It’s stunning! Love the color.
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Your leather projects are always such a treat!
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Just Marvelous! It is a beautiful piece! Thanks for the write up!
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Just amazing. And the whole back story makes it more interesting.
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Great looking bag.
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Jae this is absolutely stunning! Nicely done!
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Top notch. What’s really going to be cool is a follow-up post in 25 years so we can see how beautifully worn it’s become!
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Hello Jae:
Let me digress for a moment from the usual or appropriate comments usually made here, which I’ll express as I attempt to describe what may be considered uninteresting or inappropriate fodder in this forum. Ordinarily, I would jump over these thoughts and emotions, since they may be or sound strange. That’s okay, I wear my heart on my sleeves.
Over a long period of time I’ve seen many projects and read stories from people (your story and project prompted my observations and awareness) who have impressed me in many different ways. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen any projects or read any stories or comments that have been unimpressive.
What I’ve discovered about others and myself, since I feel emotionally moved by everyone here, is what I believe to be an intrinsic and important value from within people and their creations. They make me appreciate not only the differences one would expect to find in others, but maybe more importantly, the similarities and the beauty that I see within the projects, as well as the personal beauty reflected from one’s natural being as a human. It’s an enormous and positive feeling of the love that goes into your work while simultaneously projected outward from you, even without a corresponding story.
Your work is beautiful and impressive and exciting and lovely, as is the story that unfolded as I read along with each photo. As much as I don’t know many of the technical details you described that ended with the finished product, your writing and the descriptions of your work, even the frustrations, make me appreciate, You, the person behind the tangible and intangible Expressions of yourself. (The same is true for all the things I’ve seen and read from everyone here.)
It’s fulfilling to grasp the emotional depth of you and your fellow artists… and it’s invigorating to feel it and uplifting to know there is all this “goodness” in so many people everywhere…
Your finished work is amazing to me and reading your captivating story really was a delight.
Thank you for all your sharing.
Best regards,
Michael
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That’s amazing, just got my Glowforge, all the things people are making!
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This is so beautiful! I loved your description of the process. Wonderful writing skills along with your amazing leather skills.
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Sometimes the imperfections make things more perfect.
The blotchie can be used as a technique as well.
Know what you mean about the fingers. Good tutorial as well. Thanks!
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Amazing bag! Any “imperfections “ are just your signature. 
And the complete set of Encyclopedia Magica May my heart sing a little song. 
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really great work here!!
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Beautiful
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@Jae, how do you keep your lighter colored threads from getting grimy from the char in the laser-cut holes? I haven’t found a good method yet, and yours looks clean and bright, and I’m jealous!
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I take an awl and wrapped it around a baby wipe. Before sewing I go in and out the stitching holes. It is not perfect but it does remove a lot of the char.
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Ha! I knew there was a more sensible reason to NOT having got rid of the excess baby wipes other than. “I’m not going to bother with that now”.
thanks for the tip!
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I’m a fan of the “long tail” method.
Not my photo but it illustrates the point. Basically, give yourself an extra few inches of thread on either end and leave a long tail so you’re pulling a longer length of doubled up thread through the hole. Ta-da, it’s basically doing the pipe cleaner thing for you. The thread near the needle will be dirty and sooty as heck, but by the time you get to your actual stitch you’re in much better shape.
For projects like this one though…
(That one is actually one of my projects)
On this one, I ran a needle and length of doubled up thread through each of the stitching holes a few times before sitting down to actually stitch. For small projects, I really don’t mind the extra work involved in that. For larger projects… different story.
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Ahhh, okay. Sometimes it’s hard to think of the really simple solutions! 
Thanks!
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Good looking bag from dieselpunk.ro I have made this same bag too! Yeah, lots of sewing for it to be completed, but worth it!
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