Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker

Fabric wrapped around a cord is called piping; leather wrapped around a cord is called beading. I’ve put handmade beading at the tops of these boots. I like to use a delicate little cord and finely skive the leather, because if the beading is too fat it looks like a big ol’ worm crawling on the top of the boots.

I had visitors this week–Eric, a shoemaker, and his wife Joanna. They fixed me dinner, brought me birthday cake, and Eric learned inlay/overlay and made a Matisse-inspired pillow.

Don’t forget to slice through the leather build-up at the cone or hinge. I know someone… wide-eyed innocent look… who’s forgotten before.

It has been a genuinely frustrating week. Oh well, at least these are boot tops are pretty.

Today I finally got tired of the jumble of rulers on the back of my bench, digging through them to find the one I wanted, and I wanted to organize the templates hanging on the back of my bench also. I have two heavy plastic cutting boards on top of my bench, so I lifted them off, decided where I wanted to place each ruler and template, cut thin strips of heavy leather to use as spacers/stops, hot-glued the leather into place, and laid my cutting boards back down on the leather strips that now form neat little cubbyholes for each item.

I would be so confused by Art that wasn’t created in multiples of four.

I’m having a Black Friday sale too! Today only, my 2019 calendar and my Cowboy Boot Poster will be sold with free shipping. (US only) www.sorrell.shop

All of the pieces for this boot top design are cut out by hand and then skived by hand. No, I can’t buy punches or dies for the designs, because clients are all different sizes and I like to allow a design to evolve each time I make it. No, I can’t use a skiving machine because these pieces are too fine and oddly-shaped, and I often cut little holes into a piece, creating places a machine couldn’t reach. This boot has two front panels and two back panels, all featuring the same design, so accuracy is required.