yaklady

I'll take your herd of feral mini horses! One just isn't enough for me, and that's what I'm down to. Are the great danes bigger than they are? Kathy

Lemon juice can also help as long as the mold isn't too bad. Sometimes black dye is the only alternative. Black didn't help my yak any, he wasn't salvageable. Is that a Rocky Mountain Horse you're sitting on? Kathy

That was the class I wanted to take, but the time wasn't right, so I took his other class. I learn a lot from Peter no matter what he's teaching. He's so sweet, too. He has given me a couple of the things that he made in the classes I took. The first class I took from him was a few weeks after I broke my arm while barrel racing. I had an extra bend in my arm. I thought I was bionic with steel in my arm after they fixed it, but it sure was hard holding that mallet! He saw that I was having trouble and helped me graciously through the class. I use the technique I learned there, embossed applique, a lot now. If only I could get the color like he does! I would take Peter's class any time. Sorry, Clay, I don't have a picture! I have an x-ray of my arm, care to see that? Kathy

I have Windows, and the little window popped up like you said, but for some reason, the print mode isn't highlighted, and won't print for me. Jo's advice did work for me, though. Thank you! Kathy

Wow! That works! Clay was nice enough to send it directly to me, but now I won't have to be a pest in the future. Thanks Johanna! Kathy

Oh no!!! I can't believe what I'm hearing! How barbaric! I won't be inviting YOU over any time soon!

I prefer to keep my pigskin on my pig. All my friends want to "borrow" him for lining or something, but the pig wants them to give him food to put in his lining. They just want to teach him to walk up a ramp to the BBQ. I have rude friends. In pig years, I'd be a football.

I just wet it down a little, rub it with my bar of glycerine saddle soap, and rub it with my rub stick. Rub-a-dub-dub, that's all it takes! I tried that with my bad yak, too, but it didn't smooth him a bit, just made him mad.

I got some veggie goat from Hide Crafters when they were still in Denver. Don't know if they still have it or how much it costs. It's very thin and flexible, great for embossing and stretching over things. When you tool it, be careful or you'll go right through! It has a beautiful grain to it which adds a lot to your project. I like it. It ain't baaaad! Kathy

Clay, as you know, I am pretty much computer illiterate. I have no idea how to print this pattern from this site. Can you give me a little insite on this? Please! Kathy

Hi Syd, Clay is using some good quality leather, probably Hermann Oak. The shading you see there is simlpy the depression made from the pear shader tool. When you have good leather like that, your tools cause a burnish on the leather. That's a good thing, that's what you want. It darkens because of the oils in the leather. Many of the other tools will have the same effect. If you use cheap leather you may not get the burnishing. My advise is to stay away from cheap leather and use something like Hermann Oak. I don't know what number the tool was that Clay used here, but It could be something like P203 or P222, or thereabouts. Kathy

Chaylor-Fenneli has them in 2 different sizes. They're out of Australia, but the CEO, Keith Johnstone, spends a lot of time in Arizona selling stuff from there. www.chaylor.com Kathy

Hi Pete, There is no comparison between Peter Main's modeling tool and any others that I have tried, which has been a lot. I got mine 10 years ago from Peter at which time it was $20. Now they are $35 and every bit as good. I do almost all my figure carving with that tool, with the exception of teeny tiny figures. For that I use a tiny spoon which I modified or one that I got from George Gross. Every other carving I do gets the attention of Peter's spoon as well. It's the only one that will smooth out edges without leaving another edge. It's true that Peter uses his modeler extensively. I'm close behind him on that one! As it has been said, you can only get one directly from Peter. Good luck! Kathy

Last spring in Sheridan I bought a set of steep bevellers from Chuck Smith. They come in smooth and checkered. They are of high quailty and I like them a lot. Also, a couple of years ago I got a set from Hide Crafters. They were inexpensive and work pretty well. I don't know if they still carry them, I know a lot is changing there. As Outcast said, Barry and Bob have them, too and their tools are high in quality. If you can make it one of the trade shows, you can try them all out for yourself. That's the best way to make a decision like that. Kathy

Al Stohlman used to recommend Tan Kote after Neatsfoot oil. You can remove Tan Kote with saddle soap later on and add more oil, then replace the Tan Kote. That works well on my saddles and tack, giving them just the right amount of shine.

The Colorado Rockies are my home. There's no place else for me. There's nothing better than to look out your window in the morning to see huge bull elk browsing in your front yard. With national forest out the back gate, I can ride my horse for miles without seeing a single soul. We have rock outcroppings wich offer spectacular veiws, babbling brooks and waterfalls, and scenery some people only see in pictures. Yes, there are mountain lions and bears and tons of snow, but they just add to the beauty. My yaks seem to like it, too. Kathy

That's good to hear, Randy! I look forward to seeing you. The town is Golden. Yes, do take I25 south to I70 and then west. The exit for Colfax is 262. Hatzis Hall is not hard to find. Do you think you'll be coming at 2:00 or 6:00? See you then, Kathy

Hi Randy, I won't be out at WESA, but some of the guys are coming out to Golden for Columbine's guild meeting Sunday night. Dave Reis, Pete Gorrell, Jesse Smith and Tony Laier will be there. Why don't you come join us? Most of them will be showing up at 6:00 at which time we will be serving a pot luck dinner for all our guests. Afterwards, Pete will be doing a demo. Perhaps some of the others will, too. At 2:00 that afternoon, Tony will be giving his coloring workshop for the guild. You are more than welcome to come for any or all of this. If you have Riley with you, he can come, too. I'll leave my cat at home! To get there, take I70 west to Colfax Ave. My guess is it's around 8 miles from I25. Go right (west) on Colfax to the first light, which is Moss Street. Turn right on Moss, go 1 1/2 blocks till you see the fire station on the left. We meet across the street at Hatzis Hall, 952 Moss Street. It's okay to park by the fire station if there's nothing in front of Hatzis Hall. Don't worry about bringing food for the potluck, that's the guild members' responsibility. Hope to see you there! Kathy

I was there last year. I taught a class or two and took a class. This year, I will be there again. I agree with Bruce, it was a good show, but having the classes farmed out to other places made it difficult. The traffic in Wickenburg is rediculous on the weekend, with all the people going to Las Vegas from Phoenix. Many of the classes were within walking distance from the community center, but some you had to drive to, and that wasn't always easy. The banquet was held at an old western town quite a ways from Wickenburg, but it was worth the drive. I went early and walked in the desert with my flip flops on. Never do that! There's too many sharp things to step on! The scenery down there is spectacular with all the cactus and other strange plants. It's actually green that time of year. The show is much smaller than Sheridan, but the vendors that I like the most were there. They couldn't have fit any more in that building! I expect this coming show will be every bit as good as the last one. It's nice to get out of the snow for a bit, too! Kathy

That's kind of like a head stall for non-horse people. My boss couldn't figure that one out. He decided a head stall must be a brain fart!

I wouldn't bite a yak snack if I was me, Jo! Some people call them cow cakes, my horses call them horse candy. They're big and really hard and made of hay and grain. The only yak that ate kids for snacks was the one that is now in the freezer. Maybe that's why he's so tender, from eating all those tender youngsters! I failed to take my camera to class. I could always take pictures of mine and Tiny's. If I can manage to post them without humiliating myself, I'll do that. Is there a way to erase my post if I fail? I guess I could disguise myself as a yak. Maybe no one would recognise me! Kathy

Wow! What a shock it is to see my name on one of these posts like that! Thank you, Bill, for the kind words. I enjoyed the class every bit as much as you did. It amazes me to see how much you have improved in such a short time. For those of you who weren't in the class, I taught an afternoon class at Tandy's on plug embossing. We did a buffalo right out of the Figure Carving Finess book by Al Stohlman. It was a little embossing and a lot of figure carving. All the buffaloes turned out great. It's a pleasure and an honor to be asked to teach there. Next time I teach a class, maybe everyone on Leatherworker will come, after that rave review! Kathy My yaks are out of yak snacks and they're mad at me!!!

Hey, Freak! What your deer needs is some false teeth and glasses like your dog! Seriously, you are improving a lot. Just remember, hair should not be straight. I know you are not familiar with the concept of hair, as you have none, but a deer never brushes his hair. Make it short and choppy, going different directions. F918 might help you with the direction. Keep up the good work! Kathy

Wow, Luke! That's quite a belt! The one I made like that didn't have to be laced. I guess I lucked out. What leather weight did you use? I had two layers of 12 ounce. My Tippman Boss came in real handy for that one! Nice job on that lacing. Charge them a lot! Kathy