Things Begin to Ratchet Up

Today is August 1st and when that date rolls around, my mind ratchets up a gear or two. Sometimes it even jumps all the way into high gear.

The Feast of the Hunters' Moon now is only two months away! Am I going to be ready?

I'm actually in pretty good shape sewing-wise this year. The items my repeat customers come to me for are ready and any sewing besides that will be mostly just bonus items. I do still have several men's shirts I'd like to sew along with some aprons, but I am not too concerned about getting those done. 

The bread and butter of my 18th century sewing business is men's shirts, women's chemises and aprons, bedgowns, and cloaks.

An 18th century bedgown (and one I still wish I'd kept for myself!)

Check those off the to-do list - I'm really not stressed about finishing those.

The maple cakes are boxed and ready to go, plus I've ordered the bags to put them in when they sell. Another thing to check off.

Where I really need to get busy is in making the beeswax ornaments. I have a few done, but those sell really well plus I have a couple of new molds I'd like to try. 

The cardinal mold is one of my best sellers.

Cooling ornaments that have been cinnamoned and now need a couple of days to cure.

I also want to make some using my horsey molds to take to Marilou Mol's August show and the Great Lakes Congress show in October.

A horsehead ornament.

An unfinished Pegasus - I still have some loose cinnamon on his wings, mane, and tail to remove.

Funny how just the change to a new month can make you feel pressured and even panicky. I am reminding myself today that two months is a lot of time for preparation, especially when I've worked ahead and much of my work is already completed. I know I will be okay, and if I run out of maple cakes again this year, I run out of maple cakes. It's all good! (Um, no pun was intended when I wrote that. LOL)

Just for fun, here is a video taken at last year's of  The Feast of the Hunters' Moon. It has a lot of music, food, and shopping. At only a little more than 8 minutes, it is a quick and fun watch.

I'm not in it - it was filmed in a different part of the grounds than where my tent is (I am close to the Wabash) so it actually gave me a view into what I'd missed because I was in my own tent helping customers.

I'm starting to get really excited and am looking forward to immersing myself into the 18th century for a few days.