Just for fun, here’s a photo of my little collection of tchotchkes (that I had to purchase) which are reproductions of boots I’ve made, along with images of the actual boots.
Note: The red/yellow rose boot image is from Tyler Beard’s small “Cowboy Boots” book. I don’t personally own a photo of those boots, or if I do I can’t find it.
Introducing: “Butterfly Love”
Modeled by the proud maker, Eleni
Yesterday I was searching through my shop for a pattern that I saw recently and then put “in a safe place” so I could find it again and now it’s lost forever. I did, however, find the original photos of this lovely chair made by John Gallis of Norseman Designs. I made the Studebaker/cowgirl side panels with leather inlay, overlay, and stitching.
Eleni’s boots are lasted, the toes are in, and they’re ready to be inseamed. So far we’re on schedule to get them finished before she leaves.
We have two pairs of boots ready to put on the lasts tomorrow!
Eleni has all of her boot top panels stitched and she’s done an absolutely fantastic job. I was most impressed with her ability to understand how to start, stitch an entire design, and come back to the same spot. It’s not intuitive and it’s one of the most difficult things for me to explain because I’ve been doing it for so long I’ve almost lost the ability to put it into words. I told her how to stitch the first butterfly and I had to help her through it. I assumed I’d need to supervise for the rest of the butterflies but once was all it took!
Eleni is stitching her boot tops today, and finding that a good sewing machine can be her friend!
If it appears she’s sitting in the dark with a circle of light at the machine, she is. All of my shop lights decided to burn out the week before she arrived so we’re supplementing with multiple desk lights.
Eleni, a shoe maker from Greece and England, will be in my shop for two weeks. I’m helping her make a pair of cowboy boots and she’s telling me lots of things I don’t know about patterning shoes.
One set of boot tops completed
I still have to stitch inside the flowers with turquoise thread, but I’m not going to do that until I’m through with all of the green stitching. Start in one spot and come back to that place without stopping or tying off, and don’t change thread colors back and forth. Do all of your stitching with one color then change thread colors. These are rules I live by.
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Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker 