SKLeather

Great looking saddles. Are they for a Northlands client? It was -48C here in the Queen City so I feel your pain.

I like that kind of halter. I think I am going to make something similar to what you've done except with a rose design to match my saddle and I think I'll line the noseband with a removable fleece.

Love the arabian!

And, did others have the experience of discovering that the blandly simple instructions Stohlman gives ("push the awl through the leather to make the needle-hole, then feed the stitching needles through it from both sides simultaneously") require a ten-minute struggle for each stitch and then turn out to be impossible anyway? Is there a clear, foolproof set of guidelines a newbie can follow that will actually, reliably, produce an acceptable product using a specific set of tools and materials that takes the guesswork out of it? (Something above the level of the Tandy Scout-camp stitch-a-wallet kits, I mean? Something that would help you design and execute your own projects, but without flailing blindly as to materials and techniques.) Other hints gladly welcomed as well. Thanks. Oh yeah, sing it brother. I am a total n00b myself so I don't have alot to offer in the way of imparting any actual skill, but I did have some minor victories which I'll share. First off, get some kits from Tandy. If you want to make a cell holster or something for your iPod, then that is a good way to start. You get the precut pieces, whatever you need to build the project and, of course, the leather included is suitable for the task. The kits cost alot for what they are, but I managed to get around that by tracing the pieces from the kit prior to assembling them. Then, I ordered a shoulder of the same leather in the kit. I could practise making a couple of kits for the price of one that way. You can usually get the hardware for your own traced kit from Tandy separately if you want to do this. I also got the deluxe starter kit so I had a basic set of tools. I made a cell phone holster and it actually turned out not too bad. Assembling the kit was easy - just follow along. I dyed the the thing wrong, though. I was going for chocolate brown and I somehow got some red in it so it looks mahogany. I have no idea how that happened since I only have the brown dye. Some people actually complemented that case but they were probably just being nice. LOL! There are some tutorials on YouTube and especially from a guy called BilleF who posts pretty simple instructions for making things. His belt tutorial is really good. I got a pretty decent belt from following that one. After I had made a couple of kits (I actually SOLD one if you can believe it), I started making some simple strap goods. I am heavily involved in horses and I have some very patient friends who lent me some tack to use as models. I made easy, non weight bearing things like throat latches and curb straps first. I learned how to skive, rivet, sew a little and do a reasonable edge, a neat looking strap end etc while making these. I sold quite a few of them so it helped subsidize the tools and materials. I think my friends were just happy to have someone who had the kit to sew up horse blankets and wanted to keep me interested. ;o) I guess, just try simple things until you can do them well; then progress at your own pace adding tools as you need them would be my advice.

Those are some great looking belts! I really like the exotics. Very nice!