Johanna

Alphabet stamps are easy to line up, but they look like stamps after you hit them. Craftaid letters still have to be carved when you get done tracing with your stylus. They aren't hard to line up if you take your scissors and cut out each letter neatly. Then you can wiggle your word around until you like it. Secure the letters with masking tape while you trace them out. HTH Johanna

David, your gift from Kathleen makes me laugh. I remember my first trip to the Tandy store. My forst husband was very experienced, and had never been in this store before. He looked at every hide in the store, and wore the manager down getting discounts on hides with all sorts of imperfections. In the car on the way home, I asked him why he wanted such ratty leather? He laughed and said that it was half the price, and when he got done beating on it, no one would ever know those marks were there. I remember once he bought a side with a huge ugly brand, and turned it into a purse flap that we sold for several hundred dollars to a happy customer. Good job making lemonade, Carr52! It's hard to see the detail in the pics, but it looks like a well constructed belt. Johanna

I quit drinking in 1993. I lost 100 pounds and kept it off after my son Jack was born 8 years ago. I even stopped swearing (well, mostly!) after the kids were born. This is harder. Much harder. I drank a lot of water today. ~J

I cannot possibly ever go to Sheridan because I do not have a hat. *sigh

I am trying really hard, and my family has been very supportive, but I am going out of my mind! I'm restless and cranky, have a little bit of a headache and I've been quit less than a week. (I did bum a couple from my stepson, but I made him promise not to give me any more.) Wade (my husband) has sensibly decided that I am best approached with a ten foot pole, and that going fishing with the boys is more fun than hanging out with me right now. (He quit 15 years ago.) I have quit a bunch of times, never for very long. What worked for you? What didn't help at all? How soon will I feel "normal" again? I've been smoking cigarettes for 30 years, and I'm quitting for all the reasons listed above. This time I really want it to stick. but this ain't easy. Johanna

Which Dave??? Inquiring minds want to know!! Johanna (who can think of 30 Daves on this forum!!

Johanna Schroer PO Box 103 New Knoxville, OH 45871 (Now, no one else be silly enough to post your snail mail addy in public!) Why don't you post a "how to be an associate member of Columbine" thread in resources? You'll probably get quite a few takers...who can resist ghost writers in the sty? Johanna

howardb took much better pictures than I did. He took pics of the stuff that was gone by the time I got there. See his pics here: howardb's pics Click on any thumbnail for a better view, or use the scroll arrows to view them all. Great pics- thanks for sharing, Brent! Thank you, Brent, for everything you did in public, and behind the scenes to make the show so good. This is Allan Scheiderer, president of the Buckeye Leathercrafters Guild, hosts of the IFoLG show this September. I don't know who the pretty lady is. Brent?

I merged your three topics. If you click on the pics in the gallery from the show, they open on their own page in a larger version. I think you saved the thumbnails. Looking forward to seeing more from you. Johanna

An "RCH" is an amount that is very small, but not inconsequential. Kathy- what newsletter? How can I get a newsletter? Of course you can share the strap cutter cheat. In the shop, time is money. Anyone who has ever shaved a 1/8 inch of a belt blank to fit the buckle on properly might find this one handy. Johanna

Your profile picture comes up when you click your name. I see your picture there. The picture that comes up by your name in a post is called an "avatar", and is a different upload. Click "My Controls" at the top of the page for all your options, including pictures, personal information and your email preferences. Johanna

I would leave the Java everythings. Sometimes they have to be installed sequentially when you reformat a computer because they are not cumulative. They aren't taking up that much space anyway. If you really want to get rid of them you should uninstall them, not delete them, and I wouldn't because some older site is going to start acting funny. Clear your temp files and move the slider down to about 80MB for "space to use", and if your computer is running well, delete all but your last restore point and turn the space way down for that one, too. (I use about 20MB) Those are two of the biggest space hogs on the C drive because Windows allocates so much space for them by default. Since they have to fill up to overwrite, it's better to keep them smaller. Less chance of corruption on the SR points especially. Johanna

Crystal- you can always post links here! http://www.streamlineoriginals.com/ Someone invite the man to LW please! I gotta go yell at my rotten kids. Johanna

I've removed "fast reply" from about half of the board. I had several people report they typed out wise and witty remarks, only to have FR vanish before they could click submit. Don't know why. The missing FR is part of a top secret investigative mission- please do not adjust your set (or remove your hat!) Johanna

Usually we call that patchwork stuff "scraps sewn together", but maybe someone will be able to help you find what you are looking for. Johanna

Little Feat is my all time favorite band. I've seen them live 20+ times, but I never saw Lowell George before he died. I have hunted down every recording he ever made though, I think! I like Delbert McClinton and Bonnie Raitt. Carly Simon, Crosby Stills & Nash, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and pretty much everything Jordan mentioned. I like blues, folk, rock, southern rock, bluegrass, acoustic, classical and some country, but in the car or cooking dinner I usually listen to NPR on the radio. My favorite Zappa album is "Apostrophe" and my favorite Pink Floyd one is "Wish You Were Here". Johanna

Ben just uploaded a bunch of pics of Billy's that he saved, so I guess I'll be redoing the gallery. That one I put up today is just left over from the site he used to have, and we never quite finished it. ArtS- PM me your snail mail addy. Johanna

Good idea, ClayB! That one is, of course, my favorite. Here are some of his pics from the old website. Remember kids, this is all done on leather! http://leatherworker.net/Gallery/index.htm ~J

Bill Stockil (aka Billy 2-shews) joined the forum this weekend, and you wonderful people immediately flooded him with hellos and questions via PM. He appreciates all the mail, but asked me to tell you folks what's going on with him, as answering all the mail is rather overwhelming to him at this time. Billy had a series of cerebral strokes that have left the right side of his body paralyzed and he is now blind in one eye. He hung up "The Assassin" (Billy's famous carpenters hammer) and has been recuperating in Europe, near the home of one of his sons. He said he is enjoying looking at all the projects and pieces on the board, and reading the posts, but that it's difficult and time-consuming to type responses. I offered to do that part for him, and he accepted. So- if you want to ask him a question or send fan mail, post it here or send it to 2shews@leatherworker.net and he'll read it. You'll get an answer from Billy through my email or PM, but expect to wait a bit, as not all days are optimum for him to respond. He asked me to tell you all how much it means to know that so many people care, and to thank you all for your good wishes. Your messages of concern and friendship are warmly received. Billy is glad to have so many understanding and caring friends. Here is a treat: http://marycombes.com/index.html Billy's wife, Mary, is an amazing watercolor artist. Her son-in-law did this site to display some of her work. Click the link and be prepared to have your socks knocked off. Thanks everybody for welcoming Billy back. We've all missed him, and I'm glad he's going to be checking in with us as his time and his health permits. Johanna

Smaller patterns and craftaids are in a fan file folder in a desk drawer, and larger patterns are rolled up in mailing tubes. Books...ummm are everywhere. I have some in the shop, some up here in my office. You are correct- the books are not standard sizes, so they don't fit neatly on shelves. I lay them longways on the bottom shelves. Of course, my shop has been dormant for a long time...I'd probably do things a bit differently if I needed to access the books more frequently. Hilly- I keep dyes on a very low shelf near the bench. Once upon a time we had them nice and handy on a higher shelf, and one day there must have been too much vibration from pounding on the bench...you can imagine that disaster as they came tumbling down! Always be sure to screw caps on tightly. Sigh. Johanna

Is it obligatory to wear a hat to the show in Sheridan? Is that for men and women? If you don't have a hat on, do people think you are a waiter? Inquiring minds want to know. Johanna

admin@leatherworker.net I'll get them up for you. Just how was I supposed to talk to you, Brent? You were a busy guy all during the show! You even had your daughter working! Someone needs to give Carol a raise- I don't know what the IFoLG would do without her, and I heard she put that ginormous raffle display together. I've been to IFoLG shows with less on the table. It was a good time- I'm glad so many people turned out in support of the show. It's a leap for a guild to sponsor one because it takes money and volunteers, Calumet had it down to room 360 where show attendees could visit muchie heaven in the "hospitality room". I think my son would follow Gina anywhere after that. Monica handled a million details, too. Let us know when you hear what Prairie States is planning for next year. The opportunities these shows present can change the lives of leatherworkers- not in just what they can learn, but the lifelong friendships that are made. ~J

http://leatherworker.net/calumet2008showpics/index.htm These are pics Jane and I took from the guild display tables which included some of the competition pieces, and there are a couple of pics from the raffle tables (like the cool shoes!) I'm not posting the pic of my sister Tina and her charming husband until she gives the okay. Same with Roz- Roz was there as a vendor/teacher/judge, and she had a display set up. I just sent her a note asking permission to post pics of her pieces. My daughter got better pics of Roz's things than I did- probably because Jane caught the spirit of imagination better than us grown-ups ever could. Jane saw every detail. Johanna

Pete- sorry- I wasn't at home this weekend. The reason the pics wouldn't go into one post is that they totaled out to more than 1.5 MB is size- this is not Mac discrimination! ~J