Friday, April 20, 2012

Leather


Instead of quilting, I've been hanging out more with my hubby.  That means plenty of time on the bike.  For me, biking is all about the costume.  I have black leather pants and coat.  I also have a coat that is black with a pink stripe.  But what I wear most is the Merlot colored, alligator-embossed chaps and vest.  It's a lot of fun when I'm at biker bars and get compliments.  My reply is "Yea, I had to quit drinking tequilla because I kept seeing purple alligators ---but I made sure to bag one before I quit.

Well, there's a new bike at our house that is a lovely shade of cherry red.  Which looks terrible with Merlot.  So I matched some paint cards to the color of the bike and headed to the annual  sale at the Tandy Leather shop.
Unfortunately, there were only 3 pieces on sale that were red, and this one matches the sparkles in the paint.  They'll be a great match on a bright sunshiny day.  And it was only $40 marked down from $100.  I've never seen anyone else with red chaps.  This will be fun.

But there was this really cool snake skin print.  Even though it "reads" as pink & grey, up close there are dark red dots that perfectly match the dark tone of the paint.

Sadly, it was not included in the $40 sale :(  The 2 pieces I want would be $540!!!.  *gasp*  But it is scheduled to go on sale in May.  In response to my sad/pouty face, the manager said she'd sell it to me today for the May sale price :) *Yippeee!!* I just saved $400!  But more importantly, I can make 2 amazing pieces for the price store-bought chaps.  I know there's enough for both chaps & vest....and if I'm both lucky and clever, possibly some zip-off sleeves to make the vest a light-weight jacket.   I spend a lot of time on the back of the bike.  I've day-dreamed about this design for years.  Guess it's time to pull out some muslin and make a prototype.

So, my apologies to my quilting and applique friends.  I'll be learning, once again, how to sew leather.   But I am going on the Treasure Shop Hop next weekend, so I promise to post at least some batik fabrics next week.


6 comments:

Marj said...

Your leather adventure sounds like fun. A girl has to do what makes her happy. Will be watching to see your new riding outfit. What kind of machine do you use to sew leather? Is it an old Singer?

Kasey said...

I learned the hard way why people wear chaps a few weeks ago! I'm impressed that you sew them yourself- I guess leather intimidates me a bit. Maybe I'll have to get over my fear of sewing leather.

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

I love the merlot outfit. But there is nothing like a rick red....my Solstsice is a nice shiny red....enjoy the new bike....

Ann Marie @ 16 Muddy Feet said...

I rode across town once on the back of my husbands bike, 10 minutes later when we got to the restaurant, my legs were numb.......Told him this was NOT goign to work, I now not only wanted, but NEEDED my own bike. So I ride my own, much, much, much better. I love that snake skin you have there.

Caron at Michigan Quilts said...

Yay! Another biker quilter! Love the leathers... be safe this season!

Unknown said...

Oh, no problem - seventh heaven for me would be standing in a saddle showroom and getting a 'high' on the smell - then the stroking and fondling begins