of wood that the bear selected while going for apples.  I carved it for another reason.  I wanted to leave the little bug tracks that you often find under the bark of hardwood branches.  The little bug trails are visible in the picture if you click to enlarge the image.  Interesting.  I guarantee there are no bugs left in the hook, if you're wondering; just trails.  Oh and I left the knife marks on a finger grip that you see opposite the thumb rest.  An amazing piece.  It's a tweener size (hand carved hooks often are), between a K and a J at 7.25mm.  7.5 inches of true rustic Jimbo.

Bids:
Suzanne bids $30


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Hook #3

Another fine example of the old Apple tree's best.  I even made the base of this one a little larger in case you'd like to put the hook on display when it's not being used for crochet.  Fantastic grain contrast and color on this bear harvested stick.  Please note that the color in the picture is not the same as the actual color.  I couldn't squeeze the picture editor to get the shades right, so I ask that you picture the reds as more of a dark brown and the blonds as a bit more brown as well.  Sorry.  But I doubt very much that you'll be disappointed.  This hook is a K (6.5mm) and is 7.25 inches long.

Bids:
Nila bids $20
Debbie K. goes $30



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Hook #4

And for something different, Lilac!  I salvaged this piece of Lilac from my friend, Dickie's trimmings.  Amazing grain structure, all the way down to the CA hardened pith (done to bring the pith up to the hardness of the surrounding wood.  Well worth the effort.  Size is F (3.75mm) and 7.5 inches long.

Bids:
Kathy bids $25
Diana bumps up:  $30
Barbara takes it way up to $60

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Hook #5

A Bloodwood Beauty.  Nope this one didn't come from the Ranch.  Bloodwood is one of the hardest and prettiest woods that I work with, and this one is a prime example of the best, with pretty subtle contrasting grain figure.  It's a 7 (4.5mm) and is 7.25 inches long.

Bids:

Sarah bids $25

Diana takes it to $30

Barbara's here with $65

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Hook #6

And another beauty from the old Apple tree, bear selected Jimbo made.  Note the little flame of contrasting grain at the heel.  This one's a K (6.5mm) and is 6.5 inches long.  

Bids:

Rhonda C goes $20.00.

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Hook #7

And another Deadman Crick Hook.  Whew who'd a thunk so many crochet hooks would evolve from the old ranch up on the Crick.  I think I've made more hooks from up there than all the chickens we raised.  This one keeps a bit of the character of the branch that was pruned from the tree by a bear while he/she was climbing for apples.  Had a good number of branches pruned that way last year, maybe because the apple crop was better.  Anyways, this hook is an I (5.5mm) and is 7 inches long.

Bids:

Regina is in first with $25

Diana's here with $30

Barbara!  $60