Woodland Gear

My interest in clothing has been leading me in new directions over the past year. One interest in particular has been buckskin. Buckskin is made from deer, elk, moose and hides from other ungulates with a time tested tanning process that involves oils, smoke and lots of work to create a beautifully soft hide. This has become a symbol of Native American dress and frontiersmen but is actually a way of making clothing and gear that was once practiced in cultures the world over in one form or another.


Deer hides are easy to come by in North America with the large population of deer and hunters who often don't make use of the hide when one kills a deer. Above is a photo of me preparing a deer hide using the wet scrape method in which the hide is soaked in water and wood ash for a number of days until the fur begins to fall out and the epidermis loosens allowing both to be scraped away from the hide with a dull blade.


When fully scraped the hide is ready to be wrung out, stretched and brained. There are a few options for adding oils to the hide that keep it soft and supple. One of these that works the best is the brains of the animal. Yep, seriously! The hide is saturated with brains and then stretched dry creating a soft white hide. Afterward the hide is smoked over coals with punky wood. This turns the hide a warm tan color and preserves it in a state of soft, wearable leather. Without the aid of smoke, a hide that gets wet will again return to stiff rawhide when it dries.

I have tanned quite a few hides over the past 3 years. This photo depicts from left to right a dried deer hide with the fur on, a brained unsmoked hide, and a tanned hide along with a couple of projects (a small bag for sewing needles, awes and thread and a wrist guard for archery made from deer leg fur and buckskin)

The above photo shows a wool sweater and long underwear that I recently dyed with black walnut hulls. The hull is the green fruit around the nut that can be gathered in the fall. Both garments were originally white. The wool was simply simmered in a dye bath of hulls for 5 hours. I love things that are the colors of dirt and earthiness!

Tilly Jane

This past weekend I went on a 2 night ski trip to the Tilly Jane cabin on the North East side of Mt. Hood. Three friends and I (pictured below: Me, J, Shawn, Elliott) left Friday and didn't get on the trail till 3:00 PM. It's a 2.5 mile trip uphill on telemark skis with about 40 lbs. in our packs. There is currently about 185" of snow on the mountain!
The sun set with about an hour to go to the cabin and we skied on into the darkness. The temperature dropped as quick as the setting sun and the winds began to whip. The thought of being lost out here sent a chill through me. When we reached the cabin we could just see the peak of the roof sticking up from the snow. We slid down the tunnel into the first floor entry and got a fire going in the woodstove. Ahhh, shelter.

We had the cabin to ourselves the first night. The next day we went on a little 2.5 mile loop up to the timberline. I had never been in snow this deep before. One could not walk here without the aid of skis or snowshoes because one would sink up to the waist.

When we returned there were 5 others and 2 dogs occupying the cabin. We made a big pot of chili and played some spades. I also went out before sunset to test my winter fire making skills. I collected some dead, semi-dry twigs from the trees (which I believe were Mt. Hemlock) and proceeded to strip the bark with my knife. Once I had enough to make a fist-full size bundle, I ignited a match and held it beneath. The flame hesitantly crept up the bundle crackling and popping the pitchey twigs. Soon it was a solid flame. I let it burn out satisfied in knowing that I was at least capable of starting a fire with one match if need be.
I had also intended to build a snow cave to sleep in one night but the warmth of a woodstove, a little port and good friends was more appealing than a dark claustrophobic snow cave!

This was my first time really on skis and I had no problem adapting to the flats and climbs but the downhill back to the car on Sunday left me hurtin'. The grueling hills on the trail up were scary fast on the way down! I kept the skins on my skis to slow my descent but it was still damn fast. Telemark skis require a special turning technique that I have yet to grasp. Instead I bombed down the mountain and slowed myself with the frequent face plant. At one point my skis dug into a drift and my backpack kept going forward sending me flipping head over heels landing on my butt with my skis pointed straight up! It was fun. My body is paying the price for it this week though. My back and shoulders ache. It hurts to ride my bike. I need a massage!
(thanks Elliott for the photos)

Where have I been?

Oh yeah, I forgot, I have a blog. Maybe its about time I update it. Let's see... It's been about 5 years now that I have lived in Portland and nearly 4 years since I first started making hats. Each year has brought many changes. New Years 2007 marked the end of the 4 year relationship that brought me out to Portland and now 2008 brings many changes as well.
In March I plan to move to a cabin on a small farm about 45 min. outside of Portland. My intention is to spend more time involved in the cycles of nature by gardening, foraging, exploring my environment and living semi-off the grid. This is a new undertaking but I feel like it is what I am striving for.
Not to worry though, this isn't some sort of attempt to get away from civilization and be a hermit. I intend to keep my hat business running out of my Portland studio and travel back to town once a week to run errands, spend time with friends, and run workshops and camps with TrackersNW.
Which brings me to my next topic. TrackersNW is a wilderness skills/hyper-competency skills school based in SE Portland that I am part of. Check out the site if you want to know more. Through TrackersNW I can share my knowledge and learn from others about wilderness survival skills, permaculture, martial arts, natural building, storytelling and awareness skills.
More updates to come.