Maeve

The cores depend upon what you are braiding. I have braided show leads for Rotties .... and in this case, they were 8 plait over climbers rope. So being a big breed, I would have to assume that she doesn't want a little 4 plait! You can also use nylon cabled rope (not twisted) for a core. For an 8 plait, I would use 1/8" rope for the core. For the simpler (and fancier) 4 plait leads, you can use a number of different cores from Kevlar to waxed nylon. Anything that is strong but doesn't stretch. The rope strength is usually printed on the packaging. Tensile strength (sp?) is the strength under tension. The maximum pressure under stretching with out damage to the rope. Not sure about a snapping strength. Love and Light, Maeve

Are those polymer clay beads? I make polymer clay beads and had thought of using then on leads. Those are very nice! Love and Light, Maeve

VERY nice! Thanks for sharing! I need to get my butt in gear and finish the one that I made a few years back. It's an Australian stockwhip and I need to finish the handle. My son wants it. I thought I was going to finish it and give it to him for his birthday. But that is Tuesday and I haven't even pulled it out of the closet! Maybe next year! Your photos are certainly inspiring! Love and Light, Maeve

Bernie is WONDERFUL!!!!! He will answer your e-mails with VERY thorough answers. I was corresponding with him a number of years ago about a whip that I was plaiting. There were some questions that I had about the handle (Australian stockwhip). He sent me an e-mail with no less than a dozen photos detailing his description! I was flabbergasted by his sharing nature! You don't find too many people willing to give of themselves like that! Unfortunately I had a computer crash a couple of months ago and lost the entire tutorial. I cannot say enough good about Bernie .... as a man and as a whipmaker. He has great information on his web site too. http://www.em-brand-whips.com/ Love and Light, Maeve

ROFLOL! That is great! I have one to add ..... - The sound of a breaking string can clear a room of people faster than a live grenade! I'll have to give this some more thought! What fun! Love and Light, Maeve

It's amazing how so many people learn in so many different ways. I have (had .... 2 moved away) 4 students and each one needed something different. One gal actually wrote down some directions for making the buttons that were so clear and concise that I couldn't believe it! She could not understand the books that are written because she didn't find much clarity in them. I believe she is going to self publish when she gets it all together. I know that Gail's books are VERY wordy and the only way that I could get through them was to use a Post-It under each line as I worked it. What I did enjoy about Gail's books is that it gave you the WHYS. It was very explicit about why you did the things that you do rather than just say O1 U1 (etc.). It actually teaches you the structure. Another one of my students is a hands-on learner. I have to watch what she is doing and correct when she is about to make an error. That way she can see what she is doing wrong and understand why it is wrong. She can't go by pictures or written directions at all. I tried to get her to use the other students instructions but that didn't work. But it did on yet another student! She took to those directions like a duck to water! I haven't seen the videos yet but am curious about them. Not curious enough to drop the big bucks though! It would only be for curiosity sake since I've been braiding so long. I'm glad to hear the reviews. It might be something I could suggest to some of my more difficult students. Love and Light, Maeve

I LOVE to listen to books on tape while I am braiding, cutting, whatever. My husband doesn't share my interest while he is watching TV in the evenings. So I bought a new iPod. Then came the problem of how to make it a part of ME so that I could travel to and from wherever while I was listening. Necessity is the mother of invention! I created this neat little iPod case the other day and thought I would share it with all of you! I love it! I showed it to a couple of students and they are now in the process as well! LOL! I used my off cuts to make the case. While I was creating this, diarrhea of the brain took over and I now have another idea that I am dying to try. But here is the first prototype. I'll let you know if the next one turns out or if this one is it! LOL! Opps .... I should have added that the neck strap is fully adjustable so that I can place the iPod at whatever level is comfortable at the moment. I didn't want to commit to something that was permanent and not like it! Love and Light, Maeve

I have ALL of Gail's books and couldn't live without them! I've been braiding for almost 6 years now and I still find myself referring back to some things (old age = brain blips!). One of my favorites is the romal rein book. There are a lot of interesting buttons in there. But if you are looking to do bosals, you would need to purchase her FIRST bosal book. She lays down the basics in that book and then refers to them in the second. So if you buy the second first, you will be totally lost! LOL! Sorry if that doesn't make sense! :D Her books are sequential ..... in book 4 she will refer to a techinque and diagram in book 2 (or whatever). It's nice to have them all so that you CAN refer back if needed! Love and Light, Maeve

Wow! It's interesting to see that others found this before! LOL! It is like I have always said .... nothing is new! I have been using technique since my friend "invented" it and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I used to get so frustrated trying to flip those darned strings. But my life has gotten so much easier! And I'm just thrilled that my friend shared it with me! It's a shame that we aren't able to share these little gems with each other all of the time. I know that there are so many neat new shortcuts that I have learned in the last year or so but I sure don't know if they are OLD and *I* just discovered them or what!! Can't you just see all of those lightbulb moments if we only knew what others know??? Not sure if that makes sense or not! LOL! Love and Light, Maeve

And ..... I would never plait a 4 plait leash without a core. Not only WITH a core ..... but braid the core back into the lead when doing the back braid. I have seen a chihuahua pull a back braid out of a 4 plait lead that was loosely braided without a core. I was shocked to say the least! A back braid without a core still has only 4 strings holding the dog. Recently I learned a really neat technique where the handle was started with a fold-over start then braided into the leash by threading the strings through the folded over strings. It makes a very nice looking hand grip. But again ... it is only 2 strings strong. While the pro handlers don't use the hand grip, all I can see in my mind's eye is that ONE DAY when a handler puts the loop over his/her hand while doing something, the dog lunging and the lead breaking. I know that the chances aren't that good for something like that happening but still. I don't want it on my shoulders if it SHOULD happen! As neat as the technique is, I won't use it. Here is a picture of a 4 color braid that is over a core with the back braids. These are sight hound tag collars that I made for a Greyhound/Whippet group. Yes, I know that it is a ring not a snap! But you can see how they can be braided in with 4 colors and look good while having strength! Wow ... that was a run-on sentence! LOL! http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?t...ion_id=15699714 Love and Light, Maeve

I'll try to get some pictures soon. I have two students coming over this morning and MY computer crashed last month. Husband slaved my hard drive to his and now HIS computer is misbehaving! Since I am the computer guru around here, I have my work cut out for me and it doesn't involve braiding at the moment! LOL! This gal did describe this to me in an e-mail that made sense so I'll see if I can describe it like she did for me. On the last cross where you have to flip the strings (one under the other), she left them parallel. She put the working end under both, turned, and came back over one and under the other. Then she just pulled and the one string POPPED under the other and your working string was in position to begin work again. ???? Okay .... I'll try to get pictures! LOL! Love and Light, Maeve

I'm not sure if this is new to EVERYONE ... but it is new to me and I am SOOOOOO please and proud! I have 4 students that I am teaching to braid right now. One is exceptional in that she is a free thinker and analytical. I always find that making the flip in the last pass of the foundation of a Spanish Ring is a pain. And I do SO many a day that it gets frustrating at times. I learned from Gail Hought's book so it is her method that I teach my students. This one gal e-mailed me last night with this new method and I LOVE IT! She is a GENIUS! She came up with a way of weaving the working string through the foundation on the last cross whereas all you need to do is POP the string into position! Does anyone else do this? It makes life SO much easier! :D Recently I was brutally chastised for making the comment that, as a teacher, I learn a LOT from my students. This person asked just what in the heck could I ever learn from beginners! Well ...... this is the most amazing thing that I have learned in a while and it came from a two-month braider! I still stand by the fact that you CAN learn from your students! :D I did about 6 Spanish Rings tonight and it was just so easy! Sigh .... another one of those "Why didn't *I* think of that?" moments! LOL! I'm just so proud of this student for thinking outside of the box and sharing her learning with ME! Love and light, Maeve

Thanks, Alan! Ya know .... I measured the foundation buttons and the center of the nose button with calipers and they matched dead-on when I started. When I finished .... they weren't so dead on! LOL! I don't know what to do about that as it seems to be in ALL of my attempts. Measurements and calculating are the bane of my life. I don't know if tightening everything collapsed the foundation buttons of if the interweaves built up the center. The next one is always better (or should be!) and if I can figure out what went wrong, I'll try to correct it! LOL! Thanks for the input! It is always valuable. Love and Light, Maeve

Thanks, Mike! I did a 3 turn 6 bight Turk's Head on the fid (standing end at the small end) and then filled it with interweaves. I think my last interweave was u / o 5 so it wasn't really any different than the heel knot other than the shape was irregular and I had to space out the interweaves a bit differently. It was fun! It is an excellent exercise in understanding the interweaves and color play. And ... I teach 4 students so now I won't lose MY fid in the process! :D Love and Light , Maeve

Thank you again! I just couldn't stop myself! LOL! Yesterday was Mother's Day so I gave myself permission to play some more! :D I'm sure ALL of you braiders have done this for yourselves .... but I just got around to it! Here's my fid! :D I'm loving the feel of it! Now I have to be done playing for a while and get back to business! Love and Light, Maeve

Thank you very much for your kind words. If I were to condense my 6 weeks into actual hours, I would say that it took me between 40 - 50 hours to make it. But it laid on my counter, haunting me, taunting me for the remaining weeks! LOL! Love and Light, Maeve

Thank you, everyone. I think it is sold already! We'll see. I was THINKING about keeping it for my Arab mare but, hey, the next one will be even better, right?! Isn't that the way it is supposed to be?!? HHB, braiding is my full time job too! I never intended it to be that way ... it just happened! There are days when I don't even bother getting dressed! I think that there were 3 like that this week! I get up, brush my teeth and head to my studio. Then I go back to bed at night! LOL! It's a good thing that I have grown children and a patient husband! Unfortunately, I seldom get to "indulge" in pieces like this bosal where it is NOT an order! THAT is what keeps getting in the way! How can I justify putting off orders to play! LOL!!!!!!!!!! I'm playing tonight too ..... I'm covering my fid! :D But ..... I'll get back on orders on Monday. Today is Mother's Day and I have given myself permission to play over the weekend! Love and Light, Maeve

I just finished up an Arab/pony size bosal and thought I would share it with the group. My sister is totally into POAs and Welsh. I made her a bosal for her ponies and she has been asking for her "group" for me to make another. So I did! Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures. I was in a hurry to get the photos to my sister this morning and will have to reshoot them later. The one thing that I LOVE about pictures is that they show you the things that you can't see with your eyes! I have a few things to go back and attend to before I put the finish on it! :D This one really stretched my boundaries a bit. It is a 16 plait 5/8" core with an eight string nose button. I THINK that there were 6 interweaves in the nose button but I honestly can't remember. The biggest problem that I had when doing this was blocks of time! It took almost 1 1/2 months to do it because life keeps getting in the way! How in the HECK to you guys do these things in RAWHIDE!??!??!? I realized that rawhide will NOT work for me and that I should just stick with roo. Anyway .... here it is. And it sure reminded me about WHY I don't do these things on a regular basis! LOL! Love and Light, Maeve

Great information, Ben! Thanks for all of your work! I just pulled up the MSDS sheet on the Deft Brushing Lacquer. I'll post it here for comparison. I'm not a chemist (not even CLOSE!) but some of this looked promising to me. Component CAS Number Weight % Reporting Ranges ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON 8052-41-3 10-30 ISOBUTYL ISOBUTYRATE 97-85-8 10-30 METHYL n-AMYL KETONE 110-43-0 7-13 2-BUTOXYETHANOL 111-76-2 7-13 VM & P NAPHTHA 64742-89-8 5-10 n-BUTYL ALCOHOL 71-36-3 3-7 ZINC STEARATE 557-05-1 3-7 XYLENE 1330-20-7 1-5 ISOPROPANOL ANHYDROUS 67-63-0 1-5 NITROCELLULOSE 9004-70-0 1-5 ETHYL BENZENE 100-41-4 0.1-1.0 ISOBUTYL ALCOHOL 78-83-1 0.1-1.0 ETHYL BENZENE 100-41-4 0.1-1.0 Well that chart totally fell apart on me! Sheesh. Hope it's legible!

I've been experimenting with some finishes since I DO NOT LIKE RESOLENE. Since I am also a woodcarver, I have a number of GOOD wood finished around here to experiment with while not incurring additional expenses. Yesterday I braided up a "test bracelet" and put Deft Brushing Lacquer Satin wood finish (NOT water bourne) on it. I only used 1 coat for the first test. It dried in a few hours although the smell lasted till today. I put it on last night and have worn it continually. Okay ... I WON'T wear it in the shower ... but I have worn it while cooking, doing dishes (I have a dishwasher so it's only rinsing), feeding horses, etc. On Day 2, it still looks perfect, resists water and has developed a nice natural shine. There is no flaking of any kind ... but then again ... I only used one light coat that I rubbed on with t-shirt material. My next test will be in a week or so when I will apply two more coats to see what happens. I could wear multiple bracelets (is that a fashion statement?) to do the tests. My other thought is to use the shellac mix (French polish) with some Neatsfoot added. I'll have to experiment with the % though. I'll see if I have time to photograph my test bracelet with the Deft and post it here. Love and Light, Maeve

OMG! You guys have just made my day! How simple and yet the solution has evaded me for YEARS! I JUST (as in this morning) picked up a bunch of hides at the post office. And now I am too excited to go and get cutting! My tables in my work room are set up PERFECTLY for this method of cutting! All I have to do is to turn my blade around, move the collar fence and GO! Sheesh. That is a slap the forehead moment if I have ever had one before! LOL! Thanks for all of the great discussion! You never know what light bulb you are going to turn on! LOL! Love and Light, Maeve

Thank you for your replies, Horsehairbraider and Heather. I usually use this method (measuring and flying by the seat of my pants) for my bridles, bitless and regular. I guess that is what I will do for the Clyde .... IF I can get him to hold still for that long! LOL! I used my Arab for the POAs .... but I had my sister measure their faces and I compared the measurement to my Arab. They were the same so that worked. I had a model! I never thought of a paint bucket but that might be the right size .... if it is 5 gallons! LOL! I'll have to see after I measure his face. Heather, that is such a great idea about the wire! I have a quilters curve that might just work! I used it when I was measuring my mare's withers for a custom saddle. And it hasn't been used since! My "other job" is a woodcarver! :D Maybe I CAN work on some face models! I have a huge chuck of Tupelo out there right now that would be perfect for the Clyde! Now if I could just find a NORMAL horse somewhere .... Thanks again. I have the core ready for the draft bosal .... maybe I can start it this week some time! Love and Light, Maeve

Okay .... so let's assume that you want to make a bosal for a Clydesdale. Or a POA. Or any non-standard type of horse. How would you go about measuring the finished size, the nose button, and the final shaping on these horses? It was talked about "educating" people about bosals and their function, so without proper fitting, can you really get proper functioning? And ... yes .... I'm going to make a bosal for my Clyde. His headstall took 2 1/2 kangaroo hides. Love and Light, Maeve

Yes .... the life of a horsehair worker IS a lonely life! LOL! When I show people how to hitch, they quickly glaze over and walk away. Sheesh! Your work is beautiful! I'm glad to know you as I get a few requests for braided things. I don't braid so it will be nice to have someone to refer people to in those instances! Thank you for the link. I see it is quite pricey! I'm sure it is worth it but I have been spoiled by cutting my own roo strings! Maybe I should start slow, order up some strings for a small project and see if I even WANT to do this! I tend to be a bit obsessive/compulsive on these things! I was looking at my cutting set up today when I was making strings and wondering what I could do to make rawhide cutting easier. I think I've scared myself with rawhide so it is going to be all I can do to muster the courage to try it! LOL! And I think I am going to try my acid dyes on the rawhide. It is meant for protein fibers .... and rawhide IS protein so I don't see why it wouldn't work. As you can see by some of my things that I've posted, subtle browns and black are not on my list of favs! Thanks again for the link and advice. Love and Light, Maeve

Yes! I have a good source for roo! I get mine from Amazing Oz in Australia. Col sells a LOT on eBay. But if you e-mail him directly and tell him what you want specifically, he will come through every time! I've been dealing with him for going on 6 years now and have never been disappointed with his hides. I find that they are comparably priced and he has great colors (see above picture! LOL!). He also sells cut strings in various sizes although they are not beveled. But if you only want a small bit of something for an accent without wanting the whole hide, that is a great option. Here's his web site: http://kangaroolace.com/ If you want a whole hide, tell him that you want his "top shelf" hides 1mm thick. He is more than accommodating! The more you order, the more he discounts. And even coming from Australia, I usually get mine in a week! I can't even get USPS service that quick! Tell him Maeve sent you! LOL! Not sure what THAT will do but it might help! :D Thank you, Rawhider! I really worked hard (mentally) on that knot! I HOPE I wrote down what I worked out so I don't have to do it again! LOL! I usually keep a notebook on EVERYTHING that I braid so if I like it, I can go back and see what I did. I hope this is the case on the Alamar browband! I'm going to do this next one in "tamer" colors. That one was order specific. While I LOVE the colors, I know that it is not something everyone will love! :D Love and Light, Maeve