Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker

I cut away the excess behind a wingtip or countertip. This makes it easier to wipe in the toe and heel because there’s less bulk, and it looks nicer also.

I can’t say I dislike stitching but I don’t like it either. I’ve been sewing for so long that mostly I just find it boring.

EXCEPT FOR DESIGNS LIKE THIS ONE! I love stitching floral overlays because the stitching is such a vital component of the design and it will change it completely. I’m looking forward to stitching these.

Note: Flowers aren’t glued yet; they’re only laying there so they’re not flat or perfectly in place.

Me: My absolute least favorite thing to do in leather inlay/overlay/stitching is teeny tiny letters.

Also me, given the smallest bit of artistic freedom: Hey! I should do something with lots of teeny tiny letters!

I have so many other things to do on these boots but I decided to just get the pulls over and done.

Today’s work

The design I’m working on now is a reproduction of a pair worn by Ernest Tubb. It’s always fun to reproduce a vintage design; I love getting into the original designer’s head and trying to guess what they did in the places I can’t see. I took a few artistic liberties on the boot tops but I’ve tried to reproduce the wingtips exactly. I can’t see what they did on the countertips so those are totally a guess.

Dale has a fishing guide he fishes with regularly and she’s become a very good friend. She wanted a leather bracelet with mountains and a river so I made her one. Dale says there’s a little trout in the stream that you can only see if you look closely and are wearing polarized sunglasses; she says she can see it too. Evidently it’s only visible if you’re into fishing. 😁

New sketch for customer approval, and they like it! Vintage and vintage-inspired designs like this one make me so happy. They are simply a joy to create; the lines and the way the design flows brings me peace. Note: This is a rough sketch. If there are any lines with bumps or wiggles, I’ll fix it soon. I like to rough sketch with pencil, go over it with ink to perfect it, and then I’ll stitch it with no thread in the needle to finalize the design.

Did you think I was finished stitching leaves when the boots tops were completed? If so, you were wrong. I still had to stitch all of the leaves on the vamp and counter (foot and heel) and I even fit a two-color bug and wrinkle onto the vamp. Given how very much I despise doing toe bugs and wrinkles, I’m expecting a parade and perhaps a catered banquet now.