yaklady

I paid no heed to the manner in which hats were worn, I was more interested in what was underneath them! Charley's hat looked just fine to me, as did Charley himself. He prooves to be great entertainment anytime, and I was entertained a lot during the course of the show. Charley, Clay and I did indeed have some philosophical discussions that were a bit off color, but that's what I have come to expect when the 3 of us get together. I love the show in Sheridan. My sympathies go out to those of you who did not get to go. Start planning for next year! Kathy

It looks great! Hope you do well at the fair!

Johnny, I don't even oil personal items such as clutch purses. The oils from your hands while using it seem to be enough to keep it good. Things might be different in your climate. What acrylics are you using? I like Delta Ceramcoat the best. Be sure to water them down! Kathy

That's very nice! I agree about the braiding, that is amazing. I like the tooling and the subject matter. Kathy

Regis, I started with a pine box. A friend made it for me in exchange for a leather ax sheath. Thank you everyone for the nice comments. Anne, I wish you were going to be there so I could see you in person. Kathy

Hi Johnny, That's a good question! Not too long ago, I assumed that acrylics could not be applied to oil dye, but was proven wrong. Since that does work after all, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work with oil. I would go easy on the oil, though. Since oil wanders, it won't do much good to not apply it to the area to be painted. What is the piece you are doing? It may be better to apply Lexol and leave the oil out of it. I personally do not oil anything that I paint. I just don't trust it. I don't know if this is helpful or not! Kathy

My son is a certified gunsmith. He took an ordinary hand gun and rebuilt it to be a beautiful work of art. A masterpiece like that should not be kept in a black plastic case like he has it in. For the past three months, I've been striving to make perfect case in which to display the gun. My son is into Celtic design, so I had to get used to tooling that, not my usual forte. Here's what I came up with, finally. It's a good thing I got it finished today. It has to be in Sheridan for competition on Thursday!

Oh yeah, the triplets. They have to take up a lot of time. When they get a little older, you could have freak come up and teach them the finer ways of life. Did you see his hobbies with his daughter? Aren't you done with that album yet! Kathy

I have a hint for your lettering. It's perfect except for the halo around the letters. If you were to bevel to the inside instead, you would have no halo to worry about. I really like the font you chose. Can't wait to see the finished product! Kathy

You've outdone yourself now, Clay! It amazes me that someone can run a store and still find the time to do such beautiful work. Kathy

Cool! I could get rich if I decorated all of my skulls! Ken, I did not slay the beaver, that's your job! Don't tell my brother, but I think the cat is/was his. It had traces of black hair on it, his missing cat was black. The COD is obvious: a bite to the head! Kathy

Did you say the Yaks have arrived???

Our snow is almost gone! Yeah!!!!

BABE Who can resist such a cute pig? Crocodile Hunter and Second Hand Lions are right up there on my list, too.

What a great subject! It's fun seeing what everyone likes to do, except for freak flinging . . . well, you know. Besides my yaks, I like having pigs and horses and chickens around. I'm also a collector of sorts. There are a million little piggy things in and around my house. I also like to collect skulls. I have big skulls, little skulls, nice skulls, rotten skulls. I even have a yak skull! This is a bull elk I found in the forest behind our house. Spoils from a hunt, I assume. The antlers were sawed off. Bull elk have thick skulls like some men I know. Catfish, cat and squirrel Antelope and deer Coyote Silver fox Pig. Someone cooked him. No, it wasn't me! Racoons Beaver Cow. I have 3 of these. I had a horse skull once, too. I found it 2 or 3 miles from home while out riding my horse as a teenager (last year, I think). It wasn't easy lugging that big thing back on top of my horse, and the horse seemed concerned. Then my father took it to the dump! All that work for nothing!

Anne, there are remarks about Pete's book under Patterns and Templates, "Found a Good Book". You can order direct from Pete at 719-746-2311. He's a good guy with a good book. Myriam, Thank you for the kind words. I hope the acrticle gives people new ideas on how to do that kind of thing on leather. Tony, The "beasts" are not very big. right now, the ladies are no taller than a welsh pony, 13 hands. The bull is at least a hand higher, even though he's younger. He will keep growing until he's about 6 years old. They say the bulls can reach a weight of 1200 to 1700 pounds, but I'm not sure of the height. They have a large hump, similar to a bison. Not all of them are sway-backed, but Pabu sure is. Doug, Is that kind of like a bad yak ending up in the freezer?

Doug, did the roping steers start chasing you around like my bull chased me? Anne, I took a class from Pete in Wickenburg last year. That was one of the best classes I ever took. I have one of his books to refresh my memory when needed.

Thank you, Braider! I did find a couple extra issues in my mailbox, but no where near 50. I'll have to talk to Dave about that! Doug, I used the A104, my all time favorite, close in to the pattern. Then I used Bob Beard's matter to blend it out. Bob makes the best matting tools in the whole world. I couldn't have blended it that well with out it. I really do raise yaks, and I really did put one in the freezer. He really did want to kill me. He really tastes really good, too! I'm hoping to have my first calves this summer. I only have three yaks, a bull and 2 heifers, and they're all young. This is Yogi, my bull. This is Pabu. That's Tibetan for "Puff ball" This is Pubari, which is Tibetan for "Good". She's the sweetest one. They live on my mother's acerage to keep it zoned agricultural. I chose yaks because they don't eat much and they can take care of themselves. They are pretty cool creatures. jbird, I didn't make it for any specific purpose. I just wanted to practice what I learned from Pete Gorrell about drawing patterns. I mostly liked the way it turned out, so I gave it to Dave. He went bonkers over it, and, well, here it is!

There used to be a craft aid with a fishing boat on it, for a wallet. There's also one in "Al Stohlman's Top 20" book. It looks like this:

That's a good looking case, Tom!

Here's a picture for you, Braider. Sorry, but I don't have one with all the writing and stuff on it! I think it was the freak show that brought me to the surface. No one else could possibly present me to the public like freak can. The Dave Reis just couldn't resist such amuzment. With all this attention, maybe I should go get a face lift or something. Or at least a new hat like Clay's. Should I bring a yak to Sheridan to have photo sessions with? Maybe then I could make it onto National Geographic. Clay, I think you pronounced my name right this time. Now if I can get yours right . . . Thank you all, you wonderful people! Kathy

You outdid yourself this time, freak! I like your rendition of it better than the real thing ! Kathy

I saw that article, Randy. Tell Riley "very well done". He is such an ambitious kid. You must be proud of him. Tell him I'm making good use of his orange rub stick. I'll miss him in Sheridan. Kathy PS: Did you notice the cover page?

Hey Clay! Buffalo don't have feathers!!!

Jeff made mine, too, and I highly recommend him. I think he could make anything you want. He does excellent work, and he's quick. Kathy