Yes self-taught . . took it up as a hobby 2014 after loosing my wife in 2012 and basically attended the school of hard knocks. The leather you are interested in 2 color designer side actually purchased from a Tandy store here in Houston - from time to time they end up with some very interesting stock. Learned a lot from this site and the generosity of its members, but mostly just thinking through the steps necessary to build bag I had seen or a holster, etc. Many thanks for your kind words and keep working.
Thank you for looking . . see you're from Okeechobee where in my mislaid youth I spent some time fishing for hybrid black bass . . . a beautiful place. Leather and photography - me as well. Thanks for the kind words.
Shipping to Houston TX, and please post photographs of the machine in detail . . . . thanks. IS it possible to sew lighter materials for packs, bags, etc. with needle/thread changes, as well as holsters, etc. as the machine was designed to do?