Now I can go home

Posted on March 27, 2020 by customboots

Sewing the vamps and counters (foot part) onto a 17″ tall one-piece boot top with a 12″ heel measurement isn’t exactly a barrel of fun, but it’s done!

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Second time around

Posted on March 24, 2020 by customboots
If you feel as if you’ve seen these boot tops before–you have. The bad news is that I was never able to successfully get the first pair to fit, the good news is that the client is incredibly patient and has allowed me the space to learn so much from this experience. Most boot makers have a patterning system that they’ve learned from their mentor or developed on their own, and once you get a patterning system in place you rarely change it. I had to completely relearn patterning a boot top for this client, which was an amazing opportunity to evaluate why my patterns didn’t work for her and why another pattern system would. Once I got past the stress and the disappointment, I’ve enjoyed figuring this out.
I wasn’t really looking forward to stitching these boot tops again. The boots are 17″ tall and it’s a one-piece boot top, so it’s a large piece of leather and it doesn’t fit easily through the machine. No matter how I fold it, I end up making a turn that jams it into the machine again and prevents me from sewing smoothly. The flowers in the cream-colored top band are the worst because the stitching is concentrated on the top and that leaves me with a mass of leather to move back and forth. To make it easier on this pair, I stitched two rows (Brown and Teal) before I attached the top band to the boot top. Then I glued the top band in place and stitched the final row of Harvest Gold. That’s why from the front there are three visible rows of stitching and from the back side, on the lining, there’s only one row around the leaves and flowers.
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Philosophy and chocolate

Posted on March 20, 2020 by customboots

Last week a customer sent me a beautiful box of chocolates. I have a regrettable tendency to save things for an unspecified special occasion, and sometimes that leads to not having it at all because I forget or it goes bad or it gets lost or something. Today I took a good hard look at both my life and the state of the world, smacked myself for having a smidgen of optimism for better times, and decided to eat the chocolate. Today, right this minute, is a special occasion and a good time.

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Sweet surprise

Posted on March 12, 2020 by customboots

Some days begin with a box of chocolates and a sweet note from a customer.

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Leather Art

Posted on March 10, 2020 by customboots

I posted a snippet of this piece a few days ago as a teaser, and here is the completed piece. It’s approximately 250 rows of stitching, if you’re interested, and it’s titled “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven.”

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Wondering

Posted on March 4, 2020 by customboots

Sneak peek at a new project. If you find yourself confused and wondering what I’m doing and what the final project will look like… me too!

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Me in a sketch

Posted on February 29, 2020 by customboots

I gave my presentation today at the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles. Mr. Gregory Weir-Quiton was in the audience and he sketched me as I was speaking. I love it!

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Whoops

Posted on February 15, 2020 by customboots

Ha, guess what I’ve learned? It’s illegal for individuals to do for-profit raffles in Oklahoma. Now I have to figure out how to decide who gets the “Satan is Real” cowboy boots. 😂

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Identical twins?

Posted on February 15, 2020 by customboots
I’m finished with the “Satan is Real” boot tops and will research how to create a raffle now!
About halfway through the Ira and Charlie boot panels I began questioning why I chose an art form that requires me to do each piece twice–one a mirror image.
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Maybe it’s the tools…

Posted on February 12, 2020 by customboots

Years ago a man in New Hampshire sent me some vintage tools to try to sell for him and among those tools was set of hole punches. The set was in great condition, top-quality, and went down to the smallest size I’d ever seen. It was expensive and I couldn’t really afford it, but I knew I was unlikely to ever find anything like it again (I haven’t) so I bought it. So when you look at a piece like this and think, “Wow, she’s really talented!” just know that having the proper tools is an important component of creating good work. Without that tiny hole punch I’d have to stop at solid black eyeballs and it’s the spot of white in the center that gives them life.
By the way, this piece isn’t finished. Expect more detail soon!

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