chrlshrdy

I tooled and painted it first, then soaked it in the vinee for 30 seconds and the baking soda until it stopped bubbling. I let it dry over night and put two coats of neatsfoot on the front and one on the back. I think I'm going to put one more on the back just to make sure it is good and conditioned.

This was my first attempt at using the vinegroon process on a tooled and painted piece. Everyone I have shown it to has loved it, and I've had a couple of people ask me how much I would sell it for. I'm going to give it to my social club as a raffle prize in our upcoming overnight camping trip along with two gift certificates for custom work.

I have an old Elna Super 62U from the 60s, and I can sew up to about 3/4" thick with variable stitch lengths. The only two reasons I can't go thicker than that are that my presser foot won't go any higher and it will bind up the needle if I try to squeeze anything thicker through. But 3/4" or less and it looks at me as if to say "Is that all you have?"

This is a bracelet I did for a friend of mine who loves peacocks and celtic knotwork. I made this for her, and when I gave it to her she squealed with joy. Incedentaly, she is also now my student. It is 5 oz leather. I resisted the peacock design before staining, and then painted the birds. The end of the tails is a mixture of acrylic paints to give it a slightly irredecant look similar to a real peacock tail.

I just finished up making and aging a batch today. I don't know what it is about the dark spaces in my house, but things brew up and a hyper accelerated rate. My mead was DONE and winning awards after 4 months total, and my vinegar black was totaly ready in 1 week. I used cheap grocery store cider vinegar and 3 pads of 000 steel wool. There was still some debris in the vinegar, but there was no more gas venting. For the piece below (an untreated identical piece is below it for comparison) I brushed it on with a foam brush and then dunked it in the soda solution till it stopped bubbling. I then brushed on a couple of coats on neetsfoot and worked it in really well. There is no sealant on it yet. Sorry about the quality of the picture, I took it with my camera phone and didn't use the flash.

I agree that a shared pattern would be nice. Ever since the nice re-enactment boots I made for myself got moldy I've been wanting to make a new pair, but not the ones I made before. They were a pain to make.

I'm in the Kingdom of Caid. Our AoAs are only allowed a circlet that is if I remember correctly, between 1/4" and 1/2" wide with a smooth top. Our Baron/ness are alowed to have one point in the center with a thicker band, and then on up with Their Highnesses and Their Majesties.

Nice work. In my Knigdom Coronets like that are only for royalty though, Barons and Baronesses only have a raised section in the middle of the front.