I like making things: August 2017

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Maggie's collar is made and now just waiting for some leather conditioner to be delivered on Friday.

The collar for Maggie is finished. My husband did the coloring on Tuesday and I gum tragged it and attached the billets then today I put a couple of rivets in it.

We couldn't find the leather conditioner which is a bummer because that stuff isn't cheap. It either meant a trip to Springfield to pick some up (a whole days outing) or order online. Well Tandy doesn't stock it which is too bad because we get a good discount with them and our other leather shop charges a lot for mailing.

So I checked out Amazon and low and behold they had it and with free two day shipping too so it will be here on Friday.

The conditioner softens and waterproofs the leather. We don't want it to be uncomfortable for her so I am happy to buy it.

Maggie will have her new collar by the weekend.

Monday, August 14, 2017

I can tell you that not all Tandy letter stamps are created equal!

For all the time I have been doing leatherwork, about four + years now, I have struggled to get the letters lined up straight when doing a name or initials..

I put it down to me being not careful enough when doing it.

For Christmas, my husband got me a tool that Tandy had bought out which is a stamp guide. This means you can set the letters/stamps up and fit the guide around it and tighten it to keep them all straight. A perfect solution......or so I hoped.

Today, I got to spend some time in the workshop working on Maggie's new collar. Everything went wonderfully well except the lettering.

I used the stamp guide but it seems that all of the letters are not placed centrally on their individual stamps so even if you have the stamps all lined up in the guide (as I did) the letters are still not straight.......Arrgghh!!!!!

The 'A' and the 'I' are out of alignment. At least it wasn't all my fault this time. Had I realised this I could have at least got the 'I' more in line by turning it around. You have to get the stamps placed correctly for the letters to be correct but the 'I' is the same either way. They are individually marked on the back so you can tell which way to put them, I will have to remember about the 'I' in future. Also I pressed too hard on the 'I' and got the shape of the stamp imprinted. That was entirely my fault.

I am happy with the rest of the stamping especially since it has been a while since I did any. My husband will now work his magic and stain it, then I will attach the billet set and it will be done.

A few days late for her 2nd birthday but she did also get a new throwing toy on the day so she wasn't a deprived puppy.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Yeah, I think my mojo is coming back!

It is now four and a half weeks since I had the neck surgery. I have been off the painkillers for 11 days now and was cleared to drive by the doctor. Did my first drive yesterday, just a 70 mile all round trip to our shopping town. I am still getting a bit of pain and will be restricted from lifting anything heavy for months but I am feeling a lot better.

My husband has been working outside and he had to fell a pretty large oak tree that had died and was close to his hunting blind. It had already dropped a large limb that came dangerously close to the blind so there was a serious risk that the tree would fall down too onto it.

He really isn't well enough to do these things but he is a stubborn cuss at times and went ahead. I had to be nearby just in case anything went wrong and I could call for help. Fortunately, it all went to plan and the tree was cut down, cut up and the wood brought up to the wood pile for winter.

I don't know if it was being outside a lot or what but the desire to make something came back.

I have got some leather ready to make Maggie a new collar. I am using a belt billet set I had purchased some time ago when our local hardware had a clear out sale of leather items. I actually bought a half dozen of these as they were on 25c each! The two top pieces are the set and you attach them each end of the collar. The holes are pre cut and snaps are already on them so it makes it a lot easier. The piece of leather has to be cut to size yet and the stamping of her name and some patterning and colouring done. I will add a rivet also just in case the snaps should come undone. Not likely but best be safe than sorry.

Also, I got my old computer set up again up in my sewing room to make a pattern on the Knitware program for a sweater for myself. I had had to move it when I put the treadle sewing machine up in my room. This I will start on when my husband starts going up to the blind in September to hunt with his bow.

Now considering it is only Thursday and we spent all yesterday afternoon shopping and the rest of the days dealing with the tree, I think I have made some giant steps to getting my making things mojo going again.

If it is cool tomorrow morning I will work in the workshop on the collar.

Yeah for the returning mojo!

Glad you stopped by

I started this blog in 2011: Ever since my Mum taught me to knit at the age of about six or seven I have made things. Back then it was doll clothes. I was also inspired by Mrs Levitt an elderly lady who had a sewing room in a conservatory type room on the back of her house. I would sit and watch her in awe as she sewed.

When I was a child living in England the school system was such that you started at 5 years, did two years in Infant School, then four years in Primary School then five to seven years in Secondary School, depending on whether you chose to stay on after fifth form to get qualifications to go to University. I can't remember much of the Infant school other than making the standard square doily thingy from fabric that had holes in it so you could embroider patterns into it. A bit like the modern day cross stitch fabric but with bigger holes and spaces to make it easy for small hands to use. I also remember with great joy getting a toy sewing machine one Christmas which sewed only chain stitch but I did make doll clothes on it and that was before I started Primary school. I do have very vivid recollections of Primary school and having sewing and knitting lessons. In Primary school I knitted gloves and made a dress from scratch hand sewing it all.

Secondary school continued on with sewing by which time I had progressed to using full sized sewing machines and was making more intricate skirts and dresses. My parents bought me a proper sewing machine when I was thirteen. I used that same machine right up until I emigrated to Canada at age forty six years.

I have always had a fascination for sewing machines and knitting machines. I bought my first knitting machine at around age twenty one from an ad in a newspaper for twelve pounds. I had absolutely no idea what one was just that I wanted one. I trundled on the bus to the address in the advert and handed over my twelve pounds having absolutely no idea what I had really bought. Fortunately it came with a manual. It was an aged Knitmaster, very basic and I loved it. I wore it out. Next was a Brother push button one which I didn't keep because it was at a time in my life when things were difficult. Later on in my life, around forty, when things were better I bought a brand new Brother punchard machine with a ribber attachment. I loved it and made many things. Life took a different turn, I moved countries twice and along the way, regrettably I sold it.

Now, through the universe's blessing I now have another machine. It is a vintage one because they stopped making them early 90's but works perfectly and I love it. So I decided to make this blog to document my knitting progress and include sewing projects.

In 2013: we embarked on a new hobby, leather-work. My husband got started with it and it drew me in. It is something we can do together. We have a workshop so have plenty of room to work. We added another workbench for me to work on in 2013. We already had one but we were tripping over each other both trying to work at it. We only make things we want to make. It is strictly a hobby. We made some things for our good neighbours who help us out a lot. I am also working on Christmas presents. So this blog now incorporates the leather-work. Knitting and sewing will always be my first love though.

Fast forward to 2023 and now age almost 75 years. I have seven sewing machines, four knitting machines, several ribber attachments and a garter carriage for one of the machines. I am blessed beyond words, but I know that I have more than enough machines to keep me going in my lifetime so I don’t think I will be adding to my collection any time soon……….unless a nice embroidery machine manifests itself very cheaply.

I am a Brit living in the USA, sometimes I spell like a Brit and sometimes like an American. Sometimes I use slang and even make grammatical errors. I blog for the pleasure of it and to record my endeavours in the event that my memory fades, as I am sure it will with more age. I will be able to look back and remind myself of the things I have made along the way. So please forgive my mistakes when reading about my life making things here in the hinterlands and I hope you get as much enjoyment from my blog as I do from reading the blogs I follow.