Handstitched

@Barnhart The first name that immediately popped up is ' Ed Bohlin' . Do a quick search on him and you'll see why And when you say ' parade' , I think of the 'Rose Parade ' ( see pic) Beautiful craftsmanship on that saddle though HS

I knew that I have seen those before. At a used machinery seller here in West Oz. It was listed as " shoe shop leather" "Sorry you missed this one, please look in our listings for more we may have, or phone us ***** . Price: $20.00" ( all sold) thats $20- each ...I think I did think about those a while back .....but thought....yeh...nah !! At $20 ???? Whats wrong with them ?? HS

Thats great new for all of us The relief you're feeling right now must be huge. Perhaps lodging a formal complaint to the trucking company may be considered ?? Have lots of fun playing with your new machine, you've deserved it . Happy for ya !! HS

Just started cleaning up the ol' #8 Griswold Waffle iron today. Its Good Friday in Oz, I'm not religious, but a good excuse to have a day off and do other things other than leather . I'll have before and after pics later. Happy Easter HS

No change at mine, still look like ' transparencies' on an overhead projector.

Coming along quite nicely HS

G'Day and welcome to the world of leather. If it came from a boot maker, the first thought that popped into my head was sole leather , for the soles of boots, shoes etc. as you did mention that its quite stiff. May also be good making leather sandals perhaps? HS

I either use a pencil, because most of the marks rub off with a rubber or disappear after shaping, bevelling etc. , or if the item is to be dyed black , I can use a biro ( pen) . The pen marks disappear when dyed black . Or if the leather is chrome tan in a lighter colour, roo hide for eg. I make sure I cut the leather directly on the line ....the line disappears. Too easy HS

Heres a few screen shots. Must only be in Oz.

That too. You've been very patient . I wish you well .

Is it me or has 'youtube' gone all ' transparent' ? Like looking through dirty glasses . It was looking & working fine before, even on my 'ye olde' compooter' . But now, its all over the place. The duration times on the vids are hardly visible, different size frames etc. What idiot thought it was a great idea to mess with it? If it ain't broke, don't fix it !!

Try two words... ' legal action' , and see what response you get . Any free legal advice you can access ? A sewing machine is not just a 'machine' , its quite a substantial investment . HS

Yey !! It arrived ...woo hoo !! nothing to do with sewing machines I know . I lodged a complaint in the ' lost or missing parcels page' of our ever "trusty postal service" ...I put the word " urgent" in the complaint...today it magically appears at my P/O . Amazing @Tequila any updates on your machine? HS

Thats a truly beautiful pic......of the machine The scenery is lovely too , cool, quiet and calming , and the horses bring you joy too no doubt. HS

Had home made burgers tonight, but I used the same ( mild) taco mix I used before ...damn tasty ....mmmmm Wednesday....is..... curry night , woo hoo !! Got some slow cook gravy beef today ( aka chuck steak here in Oz....true.....pardon the pun) . Not sure what you call it over there? It'll go in covered in the oven around midday, about 110 deg. c , , check taste & stir and thicken sauce, & increase temp to 150 about 4.30pm and come out about 5.30pm - ish served with rice & papadums....of course, and a nice red HS

I don't wish to hijack this thread too much, but thats just bloody clever. Do you mind if I try that? I just searched that name. Theres a lot of ideas & inspirational stuff . HS

Just about everything I've made thats needed shaping, knife cases ( leatherman types etc.) I've always wet molded . I guess another way is , although I haven't tried it myself...yet, is to wet mold two identical shapes, so you have two halves, leaving a ' lip' or an edge to stitch, so when dry , cut, shape, dye etc. and bring the two halves together, like making a home made Easter egg and joining them together, but you're sewing them instead of using chocolate. Just a thought. Never sewn chocolate before . Thats just silly . HS

I finally got to go into one of my other sheds this arvo. I have 3 sheds, all full of junk, crap. But what I was after is a ' Griswold No. 8 Waffle Iron' and a ' In-A-Minit ' vintage sandwich toaster, like the ones in the pics ( file pics) . They've been in my shed for years . I've been watching all these restore vids on youtube, and that piqued my interest. I also found out that those old No. 8's are worth a pretty penny, some I've seen around $300-$450. The sandwich toaster around the $50-60 mark. I was hoping to restore a ' Lister CS' engine once upon a time, and they were in amongst the engine parts. I only paid a few hundred bucks for two CS engines . I lost interest, and sold them got my money back , but kept the No.8 & toaster. I'll try to restore them both in the next few weeks ...or six. Simple to restore & season too. HS

I like that. I have seen them before, on this site no doubt. Might try a few, like that and some in different shapes, colours . I'm sure I could find some scraps and see what happens at the markets. I could also line them with a bit of 'velveteen' to make them look a bit 'fancy' . HS

@fredk Thats quite impressive. A good little package . Perhaps I should start making little leather ' business card' boxes eh? Someone wanted to buy my crappy old brief case that I paid 5 bucks for at a charity stall. It keeps all my business 'stuff' handy at markets. HS

No, you're definitely not alone friend . With such a large purchase and investment , theres always going to be a certain amount of stress & anxiety . I felt the very same when I paid for my machine. Then the cheeky b***ard courier asked me to pick it up from his depot. I reminded him in no uncertain terms that I paid for delivery.....to my house. A few expletives, later it arrives at my house. We would think that with all the technology in the 21st century , our hard earned purchases & investments would arrive on time and in tact . The logistics industry in Oz is a mess. Granted, we had COVID, but now things are returning to a , dare I say " normal" ? HS

Theres a section in Al Stohlmans ' The Art of Hand Stitching' book about stitching round items. Really good book. HS

@Spyros Wasn't sure where to put this, but as its to do with 'sales'.... ...the silly things people are interested in. A gentleman came to my stall last month, me thinking he was interested in a belt or a knife case perhaps, I'm usually quite good at ' reading' customers , theres heaps of freshly made stock....... but nup.....I have a tiny business card cane basket that I have my business cards in at my stall, its old, faded , was blue, but now grey and well used...he asked me if I wanted to sell it . " Nah mate...that holds my business cards in it " I politely replied. He asked me again at todays stall , " nah sorry mate... thats for my business cards" " but if you're ever interested ....." he said. Me & Mum just looked at each other ...."WTF ??" I paid $2.00 for it at 'red dot'. I should have sold it to him for 20 . Geez I dunno HS

@Tequila Sorry to hear the frustrations you're going through atm. We too here in Oz aren't immune from courier & postal delivery delays. This is a truly horrible sickening thought, and pray its not the case, but just wondering if the machine has been damaged and someone somewhere isn't telling you ? The vendor has been quite helpful by the sound of it. Do you have a ' consumer affairs/ protection dept' or someone you can complain to? . I'm still waiting for some sealer & hardware from Queensland ( in the east of Oz ) . It arrived at a depot in my state (only 3 hrs away) ...and thats where its stayed since March 29 . Postal tracking keeps saying ' its delayed ' and ask them to "investigate if it doesn't arrive" It would be quicker for me to pick it up . I'm starting to think that some numb nuts has dropped it . Hope your machine arrives soon. HS

Theres so many types of curry powder & pastes of different spice levels etc. . I like a nice vindaloo , a Rogan Josh or a madras which can quite spicy, but Mum & Dad can't handle the spicy stuff, so I do mild curries. Winter in Oz will be here in few months , so no doubt I'll be doing nice slow cook beef & lamb & chook curries. @chuck123wapati Curries are very aromatic and go well with nann bread and papadums , break them up, and use each broken piece as a little crunchy spoon .And just as Fredk said, if you like chilli dishes, you'll like curries. Make them as mild or as hot you wish. HS