Handstitched

@fredk I'm in the Central Wheatbelt of W.A. around 2 - 3 hrs drive from the city. 1. Here in west Oz, gun ownership & licences are pretty strict . Some are used for hunting . Farmers have rifles, and then theres the gun club, not far from where I am, I can hear them at the weekends. 2. 3.I carry a pocket knife,a ' Swiss army knife ' . Its not just a knife, its a tool box, I use it daily. Technically, I can get busted if I'm caught, especially in the city, but I live in the bush, just about every farmer carries a knife, so there may be a few exceptions as I do have a genuine reason to have it. 4.Haven't fished in years, but its also heavily regulated here. 5.Our police are also armed with guns, tasers etc. 24/7, (and no common sense) but quite often things go catastrophically wrong when used. Eg. Recently ,a 95 year old woman in care, with dementia and other health issues was tasered because she was carrying a steak knife , but she was on a walking frame and was moving at a slow pace towards the police. When tasered, she fell and hit her head...and never recovered and died . Officer was stood down and charged. 6. I was selling my leather goods at a regular market for years before I decided to take the plunge and start a business. A business adviser friend of mine , told me to get business banner to help promote my stuff for my stall, but later realised , thats illegal without an ABN . So, I applied for an ' ABN' ( Australian Business Number) . To work from home, I had to apply for a permit with the local shire council . As I live outside the town boundary , not in the town centre I was granted a permit under the heading of ' Cottage Industry ' . I don't think I would be permitted to do what I do in town itself. But, I had a my market stall regularly in one of the carparks, I had to get a permit for that as well . Here you can't do a damn thing without a bloody permit !!!!!!!! 7. We have plenty of those, snakes, spiders, crocs etc.(up north) 8. Our petrol is hovering around $1.79 up to $ 2.00 per litre . Fuel companies can't keep blaming covid or the war in Ukraine for ever. Food: meat is the most expensive atm . *Leg of Lamb, or roast beef for example (which are very rare for us these days), $15- 16 per kg. up to, $ 28 p/kg . Cost of vegies have also gone up...and up. Food is a little cheaper in the city. Power, has gone up, we try to be frugal, but we get govt. rebates occasionally. It also sometimes goes off in bad weather, like we're having now as I type. We have a Jenny just outside. For those that rent , rents have gone totally stupid, thats because of pure greed, , greedy money grubbing landlords, causing people to live in cars, camping in all sorts of places with kids too, in the streets etc. Thank God we own this house, it was paid off many years ago. *we used to have roast dinners nearly all the time, not any more. HS

@SUP Its a lot to think about I know, but remember, YOU are in charge and whatever you decide, you have our support Empowering isn't it ?? and it feels damn good too HS

@SUP You can sell stuff without becoming a business and still maintain your hobby My Mother did it for years. She used to spin wool, knitted home spun garments and sold some, she did ( and taught) pottery and sold some, and even decorated cakes for a while . I sold heaps of stuff at markets etc. long before I became a business and long before I got a machine. But the moment you have a business name & registration, thats when those nasty things like taxes etc come in , like @Klara said. ( and I hate paper work) Thats a discussion in another thread. And , if you decide to buy a machine, the next big questions is....which one ?? OMG, what a dilemma !!! how many times have we all asked that on here ? Thats also a discussion for another thread. HS

I quite like those, very nice I don't get much call for watch straps . I get my chrome tanned roo hides from Packers in Qld and take advantage of their specials. Nice to see a few more Aussies on here too HS

But looks great to me , nice pattern too

As someone that turned a hobby into a business, it hasn't lost its charm, not for me. . I still very much enjoy making something beautiful out of leather. I still get to make my little pet projects, but I do admit that they can take a little longer sometimes due to filling orders. But I am good a delegating what comes first and still get to work on my own projects. I both machine stitch and hand stitch. Buying a sewing machine doesn't necessarily mean you're going into business , you can buy a machine simply to help augment your hobby. HS

Those ' in charge' are not always the smartest. Our fire authorities do controlled or prescribed burns before bushfire seasons each year . But ,their so called controlled burns have in the past got out of control burn more than they intended and even burned houses down and put communities under threat. Scientists argue that these ' prescribed burns' do more harm than good and have no basis in science. They destroy diverse and sometimes rare flora and fauna . Thats not very ' environmental friendly' . Go figure? The best people to do burns are the ' Indigenous Peoples , they know what, when and where to burn, they're been doing it for thousands of years, they know exactly what they're doing and without destroying the very fauna they need to survive. HS

Can't say I've worked with sting ray, but do you have any pics?

That would be good, had to google it to update my knowledge of machines. Quite a nice looking machine with the stand it hopefully comes with . HS

The last time I made my own stamps, I was just a lil' wee tacker,making shapes in potatoes and dipping them in paint , lol I think I have seen the ends of large nails shaped and used as stamps. Well done HS

Have to take our hats off for the strength and courage of emergency personnel. When fires occur down south , we get the smoke a day or so later. I'm in the central wheatbelt. It gets so thick some days. You think the fire is local considering the amount of smoke, but its actually way down south. It is literally the way the wind blows here. HS

Never used it before , but hemming tape thats used on fabrics may be used, but its used with an iron , perhaps on a low setting? Or, Tenacious Tape, a peel and stick type tape for making repairs. Theres also Kikusui 190 Seamstick tape , holds stuff down while sewing. HS

Thats very serious. Sadly, this is something we're used to here in Oz . Its rare for a fire to start by lightening here, quite often its the work of a 'fire bug' . Makes people so angry when theres someone deliberately starting fires, and theres very little comeback. Let hope no-one gets hurt or worse. HS

You have done really well on that I guess the scales may have been a little tricky , like doing basket weave. Great colours too . HS

@Frodo Hear hear !! When you have your mind set on a particular project, its always good to have more than one supplier, even as inconvenient as it is. I machine stitched a carved belt today, but, before I started stitching, I made sure I had enough thread to go sew the entire belt, I've been 'caught short' before. Even if theres a little bit of the colour of choice still on the bobbin, I wind on a new one to ensure I have enough. The lil' remainder on the other bobbin will still get used on small projects, it won't go to waste. HS

That is just beautiful . Love the detail Well done HS

I have done something similar, make a nice fancy belt, only to realise I haven't got a suitable buckle or hardware to go with it...doh !! I've got into the habit now of checking to make sure I have all the materials I need to complete a project. Nothing more frustrating than running out half way through. HS

I had to do a second take, it reminded me of an early ' Landrover Forward Control' . Thats a great way to spread the message about breast cancer as the ' Pink Ribbon' symbol is universal . We have annual campaigns here in Oz . HS

I quite like that too Well done HS

I just use ' Cova colour paints. I get pretty good results .

Here its called a ' cannula' , same thing really. It does help to remain positive , and you're certainly not alone . @Cattledude Sorry for the sad passing of your wife. Sadly , this is something we've all been through at some point in our lives. We just do our best to remain strong. Peace HS

I so love that !!!! I've been watching quite a few wild camping vids on yootoob . We've heard of ' home sick', as in missing home, I must be getting 'camp sick' , missing going bush I'll certainly be keeping an eye and ear out for anything unusual when I start my tractor. HS

Looks pretty good to me well done, you've saved a bag and gave it a new life HS

I second that I have enough experience these days to tell the difference . @captain The dark lines may well be just sweat and/ or dirt rubbed in . You don't want to scrub too much , otherwise any residue may come off onto clothing ...you don't want that . HS

Man, they are some beautiful pics, especially the first one, looks so serene, relaxing With beautiful views like that, doesn't matter if you don't catch any fish. The flowers are obviously unique to that part of the universe , look great. I think, and I hope ,the bolt & washer will end up somewhere inside the water jacket of the block . They're a bit too heavy to just float around. They'll just hit the bottom of the water jacket....fingers crossed. HS