A sporran is a man purse worn by Scots (notice the furry sack in front of this piper's kilt). A sporran is typically fur or leather and since there are no real rules about them they tend to reflect the personality of their owner. This particular sporran is more a reflection of the family this poor piper married into... You see, he's my brother in law, and that sporran is... you guessed it... roadkill!
Shortly after I had knee surgery I had to drive a motor home on a long road trip. I was driving left footed, as I still was not allowed to bend my right knee, when I noticed a dead muskrat in the road. Being the conscience redneck that I am, I pulled over and hobbled out into busy traffic to recover the somewhat tenderized rodent. The critter appeared to be in good shape, so I skinned it (I always have a knife).
As I was working, this silly little bird (Arctic Tern) was squawking and dive bombing me. I ignored it for a while, but when it started hitting me I looked around to see why. I had backed the monstrosity of a motor home over her nest... The chicks were OK, so I moved the motor home. then she left me alone.
After I had the muskrat skinned I needed to preserve it. The motor home had a pretty sparse pantry, no salt. We happened to have an ice cream maker kit, so I used rock salt. I then called my sister to brag about my score. Her husband suggested a sporran, so I tanned it and my wife sewed it into a sporran, which we gave to him as a Christmas gift.
1 comment:
It was a homemade pattern and very easy to stitch. Let me know if you want the pattern.
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