Jumbo Yarn Bowl Sets with Removable Tool Cup/Hubs

Jumbo Yarn Bowl Set #1105 in our Etsy Shop

After our first few months of success with our Large Yarn Bowls in 2014, Bob started getting requests for "BIGGER" yarn bowls. While he was excited to go bigger, this presented several design challenges for both of us; as Bob searched for choice hardwoods from felled local trees, and I started testing the functionality of the bowls at work.

Bob's new #JumboYarnBowl line grew rapidly as he created XL, XXL, XXXL yarn bowls suited to different yarning styles and works in progress. Testing these bigger bowls, I found the bigger styles worked best with just two balls of yarn fed through the yarn groove even though there was tons of extra space in the vessel. More than two balls of yarn would inevitably tangle in the bowl before the groove; something I wanted to work out in the future. As fellow yarn enthusiasts snapped up Bob's new hardwood artisan yarn bowls, we were encouraged by lots of reviews from happy yarners who enjoyed "room for everything!"

One day, as Bob chucked up a huge piece of cherry on the lathe, he commented on what a massive, beautiful yarn bowl it would make. However, at only 3 1/2" in depth, a yarn groove wouldn't fit properly with the lower profile. I took one look and visualized a giant cherry bowl filled with all the yarn I needed for a single project. So, I asked him to finish it without a groove –for me. That was my first #JumboYarnBowl and I was hooked.

Instantly, it became my favorite yarn bowl –I could load it up with a ton of yarn, nevertheless, I still wanted to pull multiple balls simultaneously (or a couple together) from the top of the bowl without the yarn balls tangling. What I really wanted was a wheel of yarn that I could spin around at my side, seamlessly switching colors as needed. Finally, I popped a jelly jar in the middle of my "wheel" and made my first tool cup/hub! It worked like a dream, every ball rolled without tangling, but I really wanted a matching cherry tool cup/hub...

When I asked Bob to make this small cherry cup to complete my new Jumbo Yarn Bowl Set, he groaned. Turning a small cup is easy he explained, but fitting his big man hands inside for twelve+ coats of hand sanding and silky finishing is not only difficult but the repetition generates a lot of hand cramps. For this reason, I understood  why it took a few months of nagging before I was rewarded with two prototype tool cup/hubs (an extra one for our PA friend/tester Donnamarie).​

Those first tool cup/hubs were larger then we wanted, so I begged for "just one more" (and smaller, please, honey) and after a bit of grumbling, Bob completed the perfectly sized hub for our first Jumbo Bowl Set. I was thrilled, then the set sold right away and I couldn't get Bob to make any more tool cup/hubs come hell or high water!

Almost a year later, I got a request from Sherry. She had purchased a (deeper) Jumbo bowl, saw the picture of the set we had sold a year previously and emailed asking if Bob would make one. I laughed, then replied "good luck, I have been asking for a year... sorry but..." Then I told him Sherry asked for a hub, and Bob said yes!? I suppose, if I want something like this from Bob in the future, I'll get it quicker if I ask my friend Sherry in Oklahoma to ask him for me. 🤣😂😂 Isn't it amazing how the "process" works?

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Labor intensive! Bob's cherry tool cup/hubs take as much wood and more finish time than his large yarn bowls which are 2-3 times larger in size.