Apple tree sculpted Hook... SOLD*

*Shortest auction ever, eh? Well I should have first offered the hook to the second highest bidder in the first auction. I've made that right, and the hook is sold. BUT I promise more will be coming!! I'm hoping to do some more Chophooks too. They make really great Christmas gifts and help out a very worthy cause.






Ever see this hook before? It was auctioned several months back but circumstances didn't allow the high bidder to claim the hook. I've held it what I feel is a long enough time (since May), just in case... but decided today that its just too pretty to be sitting on my desk and not in someone's hands making beautiful things.

I copied the description below from the earlier auction, cause it's all still true.

What you see here is my best work yet, in terms of sculptural value in a crochet hook. Shades (albeit distant shades) of Henry Moore! The handle end of this hook is sculpted in an abstract form that is organic and so sensual it begs fondling. Functional form, in the crochet aspect, is almost if not totally dominated by the grain and structure of the Applewood medium and the form it takes at the heel of this hook. Seriously, photographic detail does little justice.

I've been wanting to use more artistic expression in some of my hooks, as a hopeful supplement to the natural beauty of the wood, but have been intimidated by what wood so easily does on it's own. So this is a pretty bold venture for me, and I have to admit to a degree of trepidation about it's acceptance. But here it is, for all it's worth.

My indecision is past, and realizing that I'm a whittler, not a crochet hook collector... I've decided to put this remarkable piece of nature (and some whittling) up for bids.

I'll take bids on this hook ($5 minimum raises please), till 10pm November 25.

Oh and bytheway... this hook is made from a branch of the famous old Deadman Crick Apple tree from up on the ranch. Its 7 1/4 inches (18.5 cm) long and is a K (6.5mm).

You can email bids to me at:


jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

I'll try to post bids as they come in but be warned, I'm busy designing and building a set for a local play so will be away for hours at a time. But I promise to post bids as soon as I come back from the studio.



Thanks for dropping by!

Bids:

First Snow on the Ranch

you can click on the images for a larger picture. Oh and yes, I did make the lamp... its made of Tamarack!



Seems like it's been months since we've been able to get up to the Ranch. Halloween events and later issues kept us away, so we missed alot of the Tamaracks changing color. Hate to miss that since they turn such a spectacular brilliant yellow. But its a fleeting time and you have to be there within days almost to see the brightest colors before the needles fall, and we missed it. BUT we didn't miss the first snow!! And THAT'S a huge thing for me. Love the crisp air up there when it's cold enough for the snow to stick and build up clouds of white in the tree branches.

Karol and I went up Friday and stayed with friends Jim and Mickey through Sunday, then I stayed there Sunday night by myself. Great time!! These pictures were taken Saturday morning when we woke up to fresh snow. Its almost tradition now, that we take a walk in the first snow, and I dawdle to take pictures. Such beauty has to be shared.

So here you are. Almost as pretty as being there.


Auction coming up.... soon.

Thanks for dropping by!
Jimbo

AUCTION IS OVER, BUT THERE'S MORE COMING!

HIGH BIDDERS PLEASE CONSIDER USING PAYPAL BY CLICKING ON THE "MAKE A DONATION" BUTTON IN THE LEFT MARGIN OF THIS BLOG PAGE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PAY ANOTHER WAY, PLEASE EMAIL ME AND WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT.
THANKS TO ALL BIDDERS!!
JIMBO






Sorry it's taken so long to put some hooks up for bids. No really good excuses, but the Portland trip did take a bit of time and stuff here has been catching up to me.. and such... lame excuses. I know.

So these hooks are pictured against a backdrop of leaves that I need to rake. Already did that once, and they're back again. Ah but it gets me out in the crisp air and it's good exercise. Yeah that's it.. keep telling yourself that, Jimbo.

Ok ok.. to the hooks. These are four hooks that are ALL really pretty!

Starting from left to right, the first hook is made of a South American Rosewood (can't remember which country). It has rich deep reddish brown colors that are reminiscent of old mahogany, but the grain is much tighter and dense. It's an F (3.5mm) and is 17.15cm (6 3/4 inches) long.

Next up is a beautiful Redheart hook. I love the color of Redheart. Amazing that a wood can be naturally so red! Anyways, this beauty speaks for itself.. all's I really need do is tell you that it's a G (4mm) and is a wee bit shorter than the Rosewood hook... about 6 5/8 inches (16.83cm) long.

Number three is an ornamental Crabapple beauty with wildly contrasting grain, cream on one side, and a golden brown spike on the other. Pretty, feather light, and functional. It's an H (5mm) and is 6 1/2 inches (16.51cm) long.

Last but FAR from least is a new wood for me. German Pear! My son Lance got this for me at a hardwood importer in Portland, as a gift. Its beautiful wood and really nice to work with.. very tight grain and pretty varigated colors that you have to see to appreciate. I didn't put a thumb flat on this one but will if the high bidder prefers, no charge. Its a J (6mm) and is 7 3/8 inches (18.73cm) long.


So.. to the bidding...

As usual, you can email bids with $5.00 raise minimums please, to me at:

jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

To new bidders: I try to post bids as they come in. I'm not here ALL the time though so if your bid doesn't show up right away, not to worry. Your bid will be posted as soon as Jimboly possible. Identical bids are entered by the time posted so if your bid is the same as another, I'll go by which ever one was posted first.

We'll run this auction up until Monday, 10pm Pacific Time, Nov. 9.

Thanks for your patience!!
Jimbo
now I better go rake leaves, eh?

Bids:

Rosewood F: Bonnie goes $15
Diane bumps it up to $25
Robin says $30

Redheart G: Bonnie here with $20
Diane goes to $25
Shannon takes it to $30
Adam raises it to $35

Ornamental Crab H: Janet again with $10
Bonnie again with $15
Nicole goes to $25

German Pear J: Janet goes $10
Bonnie AGAIN $15
Becky bids $25

Diplohookticus Debut

A fine time was had by all, especially Diplohookticus Jimbosei, at Portland's famed "Twisted Yarns" over the Halloween holiday. Seen here, Dippy's "coming out" event was carried out by Rockpool Candy, famous fiber artist from Northern Ireland, and sponsored by none other than Ravelry's pride, Laurie Wheeler, fearless leader of the Crochet Liberation Front.

Friday evening Dippy and Rockpool Candy made what SHOULD have been sufficient to get them into the Guinness Book of World records for the World's biggest crochet hook. You see, the Guinness people required that the hook be in a shape normal to an ordinary crochet hook (Dippy IS shaped like a normal crochet hook, wouldn't you say?) and be used in a normal way. AND Rockpool Candy did just that!! And so did Laurie Wheeler!! Both of these talented crochetiers made a total of twenty stitches to complete a giant spiderweb!



And here we have the Team! Left to right, we have THE fearless leader of "Ravelry's" Crochet Liberation Front, Laurie Wheeler, THE famous fiber activist and yarn sculptress Rockpool Candy, "Twisted" co-owner Emily, the totally charming Hazel, and her Mommy, Twisted co-owner Shannon. Oh and yeah that's me in the background, totally humbled by the greatness in front of me. Dippy was so overcome he passed out in the arms of all that talent and charm.


Could it get any better? YES!! Dippy and I had the honor of an audience with the Internationally Renown Author, Freeform Crochet and Bullion Queen, Bonnie Pierce!! Bonnie took a liking to Dippy and even threw a couple loops around the lucky guy's neck. Lucky for me, Bonnie's husband Bill was handy so Dippy didn't dare try any funny stuff. Ever generous, Bonnie graciously coached me in the nuances of a good bullion hook design, although she doesn't need hooky nuances to do bullions. In fact, I firmly believe Bonnie could charm a 30 loop bullion off a cactus. She's that good.





And here we have Ireland's Pride, Rockpool Candy in the midst of actually crocheting, all by herself, with Dippy (who didn't help at all). Rockpool did TEN actual stitches on the perimeter of the giant spider web that we crocheted (YES I helped!) with yarn spun right in the shop from fiber donated by Fearless Leader Laurie Wheeler. Rockpool set us up with strands of yarn that radiated from a center point, with a crochetier between each strand. One would chain a section from one of the radial strands to the next, then hand the hook (we used ALL Jimbo hooks for the project!)to the next crochetier, who continued to chain her two radial strands together, and the hook was then passed to the next crochetier and so on till the circle was completed, Then we'd switch to a bigger hook and do the next circle and so on, till we ended up with Dippy at the furthest and biggest circle. What a BLAST!! You shoulda been there!






And when Rockpool finished with her magic (I was AMAZED she was actually able to crochet with that lunk), she passed the hook on to Laurie, who crocheted ten more stitches and passed ole Dippy on to another crochetier who i stoopidly failed go get a name from (I think I was in shock) and so on. Just amazing! I mean that guy weighs 25lbs!! Not much you say? Just imagine balancing a 25lb pole in one hand while throwing crochet loops with the other! Just amazing!




And here's Rockpool Candy, famed crochet artist, caught in her own web! Actually, she'd putting the finishing touches on this webby wonder Saturday morning as we finished up and got ready to head back to the real world. But not before...



We got a visit from WALDO!! Can you find him? heh. Actually this is Leethal (Lee Merideth) who dropped by with her spinning wheel just as we were hanging the web. We finished earlier than planned so Lee and her very nice alpaca missed out on contributing to the web. Not that Lee is a stranger to the web.. she's a designer! check her out at http://www.leethal.net/index.html




All in all a great time was had, and I'm VERY grateful to Rockpool Candy and her Hubby Andy (what good friends we've become!!) for coming all the way from Ireland to do stitches with Dippy, and to Laurie Wheeler and Hubby Jeff for organizing and having The Crochet Liberation Front sponsor the event, AND to Twisted Yarns in Portland for hosting us. And I'm especially grateful to Twisted for their VERY generous donation to FARA (Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance) through their purchase of Jimbo Chophooks!

And thanks to all who helped us in Portland, especially my son Lance, his bride Crystal, daughter Kylee and dog Louie P. Wigglebottom for their generous hospitality and good eats!!


grateful
Jimbo

Diplohookticus Jimbosei's official statistics:
Diameter of shank (hook size): 15.7 cm (6.18 inches)
Length: 147 cm (57.87 inches)
Weight: 11.3 kg. (24.9 lbs)
First use: Oct. 30, 2009
At: Twisted Yarns, Portland Oregon USA
By: Rockpool Candy of Ireland
and Laurie Wheeler of Camano Island, Washington, USA

Come to Portland Ore. on Halloween... meet Dippy!!

(click image for larger print)



The paparazzi got this shot of Dippy (Diplohookticus Jimbosei) while he was trying on outfits prior to his cameo appearance at Twisted Yarns in Portland for the event you see in the flyer. The guy's just getting too uppity. And I have to live with him all the way to Portland!

If you can make it, please plan to attend. I'd love to meet you and Dippy wants to fill his dance card!

PLUS you'll get to meet and crochet with Rockpool Candy, the famed fiber artist from Ireland, and Camanomade, fearless leader of The Crochet Liberation Front in Ravelry! They'll be organizing a fiber spinning and crochet event where a huge spiderweb will be made in the shop (Twisted Yarns).

Hope you can be there!
Jimbo

New auction coming sooon! Watch THIS space!

Prettiest Hook Ever?? auction over,Tracey gets the hook! Thanks everyone!
Next auction will be added to this post in order to keep the Halloween post up top. (Need to get folks to come to the event, you know.)
Up for bids


The other day, I was wandering aimlessly through a local wood supply and came across this very small piece of Cocobolo (Rosewood). Now if you've been around rough sawn wood before, you know that its hard to tell what kind of grain you're getting because the frayed saw marks hide the grain. But on this one, I could see beautiful grain peeking through and I immediately bought the piece. Thankfully it was a very small piece because this is EXPENSIVE wood. Anyways, I brought the blank home and cut it into two hook blanks (maybe three if I can use the third piece). To my horror, there was a huge void in the middle of the wood, a pocket probably caused by an insect or some defect or crack while the tree or branch was growing. That's good and bad. The good is that the defect caused the wood to grow in amazingly beautiful swirls and colors. The bad was that it was a DANGEROUS piece to turn at near 2,000 rpm on my lathe, not knowing if the piece would explode and send sharp shards through my favorite T-shirt. Needless to say, I took it very slow and re-sharpened the lathe tool twice during the cutting.

It all paid off, as you can see. The photo is of the hook on a mirror so you can see as much of the grain as possible. But even at that, you just have to hold this beauty and turn it in the light to fully appreciate what a masterpiece nature has bestowed. Hold it in your hand. You can't stop turning it to admire the grain and feel the texture.

I know I've been lucky to find some really beautiful woods before, but this one is just incredible.

Technically, the hook is an H (5mm) and is 7 1/2 inches long (19cm).
Now what I decided to do, since this is such a special hook, is to delay carving a thumb rest, and carve it later, according to the high bidder's wishes. I'll send the hook, the buyer can try it out, maybe mark where a thumb rest should go; send it back and I'll carve the flat and send it back as a custom fit.

So.. to the bidding...

As usual, you can email bids with $5.00 raise minimums please, to me at:

jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

Oh, and for any new bidders: I try to post bids as they come in. I'm not here ALL the time though so if your bid doesn't show up right away, not to worry. Your bid will be posted as soon as Jimboly possible.

We'll run this auction up until 10pm Pacific Time, Oct. 7.


Jimbo

Bids:
Sherri starts with $25
Tracey to $30
Carlene goes to $35
Debra wants another.. and goes to $40
Tracey bumps it to $45
Debra's back with $50
Tracey takes it to $55
Deb again with $60!
I'm BACK! and a bid was waiting.. Nicole with $75!
Ooooh, Tracey goes to $80!

Two Pretty Hooks Auction is OVER! THANKS!!

Thanks to all who bid in this little auction! Would the high bidders, Elise and Debra W, please consider paying using the "Make a donation" button in the left margin of this blog (it takes you to Paypal), or contact me if you'd like to make other payment arrangements.
With a little luck, another auction will be forthcoming VERY shortly, and with some VERY interesting hooks.

Thanks again
Jimbo




(click on image for bigger than life detail)

Here are just two hooks up for bids. Just two, but pretty rare beauty in what might otherwise pass for just slightly uncommon wood. The top hook is made of Pacific Yew. I've made Yew hooks before and I like them for their lightness and tough nature. Remember I told you that bows (the bow and arrow bow) are often made of Yew for those two reasons and for its flexibility. Well this hook isn't flexible to any obvious degree, but its tough, light, and absolutely beautiful. The grain in this hook ebs and sworls and kinks, and does all kinds of things to amaze me. And the color shifts here and there too; from cinamon to honey, to olive.. makes me hungry!
Details: This hook is turned with the indented grip and thumbrest, is 7 3/8 inches (18.73cm) long and is a K+ (7mm). You probably don't have a 7mm hook in your collection, do you?

The bottom hook was expected to be a very serviceable, nice hook. It's made from good ole American Hickory. But the grain in this one too, worked out in a very striking way, with a dark highlight streak running into the thumb flat and shades of brown running out the shank to the hook...And grain that would fool some into saying oak, along the handle. Lots of unexpected and VERY appealing variation. And looks here are a little deceiving. It looks like the wood is very porous, and normally it is, but the finish I used covers the pores to leave a silky smooth surface.
This hook is just a wee bit shorter than the Yew hook and is an H (5mm).

As usual, you can email bids with $5.00 raise minimums please, to me at:

jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com

Oh, and for any new bidders: I try to post bids as they come in. I'm not here ALL the time though so if your bid doesn't show up right away, not to worry. Your bid will be posted as soon as Jimboly possible.

We'll run this auction up until 10pm Pacific Time, Sept 22. A bit shorter time, but then there's only two hooks to ponder, eh?

And away we go!

Bids:

Yew K+:
Janet starts it with $10
AnaMaria goes to $20
Elise with a big bump to $40




Hickory H:
Erin goes $10
JoAnn takes it to $20
Nicole BUMPS it to $40
DebraW goes to $50