Monday, September 12, 2016

AUCTION IS OVER! THANK YOU BIDDERS!! NEW AUCTION CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL CROCHET DAY 2016

First off, I apologize for not posting for as my grand daughter would say, "like evuh".  No excuses and lots of excuses, none of which you'd want to hear, so I'll move on....

Happy International Crochet Day!!   This day, Sept. 12 was created, perhaps with a bit of whim and more as a time to focus on the good and gentle things after the horror of Sept. 11.  Goodness and gentleness is quintessential to crochet.   Tis in my mind an excellent day to promote such a gentle art. So I wish you the very best ICD "evuh"!

My blog has been very inactive lately... to the extent that I've lost followers.  I'm sorry for that, but hay (as the horse ordered when he walked into the bar) whats an aging and forgetful whittler to do but try to get the rusty gears meshing and let out the clutch.  Lower speed, but still moving, eh?

So here's what's offered up for bids at LONG last.....



Granted, it's been a long time but it's not that I haven't been thinking hooky thoughts.  More on that in a minute but first lets get into details of the first group which I like to call Crick Rustic.  That's the two hooks on the left side.  In fact to ease identification for bidding, lets assign numbers to the hooks in ascending order from left to right..  So:

 Hook #1 is the first of the Crick Rustic group.  It's hand carved by me from a fallen branch picked from the forest floor near the ranch up on Deadman Crick.  Lots of rustic in this hook.  Lots of comfortable years of crochet too.  I flattened an area near the heal and labeled this hook with it's size and the Jimbo TM.  It's a K (6.5mm) , has a cozy thumb rest and is 7 1/8 inches long.

Hook #2 is rustic too, just not "crick" rustic.  This one harks from a beautiful Lilac Bush.  Actually Lilac grows wild up near the Ranch but in honesty, this one came from a really pretty bush at a friend's house in Spokane.  A wee bit larger diameter for your ergonomic gripping pleasure, a generous thumb rest surface, beautiful bark character, and a unique size (5.75mm) all go together to make this a hook that you might enjoy using regularly.

Hook #3 is unique and made in response to a review conducted by crocheters in southern France!  Here's a link to the review if you've a notion to see how Jimbo Hooks measure up to some pretty stiff competition (including the one touted to be "the only luxury hook in the world").  In the "cons" of the review, balance was the main issue.  This comes from crocheters as you can see in the link pictures, who use the "pencil" grip style.  Looking at those photos, I can see the concern.  So Hook #3 is a new version with more hook forward balance that should eliminate that particular concern. If you're an overhand, pencil gripper, this hook shines  If you're an underhand toothbrush gripper, this hook will work well too because the heel extends just beyond the heel of the gripping hand. Sizewise this is an I (5.5mm) and is 6 3/4 inches long.
A special thanks to Sylvie Damie http://chezplum.com/ for her excellent and through review.  I'm hoping this is the first in a line of similar style hooks.

Hook #4 is another newbie.  A sliding grip, double ended H.  Good idea?  I think so.  Thing is, the cork grip will slide, though not too freely, along the hook shank so you can use it as a normal crochet hook with whatever shank length you'd like (up to oh about 7 1/2 inches); or slide the grip completely off for use as a double ended hook.  Amazing eh?  As stated, the hook size is H (5mm), constructed of bamboo (upgraded from a knitting needle) and has a tip to tip length of about 10 inches.  Doubt you'll find anything like this anywhere else but here on the Porch.

Hook #5 is a Bloodwood beauty.  Bloodwood is a very hard and beautiful wood.  Hardness and bouts of decent eyesight lets me make a rare smaller hook size.  This one isn't awful small but is getting that way for eyes that tend to cross much too easily lately.  It's a G (4mm).  A unique feature of this hook is a an abnormally large "gullet" as I call it (others call it the "bowl" or "groove").  The large gullet will allow use with bulkier yarns that would normally not be used with a G hook.  That said, I don't see any reason it couldn't be used with lighter weight yarns as well.  Oh, and the hook's 7 inches long

Hook #6 is an unusual beauty.  Bocote has rich dark colors and much lighter blond highlights.  You see that effect very pronounced in this beautiful hook.  Looks a bit like the blond wood was laminated to the darker wood, but nope; its all one piece.  Honest.  It's a size I (5.5mm) and is 7 1/2 inches long.

Hook #7 is both pretty and big (size wise).. It's made of figured Maple (a most favored wood for crochet hooks for it's strength and weight.  I like it too because it's such a warm friendly wood.  So it's a good big size.. a P (11.5mm), but easy on the hand due to it's light weight and minimal length (7 5/8 inches).  Rugs?  Bulky yarn projects will love this hook.

Last but right up there with the big boys is a genuine Deadman Crick Tamarack Egg Hook.  Now if you know Jimbo hooks, you know I've been making Egg hooks for a long long time.  In fact, the Jimbo egg hook just might have been the grandpappy of this hook style.  And it's been a sure footed staple that lots of folks who have grip issues love.  This one is a bit unique because I shaped the neck and head to somewhat resemble a Boye style.  It's still "in line" because the hook lip doesn't poke out beyond the shank, but the sides of the neck taper to the head.  Works very nicely.  It's a K and is 5 1/2 inches long.


Ok now the crass commercial stuff.  We'll run the auction till  Tuesday, Sept 20 and close on that date at 10pm Pacific Time.  Please send your bid via email to      (Jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com) with your bid amount.
I'll post bids as soon as possible (however I don't hang around the computer all the time, especially when I'm up on the Ranch).
If you are out-bid and would like to raise the bid, please increase the previous bid by a $5 minimum (done to eliminate penny increases at the last minute).
Tying bids will be resolved in favor of the earliest bid received.  I do charge postage now ($2.50 for US regular mail... more for foreign or speedy mailing and/or insurance).
I do take proxy bids if you prefer but again, tying proxy bids will be resolved in favor of the first received.
Thanks once again.  I appreciate everyone who drops by, bids or not.
Jimbo

Bids:

Hook #1

Hook #2
Barbara bids $30
Linda bids $45

Hook #3
Sylvie the lovely French Alp crochet designer bids $30
Pat goes $40
Linda bids $50

Hook #4

Hook #5
Sharon bids $10
Deb goes $30
Barbara says $50
Deb up's it to $60
Linda bids $65

Hook #6
JoAnn bids $30
Barbara with $50

Hook #7
Doug's in with $35

Hook #8
Pat bids $30
Linda bids $45




No comments: