This One's For You Mike (Twin Oaks)

[DoubleC]

negative space All that wasted time you put into trying to see I 'got' it. I'm going to make a guitar strap for the first time after I play musical tools now, planned to have it started by now. I got a piece of leather from some different things I bought from one of our members that was a perfect checkbook size. So I decide to make me one and practice inlay at the same time. So I picked what looked like such a simple outline of a horse since Katass has been helping me on the strap and looked at a horse picture I already had and thought it would be too hard to start. Well this is a fairly easy outline except I didn't think about NEGATIVE space. I won't even show it to Mike (Katass, we could use a few different names around here :-) because I'm too embarrassed. A friend of mine's going to try and help me with a solution of inlay/overlay.

Am I the only person that makes mistakes everyday, posts their mistakes, or wait, am I on the right forum, LOL. I'm kinda tired, worked on this all night. I really feel badly about the time you worked with me Mike, well and Kevin that one night on negative space.

Rotaries will cut leather, suede and your thumb when you forget you're holding it as you turn your leather for another cut and bump your thumb against it.

The good news is I'm sewing on my 15-91 a little better....bad news, again lack of foresight, I wanted thread that popped. After first inch I realized at my skill level I wanted thread that hid.

It isn't QUITE so deformed looking up close, but bad enough. But I'll use it because it's better than the last one I made from pieces and didn't do right. But I've been using it. gonna take it apart and use those ;pieces I like so well AGAIN on something else, don't know what yet.

Good news? This cost me maybe 10 cents total, leather was free, so paint, dye, resolene, thread and a thumb. Lizard a small, small piece from a bag I got from SLC that keeps growing in the dark :-)

I learned a lot, much more than those projects that seem touched with magic and go right all the way. I think we should have a mistake thread for everyone to learn from. I could post everyday.......Cheryl

[katsass]

Lord luv a duck! Although not directed at (or to) me (but with my name mentioned) the grumpy old guy will jump in jump in. What was the first thing that I mentioned to you? SLOW THE @$@$% DOWN! Have your basics well in hand. That includes cutting, stitching, and all that stuff. As to the inlay type stuff? --- think silhouette, remember?. That implies (if not specifically stated) strong contrast between background and subject. It also implies simple design, at least to start with. Geometric shapes are ideal as a beginning, like squares rectangles, or shapes with gentle curves. Look at your subject in the form of solid black and white --- NO DETAIL. You need a subject that will produce a complete and recognisable figure --- without the need for distinguishing marks, lines etc. (I have no idea what is going on with the front end of that horse) AGAIN, trying to run before you can even get to all fours is going to frustrate you more than a penguin will become, trying to peel a banana. Mike.

[DoubleC]

Busted.....but Mike i can explain. this was a practice run for the strap kinda because it's on hold, my oblong punch wouldn't, have to return it, get another one some where else, and it was just plain idiotic for me to do it and even more so to try and explain. Why do you think I didn't send you a p; picture or ask for some help. I already knew it was a dumb idea (well after the horse turned out deformed....) and I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten what you said.

The good news is I'm going to use it, and tell everyone in VT. you made it for me Cheryl

[katsass]

Busted.....but Mike i can explain. this was a practice run for the strap kinda because it's on hold, my oblong punch wouldn't, have to return it, get another one some where else, and it was just plain idiotic for me to do it and even more so to try and explain. Why do you think I didn't send you a p; picture or ask for some help. I already knew it was a dumb idea (well after the horse turned out deformed....) and I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten what you said.

The good news is I'm going to use it, and tell everyone in VT. you made it for me Cheryl

If the 'katsass' ain't there, it ain't mine. Mike

Edited May 20, 2012 by katsass

[DoubleC]

You really are upset with me aren't you? Probably not as upset as I am with myself. I'm the jackass that tried to do the stupid thing.

[katsass]

You really are upset with me aren't you? Probably not as upset as I am with myself. I'm the jackass that tried to do the stupid thing.

Not stupid, just too much too soon. As I say, get the basics down well. I did my first inlay after 30 or so years of making holsters. Mike

[DoubleC]

Well since I have a ton of lizard, and still have plenty of scraps I can practice on those. When I practice I always want it to BE something, but maybe I'll do key fobs or something with snakes, squares, circles, etc. and sew them. I can still make that into a square and remove the deformed horse, and have thought of doing that. Or circle, oval, rectangle. It's salvageable, but no more checkbooks for me until I practice, really. Cheryl

[DoubleC]

Not stupid, just too much too soon. As I say, get the basics down well. I did my first inlay after 30 or so years of making holsters. Mike

I'm getting ready to whomp a coffee cup down on it and cut out a circle. Will that work or be too big an inlay?

[Nick69]

One thing to remember about this kind of job is that some things need to be big, some can be small. As Mike and others are talking you through it I wont interrupt but don't lose heart and keep working on it.

[DoubleC]

Well Nick the hole is gonna be pretty big. I don't know if I should do that either. I just washed all the conditioner off of it so it wouldn't be slick. I also have a square can of bag balm that I use to condition that will fit over the horse. I think I could use me rotary easier on that with out cutting off my arm, but I think the circle might be stronger in the ,long run, I really don't know. I wish I understood geometry. Cheryl

[Sylvia]

Think Silhouette, Cheryl.

Remember the things we did in grade school for our Mothers? Or for president's day? That looked something like this?

http://www.peggymcclard.com/Day%20boy%204696%2001ac%2096px.jpg

What happened is you picked a picture with "legs." I think you would have been better off with just a horses head in silhouette.

Good for you for trying...

[DoubleC]

Thanks Sylvia. Let's just say it ain't over until it's over :-) Might be a chapter or at least epilogue left to this story. Stayed tuned to the inlay reality show, LOL.

[DoubleC]

New and I hope a little improved checkbook. I didn't finish sewing the guts in, they're glued and it's sweltering here today so Lucky decided he needed a different needle and thread to do the last. I said no, and took my marbles and went back to the computer :-)

[oldtimer]

New and I hope a little improved checkbook. I didn't finish sewing the guts in, they're glued and it's sweltering here today so Lucky decided he needed a different needle and thread to do the last. I said no, and took my marbles and went back to the computer :-)

Must ask, since many projects are checkbooks: Do you still use checks as payment in the US? I haven´t seen a check here in Sweden for the last 20 years or so.

/ Knut

[DoubleC]

I use 2 a month :-) I use my ATM card for everything else. But being 20 years behind you we get charged if use that for electric or phone. Cheryl

[CowboyDan]

Must ask, since many projects are checkbooks: Do you still use checks as payment in the US? I haven´t seen a check here in Sweden for the last 20 years or so.

/ Knut

All the time.

There are a lot of smaller businesses that don't have the ability to easily accept credit/debit cards, as well as small utility companies that don't have an online bill pay system. Then there are the local (city/township/county) taxes that don't accept credit cards or cash.

Around where I live, there are a lot of Amish folks, and they don't take plastic. Cash or check only.

I know of some people that use checks as a way to control their spending, too. It's too easy for them to just slide the card and not feel the pain. But if they have to write out the amount, they think twice (or more) about the purchase.

[katsass]

Must ask, since many projects are checkbooks: Do you still use checks as payment in the US? I haven´t seen a check here in Sweden for the last 20 years or so.

/ Knut

oldtimer; I'm much of an anachronism in this day and age I guess. I use cash or checks. I do have a couple of credit cards, but don't use them much at all --- basically only in some kind of emergency. I don't carry a cell phone unless I'm going out of town, and no one but my son and wife have the number. I pay $20 every 90 days to keep it going, and have something over $300 in credit on it that can be used..Once in a while I use it to make a long-distance call, since I've put in enough to cover anything I need to do on the 'phone'. It doesn't have a camera in it, and don't think it can even send text --- but it works when I need it. So, in answer to your question, there are still of us old guys the do use a checkbook. Mike

[TwinOaks]

Yep, you certainly made use of some negative space.....but like grumpy old Mike said, too much too soon.....I just hope you don't need 30 yrs of practice before your next inlay . When you do an inlay, you need to trim down the inside of the top piece to make a smoother transition between the two pieces. Personally, it's recognizable as a horse, and the work on the eye is fantastic. You'll also find yourself hand wheeling through stitching something like that until you've become VERY proficient with the machine.

I completely understand the want to make everything 'useable' and to generate as little scrap as possible. One thing for sure, it's a good way to learn to work with scraps! Accept that there WILL be some wastage, no matter how hard you try. When I was getting started, I bought a box of scraps from one of the members here just to learn how to do things like inlays....it saves your 'good' leather for th actual projects.

[DoubleC]

Everything I've had up until now came from a box of scraps I got from someone on here :-) The horse you helped me with on negative space was a scrap piece, and I see it every day because I use it as a mouse pad. Nothing gets thrown away around here and i like to see where I've been and hopefully where I'm going. I still have the first 4 eyes I did where they slowly changed from a deformed amoebae into something almost recognizable as an eye. Since I live alone, well with my ever faithful Skadi, most of my feedback comes from here so I have to keep things I guess to keep encouraged and motivated. The old, people who forget history are bound to repeat it stuff. Not that I haven't repeated it anyway a time or two.

But I've been so luck to meet people here that are willing to look at a 1000 (or so it seemed) eyes and give me feedback, or horses or talk about negative space like you. I just 'renewed' the end of my stick background tool for this :-) Cheryl