Sandbags

Winter is coming.
Jenny and I just made these truck-bed sandbags. The original plastic bags had totally deteriorated. This boatcover material (Top Gun) should last a bit longer.

Amp cover

My friend's band is going on tour this month so I made him a padded amplifier cover. 1000d Cordura + 1/2" foam.

This is the opening for the handle.

Camera Bag

I've been working on this camera bag for a billion years and I finally powered through it. Phew. I think it turned out pretty well.

I haven't done the 3D flap a whole lot before...I like it.

Maybe used too thick a foam...a little stiff. Hopefully it'll break in.

Velcro-lined inside, movable partitions...the usual.

A tube to hold the camera so the lens doesn't rest on the bottom of the bag. It's nice having a narrow-arm cylinder machine. This is about its maximum thickness, though. I'll get a bigger one some day...

Juki Juki

I recently helped pick out an industrial sewing machine for my friend Jess. We decided on a Juki DDL-8700, which is a pretty simple medium-weight straight-stitch machine. It's commonly seen on serious-crafter blogs, and I think it's a great introduction into the world of industrial sewing.
I got this from Gregg at Keystone Sewing in Philly. Great customer service and price.

It came with a simple servo motor. I have a few of this type and this is my favorite design. Excellent slow-speed control.

Oh, who doesn't like a oil bath? We also got one of those neat lights that sits right above the needle. Genius design. I'll have to get some for my machines.

Jess'll be using this to make cute hats and li'l bags for knitting kits for Looped Yarn Works in DC. And maybe I can give her some projects I don't have time for. Ha.

Pedal Power

Came across this the other day on LeatherWorker:

Pretty cool.

Utility belt

I made my friend a drink holder for his belt.

Kleen Kanteen Keeper? Maybe not...

Boone Dawdle 3 bag

Here's a bag I made for this year's True/False Boone Dawdle. The film this year was The Source, a doc about the Source Family and the cult of Father Yod. I think the bag turned out sufficiently cultish.

Added a tri-glide to the shoulder pad. That way it stays put but is still adjustable. I think it works pretty well.

And here's an action shot of a li'l backpack I made a while ago.
More photos from the Dawdle:

 It's good to see there are still green parts in Missouri.

Cave!

Hip-pack

Just smashed this hip-pack out for my friend. My standard design but with a zipper pocket. Pretty sweet.

Realizing that I can sewing through the zipper like this has been a major breakthrough for me. Don't know why I didn't try it before. Ha.

 Triple loop.

Leif Labs in Italy

My friend just got back from her trip in Italy...apparently her goat bag was a big hit in the cafes of Siena.

Finally finished the drinkholder display. You can see this bad boy at Maude Vintage, downtown Columbia.

Pick one up before you go on any thirsty rides. And definitely make sure to get one before this year's Boone Dawdle!

Leif Labs in the Tetons

Seems like my friends have been travelling a lot lately...

Hip-packs are useful for carrying bear horns and cameras.

Leif Labs in the Rockies

Leif Labs in the Glades

Some friends of mine recently went on a canoe trip in the Everglades.

Hey there, American crocodile (yes, there are also crocs in the US).

Safety Goat

Just finished this sweet 17-inch bag for my friend Jill.

I guess I didn't get a good shot of the reflective strip on the bottom. Whoops. Also, the eye is reflective. Evil.

Drink holders!

Here's how you install the single drink holder...aka the Solo, aka the Copilot.

Thread the webbing under the down tube and into the cam buckle. Pull that thing tight. Maybe it's a good idea to go under any cables...unlike in the photo. It's your call.

Now what to do with this extra webbing? If you plan on never using it on another bike with a larger head tube you can cut it off (not really recommended). Or you can fold it under the wrap-around strap like so (keep reading for that step):

 Open that cam buckle.

 Now close it.

Enjoy riding with a beverage close at hand.

Drink holders now available at Maude Vintage, downtown CoMo.

Ultimate Hip-pack Project

A couple months back my friend requested a pair of hip-packs. They had to be relatively small, hold a mini u-lock, and have a secure pocket for a cellphone. Here's what I came up with:
8" across the top, ~5.5 deep, 6x2 on the bottom. 1000d Cordura nylon, acrylic-coated poly liner.
I usually don't use velcro, but since this was a special job I made an exception.
Typical u-lock holster design. There's some thin padding in the u-lock straps on these, though.
Now, here's how I got to the above bags...prototypes galore:

This is a nearly complete bag. I pretty much just moved the label and nudged the zipper up a bit. On the final packs, the pocket is lined with a mil-spec oxford nylon.
Below is the first finished design. Zipper pocket, floating liner...super water-resistant but hard to get into. The final design is a little smaller than this but has better accessibility.
Dumb place to put a label. Whoops.
Same lock holder strap. I'm also not wild about how the binding looks on this bag. It's an okay design (I use it a lot)...just a li'l goofy on a bag this small.
For scale.
No floating liner (above). But no holes in the corners. Hell no.
And here are most of the prototypes I made, excluding some paper ones...and I gave one of the vinyl ones away before I took this. A big thanks to the public library for providing me with such fine prototyping material. Books are great.

Special Wallets

Just made these wallets. They have an extra bike-tube card pocket. Pretty swift, huh?