Month: August 2017

SitRep

Vacation is over, now- so it’s time to get back to projects.

  • Shoulder bag v4 is officially in the works. I finished making the pattern, and I’ve cut most of the major panels. The bottom and sides are one piece, and I’ve laminated the padding and fabric together- lining will go on next. Nearly all the hardware is pulled and ready, so I should be able to make steady progress.
  • Resoled ShoesMy shoe re-soling project is done, too. I didn’t have the amazingly heavy-duty belt sanders that cobblers use to flatten soles, so there was a lot of handwork to be done. That said, I’ve worn them a bunch since and they seem to be holding up well. I got a bit lucky, as the distressed esthetic of the shoes themselves lends well to the slightly less… perfect… finish I achieved. Regardless, they’re lovely and back in service.
  • The store is still there, but there’s also still nothing to actually buy in it- yet. V2 of the Chaordic Path Patch is still there and looking good, but I’m not quite there to send it off to production. Yet. YET.
  • Two shoe projects remain: a pair made from scratch for my wife, and a pair modified for me. I nearly had a pair to modify the other day- they were a half-size too small, and that wouldn’t do. So: still in the hunt, here. Also still looking for a better sole/midsole combo material for the scratch built pair.

Sketching

If you’re the one person who follows my SitReps here, you might be aware that I’v been working on designs for a new shoulder bag for some time. I’ve been edging steadily closer for the last few months, but it’s never come fully to the front of my list of projects.

It is now.

I’d like to have it ready for the Autumn, but that means starting to work on it now. It’ll take time to get materials in, make patterns, cut & sew, and finish. If I don’t start soon, I won’t be ready for the cool weather.

So the other night I sat down in the basement studio to sketch some- I had some ideas and design criteria, but I wanted to flesh things out. I’ll need detailed dimensional drawings soon, but first I need to understand the construction. Pencil and paper in hand, I got to work. Which is when the eldest child (8.5) rolled up next to me on her own chair to “help.”

Shoulder bag sketchesAnd you know what? She totally did. She started asking really interesting questions about how things would work and how the bag should look and behave. And as I drew, she kept asking these amazing questions- and the sketches kept coming and getting better. And now, after a bit of that, I’ve got the best design I’ve come up with in a good long while. It’s amazing what someone unafraid of asking questions can do for the creation process.

 

SitRep

Slowly Getting Things Done (SGTD®)

  • Shoe resole project is done. Shoes have been worn and didn’t even fall apart or anything. They definitely weigh more (what with all the rubber I’ve added…), but they’re totally comfortable and ready for the autumn.
  • Bike #2 (the Burrito Slayer) is completely ready for my vacation next week. Pedals got swapped, and I even managed to ride it on a bit of a shakedown- so that’s great. I’d love to eventually swap the handlebar, but that’s nothing like a priority.
  • Nearly all the picture framing queue has been dealt with- there are two longer-range items that need frames, but for now much of the backlog has been dealt with.  A bit of hanging to do as a result, but that’s mostly fun. It’s good to have much of the collection finally up on walls to be seen.
  • New shoulder bag design is making progress. I’ve had a couple of good ideas about straps and modularity, so I’m slowly getting towards being ready to source materials and start cutting. I’m still aiming for a very different esthetic than some of my other bag builds, and I’m trying (!) to mostly work with what I’ve got around here already (instead of some god-awful huge order of all-new stuff).
  • My new store is (slowly) coming along. I’ve re-designed the first patch offering there (which still isn’t for sale…) after reading some more about the process. Much of the text I’d originally included was going to be far too small to work, so I’ve removed much of it. The result, I think, is less complicated and better on the whole. I’m not entirely ready to pull the trigger on production yet, but closer.

SitRep

For a host of reasons I’d rather not go into here, it’s not been a great week. But I’ve been chipping away at the lists and the projects and I’m determined through shear perseverance to make things better. SO THERE.

The state of things (short version):

  • My Jeans Shop shoes are nearly done. Commando soles have gone on with just some tiny detail work to finish and I’ll be able to (finally!) wear them again. They’re a great fall shoe, so the timing even works.
  • “New” bike saddle hasn’t exploded in flames yet. So that’s great.
  • I’ve made a teeny bit of progress on my new custom sneakers- but that’s ever-so-slightly back burnered until I clear one or two other things off the docket first.
  • Speaking of other projects: I’ve been working on the design for a series of patches. Good old-fashion embroidered patches with iron-on backing. I’ve got two mostly done, and another two in design progress. Be forewarned, though: these will be shortish runs. You’ll find them (eventually) here.
  • Slow, slow, slow progress on the new shoulder bag. Stumbled upon a lovely way to do the bottom of the bag, and I’ve been collecting reference pictures of bags to help work out some of the other details about size & construction. Still trying to get away from so much of the “tactical” look but retain functionality and durability.