CitizenKate

Gorgeous work, Tina. Kate

Much kindness and prayer is focused in your general direction. Kate

I never knew anything about Viking music until today. Cool vid, and a nice mini-lesson in Scandanavian ethnomusicology. Thanks for posting that, Tom. Kate PS: Italian??? Reminds me of the concept of the "spaghetti western".

I wonder where the term "digger" came from... was it WWI, when much of the war was fought in trenches? Kate

Yeah, he was just a video prop, more or less, albeit a very convincing one. I agree, great performance, and I loved the scenario! I did. My other cat is completely unaffected by it, and I had anothe cat years ago who was the same way. Kate

That was cute - describes my tabby to a tee! Give him some crack-nip, and he runs through the house like a mad man for two hours, then crashes into a pile of bones. LOL Glad you like the Nickel Creek vid... I've been playing and listening to bluegrass for years, and when I studied music at WSU, I (reluctantly) developed a taste for other genres, including rock. So groups like this really get my attention. You heavy metal fans out there might notice the presence of one Robert Trujillo, who is the bassist of Metallica. Interesting place to find him, wouldn't you agree? Kate

That is pretty close to what I had in mind, too. Are you planning to treat it with a stain or antique? If so that may also do some of the work for you. Kate

That does it! We need marketing consultants! Kate

Ah, Doc... I got to hear him live at the Winfield Festival during the '80's. He actually has an amazingly good handle on rock guitar, but he doesn't seem to flaunt that much. "My ol' gal, she's a sweet little pal. She walks just like a water foul." Kate

After months of experimenting with them, I have switched entirely to water-based dyes now. After making the adjustments, I have to say I'm getting very close to the same results from them as I got with the spirit-based dyes. I love how much more color-fast the water-based dyes are (once they survive the staining/antiquing and finishing process, that is!), and I sure don't miss having to protect myself from the fumes! As others have mentioned, the big challenge is what stains and finishes you can use with them without losing too much color or smearing it. For those who have airbrushing equipment, spraying the finish on is by far the easiest and most trouble-free. When you spray, it almost doesn't matter what you use; they will all go on nicely when sprayed. When spraying is not an option, and the finish must be wiped on, I like Tan-Kote or paste wax. They don't dissolve the dye quite as easily, so it's easier to wipe them on without disturbing the dye job than an acrylic finish. Kate

I was just taking a little break, and thought I'd post links to a couple of my current YouTube favs. Don't worry, no Monkees this time! Lately, I've been listening to a lot of acoustic instrumental music, and these are a couple of "new" artists (new to me, anyway) that I discovered listening to Pandora.com: Feel free to jump on the thread and post yours! Kate

Another very effective backing to use is clear "long-term storage" packing tape. It's very easy to put on and take off with no residue on the leather, and it's cheap and easy to find in a lot of places. To make a stiffer backing, just use more layers. Kate

I think you can get more from the situation than just "live and learn". I agree with Bree's perspective, that there is an opportunity for a serious breakthrough hiding behind every problem. Kate

Pity I can't do any traveling for another couple of months, or I would be there. That is going to be an awesome workshop! Kate

I agree - absolutely stunning! Can't wait to see more. Kate

LOLOLOL! Isn't that what we all hope! Kate

That is 10 times better than the cheap leather holsters my brothers' toy guns came with when I was a kid. They were still leather at the time (not plastic, like they are now), but not very good leather, and the workmanship was of course nothing close to this! I'd say that should become an heirloom to the kid who got that piece. Kate

Nice piece, Marlon! I picked up that little tip about using a pair of dividers to mark beads from a workshop I attended a few years ago. That was the best investment of one hour I've spent in many a year. (Wish it could have been longer!) Before that, I was just eyeballing the gap with my straight edge. "Are they perfect every time?" the instructor asked. I said, "Nope." But they are, now, thanks very much. This works great going around curves, too. Thanks for posting that. Kate

Well, the smell of deglazer reminds me an awful lot like rubbing alcohol, so maybe that's all it will take. Kate

That's a basic single-action sprayer. You won't be able to adjust the radius of the spray on the fly, but I started out with a similar one when I was getting curious about airbrushing my colors, and still use it today for applying liquid finishes. But I'll give you fair warning, it was only a few months before I wanted to be able to do more with it and upgraded to a double action brush. If you ask me, you won't be wasting your money to give it a try. Sheesh! Six bucks? (Plus shipping, of course.) How many people will drizzle away that much on a lottery ticket? Kate PS: I'm presuming you already have an air compressor. If not, better include that in your buying decision. That will increase your investment somewhat.

I was once able to remove a wax finish and the underlying antique with deglazer. This allowed me to touch up the dye job, and re-apply the antique and finish. Remember, always test, first. Hope this helps... Kate

It varies widely from one show to the next. It could be anywhere from $10 for a 10x10 space for the weekend, to $200 or more for a spot at shows that are either very well attended or juried. Kate

You could be making some trade-offs in sales to keep your stock theft-proof. The points between where the shopper spots something from a distance, and where they examine it closely enough to make a buying decision is already a huge chasm, from a selling standpoint. Being able to touch it, smell it, and see it close up is all part of that decision. I personally would want as few obstacles to crossing that chasm as possible. Some shoppers love interacting with sellers at shows, and love the process of being "sold to", but others prefer to explore each exhibit with little or no interaction with the seller until checkout time. It's that latter group that will not bother to ask to see something in a booth that is designed to discourage theft, and may just avoid that booth entirely. Every seller can decide for themselves which is more important, but for my own booth designs, I would place a higher priority on shoppers' experience than theft-prevention. Kate

That's at http://www.clwhiting.com/, for anyone who wants to go check it out. Kate

I decided to do a little research on the web to find the answer to this question, and found 3 articles dated Sept. 2003 on the subject, which described the technology as a polymer gel that is injected into the space from where the natural lens is removed. They describe it as a quick, painless, and unintrusive operation, when it finally does become commercially available. When will that be? All three articles said it would be anywhere from 3 to 10 years from then, and it's now been 5 so far. I found the site of a clinic in Australia that said they expected the product to become available sometime this year. So... could be very soon! I'm due for a trip to the optometrist soon. When I go, I'll ask her then how things are coming along with that. Kate