Duluth, MN August 1-3

[kevinkinney]

Howdy all MN/WI/ND/SD Xmark'ers,

August 1-3 the tall ships arrive in Duluth. Our Festival of Cultures is right at the mooring, and at least one other Xmark'er will be in town. Ride the trains from our depot. Take a waterfront tour on an evening dinner cruise. Visit our excellent local pubs and bistros.

We're opening the gates on our high security picket fence for campers who want to stay on site, toast marshmallows, and enjoy late night gin and tinkering in the ECW shop. I'll give lessons on the big machinery, and turn you loose to finish your projects. We'll even have a raffle for hot showers!

Cheers,

Kevin

[Glen C]

Kevin, sorry I'm going to miss the tall ships. I won't be back to the cabin (Iron River, WI.) until the the first two week of September. Maybe a kilt night then.

Glen

[kevinkinney]

Post deleted.

[Panache]

Gremlin Sporrans!

Cheers

Jamie

[george7]

Be careful not to get it wet!

[LadyGriffin]

Kevin, Beth and Alex were wonderful hosts! Kevin was very patient with the mess we created in his spotless workshop. He taught us a lot about different techniques and was patient as we asked question after question.

Kevin is a gifted craftsman, and a amazing artist. We were able to see up close the quality and durability he makes into everything his company creates. I bartered a bit of wool as down payment for a purchase or two

On the artist side, he made at least 4 sporrans himself that weekend. One was a full face fox, and two were matching fox fur sporrans with leather cantles. The cantles were all hand finished with braided lacing.

Kevin patiently explained his various machines and their safety features. He helped us with our feeble attempts at sporran making. He even repaired Michaels Glengarry, which had a frayed hatband. It would have taken me hours and would not look like brand new, which it does now! Yes Kevin, Michael is STILL babbling about it.

The last night we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows, otherwise we spent 6+ hrs every night *playing* in his shop.

If you ever get up to Duluth (beautiful city, by the way) make sure you give them a call.

Thank you again, my friend for a wonderful weekend.

Julie and Michael