Sheilajeanne

You're too funny, Robs!

Those twist-off tops have made church keys almost obsolete, but hey, you never know. Sometimes the bottle caps get bashed together and bent, and you need something other than your hand to get them off!

I just purchased a Craftool Pro stitching chisel because they are on sale right now if you're an elite member. It's a 3 mm, and measuring the prongs with a ruler confirms that. I compared it with the regular chisel I already have which is supposed to be a 2 mm - says so right on the handle! Nope, its prongs are actually 4 mm apart! Crazy, really...

I just picked up a piece from fiends of ours who sell counter tops, etc... You know fiends?? That's the funniest typo I've seen this week! :D Nice score on the granite slab, but I think $50 is maybe a bit much for something they were going to throw out anyway...

Interested in knowing this, too!

Mjolnir, I am really getting fed up with so-called 'resists' that don't resist at all! I think I will see if I can get my hands on that latex coating! No, it wasn't bleeding, and the horse figure already had 2 coats of Eco-flo Super Sheen on it! Once the dye went over the line, due to my sloppy brushwork, it was impossible to remove without damaging the leather. And then, because I'd abraded the top grain trying to get it off, I had to apply another coat of antique. I diluted it with water so it was nothing more than a faint wash applied with a brush, but it soaked in more to the areas with the damaged grain, so the colouring of the figure is very uneven, not to mention still stained with red dye in spots! I live in the country, and there are several other tack shops near by. I just haven't had the chance to call them yet to make sure they have what I need. Many horse people prefer glycerin spray for their tack, so the bars can be difficult to find. I already lucked out at the local Tractor Supply. Kiwican, this was Tandy's Windsor belt bag. The item that is now serving as my strop was also a Tandy kit, a key chain. I decided to carve some Celtic knotwork into it, and it didn't go very well...

My fingers hurt just LOOKING at all that lovely hand stitching! I am planning to do a portfolio, too, but I hope to have a sewing machine by the time I get around to tackling the stitching! Love the snap closure, gives it a real touch of class! :D

Thanks, Fred! Handstitched, we've all had a few of those... My most recent one is now being used as a strop for my swivel knife, and for testing dye colours! I think I could still get a few buck for this one, if the buyer wasn't too fussy about the tooling/dyeing not being perfect. It's a perfectly usable bag.

Did this belt bag on the weekend. Need to practise my painting skills - kept getting red dye on the horse figure, and damaged the tooling trying to remove it. Ah, well, pleased with how the stitching turned out! Am still trying to get my hands on a bar of glycerine saddle soap for finishing edges. Fortunately, most of the edges on this are inside the bag, so didn't have to bother. The ones that are exposed were finished with Pear's glycerine soap, which is too sticky to do a first-rate job. The tack store says they'll call me when they have some in. This was AFTER they said they did, and I made a trip there to find SOMEONE never bothered checking the shelves...

For that reason, Bill, I often save the original bag a pattern came in, if it was part of a Tandy kit!

We have a sea chest in our family from the first Jeffery to come to Canada, in the late 1800's. He came from a small town near Winchester. The chest is decorated with Tudor roses. That might be something you can use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tudor_rose

I scan some patterns to my computer as PDFs, if they are 8 1/2 x 11 or smaller. It's quite easy to resize PDF's if you want to change the dimensions of a pattern. I also have plastic project cases that I store them in. They are just a little bigger than 8 1/2 x 11 and are about 2" thick, and can be put on a shelf like a book. There's a spot on the spine for a label, so you can have all your wallet patterns in one, purse patterns in another, etc.

Hi, another Ontario resident checking in ! Welcome to the forum! I am about an hour northwest of Toronto, near Alliston, Ontario.

Lowe's only has marble tiles, but HD has both, at least in my neck of the woods. Personally, I'd go with the granite, as marble is a much softer stone, and could chip or break. https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.absolute-nero-12-inch-x-12-inch-polished-granite.1000488451.html https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.12-inch-x-12-inch-arctic-marble-5-sqftcase.1001007201.html https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.12-inch-x-24-inch-arctic-marble-8-sqftcase.1001006813.html A search of the Lowe's U.S. website turned up this: https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=granite+floor+tiles So, they do sell them, and either your clerk wasn't knowledgeable, or the store just doesn't stock them. If you want a thicker, bigger slab, I'd ask them who their contractors are for installation of sinks and counter tops, and see if you can get scrap from them. The cutout for a sink would make a really nice leather tooling slab!

I can't see a store of this type (Rona, Lowe's, Home Depot) NOT selling these tiles! And I really don't think the tiles have to be an inch thick in order to be useful for leather work.

Thank you, Ferg! I think there's a sewing shop somewhere nearby. I'll look into buying one.

Nice work for someone so new to the craft! Question: that blue pad you have on your work table - I've noticed many leather workers have something similar. What are they called, and where can I get one?

OMG - can't - stop - laughing! [wipes morning coffee off the screen...]

Two of the four edges will be visible, so I guess I could try cutting the liner smaller for the two edges that will be hidden by a seam. The liner is very thin pigskin, which just happens to have come pre-dyed a colour that is very close to that of my project. Weight/thickness isn't a problem for sewing the edges, but I don't think it's going to burnish very well. I am just pricking through the Tandy holes with an awl to make my sewing holes.

I've decided to put a lining in a Tandy project that has pre-punched holes, and I'm having a real problem with the glue leaking through the holes and staining the grain side of the leather. I suppose one solution would be to just not put glue where the holes are, but then when you are trying to finish your edges, the two layers of leather aren't sticking together, so you can't get a nice clean edge. Anyone have suggestions other than just NOT lining Tandy kits with their large pre-punched holes?

I will turn 65 this year. Half the time, I think, 'how did I ever get to be SO OLD? I don't FEEL like I'm ready for retirement. The other half of the time, I'm thinking, 'well, you're getting too old for this s**t!'

Wow. Wiz, where would this board be without people like you?

Okay, just for fun, I was browsing on E-bay, and found this listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Craftool-Leather-Craft-Stamp-Tools-12-Lot-Vintage-343-701-702-707-709-710-716/173015941666?hash=item28488dc222:g:AdcAAOSw0wRaJbNl 3 of the last 4 tools at the end of the row may be just what you are looking for!!

Here are some Tandy flower stamps that are pretty close to the one in the center of the flower: The J820, which is still available, likely comes the closest. https://www.google.ca/search?q=tandy+flower+stamps&rlz=1C1GGGE_enCA377&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVp8TGtozZAhVGs1kKHSPcAX0QsAQIMA&biw=1236&bih=611#imgrc=FafGprwiJHtKWM:

Wow, that's a LOT of stitching! No wonder you've got sore fingers! Very, very nice work! I am curious as to why there look to be two bumps at the top and bottom of the arm guard. Is that where the edging strips begin and end?