Sheilajeanne

Thanks, Sup!

Thank you! It was the Tandy messenger bag kit. Here's the whole thing put together;

This is milled veg-tan (from Tandy). I think the carving turned out pretty well!

Today is eclipse day, and we're supposed to get 99% coverage of the sun. Yeah - woke up to a totally overcast sky, and can't even tell where the sun is... [grumble!] Ah, well, guess that would qualify as a first world problem to most people! And no, I have no plans to drive anywhere to get a better view of it. According to the weather map, that would mean either driving south of the border, or almost as far east as Quebec! Edit: Welcome back, Chuck! Glad you are doing well!

Mablung, planning to use a single piece with side gussets only.

Okay, good info, thanks! Yes, I do want the sides to collapse a bit. I will have a piece of leather at the top that folds over between the handles, and hooks to a latch to keep the bag closed. And I am also going to make the gussets slightly wider at the top than the bottom, so they will need to flex in when the bag isn't full.

Are gussets usually made from a slightly thinner leather than the rest of the bag, so they will flex more easily?

Glad you are well, and enjoying life! You had us worried!

Good catch, Frodo! Now see if you can get some salad (pond weeds) to go with it!

If you watch the video, you'll see the power on the ship keeps going out, then coming back on. With the power out, it was impossible to steer the boat.

Yes, please let us know! I'm surprised it's salvageable - usually something like that is so contaminated with rat pee and poop that no one wants to save it!

Toxo, reread the post, and that will clarify this is a bag made by Jean Luc Parisot. He wants to make it for himself, but doesn't have a pattern that will show him how to attach the straps. I've had bags like this with drawstring tops and I agree with what SUP said. It's not the easiest design to use. As a matter of fact, I cringe when I remember one of these bags. The drawstring came open when I picked the bag up and a gallon jar of liquid honey went crashing to the garage floor... What a horrible mess that was to clean up! Anyway, it IS a very pretty bag, and if you really are determined to reproduce it, now you know who to contact.

Awww that's cool, Frodo! Always nice to see a happy customer!

Oh yes! Pecan cookies! My edit button is where it should be, at the bottom of this post. Do you post on your phone, Frodo? I am pretty sure it's whatever method you are using to post that's causing the problem, and not the LW website...

Bad kitty!!

Me three!!

That's cool, Fred!

They have NO RESPECT, do they? Was it a chair you'd already recovered that got clawed, or did he go after your stash of replacement leather?

Last night, I got as far as tracing the design I want on the side of the tote. I also have the tote bag in the picture, which I made previously from a Tandy kit. It's not a small bag - it's 13" tall. I popped all the stuff I'm planning to carry into it, and the binder actually sticks up above the top of the bag! I'm very glad I tested out this tote bag, because it gives me a better idea of what dimensions I'm going to need for the new one, and it's going to have to be bigger than I thought! I'm now wondering if I have a big enough piece of leather to make it the way I planned. I also looked at all the pieces of leather I have in my storage cupboard, and decided that buying a new piece of leather just for this project ain't an option... I really need to buckle down and do some of the projects I've been putting off for far too long! Stay tuned...

A good Canadian joke: Two priests died at the same time, and met Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter said, "I'd like to let you guys in now, but our computer's down, and we can't get it fixed right away. You will have to go back to Earth for about a week, but you can't go back as priests. What will it be?" The first priest says, "I've always wanted to be an eagle, flying high over the mountains!" "So be it," says Peter, and off flies the first priest. The second priest mulls it over for a minute, then says, "Will any of this week count towards my salvation?" "No" says St. Pete, "I told you, the computer's down, and there's no way we can keep track of what you are doing." "In that case," says the second priest, "I've always wanted to be a stud!" "So be it!" says St. Peter, and the second priest disappears. A week goes by, the computer gets fixed, and the Lord tells St. Peter to recall the two priests. "Will you have any trouble locating them?" he asks. "The first one should be easy," says St. Peter. "He's somewhere over the Rockies, flying with the eagles. But the second one could prove to be more difficult." "Why?" asks the Lord. "He's on a snow tire, somewhere in Saskatchewan!" Bet you didn't see that one coming!

Kgg, since I changed computers, I'm having a problem with the snipping tool. It insists on saving any pictures I snip as a png file instead of a .jpg. My old version of Snip n'Sketch always saved them as jpgs. I haven't figured a way around this yet, and it's a real PITA! How old is your snipping tool? Do you have that problem too? I'm desperate enough that I'm thinking of trying to transfer my old Snip n'Sketch program from my old computer! I may have downloaded Fusion 360 at one time, but never got around to figuring out how to use it. It looked kind of intimidating...

Yup, that would certainly make it bombproof, kgg! But I'd thought of making the flaps that attach to the gussets decorative by having the gussets a darker color - probably chocolate brown with the rest of the bag being a much lighter brown. Kgg, what app do you have for making such good sketches?? As you can see, Yours Truly is back in the dark ages when it comes to that! Okay, I was in a hurry, and couldn't even be bothered to use a ruler - just freehanded the whole thing... I probably could have done it using Paint, but it would have taken MUCH longer!

Toxo, this is going to hold a 2 inch binder, a number of Duo-tang folders with the worship song lyrics, my Bible, the book we're studying and maybe my tablet computer or cell phone. The tote Bland shows above is very much like what I'm planning to build, except there will be some carving on the outside. Since I will also be carrying my guitar case, purse and music stand, I want straps that are long enough to go over my shoulder. So, briefcase-style is not what I'm looking for.

After a long hiatus, I recently began to play worship music for our church once again. I found this really cool pattern that I'd love to put on a tote bag for carrying my music binder and the folders with the lyrics in them. The binder is big, rather heavy, and has pointy edges on it. I plan to make the front and back of the tote out of the same piece of leather, then hold it together with gussets. I'm just wondering what the best way is to make sure the gussets are strong. Is it better to stitch them on the inside or outside? I have also thought of adding a flap at the bottom which extends out sideways on each side of the main part of the bag. I will bring this up and sew it over the lower part of the gusset to reinforce the bottom seam, so there's no outer seam at the bottom of the bag. What think you? Here's a (very rough) sketch:

Lovely! And your 'turquoise' concho is very realistic! Well done! Now, c'mon you know you have to show us YOUR feather, no matter how bad you think it is compared to the Master's!