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lydian8

Members
  • Content Count

    15
  • Joined

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About lydian8

  • Rank
    Member
  • Birthday 11/12/1969

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Female
  • Location
    Quakertown, PA
  • Interests
    Hand crafting, metal jewelry mostly, just got my hands into leather, really like it and want to know more

LW Info

  • Leatherwork Specialty
    none
  • Interested in learning about
    carving
  • How did you find leatherworker.net?
    google

Recent Profile Visitors

1,211 profile views
  1. I do like several lace stitches, but I was hoping for a sleaker look. It's a hard cover and needs no additional stiffening. Maybe what I want to do is something no one does. I'm not sure. Maybe no one has figured out 90°angles for welting or rolled edges. I suppose I could just glue a rolled edge, but that doesn't seem very sturdy. Lenore
  2. Thank you Tom, That's great information I'll tuck away for future use, but I'm doing a cover that can be put over an existing book. It needs to be removable. Don't get me wrong, I can make a cover. I was just hoping someone had info on nice, clean edges. I like both fold over and welted edges, but I can't find info on going around the corners. Lenore
  3. I've been making small book covers for a little bit, but I haven't found an edge method that makes sense to me other than just sewing the pieces together and burnishing the best that I can. I was hoping for a cleaner look. Eveything about rolled edges and welting that I see doesn't seem to help me around the corners. I really have done a lot of searching and come up with clean ways to bind a book, but I want to cover one. I suppose I could use chip board and make a binding over the book, but that's going to get kind of big and heavy. Any advice would be apperciated. Lenore
  4. Wild Bill46, I didn't take offense, I was trying to figure out where you were going and added my philosophical thoughts. Now as far as leatherwork talents, you are actually right in my opinion. None of us are children, and if I picked up my swivel knife every day for the next year and posted my work every day without incredible change, I think it might be safe to say, carving is not for me and it may be time to put that energy to better use. None of us is great at everything. I just needed a push to say, keep going, try again. I'll never know if I don't put in the effort. Lenore
  5. Thanks to everyone. I needed this and will hold on to it when I feel frustrated or hopeless. This is a pretty awesome bunch of people on this forum. Actually, I feel like leatherworkers in general are pretty awesome people. Wild Bill 46, I wasn't sure if you meant leather or just talent in general, but talent comes in a lot of flavors. My husband is amazed by what I can do with my hands. He is not about artistic creation at all, not visually, musically, theatrically. He appreciates it, but has no interest in it. However, he writes computer code for a living. I know just enough to see the elegance in his coding. He works to write the most stable programming with the least amount of unnecessary commands. There is an art to it. In the house, he tinkers with automation, like having the TV in the 3rd floor bedroom pop up a message when the washer is done in the basement since it can't be heard. He is talented to me. I think the people who have no way to channel the fire in them are the most unfortunate. They might not even know they have a spark inside. I'm not sure how people like that get up in the morning. But in a forum like this, where people have a passion and share with each other, those people don't make sense. Not completely sure if that was what you were thinking about, but that's my 2 cents. Thank you for all the encouragement. I may be getting older, but there are still parts that are green, like sticking to it when it doesn't just fall into place easy. You all have helped me today. Lenore
  6. Thank you all. I need the boost. When I was young, I had a skill that people marvled at, completely unrelated to leatherwork or any type of artisan work. It came as naturally as breathing, and earned me a lot of respect and accolades. It was all that there was of me. It was needed at the time, because my home life was a nightmare. I could cling to it as showing I had value in the world. Now I'm old-ish. That skill is fading some with age, but more importantly, it no longer defines me. However, I am wired to create, and I can choose where I want to invest that creativity. I don't know tenacity that well, because I really haven't had to work for a skill this hard before. I want this. I want to carve leather. I just have to be reminded that all the work will pay off at some point. I need to know there are others who got to where they wanted to be even if they started with very little. If you can do it, I can too. Thank you Roq, JLSleather, and Monica. And Treed, I think you are right. I need a mentor. The people in my area are very giving, and I need to take advantage of that. I put a lot of pressure on myself still, but I'll try to relax. Lenore
  7. Hi, I really love leatherwork. I love the beauty of it. I love the feel of intricate carvings. I love the sense of connection to humans thousands of years ago using the same material to do similar things. I am finding it difficult to carve. I am finding it difficult to trace onto the leather. I have found other avenues to work in leather. I make bracelets and basic stamped book covers. I'm proud of my ability to construct clean lines and even make patterns of my own. But I started this because I wanted to carve. I keep telling myself it's a matter of practice, but I'm to the place that I'm intimidated to pick up the tracing tool because I can't seem to make it go where I want it to go, let alone the swivel knife. I look through the forums and see people say "This is my first project. What do you think?", and it looks like they have been tooling leather for a lifetime. It's beautiful and almost flawless, and I wonder if I'm not wasting my time wishing for a talent I just might not have. Is there anyone out there that carving did not come easy? If you are out there, can you show me what it looked like before and what it is now, and can you tell me how you pressed on through to get good? I really need to be inspired at this point, or I need to be told the hard truth that maybe some people just can't carve. I hope that's not a truth, because I can draw and I can produce fantasic forms and templates on my PC. But in drawing I can clean up lines and computer based stuff can be made very precise. I can't take back a bad line in leather, and I think it's kind of defeating me. Any help would be appreciated. Lenore
  8. I was just poking around and found some good information on this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19583. Sorry, don't know how to hyperlink that. I'd look around in there and the forum that thread came from. If no one else answers you, you might want to repost the topic as "How to finish leather". There are people that use paints on leather to paint pictures, but EVERYBODY wants to finish their projects. Lenore
  9. I'm pretty new as well, but I think what you are looking for is a 2 step process. First, you'll want to dye your project. There are a ton of dyes out there. I use Ecoflo because I have a Tandy store close by. They have a bunch of colors and it's pretty easy to work with. You might want to wear disposable gloves as the first time I worked with dye, it was red and I had bare hands. The dye doesnt come off for several days and it looked liked I killed the cow I dyed. Once that is dry. You'll need a finish. If this is going to be outside, you'll want something that is considered waterproof. I haven't made something that's going to be in the rain, but I know Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene is pretty good stuff and dries to a semi glossy look. I know there is stuff out there for weather-proofing shoes, but I don't know the name. That might work better for you. I'm sure some other people will jump on as help you as well with ideas today, but this should get you started in a good direction. Lenore
  10. Where is this modification guide you speak of? I would love to see it. Lenore
  11. Does anyone have pics of mods done to the ram rod to hold the ram foot in place, or mods to convert the arbor press to making snaps and rivets and such? Lydian8
  12. Mike, Thanks for the welcome. I've been looking into the companies you mentioned. I appreciate the help. King's X, You are very kind. Thanks. Lenore
  13. Thanks everyone. I'll check out all suggestions. Feel like an idiot, but I've never done this before. Lenore
  14. Ok, I've poked around but can't find a straight forward explanation. I've never sharpened anything in my life, let alone a specialty tool like a swivel knife. Can someone tell me how to do this and with what?
  15. Hi, I love to work with my hands. I've been working in metal jewelry for some time, but I've had to find alternative methods as the price of silver has gone crazy. I stumbled into leather this December and fell in love with it. I attached a pic of a couple templates I made. They're very simple, but I really enjoyed working in leather. I'm hooked. I want to really get into leather work, particularly carving. I picked up a book to get started, but I'm not sure of several things. I've never sharpened a kitchen knife, let alone a swivel knife, nor do I know the best tools to purchase. After reading some things on this site, I'm not even sure if I should go ceramic over metal. I live close enough to a Tandy store, but I get the feeling that they don't always have the best tools. The more I read about carving, the more I think it's something I need to watch in action and something it would be good to get immediate feedback on as I learn. Anyway, I have loads of questions. I'm hoping if any of you can point me in a direction or give me some helpful hints, you'll take the time. I'd be most appreciative. Here's to hoping that I don't drive anyone to drink. Lenore
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