Handstitched

After all the years of hand stitching and machine stitching belts and other items, I have never had one break as a result of perforations in the leather. Interesting topic too HS

Back in the early days, I just practiced a lot on lots of veg tan scraps just to get the feel of the stamps , carving knife etc. A lot of what I learnt came from books, Al Stohlman mostly, but also just trial and error , doodling on scraps . But when I finally go the hang of it, and it looked good, that was it, I was hooked , 19 years later...... HS

G'Day again, Yep , the 'refreshments' will be flowing my friend In fact, I found a rare treat that I haven't had for over 20 years, 'Newcastle Brown Ale". I was searching on line and found a bottle shop ( liquor store) in the northern suburbs of Perth that stocked it.So I bought a case of it online, it arrived in just over a week. I had to 'test' some, of course , tasted great Dad enjoyed a drop or two as well. It wasn't cheap as its very hard to get here in Oz , but its rare treat. I'm saving the rest for Christmas . Its still made in the UK , but Heineken now owns it. Everything is in place , sausage rolls, mince pies , prawns ( for me) ham , turkey, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake , brandy for the pudding, and cake . All I need to do is cook it and eat it. January and February are sorted for meals I'll be doing the last few markets for the year this weekend, but won't be staying long as its getting hot now, I don't want to leave Dad on his own for too long either. He is so far so good, , touchwood, I'm making sure he drinks plenty of fluids , eat plenty of fruit etc. I might be able to squeeze another visit on here before Christmas . Stay safe HS

Dam , that sounds tasty I'll be doing Chrissy a bit different this year. Last year I did a turkey and small ham but I had so much food left over, too much , theres only two of us and Dad isn't a big eater, so this year, I've got some turkey drum sticks , and I'll get a small ham, and maybe some turkey breast , for sandwiches etc. I picked up some cooking ideas from 'Nigella' on the TV yesterday. She put her turkey into some home made brine (?) with an assortment of herbs, spices etc left it overnight, . and put a mix of butter and maple syrup on the turkey before roasting, ( I won't be going that far) and she par boiled the spuds, added some semolina to them ( never seen that before, but I'll try it) and roasted them on high in goose fat, I don't have goose fat , but I can get duck fat, but they looked dam nice and crispy . . The ham will be done the usual way, in the oven with pineapple and glazed cherries and a ham glaze , that Mum made a long time ago. Its mostly sugar so its preserved well in the fridge, I also have a jar of Her home made piccalilli, the last one 2022 vintage, in the fridge Tastes absolutely yummo , goes well with ham .When I'm feeling brave enough I'll try to make some myself, I found Mums 'secret 'recipe' in among the gazzilion cooks books thats she accumulated over many years. Its a long process and the house will smell like a giant pickle for about a week , lol , but it will be worth it. I'll still be making a heap of sausage rolls and mince pies ( fruit) , theýre easy to make and freeze. Just in case I don't get here ( public pooter) before Christmas, have a Safe and Merry Christmas to you and your family HS

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

G'Day, The 3 piece belts I have made in the past were made up of off cuts long enough to make a usable belt. First piece the buckle end, then a D ring ( or an 'O'ring or square ring) , then a middle piece, then another D ring and then the billet, hence the 3 pieces. Each piece can be tooled, carved etc. the middle piece for example, can also be a different colour to the rest of the belt. The off-cuts can be turned into quite a unique one off belt. The sky is the limit for ideas and designs. Hope this helps . HS

G'Day , still here, just been busy. Hope all is well in your part of the universe Not much happening in the food dept. although I did do a nice roast beef a few weeks back, the left overs went into a curry. A friend of mine that lives close by is rebuilding a S2 Landrover SWB for a friend of his. He had a lot of parts surplus to requirements, so he let me pick and choose and let me have them for nothing. I have more parts than I can poke a stick at now. If only I had the time to play with my toys, that and my tractors Take care friend HS

Thats heart breaking Sadly , its something we're quite familiar with here in Oz , entire communities totally destroyed and takes years to recover, if at all. What makes it even more heart breaking for home owners and business owners, is that some insurance companies play their silly games, delay the pay outs etc. Some are good at paying , but some are just pr*cks !!! Hope my prayer works HS

I'm still here, in body at least . I found out why I couldn't find my address on ISP sites, is that my address wasn't on any data base(?) ...or some silly thing like that, its was like my house never existed. I got in contact with a regional internet helper thats provides internet advice and assistance to peeps in the bush, and thats what they found and corrected it. I'm still using public access atm, but hopefully not for long as they also gave me some ISP's that serve the bush and that are also in my budget. Its just a matter of me getting my act together. I might even treat myself to a new 'pooter'. I think I said that last time . But this thing called life keeps getting in the way , lol . HS

I have tried using rubber gloves for dyeing only for them to either break and or make a huge mess, so I don't bother any more . I'll have an assortment of colours on my hands at the end of the day, but comes off very quickly . I have peeps asking me "whats happened to your hands?" "" I'm a leatherworker"" , .........advertising I can never find Camel leather here in Oz, even though Oz are over run with wild camels across Central Oz, they've become a pest now . I spoke to a fellow leather worker at a market, she too has the same issue of not finding Camel leather. Apparently, they're just shot and left to rot where they fall. What a waste!!! I have never used Camel leather before, but what I have been told its quite soft. She also showed me a camel leather bag she got from Abu Darby ? (I think thats what she said, or was it Dubai )it looked stunning , nice and soft. Thats a whole industry going to waste, meat, milk, leather etc. HS

Many moons ago, I rented a tri-axle semi trailer and prime mover from a "reliable""(?) rental co. to shift a lot of shite to the wheatbelt, sheds car etc. The semi was a heap of shite !! The roadranger gearbox was so badly worn I could hardly select the right gear.Going down a steep hill was nightmarish. The brakes were so sensitive and 'touchy', just the slightest touch on the pedal, the whole trailer would lock up. Went to return the semi at night.........the f***king lights failed!!! Lesson learnt.........never again HS