Goin up to the Crick for a little vacation! Back on the 11th with....

A shot of the Kidos playing in the crick.... more of that coming this weekend! LOVE IT!!


We get to spend a whole WEEK up on the crick!! Needless to say, I'm taking along my hook whittling tools, so when we get back..... there'll be a few hand carved crick hooks up for bids!!

Everyone have a safe and happy 4th!!

MORE, MUCH MORE in a week or so.

Thanks for staying tuned in!
Jimbo

Off to the.....

to watch the Grandbabies play. Be back Monday, hopefully with more hooks and news!

Have a great weekend!!
Jimbo

First signed hooks up for bids (bidding closed, THANKS!!)

Thanks to all who bid! High bidders please consider paying using the "make a donation" button, which will let you pay through paypal. If you prefer to pay another way thats fine, just email me and we'll figure something out.

And thanks again!!
Jimbo
more to follow, soon.


Bidding ends tonight at 10pm Pacific Standard Time! Funny. Seems like just a few days ago eh? Anyways I think in fairness to those in different time zones and such, that the last day of auctions should have minimum bid increases of $5.
Hope you understand.
I'll try to post this notice in future auctions too.

Now back to the porch!

Jimbo






There have been numbers of requests for signed hooks, and size labels. And I have resisted in the past because I didn't want to mess up pretty wood grain. That, and I couldn't find a good way to do the job. I figured that if I used like a felt tip pen, the ink would splotch in the wood grain. Well, that was pretty dumb. What I didn't count was that I make the hooks so smooth enough that it would take some pretty thin ink to splotch... so these hooks are signed with a "gel" ink pen. Sign, let the ink dry, put the poly oil finish over the top and wall-ah a signed Jimbo hook with the hook size right there on the end.

We'll see.

Anyways, to the more important thing... the hooks. I'm showing the hooks pretty much in the same order in all the photos except that the signature on the far right hook didn't make it into the first photo.

So lets start from the left and work our way across.

The left hook, contrary to boxing parlance, is a really beautiful bloodwood hook that, as you can see in the top photo, is an I on the Bates gauge, or 5.5mm to you metric folk. The hook, as you can see in the bottom photo, has an ample thumb rest. Its purt near 6 1/2 inches long...or about 155mm. Nice snug fit.

Next to the left hook is a right uppercut (heh). Ok, next to the bloodwood hook is a longer, birch beauty. Click on the photos and look at the hook tip. Its long and pointy; characteristics sought after by those who like to crochet with in "slip stitch". I've heard that slip stitch hooks are hard to come by, so I made a couple (the G hook here is also made with the slip stitch head). This slender beauty has just a wee bit of the bark left on to remind you this hook came directly from the tree. And as you already know, its an H and has a thumb rest along with the "universal" hourglass grip shape. Comfy! Its about 6 3/4 inches long (roughly 170mm). Oh, and what looks like a divot taken out of the hook shank in the bottom photo, is really just a jealous shadow cast by the bloodwood hook, trying to upstage the birch beauty.

Next to the right uppercut.. er lets start again.... next to the Birch beauty, is a wildly figured Ornamental Crab apple "I" with the universally comfy thumb rest/hourglass grip shape. Amazing figure in this wood, and surprisingly, the core which is darker than the rest of the wood seems to be actually harder than the surrounding wood. Usually that's just the opposite. Anomaly eh. This one is about 165mm long or just shy of 7 inches to you inchie folk.

Now comes a real treat. The little cherry wood G hook. I was going to label it G-imbo but thought hay I better try to be consistent if I'm to be signing these things.
Its a little hook, as you can see by comparing it to the others, but a real beauty. It too has the long pointy hook tip that enjoys being used for slip stitch crochet. You know, if I crocheted more I think the slip stitch would be my fave. But back to the hook, it has the hourglass/thumbrest for pencil or toothbrush grips, and its oh about 5 7/8 inches long, or 150mm for the metricky types.

Next comes the Elinore Rigby of Jimbo hooks. This hook was made from a branch that fell from its parent tree and laid alone for such a long time that it came close to...well lets just say that now its a survivor. And like some of us, it has a few scars and care worn blemishes to show for it's not-so-pretty lonely life.. Things haven't been easy for this little piece of wood. Mind you, these aren't blemishes that will affect it's functionality. Not at all; this hook will crochet right along with the best of 'em... maybe better because it tries harder. Its a hard working K (6.5mm) (that part didn't get in the top photo, but it IS signed and labeled), and it's 6 3/4 inches long (about 175mm).

So there you have it, after such a long hook making hiatus!

Lets run this auction till 10 pm PST Wednesday, June 24.

You can send bids by email to me at:
jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com


And once again THANKS for dropping by!

Jimbo

Bids:

Bloodwood I:
Kathleen would love this hook...$25
Katie goes to $30




Slip stitch birch H:
Claire from Sunny England is the first in with $20
Deb takes it to $30
Claire goes $35
Deb says "bump me up" to...$45



Crab Apple I:
Janet goes $20
Deb again with $30



Slip stitch cherry G:
All the way from the Merry old land of OZ (Australia) comes Beth with her $20
Ah but Sherri wants this cutie too....$39.99
Jane goes to $40
Deb bumps it to $50


Elinore:
JoBug knows Elinore and bids $25

Why am I so tardy?? Here's one reason.....

What you're looking at is a one foot deep trench that we dug, from the cabin up on the crick, down to the main road. Cinchy, right? Not for this old coot it wasn't. You see my son Lance in one picture, and in the other you see a deer if you click on the image and look carefully.
Why the trench? Well, we finally decided to get a telephone up there. Mixed emotions about that one. Its nice to be up there and not worry about phone calls. On the other hand it'll be nice to be up there and not worry about how to call out.
So that's part of my excuse for not posting lately. That and that I've been remodeling the front porch here in Spokane, and painting the house, and organizing a party for Karol's birthday. Lame excuses eh?
oooh poor me. Do I hear violins?
So the porch here is still underway, but I'm sneaking a little time for this entry and will make another one hopefully tomorrow morning when I'll put a few hooks up for bids (had a few that I made awhile back, before the big projects, that were just waiting to be finished. I'll check and see if they still want to be hooks, and post those that do.
In the meantime.... thanks again to everyone for your patience...
And thanks again to all who entered the Dippy contest! Did you know that Dippy (see Dippy hamming it up in the post below this one) or more formally, Diplohookticus Jimbosai, is VERY near being scheduled for a big BIG performance coming up this fall?? Stay tuned for reports... and pleas for help.

Now, putting one finger to the side of his nose.....
Off Jimbo goes

to the basement
to finish hooks


More later!
Jimbo

AND THE WINNER IS>>>>>>>>>

After actually stewing on this decision for hours, I've come down to just one of all the really great entries. Improbable? Well it blasted my intergalactic funnybone.

The chosen caption is.....

I drink two Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters, hit the Infinite Improbability Drive and this is what happens?


ALAN!!! You win the hook!! Email me your mailing address and I'll teleport it right on over!

THANKS to all who entered!! Wisht I was able to make hooks for each of you!!


Jimbo






look it over
click on the image to enlarge
Would you like to own this hook?

Need to know more? Ok, its made of White Oak, salvaged slats from our old patio benches. Actually you see the hook resting on two of the old slats. Amazing what was hiding under that weathered surface, eh?

Size: H (5mm )

Length: 7 1/8" (18.1 cm)


I've been working day and night on the front porch of our house here in Spokane, and haven't had time to do much hook making. But when I took all the slats off the benches and replaced them with pine, I just couldn't resist seeing if the old slats really wanted to become hooks. At least one did. You see it here.


So how do we give this hook away? Lets have a Photo Caption Contest! I'll post a picture and you provide a caption. (below) The funniest caption will win the hook. How's that? I "borrowed" this idea from my very favorite Irish Fiber Sculptor, Inga Hamilton (look up http://www.rockpoolcandy.typepad.com/).

So you can enter by posting your caption in the remarks section here, or if that doesn't work, you can email your caption to me at:

jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com


For your photo captioning:


For those who might not know, this is a picture of Dippy (Diplohookticus Jimbosai)and he's up to antics of some kind. Dippy is the world's biggest crochet hook, and he's going to be performing at a place and time soon to be named, billed second to the famous INGA. More to come as information becomes available.
So.... Lets run this contest till June 16... that'll give you plenty time to think up a good caption.


Thanks for your patience! I'm hoping to be finishing up more hooks soon... but the porch calls....

Jimbo

TWO EXOTICS AUCTION IS CLOSED... THANK YOU, BIDDERS!!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO VISITED AND TO THOSE WHO BID. HIGH BIDDERS PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR PAYMENT INFORMATION OR USE THE "MAKE A DONATION" BUTTON IN THE LEFT HAND MARGIN FOR MAKING PAYMENT THROUGH PAYPAL.


MORE AUCTIONS COMING SOON!


HAVE A WEEKEND FULL OF WARM MEMORIES AND RESPECT FOR LOVED ONES WHO HAVE PASSED ON THIS MEMORIAL WEEKEND.


PLEASE OH PLEASE click on the picture to see these bigger than life!!

The top hook is made from "Amboina wood, obtained from a local tree (Pterocarpus indicus), is highly valued for ornamental woodwork, is now mostly grown on Seram." From Wickpedia. The wood comes from the island of Ambon and is one of THE most treasured woods for wood turners for its beauty and figure. For that reason, even little samples of the wood go for pretty high prices. LOTS of character in the wood that NO photo can show. You have to hold it and turn it in the light and if you're a wood appreciator, you'll be amazed. In other words... this is a purty one! Its a J sizewise (6mm) and 6 1/2 inches of nonstop hooking beauty, done in the traditional Jimbo style with an ample thumbrest and heel-of-the-hand hugging flare at the handle end. There was a time a couple years ago that I would not have even considered turning such an expensive and exotic wood... but my confidence has grown with practice and.. well here it is!


The bottom hook is Redheart. Redheart is a wood I often use because of its color and grain.. just a beautiful wood to work with. Once in awhile you get a piece that has a little something extra. This is one of those, and that's a GROSS understatement. You just have to click on the photo to get an inkling of the beauty in this hook. A background of red/purple is perfect for the flaming red/orange highlight of this phenominal hook. Absolutely no need to add gegaws, fancy beadwork or accents to this natural beauty. I speaks for itself, but I'll translate to the point of saying it's an H (5mm) and is 6 1/2 inches long.

And they're up for auction!! On this auction, as usual I'll not set a minimum starting bid BUT I will appreciate minimum increases of $5.00

You can send bids up untill Thursday night, May 21st 10pm Pacific Std time. I'm still on jury duty so I might not be here to post bids during the day but will attend to them as I'm available and promise to post bids just as soon as I can.

Per usual you can email bids to me at:

jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com


And once again THANKS for dropping by!

Jimbo

Bids:


Amboinia J:
Kelley goes right to $40
JoBug raises to $50
Claire in Merry old England goes $60
Alice goes to $65


Redheartbreaker H:
Dawn starts us with $35
Kelley again with $40
Robin takes it to $45

The AUCTION has ENDED! Jimbo has left the building (heh)

What a Wild auction!!! Did you see all the bids on the little girl hook!!? WOW!!
Ah but even good things come to an end, and this auction is now part of history. And we have new owners for these purty little hooks!
High bidders, please consider using the "make a donation" button in the left margin of the blog, for payment... or contact me with any other payment arrangements.

and thanks for bidding!!

Jimbo





click photos to enlarge


hook 4 detail






This just in!! News flash!!! You subscribe to "Talking Crochet"? I do, and the latest e-newsletter has a little article about crochet hook history, written by designer Maggie Petsch. There are a number of hook pictures in the article, showing examples of Hook history and.... at the end..... where she shows examples of current hooks.... there, third hook from the left is......... you got it!!.... a Jimbo hook!!!

oh yeah uh huh...

ok ok, enough of my puffery, lets get on to the auction!


Now ALL the hooks in this group are special. They've all been tested and approved by the recipient of the very first Jimbo hooks; my sister Sandy. So these hooks all come with the SA (Sandy Approval). She was up visiting yesterday and I had her set down with some yarn and try out each hook. I asked her which she liked best and, opinionated as she is, she said she likes them all. So there you have it. She was so impressed with the curvature of the heel end of the fir hook (top picture) that I just HAD to take a picture. You see how the curve fits the heel of her hand? THATS what I'm talkinbout!

Ok on to the actual hooks... and I'll refer to the bottom picture for the description. Lets start at the top and then go left to right.

Top: A Nostepinne!! Haven't made one for just EVER, and I had some really pretty Deadman Crick Fir, so Wall Ah! A GENUINE Deadman Crick Fir Jimbo Nostepinne! I made this one with an extra thick spindle to leave a large opening for the yarn ball. I wound the yarn on this Noste for Sandy's test hooking, so we have her approval on both the yarn ball AND the Noste as well. The Noste is 8 1/2 inches long, 3/4 inches in diameter at the small end, and a little over 1 inch diameter at the large end of the spindle. Smoooooooth and that beautiful blond honey fir color.

Hooks...starting at the far right:

1. This one fascinated Sandy. I watched her crochet with it, and should have taken a picture. You never know how hooks are actually going to be held.. and I'd bet they get held as many different ways as there are crochetiers. But as surprised as I was at how differently she gripped this hook, (I hold it with a finger in each indent, pinky in the little one at the end; and my thumb on the whittled thumb rest... can't quite describe HER grip), she really liked how it crocheted, how comfortable it felt, and how striking the wood grain is. Its made of good old Deadman Crick Bush Maple with HUGE grain color contrast. It's 6 inches long and sized at 7mm (about half way between a K and an L).

Second from right:

2. This is straight from the old Apple Tree where Sandy's first hooks came from. It don't get much better than a hook from the old Apple tree up on the Ranch. I made this one with the newer grip, a carved thumb rest, finger rest indent, and a more abrupt transition between handle and hook shank. Beautiful Apple grain, smoooooth finish and you got a Jimbo classic here. Its an H and is 6 7/8 inches long.

Third from right:

3. Another Deadman Crick wood hook, this time from one of the Hazelnut bushes. Pretty hard wood and difficult to find without lots of little bug tunnels. Bugs, like me, love the taste of Hazel nut. I kept a little bit of the bark on the heel end of this hook, just so you can appreciate more of the hook's origin. Don't know about YOU but this hook fits MY hand like a glove. It has the grip configuration like 2 above, but is a little shorter...6 1/2 inches. Oh and its a snug H sizewise.

Fourth from right:

4. Another of Mom Nature's AMAZING works of art. You see a detail of the diamond shaped cleft at the heel end of his hook in the separate photo. I LOOK for wood like this because it makes such a statement about the hardships endured by the tree, yet yields up heirloom quality hooks. This is just an exceptional piece, donated by the old Apple tree. I'd say the cleft in this branch was made either by a bear climbing the tree (my favorite theory and Very plausible) or by weather (an equally plausible but not so romantic deduction). Either way, this is one exceptional and absolutely totally unique hook. Its 6 3/4 inches long and an I sizewise.

Fifth from right:

5. A little girl hook. This little cutie is made from a pruned branch of the old Birch tree in my back yard. It looks short because it is... just a bit over 6 inches long and light as a feather. The shank looks short too, and it is... but it'll handle a DC just fine. No thumb flat on this one, just the circumferential finger/thumb indent. High bidder can ask for a thumb rest if she/he desires.. no extra charge. Note the little bit of Birchbark left on the flared heel end. I like it. Oh and it's a snug fit in the size 7 hole of my Bates Gauge.


Sixth from right:

6. This is the hook you see Sandy's hand holding. Its another chunk of Genuine Deadman Crick Fir... possibly from the same tree that donated the Nostepinne, but a different branch. See the color difference? The smaller branch that made this hook has a deeper color and the grain!!! Well you'll just have to see this for yourself. Its another one of those hooks that will just sit you back when you open that little red flannel wrap (that's how I send my hooks for those who've yet to get one). Plenty of bark on the heel end of this one... HAD to leave a good sample because Fir bark is just about as Western as it gets. This hook DEFINES "rustic", yet has all the qualities of up to the minute evolution as far as Jimbo Hooks go. Its almost as soothing to look at as it is to hold.. AND it has the crochet SA (Sandy Approval). This one is 7x7 (seven inches long and a size seven).

Seventh from right:

7. Take a close look. Familiar? Well it might be because this hook was made from a Chopstick... in fact, a chopstick that I sweet talked from our Waitress at a VERY nice local Asian Restaurant, "Ginger". Excellent sushi! So while dipping my sashima in a mix of soy sauce and wasabi, it occurred to me that hay these hooks might make good bullion hooks. So said, so it became (after a whole chopstick make-over).. the shank of this Bamboo Beauty tapers all the way to the head.. all the better to let bullion wraps slide off the hook easily. The hook head is also designed to let bullions happen.
Also, since this is a bamboo "Chophook", 100% of your bid $$ will go to further research to find a cure or treatment for Friedreich's Ataxia (search this blog for further info on FA).
So this hook is a whopping 8 1/2 inches long and tapers from about an I at the small end, to a K at about 3 inches up from the hook head.

There you have it!! A bunch of SA hooks and they're all up for bids.

Lets run this auction till Monday (May 11) and end it at 10 pm Pacific Standard Time.

Learned a lesson last auction when I had bids sent at the last minute. They were sent before the auction end, but didn't get here tell well past closing... so this time I'll close the auction at 10pm, but wait a few minutes to announce closing in case that happens again.

Bids can be emailed to me at:


jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

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

and as always... Thanks for stopping by!!

Jimbo



Bids:

Noste:
AnaMaria bids $15
Jenny goes $25


Hook 1
Dawn says $25
Jenny raises to $35


Hook 2
Kate goes $20
Jayne bumps it to $21
Natalie bids $25
Kate's back with $30



Hook 3
Sami Jo says $20
Dawn again, $25
Sami Jo ups it to $30

Hook 4
Natalie bids $20
Joyce bumps to $25
Natalie goes to $30
Susan comes in with $31.50
Lynn $35


Hook 5
Jane S puts $10 on this one
Lillibet goes to $11
Maureen takes us to $12.50
Lynn bumps it to $14
Lillibet raises to $15
Alice doesn't mess around.... $20
Nor does Lynn..... $25
Alice: $27
Lynn goes to $29
Alice! $32
Lynn aginn..$34
Alice without malice goes to $36
Lynn $37.50


Hook 6
Lillibet goes $20
Jayne: $21
Lillibet raises to $22
Alice says $25
Susan with $28


Hook 7 (proceeds go to FARA!)
Lillibet again with $15
Jayne takes it to $17
Lillibet goes to $18