Breyer Breeds: QH Gelding & Thoroughbred

Breyer surprised collectors two weeks ago when, without any announcement, "Breyer Breeds," six new vintage molds done in lovely colors, were posted on the Breyer web site. 

I'm a vintage girl and so I ordered the Quarter Horse Gelding and the Thoroughbred the day they popped up.

I got a beautiful QH Gelding. It's never been a popular mold and doesn't get used very often, but the response from collectors has been very positive.

I can see why - he looks beautiful in this color with nice, thick gloss on top.

I happily set him on the shelf next to my other QH Geldings.

I also received the Man O'War in black - my favorite horse color of all. (Sorry, Abby!)

He's not glossed but he's still pretty.

And I really like the pinking on his nose - it's subtle and very realistic.

Unfortunately, he has two problems. Look at his near hind leg.

There is a bit of flashing standing up on his  pastern and it had dirt and fuzz stuck on it. I was able to pick off most of that, but some simply will not come off.

He also has a warped front leg that turns in. I know how to fix that with hot water, but I am always afraid I am going to snap the leg off. So, the leg will probably remain warped.

I may go back and order the Trakehner, and I'm a little on the fence about the Sport Horse. (I have no interest in the Warmblood or the Percheron.)

Here's hoping that this is the beginning of a series using vintage molds for the breeds.

Fingers crossed!

Anne Field's Miniature Club

Yesterday I got an unexpected package in the mail.

When I saw that pink as I pulled it out of the mailbox, I knew it had to be from Anne Field.

As one of her Ko-fi supporters, I am in her Miniatures Club and receive something quarterly as a thank you for supporting her blog.

This month it was the cutest burrito on a paper plate that was made by Legacy Miniatures.

In October, my first month in the club, Anne sent out this tray of iced donuts also by Legacy Miniatures. (The cake is from something else.)

If you are interested in miniatures, here is the link for the Legacy Miniatures Etsy shop. And if you aren't already reading Anne's blog, Field of Dolls Studio, go check it out. You'll be glad you did. (You can join her Miniatures Club via the link in Ko-fi here.)

Thanks, Anne! 

Storm Coming In

 It's winter and so you expect cold, snow, and even some ice.

We haven't had a lot of snow and what we have had has been light.

But according to the forecast for next week, we are expecting a monster snow and ice storm similar to one  that hit when I was a teenager. That storm dumped almost two feet of snow and I remember struggling though that heavy snow to feed and water the horses.

We couldn't get our cars up the hill to the house for days and had to park them by the road at the bottom of the driveway.

I'm no longer the person who has to get out to the barn and feed twice a day. But that doesn't mean I am not watching the weather and thinking about how the horses will fare if we do get that storm.

A heavy snow coupled with ice does mean that I won't be able to get out to see Abby until the snow melts and roads and lanes are plowed. 

Due to the very cold temperatures we are having, I was considering skipping today's barn check. I know Tim will be out and let me know if Abby has a problem.

But I am reconsidering that. Cold temperatures don't keep me from getting up the lane in my car or hiking out to the pasture like snow and ice do.

I'd better see my gal while I can, especially if the forecasts are correct and this big storm does come through.

NaMoPaiMo - Not this Year

 I'm just not going to be able to participate in NaMoPaiMo this year. I made the decision this morning as I sat and looked at the tub of paints and supplies, the Stablemate kits I'd bought for the Pony Pals to paint, and then looked at my order book for both Horsiemama and Jolis Chevaux.

A recently completed haversack order for someone who is a big fan of the University of Iowa.

I've got so much sewing to do, so many fabrics to stitch up, I've overflowed the sewing room and put some fabrics out in the family room. 

I have a couple more custom orders to finish before I can get back to replenishing my stash of sales haversacks for the February Great Lakes Congress show.

Cowpoke Ian and Pony Pal Mila have asked me to stitch up some tears on their favorite plushies. They are going to pick them up later today, so those repairs are first on today's to-do list.

I have thirty men's shirts cut out for the Yankee Doodle Muzzleloaders Show in March. My goal is to finish ten for that show. (I find it much easier to cut things out early and then sew them when I get a moment. I do that with haversacks, too.)

NaMoPaiMo is a fun, well run, and educational event and I am so proud of the two models I completed in 2020 and 2021.

But I know myself well enough that taking on one more thing right now would simply be too much. The joy of the creating, be it haversacks, 18th century clothes, or a portrait model of one of the herd, would disappear and I would be stressed and wishing I had not taken one more thing on.

So I'm calling it now - no NaMoPaiMo for me this year. 2023, though? That's very much in my plans. And best wishes to the 2022 participants! 

Horsiemama's Haversacks is Hopping

Right now my sewing time is divided between two major projects - preparing Jolis Chevaux for an event in March, and getting ready for the Great Lakes Congress show in February where I will be setting up the Mercantile as well as showing.

The American Girl Doll dress that I sewed to match Mutton Bustin' Cambria's baptismal dress is done aside from putting the velcro in the back. (Darn! I have to go to JoAnn's. Again. LOL)

After completing the doll dress, I turned my attention to haversacks - extra long ones to accommodate the longer Breyers such as the Cleveland Bay, Uffington, the Shagya Arabian, and Dundee.

I had cut out nine of them right before Christmas and just needed to stitch them up.

I have the Cleveland Bay,

the Shagya Arabian,

and Dundee to ensure that the haversacks fit those molds. (I need to get Uffington.)

I take photos of the haversacks alone, then with the model on them, and finally with the model inside the haversack to show customers how they fit. 

I don't like velcro around my models and make deep flaps on my other haversacks that ensure they remain closed when in use. 

But these haversacks are long enough that I feel they are more secure with a velcro closure.

The nine extra long haversacks done and I hope that that will be enough. 

At the last live show I attended, I brought four of them and they sold out before the show even started!

Now I am going to next work on replenishing my stock of Traditional sized haversacks. (You can see that deeper flap on this one that I have already completed.)

I also have two custom orders that I need to sew  - I'll actually do those first before making the others to take to GLC.

Like I said, Horsiemama's Haversacks is hopping!

Another Unicorn - Stardust

I bought another unicorn. I really, really, REALLY dislike unicorns but when a Pony Pal loves them with all her heart, I will buy her a unicorn.

The occasion was a very late Christmas celebration with Local Son Curt and his family. Despite being vaccinated and boosted, his family had had two go-rounds with the Omicron variant so we only just were able to gather last weekend. 

Pony Pal Mila was very excited to open Stardust, Breyer's unicorn styling head. You can see she has already bejeweled Stardust's face.

Sparkly jewels, pink coloring, long hair to play with, all on a unicorn are guaranteed to make Mila happy. (Here she is, sparkly herself, for a dance recital just before we opened gifts.)

As long as Mila and the other Pony Pals love unicorns, I will keep buying them. Because seeing the joy on their faces when they open that new unicorn makes me happy, too.

Jolis Chevaux

Yesterday I wrote that I had started a parallel business to Horsiemama's Haversacks and Mercantile - sewing 18th century period clothing for re-enactors.  And, since there was a heavy French influence in Indiana during that time period, I wanted my business name to be in French.

Naturally I started with Horsiemama, but when I plugged that into an English to French translator, there was no French equivalent.

I separated Horsiemama into two words and tried again. I didn't like how that translated. 

Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows that I love alliterations (i.e. Horsiemama's Haversacks) so I did a couple of those to see what came up.

The translation for Happy Horses was too long (although it rhymed, something that might be nice in a business name.)

Pretty Ponies, another alliteration, was close, but the teacher in me didn't like how "pony" was spelled. (This spelling of poney is also an urban slang word that I'd rather not use.)

Jolis Chevaux! And while pretty horses have nothing to do with sewing, many of the tradespeople, sutlers, and merchants at 18th century events have names that reflect more on the proprietor than they do on what is actually being sold.

(Case in point, my sister Leslie's business is Chien Noir, or "Black Dog", and she sells block print fabrics.)

I just got in an order of sewing labels with my new business name to put into the items that I sew and I am stitching up inventory in preparation for my first event in March.

When I retired in 2018, I never dreamed I'd be opening one business, let alone two! 

NaMoPaiMo - Will I or Won't I?

There is only a week left to register for NaMoPaiMo and I am not sure that I am going to make it.

 I've located all my painting and prepping supplies and they are all in order - no need to order anything.

For Pony Pal Mila and Cowpoke Lukie, I have some pieces for them to paint should they want to participate again this year.

After doing Sultanna and Hokey in 2020 and 2021, my plan was to do Trouble this year. But he was sold and so I don't have a real horse to paint any more. (Abby is way beyond my skill set.)

I had planned to paint this prop sled while I did my NaMoPaiMo horse, but to enter NaMoPaiMo you must paint a model horse. This would not count as my entry.

In addition to that dilemma, I am swamped with sewing orders. I haven't mentioned my sewing business much, but it's keeping me busy.

Mutton Buster Cambria doesn't always wear jeans and boots; she's got this pretty dress for her upcoming baptism.

I am making a matching dress for her American Girl doll. And to make it look just like her dress, I have to merge aspects of three of these four different dresses into one dress.

I've got a basket of cut-out haversacks that are ready to stitch and ten new fabrics to post on the Horsiemama's Haversacks and Mercantile Facebook page.

What's been keeping me the busiest is that I took on more 18th century sewing. 

After the success I had with the riding habits and their reception at The Feast of the Hunters' Moon, I branched Horsiemama's into the 18th century and am stitching up a variety of period clothing. 

There's a large indoor show, Yankee Doodle Muzzle Loaders, in Kalamazoo in March and I'm heading up there with Teacher Daughter Lisa and my sister, Leslie to see how my clothing is received.

Between that deadline, the doll dress, and sewing new stock for the February Great Lakes Congress show, plus the fact that I don't have a real horse to paint, I may not enter NaMoPaiMo. 

I've only got a week to figure it out.