Handstitched

I second that friend. I've been on a ' prune-a-thon' on neglected over grown trees & rose bushes lately , with so much more to do. Also , just made a bit more progress on my ol' 51 Fordson Major tractor thats been sitting idle since Oct. last year, water pump. It has sentimental value, so its important for me to get it finished. I bought a ' Grey Fergie' ( TEA 20) to get stuff done in the meantime. @Frodo Those pics are awesome. Roses are in fact one of my fave flowers to carve in leather, that and Oak leaves & acorns. Thats a great idea about hot peppers. The butter makes good sense . I have seen these " Roger Ramjets" eating some arse burning & gut burning chilli's , and cream or butter is ideal for taking the 'sting' out. Not so sure about the "bit" down below though ? What goes in....... ouch !!! Ice cube suppositories ? God bless Johnny Cash HS

I have tried stuffed peppers, (capsicums here) . The bloke that cooked them was Bulgarian....I think....or was he Romanian...?.. ... but anyway... but they were delish. Meat was lightly spiced. Left overs totally rock \../ ...especially curries. They ' mature ' a bit. Thats just perfect...my kind of weather . I don't mind the hot stuff... but to a point. HS

So I guess your part of the universe is warming up now. We're experiencing the opposite. Chilly nights. Perfect camping weather...for me anyway . I wish. And perfect for open fire cooking . I have a nice brazier that I love to cook on , its tiny, but I love it. . Theres something about cooking meat on a wood fired BBQ or coals, against a gassy . Totally different flavour. I keep meaning to do a spatchcock chicken on my little brazier. If time lets me, thy will be done. I'll have to brush the dust off my lil' ol' spit soon too. We still have some left over Christmas ham in the freezer...sure to make an appearance again soon for soups. YES !!!

When I cut my belt loops, ( quite often belt off-cuts or scraps) I cut them using an ' English point strap end cutter' on both ends, instead of cut straight. The loop is attached the same as what you have done in the pic, but stitched in the ' V' , and then stitched across, the same as what @tsunkasapa has done on his loop. And, depending on the item, a sheath for example , the loop is a one piece . Also, for pouches such as leatherman type cases etc. I try not to attach the loop too low , otherwise the top of the case will sit too high for the customer*. Hope that made sense ? (*Some customers, and stockmen, like the loop length ways, horizontal ) HS

Depending on the item to be sealed. Either ' seal 'n' shine' on my regular belts, pouches etc. or NFO on the heavier belts items. HS

Another option, when I make loops, I cut them the same as I would with a belt tip cutter, just makes them a bit neater. Mine are either machine stitched or hand stitched top & bottom . With rivets, they will 'tarnish' over time, and may cause staining on clothing? HS

I've never made one myself. Might check this vid out myself. Hope it helps . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCxUzW0PKfk HS

That is truly some quality craftsmanship. Love the beautiful grains & colours in the woods. And yes, leather & wood go so well together .Especially antique dyes . Absolutely amazing . HS

I'm pretty sure I have ' fluer de lis' stamp somewhere. Its slightly bigger that a 3D from memory.

Guinness is a special treat, not a regular drink...like as you say, a bit ex$y . The PBR Beer is available here in Oz , might give it a try. Spring is a great time. All the different flowers appear in the bush, quite a sight, and the tourists come flocking. A member of my family, a bro, tried doing the home brew, many moons ago. He kept it in the spare room to keep it "cool" ...apparently . It got a bit too hot one day and the damn thing went wrong and bubbled up all over the floor . I come home from work, and the whole house stank of beer.Open the spare room door, it was like a scene out of " The Blob" . Foamy ' stuff' everywhere. It was also a case of " O'h f***k !!! He's in the deepest of s***t !!! " Mum was really p*ssed off because she just redecorated the spare room , new carpet and all .He learnt his lesson, silly boy !! Nuff said . HS

Very beautifully done. My eye was drawn to the border. But yep, fiddly as . Love the colours too . Coats of Arms are never easy, fiddly but the end result is quite effective . HS

I couldn't have said it better myself Just hammer them flat. I have only used d/c rivets. HS

The sheathes I have made are 'one piece' that includes the belt loop. I have had to use ( d/c ) rivets on some holsters, and to prevent the rivets scratching the gun, I make sure the rivets are totally flat/flush with the leather , not slightly 'domed ' . That has worked for me. Others on here may have a different technique , linings perhaps, that cover the rivets before assembly . HS

You beat me to it. Great minds thinks alike . HS

I have done a family coat of arms, fiddly as. I did what I could with bevellers etc. , but I used mostly modeling tools for all the fiddly bits. HS

Great minds think alike. I thought about starting a food thread too Yeh sorry from me too @fredk . He must be getting tired of my cooking by now, like hearty....yummy ...Guinness pies . I even had some Guinness ...before midday ..woo hoo....who needs ' rulz' !!! Those pics are great. The white flowers remind me of a ' Jasmine' here in Oz . a climber/ creeper small white flowers with a sweet scent. Just love the changing of the seasons. Its getting close to our Winter ( June) but this is my favourite time of year . HS

Man, we just love really good quality home made food . Hearty soups, meat pies, elk steaks ( yummo ) . So full of flavour, and from the heart.... and not from a packet or from the frozen meal isle . HS

' Mc-Slopski's ' has now shut down/ selling off its operations in McRussia . Meanwhile in ' Realfoodland' ... I had a nice hearty home made Guinness meat pie tonight. Slow cooked gravy beef, vegies etc. fresh garden herbs, some flour as a thickener, ......and Guinness , slow cooked first , followed by a nice crusty pastry on the top. Served up with nice hot jacket potatoes green vegies and ......Guinness gravy . The best damn meat pie in the world HS

A'h yes, the joy of putting your new 'toy' together. And what a wonderful person she is ' A family that sews together, stays together ' . I see you had some practice. If only I was married,*sigh* I'd like a 132K6, a post bed... a long arm ....and a bigger workshop...please Well done to you both & Happy sewing HS

@chuck123wapati the home made soup was so delicious . Hot 'n' hearty after a busy weekend . Warmed my bones up nicely HS

I want one. I enjoy hand stitching , but the joints in my hands are painful at times, especially these last few days. Must be the cold weather. But he last time I checked, the Oz $$$ was under .70 cents . No good for buying stuff from O/S . That sux !!! But I do occasionally use my sewing machine to make holes , like @fredk does, if time is of the esscence . HS

Is it warming up in your part of the universe chuck? Its starting to cool right down here in the central wheatbelt . It started raining properly for the first time in a long time in the early hours of this morning and hasn't stopped yet . ( its now 7 pm atm) . Its been raining steadily non stop pretty much all day. The ground is saturated . And the home made soups ( left over Christmas ham) are about to make an appearance ......yummo !!! Not many people pay any attention to Mother Nature and the seasonal changes , but I do . The sound of the steady rain and the earthly smells it produces can be quite therapeutic .Thats a lovely pic. A set of Doves visit our back yard frequently in the mornings, we put seed out for them . I get more entertained watching them than TV HS

Yeh, the " Keep Up With The Jones' " category. The snobs version of ' one-up-man-ship' . ....and the neighbors that go broke while trying to keep up, but yet happy to brag to their mates how much 'xxx' cost them to make themselves sound wealthy and important. I have bags & boxes of scraps ( aka money) lying around. Time for me to put my creative thinking cap on. HS

I'm asking, Do tell, don't keep us guessing Some idiot will actually pay that price , thats what keeps me shaking my head. The ones I'm making from scraps are just simple and practical . Later, some might be a little bit "fancy" , a bit of lining and stitching, perhaps some different shapes, depends on the size of the scraps . I'm just testing the local market to see what sells and what doesn't . If they don't sell, then I'll learn from it. HS

I did have a search before posting, but nothing on scissors. I've gone through quite a few pairs of scissors over the years, some had hard plastic handles and break . Some have the metal going through the plastic handles, but they don't stay sharp or simply fail. They have nuts that can be tightened but come loose, even with 'loctite'. The best ones so far are kitchen shears from my local supermarket. The blades come apart for cleaning and the blades stay ' close ' together and don't separate when cutting, and can easily cut roo, chrome, 1.5 veg, ....and can easily cut 3.5 - 4mm veg. ....when my hands let me that is . A bit 'Arthur Rit Ic' But the blades can be a bit short on some projects, especially on canvas, horse rugs etc. They're only about 80mm long. So what scissors do you use? Any recommendations? HS