Handstitched

Roses carved & coloured in leather really are a stand out for me, that and acorns & oak leaves. They're enjoyable to carve & tool as well as just to look at the finished product. I can thank Al Stohlman for that . We have roses all around our house, Mum & Dads fave flower , and in different varieties . I look forward to the day when science...or maybe Mother Nature can produce a true 'blue rose' . HS

@VIIXCIV Have a read of this: Hope theres some help in this.

Heres a little bit more: These are those letters I found in a craft shop. And the book was put out by Tandy . The number of the book is # 1936 HS

My intro to leather, I nearly lost the tips of my fingers. My fingers were just over the edge of the ruler when cutting ...and ...OOPS!!! The tips of my fingers were nice and straight though HS

Pity you're not in Australia . I'd have those. The freight would be astronomical from Texas . I have a small collection of lasts. HS

Yes, its is quite special. Thank you for sharing . All we ever get to see is the occasional bob tail ( lizard) , and the occasional kangaroo . HS

I agree. I choose life , Friends , food, beer...to go with the food and the friends & fellowship I don't do social media .... I do reality HS

It took 3 of us to off load my machine from the couriers ute,( pick up ) including the courier. It was in a huge wood crate. I didn''t fully realise how heavy the machine was . After unpacking ,assembly etc. it took two of us, myself & my Father to lift the head into position . I gave it a wipe down as it was very oily. I also chose very carefully where it was going to sit in the workshop because once it was all set up,...... it 'ain't moving no more !! I do hope you're OK and all the best. HS

Well done You'll be like a kid on Christmas Day when it arrives, and you'll be forgiven for feeling a little anxious over the next few weeks . Its a big investment . I'm glad I ordered the ' biggie' , never looked back. HS

@Tequila I'm pretty sure I have some cardboard letters in my workshop. They would normally be used for stenciling or some other craft . They're in sets & different sizes, and one set has a ' western' look about them . I got them at a haberdashery/ craft shop. I also have a leather book on making letters too somewhere. And although a bit time consuming, you could print them out onto something other than paper . And, no, its not a stupid question HS

So true What you can't see in the pics , is what hanging up....now, that pic is a few years old . Theres stock saddles, & tack all over the place, over the door. Just about every nook & cranny is filled with ...something I should take an updated pic/s and post in the off topic bit.

This is my workshop, although not as big as yours, I do pack a fair bit in and it survived a nasty damaging storm years ago, but thankfully my shop survived. Its insulated . Like you, I keep my machines serviced & covered . No reason why you can't have your machine in there . I keep meaning to make some custom made covers for my machines, ... a round-to-it You'll see in the 2nd pic I have the 441 clone, amongst other machines. HS

Our ' Jenny' to the rescue ..again, power off...again. Thats twice in a few days. The entire town is out.

Whats a beautiful place that looks. Looks like a lovely place to camp out and relax too. HS

Its seems that Russia has replaced ' Mc Slopski's ' with ....' Slopki's' .....yum yum...not HS

They're just so handy to have , especially for modern communications , ...and the fridges & freezers full of food. I've lost count the times we've used it over the years . We can make a claim if the power stays off for 12hrs or more . The oldie sounds a beauty . HS

Belts are my first choice. Not so much plain ones, but tooled, carved, and one-off's adding my own individuality to each piece. If I have time, hand bags, would be my second choice, once again, adding my own individuality to each one. And thirdly, I make stubby holders ( you call them coolies?) . But the ones I make have the can logo cut out, brand name beers etc. , and put into the leather , and the leather is either plain, tooled or carved. HS

Squirrel food? um.... we don't have squirrels here in Oz, but it does look yummy ' Jenny The Generator' is on permanent stand-by, doesn't move. We had a doozy of a storm back 2011, damaging houses, sheds, including ours, and the power supply for days on end , been there ever since. Been used numerous times over the years. HS

My Mother made profiteroles ( ' bite size eclairs' ) years ago when I was a kid....they didn't last long. She taught me about making a roux from those. Lovely Pork chops for tea later, but I cut the rind off , put metal skewers in, and bake until crispy in the oven , so we'll have crackling with our Pork . A'h the pitfalls of living in the Aussie bush with a sub standard power utility. We have no power atm . Theres cables running through the house ...including to this ol' 'compooter ' , tv's etc. . Like an electricians nightmare. ' Jenny' is the only "girlfriend" I have . She starts first time every time, and goes all day ....and all night, even when I'm asleep if the power stays off long enough, all on one full tank of fuel . We have no mobile phone coverage either as I type. Our local ambulance service gets nervous when that happens, cos they rely on it too. We still have the ol' fashioned land line in one room for emergencies. I'll try and take a pic of the second Fordson ' ornament' in our garden . It did go...once, cos I drove it into the garden , just to put those pesky Christmas lights on it eons ago, , but its been sitting there ever since. HS

Yeh man, thats basically it. You can put anything you like in a cheese sauce . My Mum taught me the bit about cracked pepper or nutmeg in the sauce as a kid . Like I put a lil' tiny bit of ground cloves ( or all spice) in apple sauce when I do a pork roast . Cloves are quite pungent. A similar roux is used for chocolate eclairs, something I have yet to master. My absolute fave sweet pastry/ guilty pleasure . Has been since I was a wee lad Funny how some things remain . On rare occasions, they might have tractor parades at a few shows. But I think this damn covid has put a dampener on a lot of events here. We're only just starting to get back to "normal" here in West Oz . I'm booked in for a few regional shows later this year, can't wait actually. HS

Bovine....Mooo....moooo.. Porcine....oink oink ....and yummy , but thats for a totally different thread. The milled bit is where its basically put in a machine and rotated , and dried . The lines in the grain etc. become bigger, bolder, softer, making it totally awesome but can't be cut with a (belt) strap cutter or burnished , believe me...and us....we've all tried it. You can try it yourself...until the cows come home ..ha ha !! sorry HS

Here ya go Chuck Tractors looks so sad & depressing when they're in bits. The water pump was away being rebuilt by a local at that time. The radiator on the ground looks rough, but still functional , and weighs almost as much as me . A new core is available, but costs a kings ransom . Got a mate with a ' hi-ab' crane to fit it back on. Just the carby to service/rebuild, fill it up with water, and cross my fingers it should start. When I win lotto, I'll give it a full restore. My ol' TEA 20 in the background . Damn fun to drive Theres another Fordson in my front yard, complete, but 'ornamental' . But I do plan to get it going again in the future. You can see the changes in the weather in both pics. I've always joked, we have 2 seasons here in West Oz , ' alive & dead' . Had a nice simple beef curry earlier. Just mince ( ground beef) , a few vegies, coriander, cumin, and a traditional curry powder , on a bed of rice. You can put 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder or turmeric in the rice as it cooks, gives it a nice ' golden colour' . A Pinot Noir, goes well with curry...or a beer I do love a good macaroni cheese, ( Mac'n'cheese) did one yesterday . Theres a gazillion versions of it. Got it down to a fine art now. Mine has bacon, cracked pepper,a sprinkling of Parmesan, nutmeg( or ' all spice'), in the cheese sauce, enhances the flavour. And with bread crumbs, lashings of grated cheese, bacon , and csabai ( spiced pizza meat) or Danish salami on the top ( optional) . The bread crumbs go on first followed by the other toppings. The bread crumbs gives it a nice cheesy crust as it all melts together . HS

Just looks like a (bovine) chrome tan leather with a milled grain.

Great minds really do think alike @SpiderPunk Is it going to be dyed ? Perhaps the dye will hide the marks? Thats quite an undertaking , look forward to seeing the end result. HS

thats quite a sight Just had a nice roast lamb, with an assortment of home grown herbs, crispy roast potato's , I used duck fat, makes em crispy on high heat , vegies, and gravy, I put the juices from the meat into the gravy, always do , and washed down with a nice cab sav ..and later, I'll be indulging in a few scones with jam & cream ......and right now , I'm enjoying a little tipple of whisky ....so there !! Life is sweet The brookies still look tasty @chuck123wapati Who needs restaurants when we have Mother Nature ? I can't remember the last time I actually sat in a restaurant, so long ago. With an ex ...I think HS