Accomplishments!

The person who ordered the miniature Lace Mania pouch (which shall hearafter also be known as a pocketwatch pouch) shown in the December 22nd post liked it. He's ordered another, plus a pouch for a harmonica. 
I've got the harmonica pouch cut out, lacing holes punched, all I have to do are stitching holes, then I can get on with assembly. I'm having my usual fears that I've made it too small. But I figured out that I can do a test-fit with Ron's multi-tool, except for length (which is not where I'm worried about fit anyway). Assembly should be . . . entertaining, it's in the style of the soft pouches, with lacing up the sides; but it's only going to be an inch and some wide, so I'll have to do only a couple-few stitches on one side, then a few on the other side. 


The customer asked about doing a fleur-de-lis or Maltese cross design, which would be fairly easy on a larger pouch, but on the little mini-LM's, not so much.  But today I ordered fleur-de-lis and Maltese cross conchos, so I can give him that option. 

I also ordered a bunch of other hardware-ish things today: more belt clips, rivets, both sizes of rotary latches, hardware to hold the straps on purses, and more. I expect to get a relatively small, but heavy, box.


Over Christmas weekend I made another pocketwatch pouch, black with red lace, for Wash. I screwed it up and cut the front too tall, but apparently that isn't a problem, as it hasn't come back. I also need, still, to make him a black kilt belt. I just have to get some stuff out from in front of the big sewing machine.


Didn't get much accomplished during the week last week, or Saturday (too busy playing with dolls, and Ron was busy Saturday with Legos).

Sunday Ron got pouches waxed. We couldn't find the new heat gun, and the hair dryer was taking forever (which is why we switched to using a heat gun many years ago). Happily, Ace had a basic one for just over $20. Unfortunately, Ace was closed. But Menard's was not, and they had an almost identical Wagner for about a dollar more than the Ace house-brand. He finished much faster with the heat gun - 2 iPouch fronts, 3 shield fronts, and a hard front about 6" wide and 4" tall, the first one of its kind.


The new pouch will be stitched together, no lacing on the flap, two small rotary latches. I'm intending it to go with the other "Sam Browne Project"/Steampunk-ish stuff. I'd already cut the back out and done stitching holes for the prototype, but I'll consider lacing future ones, and doing more in all-black (which I've been studiously avoiding, except for a cartridge pouch Ron did). 

Sunday felt like I was flailing around a lot. I got started laying out and cutting the second pocketwatch pouch the customer ordered - actually two, as I'm waffling which combination of red and black leather and lacing will look best, so I'm just going to do both and let him choose. I also broke down a couple gorgets (retired due to changing SCA Midrealm combat rules) into parts for three more pocketwatch pouches. I'm rather pleased with that effort. And I poked a bit at the pouches Ron had waxed fronts for.

However, the only thing I actually made progress on were sheaths for my new head knife and skiving knife - the sheath for the head knife came out of another gorget, and the one for the skiving knife out of bits from the scrap bin. And I finished them up by bedtime. Not that those are bad things to accomplish, but I could have spent less time on cutting up and thinning down leather from gorgets and more on the ordered pouches or the hard pouches. 


And Ron dropped my head knife, when he picked it up in the glued-together sheath, and tested gravity. It landed blade-down, but fortunately not on any living thing or the metal frame or step of the workmate. It did land on the new rectangular mold I mentioned earlier, and took a chunk out of it - nice sharp blade. Robin filled the chunk with Green Stuff last night and trimmed it this morning, we'll see how the patch holds, molding on it tonight.


Yesterday was better, I got the harmonica pouch cut out and almost ready to assemble, as mentioned. I also got the new smallish hard rectangular pouch ready to assemble (stitching holes for the belt loops left), as well as a two iPouches, one black and one brown (only stitching holes left).


I also took one of the double shoulders down to the cutting table that Robin cleared over break, and cut into 10 or 12 hard pouch fronts. Robin assembled the C-clamp army, and so tonight we'll mold a large and medium hard square, and one of the new horizontal rectangles.  Drat, I should have also soaked the front for another iPouch, we have enough clamps to do one of those, too. Oh well.


Why didn't I get around to doing stitching holes last night? Laziness. My cork pad and awl are in the living room, and it was too much effort to clear off the table in front of the couch to do holes. Guilty guilty guilty.


Tonight, unless I fire up InDesign and do some things for MuseCon, I should get stitching holes in pouches.