The Crispin Colloquy

PS...

coral and sage were her colours. Hence the salmon coloured cravat...which actually looked OK

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

You all look Grand! Randee you look wonderful too!

Again, Congratulations!

Paul

DW,

Thank you for sharing this joyous moment of your family life with us and congratulations to you and your family.

Nasser

DW & Randee

Congratulations on getting a new family member and may God guide their life's........ .Yours and the wifes shoes do blast with the outfits.


Ed

DW,

Congrats! You all look so elegant.

- Ricardo

Congratulations to the happy couple and the rightfully proud parents. Smart looking shoes on both of you. Did Chlóe have the privilege of wearing custom made at her wedding or was she forced to go off the rack?
Thanks for sharing those great shots.

Rob

Congartes Mtr and Mrs DW
A lovely moment in time. And as the old saying goes, she got her good looks from her Mom. Sorry dude heard that a 1.000 times. At our 25th anniversary a couple years ago "they said We didn'nt know to get a present or a certificate for a pshyc consult" for Beau. The patient wife of a shoemaker.!!!
Any way congrates to all. Any little shoemaker's on the way?

One Last Question What did you wear under the Kilt?
Regards
Brendan

Congrats to the newlywed's! Great looking kilt DW. I've been looking into picking up a MacMillan kilt for myself. (But I like your Tartan better than my own) I had difficulty picturing the buckles until I saw them on your feet. The custom shoes sure turned out great.

"marcelled?" I promise it wasn't me.. Congratulation!

Congratulations to the parents of the bride and to the newlyweds!

Randee, you'll have to give us all a full report of how the shoes worked out. I'm sure they held up great.

Sean,

That's simply the Black Watch tartan. If I understand correctly, it is a very very old sett. Because it was adopted by the Highland Black Watch regiments (before WWI?... help me out here, Al) it is considered a "universal" tartan...meaning that anyone can wear it if only because it is not associate with any particular clan or district. I like it myself.

That said, it is surprising how colourful or "outrageous" the colour combinations on a tartan can get and it still looks spectacular with a nice black Argyll jacket and all the rest of the accouterments. I didn't like the grooms tartan (Colqhoun) when I saw it as a swatch on a tartan finder. But being worn as in the photo, it looks great.

BTW, thanks to everyone for the warm wishes and congratulations.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

DW,
What tartan is your son in law wearing? It look like it might be Grant, but it's been a while since I was able to identify many tartans by sight.
I wear the Watch tartan sometimes, as well as a dark red single color. I wear another tartan that I call McSew-Fro, which is very similar to McSears, or MacKmart. In true Scots tradition, I went and bought the cheapest tartan I could find 5 yards of and bought it.
You all look great - it must have been a wonderful day!

I have a few books about the clans and the tartains, and some of the "best dressed" gentlemen in the pictures might be wearing a pair of tartan breeks with a different tartan vest and a third different tartan plaid. Clashing tartans must have been the fashion. There is also something about a kilt that adds class to any man, especially if he completes the outfit. You look rather grand, in fact - all of you. All the best to the newlyweds.

Bruce

Bruce,

Thanks...

It's a Colqhoun...Weathered, I believe...

I would like to pick up a nice 8 yard Black Watch in a 16 ounce--I can use all the class I can get.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

DW,

The Black Watch tartan (or a very dark, somber, green-dominant, with blue and black lines) was adopted by the first Highland regiments in the British Army. Prior to that it may have been worn by the Highland Independent coys. It's more or less been in its current color and form since the 1740s, at least, and worn universally as the "government"/army tartan almost exclusively up through the late 1780s-90s when regiments started adding colored over-stripes, etc. Waaaay before WWI, like before the Seven Years War :&#62

Just a few thoughts on other "outrageous" colored tartans: they never look the same made up into a kilt as they do on a page in a book. Depending on how you pleat the back, you can emphasize, or de-emphasize the colors. Highlanders liked a cacophony of tartans, why just look at David Morier's painting of the battle of Culloden (1746). No two clansmen are wearing matching tartans, nor is any one guy wear the same tarn twice in hose, kilt,. waistcoat or coat: http://www.marariley.net/celtic/scotland.htm (scroll halfway down the page).

DW,

You can do nae better for the price than the 20 oz., MoD Black Watch kilts What Price Glory offers, unless you can find an Army surplus MoD kilt in your size.

Craig,
The shoes were comfortable for about the first six hours, then I had to change into my dance heels as it felt as if my feet were sliding down into the toe area and my toes were getting crimped. I have a high arch and the shoes feel hollow under my arch even though I put a metatarsal pad in them.
They held up beautifully and hardly look like they've been worn at all. So I think the process will work, however, I think I need to look into a different last.
Any suggestions will be welcome.

Randee,

Curious, did your whole foot slide forward or did the shoe stretch out and widen?

Unrelated question, did you end up having any issues with the heel block pulling away?

Craig

Craig,

The shoes are comfortable when I first put them on. Like a firm handshake. I think what happens is that because there is that hollow under my arch my foot drops down some and my toes lengthen out some which puts some pressure on them. There isn't any sliding forward involved and the width isn't a problem. It could be the shank length is wrong for my foot or just the topography of this particular last. I want to grind a bit on the bottom of the last. Taking all of that into account this type of shoe isn't made for all day hiking around. I guess I shouldn't be too unhappy with six hours of meeting and greeting and smooshing.

The heel block is actually still really solid. I think there's this feeling that I just made this and I didn't really know what I was doing so it must be going to fall apart. All together I would have to say a pretty happy ending. I should go back to the drawing board and improve on what I've done so far but I'm ready to move on to another style and another last.

Randee

So...this isn't shoes or boots but it still might interest a few folks...

Since I really enjoyed wearing a kilt for the wedding and really am kind of tickled to find out I have a smidgeon of Scots ancestry.... here's my first sporran. I'm pretty pleased with it.

I planned it as an informal, daywear sporran but wanted to incorporate some elements of both older sporrans I'd seen (brass cantled) and dress sporrans. The thing I didn't like about the dress sporrans I've seen and handled was the hard face and back. Every time you walked the tassel balls would swing and hit front of the sporran and you'd have this annoying tattoo of rapping noises. So I made the body of the sporran soft...front and back. The bag is attached to the cantle with what is known as "round closing" or butt stitching. It has to be done carefully and all by hand.

I also didn't like the use of metal clips to attach the sporran...especially after some folks here mentioned that the chain was the prime culprit in wear on the kilt so I looked for another option...and while I was at it I decided that the lower part of the cantle needed something to keep it closed. So I made the short sporran strap so that when your wallet, etc., is in the sporran, the weight will keep the cantle closed.

The knots on the thistles and on the straps are pineapple knots. The bag is American Bison, the braid and knots are kangaroo.

I can make the sporran either way of course (for use with a standard sporran chain, and I might use a snap or magnet closure on future sporrans...I am not too sure of the Sam Browne stud. There's always something that can be improved.



Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

DW,
Verra nice work on the sporran.(that's in brouge of course) Did you make the pineapple knots and the lace for braids? If not, is there a source?

Regards
Georgene

Georgene,

Thanks.

No, cut and beveled the lace and plaited the braid and knots.

There is a source for braid...it's good (best I've seen yet) but not up to my standards. I looked at it and decided since I was gonna have to cut an bevel for the knots I might as weel do the same for the braid.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Really nice job Dee Dub.

I'd love to look more closely at the stitch. I'll have to go back to that discussion here on the forum later and examine the technique in relationship to what you have shown.

Very clean!

Paul

Hi DW
Nice Job. In the first pic the top crest looks like wood in the second pic it looks stitched. What is the top crest made from?
I was listening to CBC radio Canada's NPR and they were interviewing a gent in Scotland that made his sporran from seal skin fur on. He got crapped on by the enviormentalists for using seal skin , a big deal for some in europe. but he went on to explain that it was closer to the originals. As many years ago the Scots ruled the North Sea.
Good job on the braid and knots , Now you will have to say tight stitches and knots!!
Regards
Brendan

Thanks Paul...

Brendon,

The cantle is 10-11 iron insole shoulder. Seal is banned here in the US, legal in Canada. Go figure. Seal is probably the most common fur used in Scottish dress sporrans at this point in time...I don't know about historically but it makes sense.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Now, this is a job i accepted to make for a concept artist,Out of desperation,we all have to pay bills,So first i had to learn how to make single boxing glove,than made the two attached with one opening for both hands.

Nasser