Triquetra

[roadking07]

This is some recent work for a client that wanted a hair barrette with the celtic symbol "Triquetra" on it. The Triquetra has many different meanings depending on what circle you are in. In Christian circles wikipedia says "The symbol was later used by Christians as a symbol of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). This appropriation was particularly easy because the triquetra conveniently incorporated three shapes that could be interpreted as Christian Ιχθυς symbols." - that definition is good enough for me. This piece is made from 5-6 oz. veg tanned leather and and finished off with 1/8" kangaroo lace. She was ecstatic when she received her custom hair barrette. I get great satisfaction making these leather pieces - that's why I do what I do - but when a customer literally jumps up and down with excitement and makes a certain shrill of pure happiness and joy - it makes all the hours of hard work well worth it.

[JohnD]

nice work. Your lacing is impeccable.

John

[SouthPaw]

nice work...great lacing.

[roadking07]

Thank you I appreciate the compliments - it is amazing how much nicer the kangaroo lace looks and works as compared to the cowhide lace.

[ArtS]

Really nice and that Lacing sets it off perfectly!

Art

[Beaverslayer]

Very nice, and yes I'm impressed with the lacing as well. Ya gotta love those roo's for their lace.

Ken

[Greybeard]

Nice piece!

I haven't done much lacing. How long did the lacing take?

Edited December 16, 2008 by Greybeard

[Dags3777]

A nice piece of work. No wonder she was impressed. Darryl

[roadking07]

Nice piece!

I haven't done much lacing. How long did the lacing take?

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Greaybeard - the lacing is what took the longest on this piece and was my least favorite part - probably total time in terms of the lacing took 3-4 hours. I would work on while watching tv so 100% of my attention wasn't focused on the lacing. If I really focused on the lacing and did nothing else I could probably get it done around 2 1/2 hours but I like to make my leatherworking fun and not make it seem like a job( my 6-day a week job is enough for me) - so I take my time and work on it at a slower pace so it is more enjoyable. The last two projects that I have laced with this round braid - I remember telling my wife that I won't be doing this anymore anytime soon - I don't enjoy the lacing aspect of leatherworking - it is tedious and boring but it really adds to the overall quality of the piece so I end up doing it. It is the type of thing that when I start out lacing a project it seems not that bad but when I am a few hours into the lacing I remember how much I dread it. This is only the 2nd project I have ever laced - it wasn't that hard to figure out. I bought a lacing and stitching paperback book from Tandy's for under $10 bucks and went for it. At first it is very overwhelming - but once I figured out the pattern it got a lot easier. The key is making the holes just the right size so you don't have to struggle in getting the needle through the hole. I use a two prong lacing needle - seems to work good and I also bought a fid - without the fid I wouldn't be able to do it - the fid makes lacing a lot easier in getting the needle through the hole and getting the needle to pass under the existing lace. Hope this info helps - let me know if you have any questions.

- MDH

[Greybeard]

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Greaybeard - the lacing is what took the longest on this piece and was my least favorite part - probably total time in terms of the lacing took 3-4 hours. I would work on while watching tv so 100% of my attention wasn't focused on the lacing. If I really focused on the lacing and did nothing else I could probably get it done around 2 1/2 hours but I like to make my leatherworking fun and not make it seem like a job( my 6-day a week job is enough for me) - so I take my time and work on it at a slower pace so it is more enjoyable. The last two projects that I have laced with this round braid - I remember telling my wife that I won't be doing this anymore anytime soon - I don't enjoy the lacing aspect of leatherworking - it is tedious and boring but it really adds to the overall quality of the piece so I end up doing it. It is the type of thing that when I start out lacing a project it seems not that bad but when I am a few hours into the lacing I remember how much I dread it. This is only the 2nd project I have ever laced - it wasn't that hard to figure out. I bought a lacing and stitching paperback book from Tandy's for under $10 bucks and went for it. At first it is very overwhelming - but once I figured out the pattern it got a lot easier. The key is making the holes just the right size so you don't have to struggle in getting the needle through the hole. I use a two prong lacing needle - seems to work good and I also bought a fid - without the fid I wouldn't be able to do it - the fid makes lacing a lot easier in getting the needle through the hole and getting the needle to pass under the existing lace. Hope this info helps - let me know if you have any questions.

- MDH

Cool, but whats a Fid? LOL This is starting to worry me lol.....

[TomSwede]

Good looking hair barrette!!

I like the look of this symbol and it suits the barette very well!

Lovely braiding!

Tom

[roadking07]

Cool, but whats a Fid? LOL This is starting to worry me lol.....

This is a Fid

You can get it here

[Greybeard]

This is a Fid

You can get it here

Actually, I have that (never used it ) and didn't know what it was for. Came w/ the original box of stuff i got @ the flea market.

Thanks, I learned something new today