Handstitched

@chuck123wapati Food : Just watched sudden impact, Dirty Harry for the umpteenth time . (it's 45 degs outside and I'm hibernating with a few beers ) One line had me intrigued : DH: : " nobody , I mean nobody puts ketchup on a hot dog " Is there an etiquette to what goes on a hot dog over there? There is here. Here in Oz, a hardware chain doing a sausage sizzle, made a major faux paz. Here , we put the sausage in the roll first,followed by onions on top with whatever sauce, tomato, bbq etc. but they did the opposite, put the onions in first. OMG ! It blew up in the media A lot of fuss over piece of processed meat in a piece of bread . HS

2026 is approaching, i do hope the universe is kind to all of us throughout. I'm 'hibernating ' inside in the cool as its so damn hot outside, and will be for whole week, thank God for beer 🍺 Have a safe and Happy New Year HS

@chuck123wapati I use a spray bottle, it administers just the right amount of moisture, the leather stays moist enough throughout, but it did take practice to get it right. I did try using a sponge in the early days, but my carelessness caused the sponge to have a lil' spot of dye that ended up as a smudge on the leather HS

I use kangaroo leather, the hides are around .8mm thick. I don't bother skiving . I make those wallets with and without a flap . A some of the wallets people show me at the markets have just about everything but the kitchen sink in them, and are so thick stuffed so full, and they wonder why they fall apart . The ' minimalist ' wallets seem quite popular , fit neatly into pockets.. Good choice 👌 HS

@chuck123wapati Cinnamon rolls sound delish 😋 Even my dog had a happy Christmas, she got a long rawhide chewy thingy , " hours of fun ",...... it lasted an hour . She also had turkey, ham, potato's etc. I am now sipping on a nice ex$y whisky that i bought for myself, , a rare Christmas treat. Enjoy the Cinnamon rolls 😋 HS

After reading that, I must admit that my hands have toughened up over the years, pulling on thread isn't so difficult , but these days it's arthritis, carvers cramp, and my left hand seizes up holding a stamping tool,can be painful at times. I like dikmans idea though. HS

Wherever you may be let your creativity flow free in 2026. May you all have a safe and Happy Christmas 🎄 and a creative and Happy 2026 Let's hope 2026 will kind to all of us 🙏 HS

@Sheilajeanne should also include " and a packet of bandaids , sorry for the blood stains " HS

@chuck123wapati i've seen vids of semis getting blown over, looks terrifying, so I can imagine the strength of those winds. Had my last market for the year on Sunday, 21st, so now I am a man of leisure,sort of. Our AC is working perfect 👌 local installer too, did a fine job. I spilt a whole tin of contact adhesive all over my bench and onto my leg once. What a sticky gluggy mess it was too, along with a multitude of expletives Lesson learnt. HS

@beefy i have 4 machines, but i'd love 3 more machines to add to my collection. A long arm flat bed for canvas, horse rugs etc., a post bed, and a 132k6, but I have no space left HS

@beefy i have in old Seiko stw 28-b, twin needle that I have had for many years, i have yet to find a manual for it, so I just use a consew 226 manual as a guide only instead . I contacted Seiko in Japan to find out the age of my machine using the serial number, turns out it's the same age as me......not telling 😅 HS

@Sheilajeanne i showed that pic to my elderly Father, he was quite amused at the snow on the barby ( we put steaks and snags on ours , lol),while we were having our new air cond installed this morning, its working beautifully. While it was 40+ outside, it was a lovely 24 degs C inside. Bliss 😊 It's going to get hotter in the next few months no doubt . To be expected . HS

Even though I've only been on here a short time, so many speak very highly of him reading the many posts. God bless, HS

Well chuck, the hot weather has well and truly kicked in .40 degs + , today and next week, whatever that is in F's . Just as well I'm having our air cond upgraded tomorrow. Our local sparky is doing the installation. No doubt its getting quite cold where you are . Just 2 more markets to go and that's it until next year. Looking so forward to a nice break tbh. Stay safe, HS

Why would anyone want to throw that away? Even if it didn't work , it would make an awesome display piece in your workshop 😀 I'd be like a kid on Christmas day . Great find 👍 Hope you're able to get all cleaned up and working again. HS

@Mablung former, akubra, newbie, again, statesman. My very first hat was a statesman and is now a museum piece on display in my workshop. My next pair of work boots will from an Aussie company, also not owned by a mining squillionare HS

@chuck123wapati well done and well deserved . They look so good and will polish up nicely. There are times when we just love to treat ourselves. I'm contemplating buying a new( stetson style)hat for myself for Christmas. The brand/ company i would normally buy from has now been bought out by a mining squillionare . They can go and jump. So I'm going to support another Aussie made company instead, not owned by a mining company, a bit pricey, but so what ! My current hat is around 10 years old, stained badly, smells. and worn out and has holes in it and was a prezzy from a former flame and not a good look at the markets. Time for a change 👍 Enjoy your new boots 👢 👍 HS

I have never seen a raccoon break into a bottle shop ( liquor store) in Virginia, get absolutely sh*t faced and pass out on the toilet floor, and wake up with a massive hangover . I wonder if he had a kebab ? He might need rehab. HS

I have a Pfaff 60 that I use for thin leather, wallets etc. It was my late mother's machine that she made or repaired our clothes on. But some more info would be good 👍 HS

When I need to apply contact adhesive with precision, I use cotton ear buds, ( or Q tips) single use, and you might use a few, but are cheap as . It might be a bit fiddly but it saves cleaning up after. Hope that helps. HS

@AlZilla a bit like ' where does the chicken come from' .......sorry, couldn't help myself but would be so handy not to keep refilling bobbins on long runs, like shade sails, horse rugs, etc. I just pre-load 2 -3 bobbins before I start to save time. HS

@Dwight that's exactly what I do, I wear my wares. I have 3 belts with different designs that I wear regularly. My flip phone case is quite a fancy hand laced and hand stitched one with a fancy concho , and yes , I keep some business cards in my wallet. At the markets I have a few folders with heaps of pics of what I have made, and custom work I have done and place them on my table for people to browse through. Word of mouth has worked better than paid advertising , as for face book etc. , my customers do that for me Great minds think alike HS

In my lil' local country town, I just did some basic market research. I simply talked to people, and when I told them I'm getting into leather, the common response was " we can't get a decent belt , or a knife case" . So thats pretty much where it all started....20 years later.... I just made what appealed to the local market. What you may be referring to may not be as simple as that HS

@TomE that's pretty much what I do, leave a wider margin around the edge. The excess gets sanded away and neatened up. All looks quite neat when finished. 👍 HS