Pictures! We got pictures!

Bwah ha ha ha ha!  We took pictures yesterday!  Lots and lots of pictures!

Belts, (except for kilt belts), and a bunch of purses and pouches.  We started with Ron taking the pictures and me setting stuff up on the table, then I finished up while Ron took Robin to karate.  It was a slower process doing it all by myself, but not too bad.  Ron tweaked the exposure, etc. in Lightroom (correct one, apply to batch), then I cropped. 

I exported to the proper size JPEG today, but haven't posted anything yet.  

Also continued work on the steampunk cargo carriers today, after I finished up a knitting project.  I got the lacing done on all three flaps for the pockets.  

Now, I think, it may be time to go off to the tub.  Besides doing Otter-ish stuff I've been on a cooking binge all weekend.

Progress! But Not Pictures

Still no pictures.  Still no belts on Etsy/ArtFire.  

A couple days ago I was on the Tandy/Leather Factory web site and our attention was grabbed by a sale on "Bright Upholstery Hides". Friday I went to the local store and got a nice dark green one. A little while ago I e-mailed AltKilt and asked if 45 square feet would be big enough to make a kilt for Ron, and what she'd charge for the job. I could do it myself, but I'm willing to pay an expert.

I also got a bright blue hide. Again, about 45 square feet. These are the biggest individual pieces of leather I've ever bought - usually I buy sides, which are about half the size.  I also bought several pieces of split that were on sale, so at well over 100 square feet of leather, it was one of the larger purchases in terms of square footage that I've ever made, too.  I have, however, spent a lot more money.  

I've got some nice red garment/upholstery leather already, and some nice heavier bright yellow, so I ignored the other colors.  

Going back to the split that I purchased, it's what's left when you split a piece of leather down in thickness. It has very little strength (most of the strength in leather is in the grain, or "nice" surface), but it's useful for adding heft/stiffness to something like a cow's worth of blue upholstery leather.  The "soft" pouches I make, for the most part, actually need something stiffer than upholstery leather.  And I've got a lot of blue to play with now . . .

Yesterday I was feeling seriously anti-social and was having a rather bad attitude, so I stayed home instead of going to the MuseCon wrapup meeting/party.  Ron had heard all my input already anyhow.

I did get the steampunk cargo carrier pocket flaps ready to lace, sew on, and the latches set.  I still have to decide exactly how the whole thing is going to go on a belt, add loops/dees, and assemble everything - although I'm going to go ahead and start sewing/lacing the pockets.

Today I attacked the dining room mess. I emptied out some wire bins that were part of a couple shelving units many years ago, and the bins themselves are now at the curb. One big Rubbermaid bin has been slated to be banished to the basement, and another is holding the rolls of wierd/old leather I got really cheap last year. I've thrown out a large shopping bag of stuff. There's not much more floor visible right now than when I started, but I've seen the floor and can easily re-locate it. Getting the garbage and bin to go to the basement out of here will help too.

Time to go work on dinner: mexican chicken pot pie. 

That Was the Week That Was

Following on from our last installment, I did find ribbon and be-ribbon the Etsy/ArtFire merchandise.  

The cutting die for the kilt/Sam Browne belt piece arrived last week (Thursday-ish, IIRC).  I don't think it's as sharp as the dies I got from Weaver were when new, but it's probably sharp enough.  I haven't actually gone down to the basement yet and tried it out, though.  

Robin and Marmaduke took over the living room Saturday afternoon to paint miniatures, so I hung out in the dining room and started a new project.  I also determined that the stainless-steel workbench does interfere with sitting at the big sewing machine.  I'll try shifting the sewing machine over a bit before rearranging the whole room.  I'd have drafted Robin and Marmaduke to move the sewing machine on Saturday, but there's mess that must be dealt with first.

My new project is something similar to the Steampunk Spare Pockets from AltKilt.com. My first pass at the pocket portion was constructed along the lines of a fabric pocket, and was a flop as it was too bulky in leather. And it would also be too much like the AltKilt pockets.  

The second pass is going better - I'm going with a 2-piece pocket - a front and a soft gusset.  I'm confident enough in this design that I went ahead and cut out the parts for all three pockets (1 larger center pocket and a smaller pocket on each side), the apron bit, and have some of it ready for sewing. I'm going to lace around the flaps for the pocket, but not the other parts, in part because the leather I'm using for the flaps doesn't cut as nicely as some, and lacing hides imperfect edges.  And it's the thing I do.

Yesterday my plan was to cut out the flaps and doing other work on other flap-related things - setting latches, getting flaps ready to lace, etc., and then take everything with me to a friend's Labor Day party in the afternoon to work on.

Didn't happen. The kitchen porch ate the morning and part of the afternoon, and by the time we got home I only really had time to put dinner for today together.  I'll go natter on about that on my personal blog, but it was frustrating. Probably more frustrating than it should really have been. 

Still no pictures taken of belts or other new-ish merchandise taken. Blame the porch. Robin did reassemble the light table, maybe one night this week I'll go up and do some photography on my own responsibility, something I actually am capable of.  If I don't keep myself busy working on the pockets.