Handstitched

Ours minds are truly aligned friend . Something I've been doing for quite a while. It helps to fill in any imperfections along the edge after sanding. I try to use up the old hard bits in the tin . I don't use any sealer after application , I just use a lot of the ol' elbow grease to get a nice shine. When doing multiples, the less work the better. HS

Theres something very satisfying about bellows. Great job on that, and ' repurposing' materials too I enjoy restoring them . Got another on the bench atm , to be started . On my bucket list is to restore some black smith bellows, nearly did a while ago, I had my eye on them, but they were a bit too far gone. HS

That machine looks weird. The amount of time money and effort gone into that could have gone towards a decent leather machine. HS

A bit off topic, in amongst some leather stuff I was given, was a jar of home made 'leather dressing' , mostly made out of pig fat a bit of wax , I opened it up , OMG the smell was putrid, I threw it out HS

My first thought that went through my head, it would be totally impractical here in Oz, too hot and heavy . The only other thought I had was , many years ago, I was contemplating using Possum skins in my leather products. But then as chance would have it, a customer, from New Zealand, came to my stall and we got talking. She makes Possum skin products, she made a bed spread all out of Possum skins and it was beautifully soft and warm, bit cold in NZ I'm guessing . Possums are native to Australia , but a pest in NZ. Cheap in NZ, but cost restrictive in Oz. ( they're welcome to our Cane Toads , lol ) Anyway, as I've never made a leather bed spread, perhaps make a template of the bed, to make a rectangle shape of the bed, and perhaps use a soft fabric lining on the inside. Or you could just keep the natural shape and neaten up the edges, but I'd still be using a soft fabric lining. Sewing it on will be interesting . I can't think of how else you could do it. HS

Its been difficult year for some of us, so lets hope that 2024 brings us all good cheer and new creative ideas . Hope you all and the mods and the good peeps on here and your families have a safe and Happy New Year HS

Hand made gifts are the best HS

I think I saw something similar on here before. Thats brilliant Adding wood opens up a lot of new creative opportunities . HS

I've never heard of that , but it does sound tasty, it also reminds me of damper, ' bush bread' I call it, just flour & water made into a patty shape-ish normally cooked on open coals, but best in tin foil. ' Hot country gravy, fried eggs an bacon ', I can imagine combining the two, OMG Heres a few pics of those sausage rolls that I made before Christmas. They are nowhere near as good as my Mothers, she made them perfect shape, but just as yummo . They can be made as big or as small as you like, eaten with any sauce you like. . These are a bit over bite size, but once you're had a few they do fill your belly. The uncooked ones can be frozen for later .Thawed, brush with a bit of milk , cook at 180c for about 20-30 mins. The fruit mince pies were frozen from last year, still tasted great, but leaked a bit. HS

I think theres also ' pizza vending machines' What will they think of next? I have this simple box in my kitchen with knobs on, its called an oven LOL , but hardly ' portable' On a foodie program here in Oz I was watching( love cooking shows) , it was in Japan, a bloke in a local park , ( for the Cherry Festival I think) he had takeaway food in a container. He pulled out a cord from the side, and it automatically heat the food up inside the container...wha....? It was ribs and rice from memory , with a sachet of soy sauce. The technology may be similar to heat packs like those used in hospitals , camping etc. Look damn tasty too ! HS

Thats often the issue I have sewing thick leather , mis-alignment . Glad I'm not the only one that uses needles to align holes. I often do that when re-stitching, repairing etc. Great read . Love to see the end result HS

Watching the world outside kinda ruins my day, instead, I get enjoyment from watching Mother Nature do her thing outside and coming on here and see all the creative minds come together HS

After using mine as a barby a few times , I had to strip the whole thing down to clean it ( its that red thing I posted earlier, above) What a f*ing nightmare !!! Up to my a....se in grease !! They are never to be used as a BBQ , and I never will again. Its going into the shed soon, I've hardly ever used it as a pizza oven, perhaps once or twice , and I could never get the temperature right and pretty much burn the damn pizza. Into the shed it goes and stays. I went back to using my ol' faithful barby that I bought back in the 90's , all cast iron plates and burners, looks rough now, and not too many years left in it , but does a dam good steak HS

If its what I'm thinking of, rough on both sides, I have used ( thin) splits as lining on some projects. I also made my workshop apron out of some. Not much good for too much else. HS

Sorry to say friend , you won't . Its not just the 2nd & 3rd strand, its also the rest of it you need to flip...through and through again..... . It may have been better to do that on a separate piece and sew it on after, but even then you may still have some "difficulties" Put it down, for now, and have a great Christmas HS

I'm still using the ' ye olde' Al Stohlman method of molding, works every time , and where the pins are, the marks disappear when it all gets dyed and sewn , simple. I don't use a ' bone folder ' I just use a large 5-6mm ' D' ring .The ' corner ' on the D ring comes in handy too Here we have no choice but to have a land line, the mobile phone service sometimes cuts out when theres strong winds or a storm , thats the time when you may need a phone. HS

Quite often, theres already info on all sorts of machines on here. Hope it helps HS

This will be my first Christmas without my best friend, my Mum. However, I do have a lot of friends and support, both locally and the many friends I have made at our regular markets , and not forgetting the good peeps on here May the New Year bring you new creative ideas. Merry Christmas HS

Not sure what my dog would do if a intruder got in, ask them to play with her toy bone and scratch her belly I guess , but she does let us know when someone is coming on the property , all hell breaks loose , as annoying as it can be at times , its a good thing. I've often said that there are two seasons here in Oz, ' alive & dead' , lol Yeh, I like the Ol Ford HS

You're man of my own heart. One of my fave flowers to carve, Roses They are so striking , especially the blue one That really stands out. . HS

Man, She certainly puts me to shame , lol . I saw her Mum & Dad when we picked her up as a pup . The owners opened up a gate, and OMG they ran across the paddock a gazzilion miles an hour, geez they were fast. Some farming locals that I knew had Kelpies that worked on a sheep farm , in shearing sheds etc.( quite a common theme here) If the farmers & shearers got a roast dinner , so did the dogs . They work just as hard as the farmers if not harder. Your dog looks fit and healthy Is that your Ford in the background? And you have green grass ?? I envy that HS

I do hope all goes well for him I do like the bear, did a good job on that HS

Her name is 'Abby', local farmer had a litter of 6 , totally unexpected , apparently. They just gave them away. We got her shortly after our last dog a Goldy, passed away some years ago . All she wants to do all day is play,given the chance, a stick ,rubber bone, a ball whatever. It took a long time for me to get used to her as I thought it was too soon to get another dog after losing our Goldy , but now I couldn't go without her. I must admit she does have quite an appeal.She can give me the cutest ' innocent' looks. She has her moments as well. Our old washing machine moves about in fast spin, I'm standing there holding it in place, what does she do?? Jumps up and holds it with me , Holy crap!! funniest thing I ever saw, had me in stitches !! LOL . Just wish I had my camera. Thank you No matter whats happens to our 4 legged friends, we do the very best for them , even in ill health. Dogs like these need space to run, no good in a city environment . She even rounds up our two cats, typical sheep dog. That was the first thing she did when she arrived when she was a pup, round the cats up , the looks on the cats faces was priceless , lol . HS

Heres my mad mutt . A Border Collie X Kelpie . She won't win any shows, she's as mad as a cut snake , but totally awesome I brushed her out yesterday, that was over due, a lot of under growth and she's molting, its Summer here atm, , OMG , she was like a kid that didn't want their hair cut , and she hates the lead . If she sees me with a lead , its a game for her, its a case of " catch me if you can HA HA HA !!! ...." , so I have to be a bit sneaky . She has a face only her Mother would love , lol HS

A'h yes, showing dogs. Been there , done that. But having to get up at ' sparrows fart' on a Sunday to show my dog, a Rotty, ( Rottweiler ) with all the endless brushing, grooming, healthy diets, exercising, preps, assorted snobs ( at the shows) , dressing up, looking like a total knob, do all the ' moves' in the ring and not get a damn thing at the end for all my efforts , not even a f**king ribbon?? F**k that!!! I'd rather stay in bed !! So I did This has now gone from ' allergies in dogs' to showing dogs. HS