Where you can put your thimble. . .

Some recent eBay auctions:

Vintage Black Forest Hand Carved Sewing Kit w/Thimble.
US $66.99, 14 bids starting at US $12.78.
4 May 2007.
"A vintage hand carved sewing kit from the Black Forest region. Dark lovely wood is carved grapes and grape leaves and the top is a stylized eastern castle top. The top pulls off to reveal a very old plain brass thimble which sits atop a bone stem which is both a needlecase and a spool holding two colours of threads: pink and blue. The needlecase/spool measures almost 3" in length and the entire sewing kit measures just a bit over 4" in length. Very beautiful carvings hand wrought into the dark lovely wood. Very special. From a private collection."
I was planning in bidding on this--it would have made a great conversation piece among my non-thimble-collecting friends--but it was getting a little higher than I wanted to pay.
Sterling Silver Antique repoussé sewing case with thimble.
US$284.99 seller's minimum bid: no bids.
2 May 2007.
Antique Hand Carved Vegetable Ivory Barrel Thimble Holder: about 2¼" high and 1¾" in diameter, no chips, or cracks.
US$51.50; 7 bids starting at US$12.00.
1 May 2007.
Vegetable ivory is derived from any of a variety ivory-palm seeds, or nuts, including the Coquilla and Corozo, both native to South America. The seeds are carefully dried, after which the white, dried endosperm inside becomes very hard and dense and can be carved or polished like stones or elephant tusks. Vegetable ivory has become a desirable alternative to animal ivory not only for its beauty, but because (1) the trees are not killed in the harvest their seeds, (2) the trees produce seeds throughout their lives and are thus a renewable resource, and (3) an increased demand for everyday items made from vegetable ivory can help protect the ivory-palm trees in the rain forest from being leveled for either cattle grazing or the planting of less profitable crops.
1898 Iroquois Bead Work Thimble & Bead Holder.
US$53.00; 5 bids, starting at US$25.00.
26 April 2007.
Beaded on silk with glass beads and metal sequins, 9" by 6" with an 8-inch hanger, very clean silk with no damage or wear, three loops of fringe missing.
French Palais Royal Jeweled Ormolu Thimble Basket.
Reserve not met. High Bid: US$104.50; 8 bids, starting at US$46.00.
25 April 2007.
Napoleon III era, ca. 1860; lined with original silk, paste stones; 4" high x 3" wide.