howardb

Bob Overton passed away this week (Wed 1/28/09). I wish I had a long history of Bob and leatherworking, but I don't. Leatherworkers, in general, are the friendliest people I know. I decided to try out this insane hobby in October of 07, and have been welcomed in and accepted as friends by more people than I can count. Bob and Sue were among the first, and I strongly regret that I didn't get to know him as well as I could have. Certainly no fault of their family. They were very open & warm to me. That's a really great feeling. Others have too, make no mistake. I'm just talking about one who will no longer be there. So I will be making an effort to get to know more folks when I meet them. I got to have breakfast at the last IFOLG show with Johanna, Crystal, and some others. Crammed into a corner at the Awful Waffle with 5 of us will become a remembered joy as I can better appreciate what these little moments mean. Brent (waxing philosophical)

Barrettes! I made one for my wife (the yellow rose) and she suggested I make some for an upcoming church fundraiser. So I made two more, but with a celtic design and I experimented on the finish. They came out kinda cool, but not what I was expecting. Enjoy Brent

ONe way to bump it is to add new info... The CIL website has the documents up. http://centralindianaleathercrafters.org/SHOW.HTM They also have the spring show documents too! How nice of them. Brent

Great googly moogly! Is anyone coming to the Spring show? I will be fer sher. Brent

Not sure if there are any PSLG members here, but the show packet is out. I'll attach it here for your enjoyment. Brent PSLG_2009_show.pdf PSLG_2009_show.pdf

Sure, the class is only $25, but I'd burn a grand trying to get there! Thanks for the headsup though.

John & Scott - thanks for the replies. I guess I fell asleep and forgot my post! I should get two seats next week from this guy. One gets the simple cover and the other is a spare seat he has and he's going to let me do a tooled one for show. I get to take it to IFOLG & he gets a tooled seat for cost of materials. Everybody happy! Brent

It's been a while since I posted anything. I aim to remedy that here and now! Prepare to be awed and amazed... A motorcycle crossbar (handlebars) cover. I made it a while ago, but just got it back so I could take pictures! Christmas ornaments. We made these at the Dec. guild meeting and were using various nefarious bits of scrap provied by our prez. The wreath was colored with sharpies, and turned out rather well. Then I got the tree home & made some "modifications" which you can see in the picture, but weren't there when I made it... Guild badge for Hoosier Leather Guild. If someone didn't want it to look like this, then they need to be specific! I had fun with this one. My Calumet badge is plain-jane and it's next on the hit parade. Here's a couple of post-carve and then a couple after dye & finish. Brent

Clay - That's it! Thanks.

I know I read somewhere... Isn't there a two or three day class coming this spring with several instructors? I'm assuming it's somewhere in NC. Anyone got details to share?

She does have a habit of that. You know she will too. Best be prepared and just give it your extra-best shot! Brent

Well, I GUESS it's ok. I mean it's not a saddle or a holster or anything. That would have been cool. And what's with the teeny tiny design? Geez, you'd need a magnifying glass to see it. People are going to be staring at your hubby's butt a lot now... No, really, I love it! I just didn't want ya to get a swollen noggin' or anything. Brent

Bronc, nice work! I like the embroidery right onto the leather. Cool! I had a part time job running two 12 color, 8 head tajima's. Those things are freakin' amazing!

roo, that's just K.E.W.L.

No clue, but the stampin' looks spiffy!

MAXIMUM Cool!

That's why I love this place. You would NEVER see this stuff at IFOLG, although it certainly would qualify!! I think I love the green man corset best. Not because my mind is usually in the gutter, but because it is a stunning piece! OK, so there are several pieces, all stunning. Just WOW! All of them are cool. Nice work! Brent

Susan - just an engineer's observation here. I don't know nuttin' about no harleys (or much about mc's at all)... it looks like the rear trailing arm is too short. The rear wheel looks like it's too far forward, and yep, the shock looks broken or bent to me. Could the bike have been mangled in a past life and the rear trailing assembly shortened during the repair process? Like I said, not a bike dude, just an engineer looking at the picture and hearing the comments and formulating a possible cause. It is a pretty thing though and I'm sure it will be better when you are done! good luck, Brent

I'm getting sneaky again... To add more pictures I just reply to my own message! Ha! Take that gotcha media... Anyhoo. A couple more pics.

OK, so I have need to make a seat cover for a motorcycle. The wierd thing is I'm leaving the seat as it is, and just literally adding a covering to it. I made a handlebar cover for a dude at work and now he needs the seat covered to match. He doesn't want any tooling on the seat, but he did like the edge braiding. (How I managed to let that thing out of the house without taking a single picture I will never understand...) Seat is a LePara gel seat. I've attached a couple of pics. The color I will need to end up with is the Saddle Tan highlighter color stain from Tandy (Eco Flo type). What I need to know: 1. Should I cover it in veg-tan? I know I can dye it to match the handlebar cover at that point. I'm also fairly sure it can stretch to fit. 2. Is there a better solution? Latigo? upholstery leather? Can these be dyed? 3. If I end up with veg-tan, is there a technique to keep it from stretching all to heck after a while?j 4. Lastly, he doesn't want to disturb the original seat, so how am I going to attach it? help! thanks, Brent

Keee-eewl!

Clay - it is lovely. When I show it to people they are very impressed and like it. When they find out I didn't do it, they are less impressed with me! ..but they still like the album. ...allowed?? Holy skiving knives batman! She's INVITED back!! You two are more fun than the proverbial barrel o' monkeys!! OK, back on topic. Here is my rendition of the skull pattern. I'm thinking of using the roses on a guitar strap... Anyway and without further adoodoo... Brent

Dude, very nice tooling. You have GOT to learn lacing though. It's not hard, even a monkey like me can handle it. I always dreaded it & when I first started figured I'd never do it. All it takes is time. For rank beginners (like me), I like the tandy book pictured here: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...number=61906-00 It's very visually oriented and not hard to follow. Each step, start to finish is clearly illustrated, including splicing, starts & stops, joining, etc. IMHO, it's the best for learning to lace. I still leave it open in front of me while lacing. A nice double loop would have dressed that up a bit. Still, not a bad looking result. Liner's cool too. Good luck on the lacing! Brent

I thought Randall DID move up. There were about 4 or 5 that moved up a class. Wasn't he one of 'em? I may be memberin' wrong... Brent

Drivin' me nuts. Whips out a" little nothing", complete with a 3D spiderweb across it. I think you're bucking for "teacher's pet"!! Fine work Ms. C. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Don't worry about the teacher, I think he's happy you turned in anything at all. Good thing you took the class pass/fail though... PSST! Spitwads at 2:15, pass it on... Brent [Oh and I DO intend to turn in homework this month too!]