Handstitched

Al Stohlmans holsters pattern book is a great book to have ,I enjoyed making some of them , even just for the experience and for show, but no too many people are interested in the 'western style holsters' these days, and not to go too off topic, but gun laws are very tight here, and here in the west of Oz, they just got tighter. HS

Reminds me of the song '"Ten Green Bottles Hanging on the Wall "...... Try singing that after a few whisky's . HS

I was born in Haverhill, Suffolk , and there was a US airbase not far away from Haverhill plus a few others. Even back then, they were still on alert as the air raid siren used go off , scaring the shite out of me. Something I'll never forget. HS

Yes, I've seen that. I had thought about going down the 'jewellery path'", earrings mainly , but with so many jewellery stalls at some markets I decided not to bother. HS

Thats one hell of a waist line HS

The horse rug client sent me a message last week asking me when I will be home to pick the rugs up, I told her, haven't heard from he since I did these rugs back in June, I checked the invoice. HS

One belt I have in my collection, is a cheapy "genuine leather "belt "Made in China" from an op shop, out of curiosity I cut into it...it was cardboard in the centre, hardly a surprise I have peeps bending and sniffing my belts at the markets to see if they are the real deal. HS

@chuck123wapati G'Day from 'upsidedownland'. Hope all is well in Wyoming ? Its now getting into the warmer part of the year, and its that time of year ...again. Spraying ( weeds) slashing, fire breaks etc. I'm trying to get it all done early before it gets too hot. Fired my ól Fordson tractor up for the first time since last year, started first press of the button and ran great. I'm getting more creative food wise, Dad loves it , he's doing ok , so far so good, he's had a few 'hiccups' occasionally but otherwise good. I'll have to tackle one of our cupboards as its full of about a gazzilion baking tins, trays etc. of Mums, its like a game of Jenga, move one tin and the whole lot comes crashing down. Take care friend HS

If you have the time, and patience, you could put holes in the centre and string them together to make a nice necklace? I have found a way of using some scraps, I use 20-25mm hole punch on veg tan scraps, stamp a very simple single stamp, like a flower or whatever, colour them, put a small split ring on them and I sell them for about $2 bucks each. I have to make some more now cos I nearly sold out. Kids can buy them with their pocket money , or some peeps like to hang them on their bags etc. as decorations. HS

Hear hear !! Its not just the amount that irritates me ( $80 ) , its the principal , "its the vibe of the thing"( an Aussie expression) . You can't go into supermarkets and say, 'I'll pay you later' or I'm too busy to pay. I don't know what people think we live on. Some years ago, I made a nice ranger belt for a customer, and posted it out, but never got paid. Weeks, months went by, phone calls, with the usual excuses, etc. So I sent out a letter demanding payment, but with a nice bright hi vis 'Final Demand' sticker on the front, with "failure to pay could affect your credit rating" in the letter. I soon got paid But we shouldn't have to go through all that crap , and I sometimes wonder why they made the order in the first place if they can't pay. But I have had customers phoning me up to say cancel the order because of financial issues, I don't mind that, even if I have made the product , I can still sell it . HS

The other ' pet peeve' I have atm, is when customers don't pick up their items. I have a few horse rugs that I repaired, still sitting on the floor of my workshop, been there for about 2 months, unpaid. I have contacted the customer a few times, , all I get in reply is " I'm busy" or " I have a lot on atm" or " I'm in Perth" . They'll be going into storage pretty soon , they're taking up precious ' floor real estate' and I keep walking into the damn things. I can't be too agro, as I'm the only one that does horse rug repairs, and its a small town, don't wish to step on any toes. HS

HS

I use hair blades when I'm doing horses mane and tail etc. It does take a little practice but they always seem to turn out quite good. Yeh, thats what I use, one coarse & one fine blade. HS

I'm still here . I know I keep saying it, but I'll have a new ' pooter'.....one day . Still using public access atm and ' hotspot at home , even that can be hit and miss, a bit of wind or rain...and ' poof' and the signal drops out, even on the most up to date devices. I'll keep on keeping on HS

G'Day, I'm still using hot spot on my phone, it works to a degree, but the phone signals out here in the bush are crap. A strong wind or some rain causes it to drop out... frequently. I'll have a new pooter in the (hopefully) near future. HS