Hilly

Interesting! I once had a friend who covered the gray in her deep chestnut colored hair with a paste of black cherry and grape Kool-Aide. Worked slick, and was cheaper than dirt compared to buying commerical hair dye.

Nice job, Ed! I adore oak leaves, and you did yours proud. Hilly

This is very similar to the one posted in this thread:

Well, I WAS planning on coming Saturday, but we're having to re-roof our home, and it's taking a lot longer than planned, and costing WAAAAAY more than planned so, oh well. I'll just have to make plans for the Columbus show this fall.

Can't seem to read the attachment.

I'm coming Saturday for a couple hours. Hoping to meet some of you there!

My addiction started with the purchase of a 1965 Mustang fastback. Immaculate! Black with a red interior. I had been doing some auto upholstery work on the side, and when I got this Mustang, I decided that I just HAD to do a custom interior for MY special car. Something nobody else had done before, so I thought that I might just do figure carvings of Mustang horses, and use them as inlays in some custom leather seats. I also though some carved and laced visors would be cool. Maybe a few little details elsewhere in the car... I mentioned this idea over on upholster.com, where I had been hanging out, and one of the folks over there gave me a link to L.W. so I could learn more about leatherwork. I've been hooked ever since, and never did get my interior made! I've been sidetracked on one project after the next since then, and thoroughly enjoying every minute! I'm still chicken to try my hand a figure carving, but I'm collecting the tools to try it. Some day I will get that interior done, and my little car will be the coolest on the planet!

That's a beautiful belt, Josh! She'll be thrilled with it!

I would definately get the leaf liner and flower center shader, and I'd definately get the undercut bevelers in as many sizes as I could afford. I also might get some of the convex and concave bevelers to make things a bit easier. There just went your few hundred extra dollars, but you won't regret spending it like that!

Hey Bob, next hundred times or so you feel your project stinks, you can just send it to me and I'll make sure it doesn't hurt your eyes any more Seriously.

Hey Larry, guess you and I will be comparing notes on our new machines. Seems Steve has been a busy man lately! I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas to arrive. Hilly

Hi Jim. Nope, my work is not facing me. If you could imagine your hands together in prayer.... now clamp a church bulletin (or a piece of leather) between them as you pray, and you can visualize my stitching horse jaws and the leather.... I pray I get this next stitch striaght.... I pray I don't stab my finger again.... Personally, I used the plans in Stohlman's book "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" as a guide in constructing my stitching horse. Enjoy your addiction! Hilly

I think whatever way you feel the most comfortable is the way you should work. The key is to do it consistently. I'm right handed, so I stab with my right hand toward my left hand. I also work from right to left. It's what feels comfortable to me. I'd practice on some scrap, and make sure to get the direction of the holes going the right way for how you sew. You want to tilt your awl blade at about 45 degrees so that your stitches lay properly. Also make sure that you always use your needles in the same sequence every time, or your stitching won't look right. I took and placed a mark on my awl so that I always hold it the same way every time I pick it up. Make sure your awl is really sharp and stropped, and it helps to touch the tip on a cake of beeswax before each stab. Helps the blade glide right through like a hot knife through butter... Look at some examples of good looking stitching, and try to copy what you see. It takes practice, so don't expect to have professional looking results right from the get-go. Post examples of your work if you have questions, and some of the wonderful people here will chime in with suggestions on how to improve. Hope this was helpful to you! Hilly

If you're only installing a zipper in that one piece, you might try taking it to someone who does auto upholstery, and have them install the zipper. It would be Waaaaaaaay cheaper than buying a machine just for that. Buying a machine off eBay..... Nope, wouldn't do it myself. I'd look around and see if someone had a used leather machine they wanted to sell. I think there's some available off LW.... It would cost less than new, and you KNOW it would be able to do what you want. If you don't have a lot to spend, you might consider saving up a little more because leather machines are HEAVY and bulky, and shipping is gonna cost quite a bit. Just a little food for thought. Good luck, Hilly

....Not to mention keep your tobacco from tasting like a rubber glove!

Hi Tom! That's a pretty snazzy glasses case you made there. Love the colors as always, and that chaos symbol is pretty neat. I made myself one sort of like it, only I put a metal belt clip on the back, and hung it in my car for my sunglasses. I lined mine with soft fleece from an old sweat shirt to keep the lenses from scratching. My sister took one look at it, and had to have it. Now I have to make myself another one!

Hi! Your portmanteau is very beautiful! Do you have any more photos of it? I'd be interested in seeing the entire thing, including the inside. Thanks for sharing. Hilly

I have an Iwata airbrush for small stuff, and a HVLP (high volume low pressure) gun for the big stuff. I use the compressor at our body shop. It has a moisture trap (well, actually two of them) in the air line so you don't get moisture spitting out onto your work.

I play a mean kazoo and my husband has been known to sound musical after pickled eggs and beer. Seriously, I have a harmonica, but every time I try to play it, the dog starts to howl.

Is there a way I can view the text on LW at a larger size? My bifocals really, really suck, and I often just look over the tops of my glasses instead of through them. I tried using the "view" option and selected "Largest" text, but there was no change.

LOL! Good one!

You did a really nice job, IMO. Your decorative cuts look very nice, too. The only thing you might want to add is maybe a few mule tracks. Other than that, I don't see anything to complain about.

According to Google, senate bill 778 Current Bill Summary HCS/SS/SCS/SB 778 - This act provides that female students enrolling in sixth grade in a public school may receive, at the option of a parent or guardian, an immunization for the human papillomavirus (HPV). According to Google, senate bill 773 BILL INFO-2009 Regular Session-SB 773 Synopsis: Requiring the Public Service Commission to establish a surcharge on wind-powered electric generating facilities; requiring the Comptroller to collect the revenue from the surcharge and deposit it into the Maryland Wind-Powered Electric Generating Facility Decommissioning and Restoration Fund; authorizing a wind-powered electric generating facility to post a bond or other security acceptable to the Commission in lieu of the surcharge; etc.

Tina, you definately have me WOWED with this one! Thanks for sharing all of your invisible mistakes! Hilly

Thanks for the little tutorial, Tina. I've always admired and been inspired by your work. You are truly talented! Hilly