Handstitched

So love that I also love the ' embellishments' on your machine No ' rattlers' where I am . HS

@tsunkasapa I made this little ' montage' of some of the tools made by the Kelly Tool Company in NZ , including ' Boss Buttons' to share . Top left: the range of ' Boss Buttons' that I have. Top Centre: a close up Top Right: "Carvertool" tools also made by Kelly Tool Co. Centre Left : A selection of ' Australian fauna designs and ' First Nations' themed designs Centre: the front of Boss Buttons info sheet' , with an example of what can be achieved to the right . Bottom Left: Midas tools that I have ( Kelly Tool Co. ) ( top) , and ' Leathertool' Company NZ tools (bottom) . Not sure if Kelly Tool Co. made these . They are quite rare . The designs that can achieved with ' Boss Buttons' is endless. HS

Thats one good looking watch band Is it a hard leather to sew ? never sewn stingray before. HS

I use long post line 24's so that the buckle is interchangeable and the belt keeper is loose . Thanks, but that could open up a whole new debate. I used leather tools to achieve the end result Its machine stitched , using Coats 277 M10, Yellow, #24 needle , but thanks 'Boss Button' stamping tools are made by Kelly Tool Co.in New Zealand. They are made using a high impact plastic . They also made ' Midas Tools'. They are very rare . I do have about 5 different sets, also with some Australian fauna stamps, as well as some Australian ' First Nations' themed stamps. I did try to find some examples to show you, even that was difficult. I'll try to take some pics and upload some pics from the brochures that came with the stamps. I'm lucky to have them . HS

I've never thought about making walking sticks, never crossed my mind. . I have seen them hand made at various craft markets , shows etc. but those look great. Just wondering if a tooled / carved embellishment would go nice with those. Not sure what type of wood is suitable here in Oz. Is Aspen a hard wood? HS

I love doing these. The leather is 5mm VT ( stuff I use for horse gear) , tooled with ' Boss Buttons' tools down the centre , made by Kelly Tool Co. NZ , with craft tool veiner and spots on the edge, and dyed with a few coats of Eco Flo Saddle tan gel antique, sealed with ' Seal 'n' Shine' ( Aust), fitted with a good heavy solid brass gear buckle . I have done these before . The brass and the antiques go so well together. As for the pattern, made up on the spot. The sky is the limit with these vintage tools. Are Boss buttons hard to find these days? HS

My fridge magnets are carved and ready to be dyed ...and hand stitched.

Al Stohlman came to mind when I read that. Almost everything I have learnt I owe to him ( and Anne) . HS

Its pretty darn clever, however its made . Very effective. But one word that passed through my mind, briefly, was ' filigree' . So love the textured surface on the sheath, top right & centre left. My Mother once taught pottery, one of the techniques of applying a texture to wet clay was to use natural materials, pine cones, tree leaves, tree bark etc. anything that has a rough surface. A similar technique could be applied to wet leather. Love em !! HS

Yes. I do remember some years ago, I went to a commercial sewing company making enquiries,. I also had a chance to have a look at some of their machines that made straps etc. for use on ships etc. They were huge, much bigger than my 441 clone, fly wheels were massive . One strap I was shown was 2' wide and well over 1" thick and as hard as a coffee table . Blew my mind. Can't for the life of me remember the brand. HS

@Sheilajeanne & @Gezzer Google this : ' John Deere Sewing machine ' All I can say is HOLY CRAP !!!!!!! First time I've seen those. Love em !! HS

Well, thats.....different Used a bracket as a seat and another component as a steering wheel . Very creative !! If it was mine, I'd make it move a using an RC model remote perhaps? It does remind me of our old " tractor' garden sprinkler , it moved powered by the water. HS

I had to make an alteration to a leather apron that a friend of mine got as a gift, it was custom made , apparently. My friend is quite tall as well ( he too is a woodworker) The leather apron was chrome tanned dark brown. The issue he had was that the strap that goes around the neck was too heavy on his neck . The apron itself was heavy , a bit too heavy for my liking. But anyway, I ended up making the straps in cross ' X' arrangement so that the weight of the apron was on his shoulders.I also altered the strap that goes around his waist so some of the weight sat on his hips.A lot of messing around, but it worked. So when making a leather apron, just keep the weight in mind. HS

Not sure if this is of any help: https://www.ehow.com/facts_5840562_pfaff-sewing-machine-identification.html If not , just ask one of the experienced peeps on here. HS

You're braver than me. I did a test of 22mm to see if it will sew as the ad in the magazine claims...yep, sewed it just fine, but very slowly ...and the needle was a bit hot.. no surprises there. Never had a job that needed that, but nice to know the machine is quite capable HS

Although I'm in Western Australia , I have a 441 clone and runs quite happily on single phase ( 240 v 10 amp Australia) without any issues. I appreciate your set up may be different. HS

For some reason, that green works so well with the white stitching , well done HS

From my own experience, someone gave me a shoulder bag for me to ' cut up' and use the leather. Too good to cut up, but the brown-ish colours were all over the place like its been out in the sun , so, I went about dying it. I cleaned it using a solvent etc. tried dying it dk brown...it came out blotchy and patchy , it was crap . I nearly threw it out, but , I am later going to try dying it black . Black seems to cover all sorts 'stuff'. So what I'm going to try is dye it black, let dry over night and give it another coat. If it works, I'll seal it, if it doesn't then I'll cut it up and use the leather HS

My gut instinct was right. HS

Looks nice......but Glad its not just me HS

Hear hear !!! We're all safe ,thanks, just a lot of mess. We've had some wild weather before , but never seen so much water in such a short amount of time go across our paddock. What I keep seeing over here in the news is two semi's rolled over like they were toys after the tornado . If it cheers you up, our weather is just starting to cool down, a bit, so we had slow cooked curried lamb shanks in a nice curry sauce tonight. Soooo damn delish, tender meat just fell of the bone, not too spicy , they're messy to eat...but I don't care . The messiest feeds are often the best....you couldn't take me to a fancy restaurant I better get the ol' weber BBQ cleaned up and ready soon. Take care, and my respect to Mother Nature HS

Is there a part of the bag( out of view) where you can try a small area first? Just in case the dye doesn't quite work out .

They look awesome Love seeing scraps being used up for some of the most practical and unique and individual items. I /we have heaps of scraps and every time I see these, my creative mind goes in all sorts of directions. But, like I say to my customers: " I make can just about make anything......... but the one thing I can't make is time " HS

Its a while away, but I've started Mums rose fridge magnets. Got one carved , one to go. I reckon I'll be doing a nice roast for Mothers Day HS

@chuck123wapati G'Day, hope all is well, Just popped in We got hit with a massive thunder storm early this morning about 5.30 . Just about to drive to a market when ' Mother Nature' said....'nup stay in bed' . Heavy rain, heavy hail,( looked like snow) thunder, the full works. Our Winter creek turned into a raging torrent, never seen so much water . Paddocks ,ours and neighbors got flooded. Some damage to fencing etc. but all good otherwise. Nowhere near the damage that the tornado caused over there. Needless to say, I went back to bed HS