Handstitched

G'Day, Not sure if this is pertinent , or has any relevance at all, but one of the suppliers that I have been dealing with , Vardhman , based in India, now owns ' Gutermann' threads . It must have been quite recent I've been using Gutermann upholstery threads for years , still do . Just by browsing, I found this company that does all the hardware I need for my horse rug repairs etc. in bulk . Always on the look out to save a few $$$ . Always good acumen to have more than one supplier too After I placed my order I was contacted by a manager(?) Au. asking what it was that I did, I would have thought the hardware was a giveaway , but quite friendly, just simply offering any other products or services , but he also told me that Vardhman ' now owns Gutermann' (as I mentioned that I use gutermann amongst many others) . First time I've been contacted by the manager (?) though . HS

G'Day, I don't always do watch strap repairs, but this one turned out quite well. The client was quite happy too . The leather for the main strap, x2 layers of 1.2mm veg tan , dyed , glued & stitched. The other straps x 1 layer of 1.2 mm VT , thinned out a bit bit to feed past the pins on the watch . Machine : Pfaff 60, leather needle , thread: Gutermann upholstery . It has a bit more ' body' to it than the regular industrial thread I use. The only thing was that I have big hands, and the buckles are small ...= fiddly = sore hands , lol HS

@chuck123wapati A lot of what Mum taught me was when she was a kid in the 2nd world war, as well as a few horror stories. Annual chores all done, the ol' Fordson went sweet ...woo hoo I can now focus on getting the ' Ol Grey Fergie' sorted , get my weber BBQ and my spit cleaned . Its almost Summer here, feeling it already , or should I say BBQ season be good HS

ALL sewing machines of that era are worth saving, even if you don't use em' That looks a beauty. Won't take much to get it up and running . The motor is an interesting feature tho. Never seen one with an oiling pad .

G'Day, My response is in regards to sewing belt keepers, but in regards to sewing belts, I use the ' Al Stohlman ' method ' The span of my arms , as noted in Al Stohlmans' ' The Art Of Hand Sewing Leather ' *. To have too much thread, it gets tangled up a bit when sewing. I can be a bit clumsy at times . Depending on the length of the belt, they take around 2 - 2 1/2 spans of my arms . *Should also be, ' The Joy Of Hand Sewing Leather ' IMO, hand stitching can be therapeutic, ...except the sore hands lol HS

I hear ya friend !!! My Mother taught me to be frugal , ' make do' , use up left overs etc..and how to cook, best thing she ever did , simple survival . Dad never cooked , ...he can do toast or a cheese sandwich lol God bless our Mothers HS

I concur with AS . Thats where a lot of my knowledge comes from . I use an angled blade, sharpened with a fine sharpening stone finished off with jewellers rouge on a leather strop, followed by a few cuts into a scrap of leather. It glides through after that. @Pappys Leather Sometimes it just comes down to practice, experimenting and just doodling on scraps . It took me a while in the early days to get it right. I like that too HS

Thats something I can really relate to . The ' elderlys ' can be hard work . Theres been many times I just wanted to p*ss off in the car for some time out on my own in the bush, and spend some quality time under the stars . For me , its like pressing a ' reset' button . HS

For the plain ' bread & butter belts' in quantities , I staple them. For the more fancy ex$y belts , I sew them by hand. Most of my belts have interchangeable buckles . HS

Prank someone? family, friends, ...the police perhaps?? Bwahahaha Geez, the fun I could have with those....?? " hello, police....? I think I found a severed finger...." . Endless potential HS

Theres a few more on its way, apparently Man, I so totally envy that , being in Mother Nature, having a cook up around the camp fire , hope all goes well . Days are getting warmer, Summer is on its way, seems to get earlier each year I'm sure. All my annual chores are almost done, just one little bit to do , then I can have a play with my 'toys' . HS

It sounds fiddly. Wouldn't it be easier just to remove item being stitched, reload with more thread, line up needle, back stitch a few stitches and carry on? and perhaps some machine marks on the item . It may also pay to check to see if theres enough thread on the bobbin before starting ? HS

They are brilliant. Totally love the colour, matches the pistols really well. I too darken the background on carved belts, bags etc. I almost know that film word for word, seen it many times, love it. . These pistols would fit quite well in that period. HS

Well done, you get the free beer ( or a fruit juice if you don't drink) . Apart from that, the latch is in the way of the image . About half an inch or so lower , it would have cleared it. I underestimated the size of the clasp. But I am very happy with result .BW is always a challenge . I love to doodle on leather , see what tool does what, have a play. If I like it, it goes on a project. It also makes the design ' unique' . Yes. I used a cammo on the outline of the bw , and a seeder to finish off Thank you. I had no template for the gussets, so I made my own.....with some guess work . Thank you all for your comments & feed back . HS

Hear hear, and they get a little sore too You've done a great job on that though.

Thank you muchly I think my basket weave has improved quite a bit. Still need to do a bit of work on the horses. Practice practice.... HS

I got first prize at our local show for this hand bag I made before August. The leather was given to me by a local, but it wasn't the best. Looks like the back/front & flap part came from a kit. Old, a bit hard , discoloured, and with some scratches , but too good to just cut up or waste. So I put my thinking cap on and this was the result. The tooling had to hide any scratches, which almost kinda worked. It was handstitched with custom made gussets . I made a rookie mistake along the way too, plus a few others , but it turned out quite well, and to my surprise, it got ' Most Out Standing Exhibit' ribbon OMG !!! And, I sold it on the same day as the show...woo hoo . My belt got second prize. Yey !!! HS

@tsunkasapa govt's can use whatever incentives they want, it won't make it rain. Our Summer starts Dec. 1st , officially, I'm dreading it. Its been getting hotter each year .

W.O.M. wins out again, ( well.......sort of) . A new customer, simple nose band repair , urgent. " how did you find me?" " on FB , I just did a search in the local area, and your name & recommendations came up quite a few times . I didn't even know I was on there, I don't do social media . One of my previous customers must have put me on there. Not complaining , free advertising HS

I've been to quite a few (on site) clearing/farm sales here in Oz. Buyers premium is around 5 to 10% of goods purchased, and in some cases + 10% GST ( goods & services tax). And just like you said, its so easy for people to get carried away at auctions without thinking. HS

My goodness what find I spotted 3 shuttle hooks, and around 16 (?) bobbins in those pieces. Boot making? HS

The 29k is a nice machine but OTT $$$ . I'd buy the 204 myself tho HS

Greetings to you too . I've only just noticed these recent posts .. And thank you so much for posting on here. Its not very often you meet the author . I bought the ...your book from a vendor at a regular market. After some research, I realised just how much the book is worth. Depending where you look, its in the hundred$, on another site it was up around the thousand $$ mark ...WOW !! I only paid 10. To this day, I still haven't got the heart to tell the vendor how much its really worth ...now, and thats without your autograph, and the bonus historic photo that I found inside. That may add value, I'm not sure. One day, I might tell him....mmmm..??.... or maybe not . I agree, but it ain't for sale That was a childrens hospital in the Perth CBD , now decommissioned and demolished . I hate history being demolished and the politicians with no forethought . It was fully functioning and fully operational. With ongoing hospital issues forever going on here in Oz , it could have been utilised, we could have done with extra beds, despite its age, but instead, theres going to be yet another supermarket and a fancy 'block of flats' ( apartments) in place of it. I've gone through it quite a number of times now, I'm still totally blown away . Those saddles are exquisite works of art. I would have loved to visit his workshop. HS

You have 'Neat Lac ' ?? HS

After a few hiccups, it went great Nearly completed all my annual property chores/ maintenance . Fire breaks are compulsory here in Oz . Once they're all done I can focus on getting my lil' Grey Fergie sorted. Pick up parts Wed. Here ya go friend. Some nice yummy cray fish tails with a creamy cheese sauce with a lil' cracked pepper , garnished with fresh home grown Parsley & Marjoram , and, juicy sweet prawns ( shrimp) with some lemon on the side. Washed down with a nice white wine . Damn delish , and filling it so was too The cray tails come from a friend that has an in-law that is a cray fisherman up north. So good to have friends like that HS