Congratulations!

As you all know, I’m not just a boot maker, I’m a mother too, and sometime I have to brag about my offspring. Here’s a photo of Morgan Sarah Sorrell. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a major in both English: Creative Writing and Humanities, and a minor in Latin.

Morgan's graduation pic.jpg

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Shop dog

I’m trying to put everything away after my trip to Wyoming, and Winston is “helping” by laying right in the middle of where I’m trying to work.

IMG_5402.jpg

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The Art of Leather Inlay and Overlay

I’ve received an advance copy of my book on leather inlay and overlay! Here’s the dedication page.  

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It’s a Boot Life

Here’s a link to my YouTube video for May.

“It’s a Boot Life”

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Home

It’s a long way from Oklahoma to Wyoming and back again, but my little red shoes are home again.   

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My story

“Why/how did you become a boot maker?” is a question that was recently posed on a forum. I thought I’d post my answer here, for those who don’t know my story:
I was raised in a very conservative little church where the ladies all wore long hair and long dresses. My mother began teaching me to sew clothing at age 12, and by 15 I was sewing professionally. It came easily to me–I could create patterns from ideas or pictures. I’d always loved shoes but was surprisingly incurious about how they were made. Footwear just seemed to be a mysterious magic–I had no idea that people could make shoes. When I was 20 I married and moved from Missouri to Oklahoma, leaving my sewing business behind. I answered an ad in the newspaper for “stitching boot tops.” I had no idea what that was but it sounded like sewing. It was a revelation and I fell in love immediately. The thing I’d always hated about sewing clothing was that it was an expected, feminine thing. Cowboy boots had a huge canvas for color and self-expression, but it was also a serious craft with huge machines and lots of hammering, and it required serious physical effort. Boot making gave me an outlet for both the artist and the craftsman inside me. I’ve never been the type to want to know a little bit about many things; I want to know everything about one thing, and boot making is my one thing.
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Just for fun (if I can still remember how)

I’m traveling, and IT’S NOT FOR WORK! I’m at Silver Dollar City with my mom, my sister, and my niece. It’s the bluegrass festival and we’re waiting to see the Gibson Brothers.

  

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Mother’s Day

My mother is famous! Here’s an article about her from her local newspaper.

The Neosho Daily News

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“America the Beautiful”

Here’s another pair I completed recently. I’m superstitious about posting pictures until I hear from the client, because it really doesn’t matter how beautiful they are if they don’t fit well. Fortunately, he’s pleased and is ready to order another pair, so I can be happy now! This pair is titled “America the Beautiful.”

America the beautifulASs.jpg

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“If Heartaches Had Wings”

Ooooh, I just realized that I hadn’t posted a completed picture of these beauties! This is one of my favorite designs, adapted from an old Jay Griffith pattern. This design is titled “If Heartaches Had Wings.”

If heartaches had wingsEVBs.jpg

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