Handstitched

Thats makes perfect sense.....not. Thats like having wind ' jenny's' in my town but supplying a totally different town... wha...?? Glad you're all OK ...and warm Did some satay pork belly skewers on the barby for din dins....damn good they were too . Time to give my ol' faithful a clean & full service ready for Christmas . Be good HS

I hear ya . Theres so many factors that would cause a leather crafter or hobbyist to be put off , cost and the efficiency of freight . Our " express post" , used to be just that, but that can't be relied upon any more. Theres only one leather supplier in Perth now ( the one I use) 2 1/2 hrs away ..and thats it. They're an agent for an eastern states wholesaler. They also do hardware, dyes etc. , but compared to my suppliers in the east, they ain't cheap, almost double the price compared to the eastern suppliers, even after freight . And, to my knowledge, there are no tanneries in my part of the universe. All tanneries are in the east. HS

The only thing I can think of , is cost of buying leather supplies etc. They have increased quite a bit these last few years , the pandemic may have something to do with it too. I have a small business, in regional West Oz , and although I can absorb and /or adjust to the increases , those that are doing it just as a hobby may think its just not worth it. The other possible factor is cost of freight ....Holy cow !! A lot of the leather supplies come from over east . Its often a bit hit and miss as well. I either get my stuff within ten days, (standard post)......or up to a month...or it goes missing. HS

Holy shite ! Man, thats some serious wind, thats around 100k's per hour . Hope no one was hurt. Must have made one helluva mess inside your kitchen . Hope you're all safe. HS

Sure hope you get your tools. Just another *PITA we could do without. I had a similar issue with our postal service , Australia Post . I ordered a simple small order of dye & hardware. Normally takes 10 -14 days standard post. I kept waiting ....etc., and like you, I contacted supplier. Had to get Oz post to investigate. Over a month past, still no delivery. After supplier got involved in the investigation, ....my parcel suddenly turns up at the post office. for the supplier. Oz post used to be quite good, but standards have dropped. ' Express Post' used be just that, ' next day ' delivery....not any more its not. Good luck. HS * Pain In The A.....s

I modified an awl and a few needles by heating them up with a mini blow torch , a small vice and pair of pliers, and slow curved them, just like in AS book of hand stitching. Handy book I have a little portable camping gas heater in my workshop. Thankfully I have plenty of ventilation . Using fans atm getting hot now. One is an old vintage ' Hoover' fan from the 70's, works heaps better than cheapies . Keep warm friend HS

The entry fee for each exhibit is $1- , $2 at most. What do you win ? Not very much . Depending on how many exhibits are entered, you might win $2-3 bucks for each win, , maybe $5 , but its not about the money, thats only a token . Its the winning certificate at the end. Theres prestige , bragging rights , and the acknowledgement of your skills, promotion of the craft . For those in business ( like me ) , its good promo advertising . There is an entry fee for the whole show in general , kids, adults, concessions, etc. I understand. Its a bit different here in Oz . The exhibitons are either displayed in a tin shed at the back of the local footy oval, , or a huge exhibition pavilion. Theres sewing, knitting, flowers , wood work, metal work , painting , food, cakes, beer, wine, kids arts & crafts....leather craft , etc. all under one roof . Theres a multitude of arts & crafts etc. in different sections and classes, and the Judges have experience in those particular sections HS

@chuck123wapati Just checking in friend. How's Wyoming? cold I'm guessing. Its really starting to heat up now down here . I've only got 3 more markets to go and then a nice well earned Christmas break , and then back into it late Jan early Feb . But before then, I have a heap of orders to fill . Doing a mad dash to get them done in time . One of which is cylindrical / tubed shape for a board game, to make it portable . The client is a lawyer...so I better do a good job eh? Did some practice today , with the help of ' Uncle Al ' . Haven't done a lot of hand sewing ' round' stuff before. HS

I was due to Judge leather exhibits at a few metro shows south of Perth , Western Australia this year, only for the organiser to contact me to say , "there aren't any to Judge " * The same happened last year too. .It just left me wondering, why? Is it cost, loss of interest , a bit of both ? While there are some at our biggie, Perth Royal Show, where I've Judged before, , none at the smaller shows. In previous shows where I've Judged before, there was a good turn out of exhibits . Mostly quality work too...a few ' not so good' as well, but mostly quality . And I always try to give positive and/or encouraging comments on each exhibit , even on the not so good exhibits. Even exhibits for other handicrafts were a bit bereft . *the exhibition sheds have quite an assortment of handicrafts , including leather. HS

Hear hear. I had a few groans 'down there' , and, expecting the worst , I thought, 'those 'lil 'mo fo''s' are going to make my life very painful soon ' ....but they must have broken up on the way out....best kind. One of my (worst(?) boo boos as a kid....on a building site ( aka play grounds to a kid ) with mates on our push bikes : bricks, + scrap wood= ramp. This 'Evil Knievel wanna be' thought he''d show off in front of his mates...pedaled as fast as... flew over ramp...front wheel lands in a pot hole, epic fail!!!, ...bent front forks, smashes face into ' goose neck' ( handle bars) no padding back in those days, it damn well knocked me out cold . Lesson learnt...avoid pot holes. HS

@chuck123wapati Heres a sneak peak....shhh...don't tell Our Christmas Turkey in the freezer. Next to it is one of the packs of sausage meat for sausage rolls, a popular fave here in our house . HS

Just had a chat with Chuck, quite envy all that food. Although we don't have Thanks Giving here in Oz, I do have lot to be thankful for Happy Thanks Giving HS

Thats something we don't have here in Oz, ' Thanks Giving' . Quite like the sound of that....all that food.....AND an extra Turkey ....yummo . Although we did get our Turkey and ham ready for Christmas . The Turkey is around the 9kg mark. We get ours from a commercial supplier that supplies to restaurants etc. The ones the supermarkets are a ...small . Ham is about the same size. And, as always, nothing goes to waste....it just goes TO my waist ..lol . Mum has been stocking up on all the ' nibblys', cake mixes etc. Hope all goes well with you and yours . Enjoy Happy Thanks Giving BTW home made Turkey gravy totally rocks !!! HS

One of my fellow marketeers has a similar one, from brand name tool company , she got it for free. As far as I know , it works quite well. Mostly used on icy cold mornings while setting up our stalls. Not sure how long the battery charge lasts for, but being a heating 'element'(?) not long I'm guessing ? HS

I don't do any kind of ' social media' ...period. Never have, never will. LW.net is the only site I go on to chat with other like minded crafters HS

I'm sure I've posted these pics before somewhere on here .....but here goes.. don't laugh.... This is after I've tidied up....not so pretty atm, its a total mess . I have two of those big cutting boards now + one smaller one , and I've upgraded my heating arrangements . I also have a mini mini "museum" ....just stuff I've collected, on display all over the workshop ...pics to come later...maybe. HS

How dare you be so neat Quite good , yours is also neat ....wait til you see mine Love the tins of Neat Lac you have . I have two tins, but not for use, contents all gone hard, they're ' museum pieces' now, on display . HS

Being brand new, I would have thought they might have some sort of protection, like wax paper, or some sort of oil coating to prevent that from happening? HS

Thats something we don't have here in Oz, 'Thanksgiving' . So that means you have two roast turkeys, Thanksgiving and Christmas ...I like that I have a lot to be grateful for, one of which is I woke up this morning Good luck with your house, and Merry Christmas & Happy Thanksgiving HS

Is this of any use? https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/18265-book-on-restoring-vintage-western-saddles/ HS

You've done a great job, but have you decided on a colour for the deer.....hmmm?? Looks great cleaned up. HS

Don't tempt me But I do live in a small town...perhaps not , people might I've gone a bit strange

G'Day, I did the same, but kept getting ' Benz' automotive info. I did a few variations on searches, but nothing . However, I did find this: https://www.liveauctionworld.com/JUKI-DLN-415-4-SINGLE-NEEDLE-SEWING-MACHINE-WITH-BENZ-ZN2-POWER-SUPPLY-BENZ-ENUA-Z22-STITCH_i17807172 . Thats about it.Not much to go on . I typed in ' BENZ ZN 2' as part of the search. Only found a few references to auctions, but all machine were Juki's You could try contacting ' Juki' ? HS

I've only done one line of stitching on sheaths with blocks/ welts where the edge is, turned out fine. Looks great btw . HS