Handstitched

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

Question: Why do TV reporters stand out in the open when reporting on weather events? Looking at the news earlier , its an incredibly dangerous and powerful hurricane , but yet they're in the middle of it. Surely they can report on it from a safe location? Happens here in Oz during serious weather events, theres no need to tell us how dangerous it is...we are in it !!! Please stay safe, unlike the reporters. HS

You're right. You don't have to experience ' paradolia' to spot that. It was on various media sites. I did some research. "Hurricane Matthew was the first Category 5 Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007" Mathew hit around Sept-Oct. 2016 Whenever it was, that pic totally creeps me out . Holy crap !!!!!!!

That looks so scary on the news. We get our fair share of storms, cyclones etc. but thats a whopper. The pic is of ' Hurricane Mathew'. Not sure year that was. Tell me what you see ? Stay safe . HS

Around 4" x 3" l ike Loki74 said. There quite an assortment of designs too . I do try to keep them simple. A pocket out back for notes, slots for cards, and a pocket for some coin , or a pocket for a photo with an additional slot underneath. HS