yaklady

If my husband had cooked for us, we'd all be dead by now! It's stuffed yak for me! First you stuff him with yak food, then hire a hit man, then stuff him in the oven.

WESA stands for something like Weaklings Evaluate Sassy Adversaries. I don't think that's really it, but it's got to be close. Last year, I remember some leatherworker.net members came to Denver for the event, which runs during the National Western Stock Show where you can see yaks. Columbine Leather Guild has a special meeting during WESA which attracts famous people like Jim Linnell and Bob Klenda. Those two and probably more will attend our meeting on January 18. The time is not set yet, but I will let you know when it is. All of you are cordially invited to our meeting. If anyone is interested in coming, I will post directions to the meeting place, which is about 10 miles from the show. Hope to see you there! Kathy

Peter, isn't that cheating? Happy New Year! Don't party too hard tonight! Kathy

So you're torturing your kids with your vicious eagle? Good for you! The next eagle you make should have the mouth open so it can get ahold of them. I made one of these in Robb's last complete class. I must say, you are much better at feathers than I am. I curled my beak a bit too tight, and now the poor eagle can't open his mouth. He must be starving by now! During our class, one of the students put a hole (for the rod up the eagle's . . . well, you know), and a groove for a mirror in a thick chunk of sandstone. That way the mirror is always there. I like the antler concept. An eagle would rather eat a deer than a rock. Very nice job, Clay. The coloring is great! Kathy

Hi Damon, There are indeed a lot of different ways you can make a small case. Recently, I made two small cases for a police officer, one for his cell phone and one for his Leatherman. Another officer, who used to be a Tandy's manager, made a nice wooden form for me (see the picture below) cut exactly the same size as the cell phone. You can easily make a form the size of your mp3 like Kate mentioned out of wood or layers of leather. Here's how I did it. These three pictures show the wooden form and the leather which was stretched over it. This is how I stretched the leather over the Leatherman. Here the back piece is attatched, but not yet sewn. Notice how the leather is much larger than it needs to be in the end. Insert the form and make your stitch line close ot it, but not so close that you are pinching it too tight. Here is the finished cell phone case. I hope this helps. Kathy

Please ignore this one, it's not supposed to be here and I don't know how to delete it!

So did you get one, or arethe elk in New Mexico safe? Kathy

That's sure not what I expected from your title! I pictured you with a hat shape in your neck! Pretty cool idea. Maybe a yak wouldn't be too hard to put on a hat. Kathy

That is one of the coolest purses I've ever seen! At the motor cycle shop, they make purses that look like a little leather jacket. They're awfully cute. May I make a suggestion? On your next chap purse, make the name smaller and put some of your tooling on the front. Your tooling is so nice, you want to show it off! Kathy

What's this gun case look like on the inside? I don't suppose the gun is pink too!! My yaks don't come in hot pink, or I would try making one, too. Kathy

Happy birthday Jim! May I never be as old as you are! Best wishes for this dark day, Marilyn

Happy Birthday Freak! Don't you wish someone could come up with something original to say? How about, Have a rotten day, Freak! May the bird of paradise fly up your nose, Freak! May the fleas of 1,000 camels infest your armpits, Freak! May the elephant caress you with his toes, Freak! Hope you have a wonderful day, Freak! Ask for Death by Chocolate ice cream with that Chocolate Double Stuffed Fudge Devils Food Layer Cake. Your freaky friend, Kathy

Hi Johanna, The yak on my avatar is my bull, Yogi, begging for a yak snack. His chin is up on the fence and he's burping in my face. It's a close up looking up his nostrils. That's something Freak would appreciate. He seems to like nostrils and what's in them. On my profile, that's my daughter who I murdered at a ghost town in Montana this summer. She didn't stay dead, she got up asking for food! It was easier hanging her than it would be to hang a yak. Here are bigger pictures for your viewing pleasure. They came out fuzzy when I made them bigger again. Stupid pictures! I don't believe I was as surprised as Clay was when he came into the bathroom. I knew I was in the right place because, like you said, I'm 29 and don't need glasses. Suppose Clay found anything while trekking through the snow in high winds on Friday? Since what he was looking for was big, maybe he found it. I hope he took his glasses! Kathy

I hate to say it, but Clay would not see the word "Forum" on the home page even if it was the only word there. He doesn't see the word "Women" on the bathroom door, even when there's a little picture of a person with a skirt on right beside it. Maybe he needs to stop wearing those play glasses when he's on the computer and go ge some new ones. Ira Cooper has some good magnifiers. Perhaps 3.5 would help out a bit. Maybe he has something stronger. Would a seeing eye dog help? How about some braille? Maybe he needs his own personal GPS. Golly gee whiz, you know what? I don't think there's any hope for Clay! He must have concrete in his eyes. I hope you can grow old gracefully, Clay! Your fantastic friend, Kathy (With friends like me, you don't need any enemies!) Johanna, I think this is a crisis situation! Should we send an ambulance for Clay?

Time flies when you have a baby yak, I'm telling you. I had been asked for updates on the baby's progress, but haven't followed up on that. The little guy (I call him Zarco!) is almost as big as his mom now, at 5 months of age. He's beautiful! I feed him out of my hand and pet him all over the face. He never threatens me and is very friendly. Here's a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. The first one was taken about a month ago, the others I took today. He's a nosey little guy! From the proud Gramyak

Use the lemon juice straight. Just put some in a little dish, and sponge it on. Wipe it with a clean sponge when you're done. You'll be surprised at how your sponge looks when you're done with it. Kathy

Is that legal?!? Sounds like something a pick-pocket would have. I think it's one of those things you castrate calves with! Can I borrow it?

How did that feather get so small?! It looks pretty big in the tutorial! ) Thank you for posting this, and the tutorial, it's great! Jim, I sure wish you would just show up in Denver someday. I would even make a trip down the mountain for that! Kathy

Happy birthday, Leathercat! I didn't know we had anyone so young here. It's a pleasant surprise to see a person your age so into leather craft, and so talented! Keep up the good work! Kathy

I agree with Johan. I used Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator on a saddle just like the one you mentioned, and it worked great.

Personally, I love Hermann Oak. I find Wicket and Craig to be too soft and mushy. I had a lot of waste with it. Hermann Oak is tough, the the things I make I want to be tough. I have no trouble with molding, dyeing, carving or anything else. Hermann Oak is my kind of leather.

I got mine from Keith Johnstone at the show in Wickenburg. They call it an Edge Dyer. They do have their own edge coat formula. It comes in black and brown, and they say it won't crack like Edge Coat will. I don't know what they call it, there is no printing on the bottle whatsoever. William, I have an email address for their US agent, Gary Stauffenberg. aussiechill@earthlink.net or phone: 602-264-4225. Gary is in Phoenix. If he doesn't work out, let me know and get you in touch with Keith. I clean mine out each time. I thnk the roller would get clogged if it wasn't cleaned, then what's the use in having the grooves? Kathy

I picked up this gadget from Cheylor-Fenneli last spring, like the one that Marlon is talking about. It's just like Celticleather's homemade dealy, only it has a piece that prevents too much edge coat from getting on the roller. That's what the plate against the back of the roller is. It works perfectly! I never would have been smart enough to make my own.

Clay, can you zoom in on Bert's finger so we can see that blister? Whoever that was who got ahold of your camera did a fine job. It brings out the real you, much older than the young 29 year old instructor! Kathy