Making of a leather bag: This time, it's personal

So this one was really special to me, for multiple reasons in fact. If you want to read the details of my health journey, scroll down to the section labeled Backstory.

Recently I had been working on trying to make a leather back for myself but was running into some issues with alignment in inkscape so I was just doing what all good crafters do and put it on the pile of “I’ll come back to this later” projects. Then I came across Desilpunks bag video on YouTube and it gave me some ideas to fix the pattern I had been working on. While my bag ends up being a bit smaller then the one he was making, it’s perfect for what I’m aiming for.

I cut my parts and wanted to make the bag unique to me, as many of you may know, I some unique tastes and try not to have anything too boring or mundane representing me or my work. This was one of 4 custom biohazard logos I made with Magic canvas, adding to the gothic styled logo (the upper two facing curves are designed to look like horns (after some editing in inkscape after the fact) and the tight Celtic knot work around the main center, I was pretty stoked with how well this came out.

Stitched the main patch to the back patch, this had been one of the biggest issues I had been having with my pattern, but I was originally trying to attach it from the front but having 3 layers outward made it look dumpy and not great. I have to say, giving what was happening the day I did that stitching (another story for another time) I’m stoked I was able to get those stitches so dang smooth.


I got the straps setup and fixed up the D rings on the gussets, I debated on adding studs here but didn’t want to take away from the over all aesthetic of the bag.

Stitching was slow going but eventually the first side was done

I found out after getting this done and adding my screw nubs that I’m gonna have to modify the strap holes in order to accommodate the slightly larger nubs as the craft store was all out of the size I wanted.

After a long stitching session, a bit of swearing at my needle for coming unthreaded every other stich and a late night later, I can happily say the bag itself is done and looks fantastic, the stitching once again on point and it hold all the supplements and testing kit that I wanted it to hold. I’m extremely happy with how it turned out and have made some notes for things I want to do differently in version 2 of this bag. And who knows, maybe it’ll end up in the catalog one day.


Till next time
-Hock

Backstory: about a month and a half ago I was taking myself off of my ADHD meds, it was causing issues, I had the Dr check my blood for low Testosterone , I had a lot of the signs and also had about a month of straight migraines from hell. She came back around saying I was Type 2 diabetic and had low Testosterone. The odd thing about this is my A1C was at a 6 before I started taking my ADHD meds 6 months prior.

Fast forward for a moment and I had been doing research to see if my ADHD meds had any other lasting side effects due to new information I had been hearing. What I found was that this med for starters is known to jack up your A1C levels, that it takes up to 3 months to get out of your system, and that it “Works” by essentially overwriting your brains dopamine nural pathways by going completely around the dopamine centers fully. One of the major red flags me and my wife had talked about was my lack of creativity. I’m always doing something creative, and going from being super creative multiple days a week to 0% creative, having lots of brain fog that was effecting my speech as well as how I was processing things it was kinda scary.

The Dr wanted to " get my diabetes under control " before she even thought about sending me to someone for Testosterone therapy. And from what I found out when pressing her the testosterone they wanted to give me was synthetic with a laundry list of side effects, health risks and having to cycle on and off. Additionally this particular strain of testosterone they were talking about has the potential to introduce MPD or major personality changes to the point where you don’t even recognize who’s looking back at you in the mirror. That’s some scary shit.

Me and my wife started doing a ton of research, I found and narrowed down my selection to the Bucked up brand of supplements for Testosterone boosting and weight management. Id taken some of their stuff in the past and it’s always been very clean and very upfront about what you get, and enjoyed the fact they had a buy one get one free going. I’ve been taking them for 3 weeks and Ive already ordered the next 2 months supply as well, and my wife has been very happy with the results :joy:.

I’ll skip some boring details but I’ve been working out and walking just about every damn day for the last month, last week I walked almost 25 miles in total, as well as took over 55,500 steps. I was ingored when I told my Dr my previous findings about the ADHD medication even though the information was on several medical journals. So I threw down the gauntlet, my wording to her was “I’ll be ready” she has no idea how hard I’m pushing myself to not only make better life choices but changing my entire diet, and motivation structure as well. I get the feeling she doesn’t believe me because “the numbers don’t lie” well I’m gonna prove her wrong.

The bag project was my first project coming off the ADHD meds and I can feel my old self waking back up again and I did it (the bag)to house my current life changing supplements and necessary items. My creativity starting to rise up and like a sleeping dragon I’m going to awaken with vengeance. If you made it this far, send the tacos emoji :joy::taco:

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That bag is brilliant. The inset patch I totally want to copy!

On your backstory I’m sorry, but also thrilled for you figuring it out! Proving Doctors wrong is part of my family history so I absolutely know it can be done.

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Amazing bag! :taco:

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:taco:
I can’t help but read all the way on most things.

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Yeah I’m really digging it myself. My wife wants me to redesign it to make it into a purse for her, but for that I might make a square inset patch vs circle so it’s a bit different…also pockets might be a nice touch :joy:

I don’t mind listening when the Dr works with me, but I’ll be damned to a life of needles and deadly drugs that slowly kill me if I don’t do what’s actually best for me

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Thank you sir, that’s really appreciated :pray:

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You are a rare breed my friend, 90% of people these days skim and scroll. Truly appreciate it

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First of all, the bag is amazing.

I’m so sorry about the medical stuff. Being your own self-advocate is so, so important. WoWeuld you mind sharing which ADHD medicine you were on? We’re in the middle of some possible diagnoses in my family and, while I always do my research, it’s not always easy to find things.

Taco emoji. :wink:

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Everyone has different directions of focus that they put their attention to and doctors, being also human, can see different nuances as more or less central to what they are looking for.

I reached out to help Pam when she was having difficulties and discovered despite having a master’s degree in it, seemed to have forgotten some basic biology. Then when she forgot to get more meds she ran out and I started to see the person I had known earlier before getting the prescription filled and going back. I was eventually able to get her off that med, and it was scary for her as it did the job the doctor expected, but at a cost of a fair portion of IQ points, something the doctor did not see or focus on. Now she is very much better and would not go near any of that med again, but it took someone who could see the difference, and that could not happen when living alone.
:taco:

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This time around it was Vyvanse and it’s generic form. I’ve also had similar experiences with Adderall and Ritalin. I’m gonna be getting some supplements from bucked up new line once I see some reviews to know if it’s something that seems to work or not.

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My wife would be adamant that I was in grouchy mood, that I was grumpy a lot especially coming off that crap, as well as the loss of IQ points. I work as a System Administrator for a company in the DoD so lost IQ points means my job is harder when it should be easier. I’m glad you were able to help Pam get off the stuff that was harming her!

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First off, the bag is fabulous, and I do hope you put it in the catalog! I have plenty of leather hanging around that I’ve not done anything with yet. And when you design one for your wife, put that one in the catalog as well!

Secondly… :taco: :taco: (cause you can never have just one! :smile:). Good for you for standing up to your doctor. I believe too many times they think they are god and know it all, when a lot of what they practice/do is only what they were taught. Many don’t listen to what their patient is actually telling them and trying to do what’s best for them. Don’t get me wrong, I believe most doctors do try to help their patients. But I also know that in our own experience, when my husband went to the VA just to get glasses (because why not, he can get them for free), they insisted he needed to see a doctor and get a full check up. He refused and insisted that all he wanted was glasses. They literally asked him, “Well don’t you want to get on medications?” He told them, “Absolutely not. I’m not going to have you go “find something wrong with me” so you can put me on medications that I’ll have to take the rest of my life, medications that have even worse side effects that whatever you may claim is wrong with me. I’m healthy, I feel fine, and I’m not going to go down that path just so you can prescribe me something that’ll make me feel worse and is not needed. Just let me get my glasses.” They were actually shocked that he didn’t want to get on drugs and said he was the first one who’d ever told him that.

Even listening to tv commercials about different drugs - they always say, “Ask your doctor about …” - isn’t that something a doctor should tell you about instead of you asking them because of an ad you saw on tv? And how are you supposed to know if you’re allergic to something if you’ve never taken it before? And the side effects always seem that they not only are supposed to help whatever symptom/disease you may have, but also can cause it at the same time.

I am so thankful you are taking care of your health in the best way, and definitely seeing the good results from it. Looking forward to hearing more progress! Here’s a few more tacos for you! :taco: :taco:

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You did a fabulous job on that bag, it looks amazing!

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Wow, that says everything right there. Big pharmacy is the local drug pusher on every corner lol.

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Thank you!

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The week before all of this started me and my wife had been talking about starting to find more natural supplements and remedies for stuff non life threatening. The daily supplements I take have ashwagandha and that helps keep my brain sorta on track, there’s a few other things in there too but I had taken it before with positive results

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Beautiful stitching and love how the emblem turned out.

Sorry you’ve had so much trouble health wise. It’s very important to call things out to our doctors and push back when they aren’t listening.

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:taco:, I love the bag and continue to be inspired by your leather work. So glad you are working on feeling better and starting to feel the creative urge again.

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Thank you! I always try to do my best with stitching because I was always told it was the first thing anyone notices.

I’m doing my best!

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Thank you, I have been trying to get through the work day by sketching ideas on a notepad :grin:

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