The Shelving Conundrum

Getting new horses settled on shelves is fun. But sometimes you get one too many new pieces and then you end up having to rearrange several shelves to make room.

I hit that point with my BreyerFest and Second Chance Sale horses.

Oseberg, Aquavit, and my Scandi Surprise are currently grouped together next to my Semi Rearing Stallions. 

I had a good coupon and decided to finally buy the 75th Anniversary Traditional Family.

The PAS, PAM, and PAF shelves are all full, so I simply grouped the family together next to Vintage Club Zahra.

I have been wanting a Yan Wu and purchased him during the Second Chance Sale.

What a gorgeous model - Breyer knocked it out of the park with him, and my piece is flawless.

I'm not super happy with the way I have rearranged the shelves to accommodate these new models. I like to group by mold, and I'd like to get the PAM and the PAF together with other PAMs and PAFs. (The PAS is actually right next to the PAS conga.)

And, the shelves are DUSTY. Since they are white, they don't show the dirt like darker colored shelves would, but it's there. A lot of it.

Which isn't surprising. The last time I cleaned, culled, and rearranged shelves was nearly three years ago in January of 2024. My shelves desperately need a good dusting.

That's gonna be a challenge. The earliest I will be able to do them is in January after the holidays. But, depending on how much I sell at the Feast in October, I may need that January time to sew items for Kalamazoo in March. Which is why I've gone so long between dusting - the best dusting months have become sewing months. 

Another wrinkle is that I will need help with the top shelves. I've lost two inches in height over the past decade and I can no longer reach them.  

But, long time blog readers may remember that the last time I cleaned my shelves, I also had a nasty fall as I was getting off the ladder.

I'm not anxious to repeat that again.

But, needs must, as the saying goes, so I am going to have figure out a way to dust both the horses and their shelves. (And not have another fall.)

Wish me luck and stay 'tooned.

Taking the Shortcuts or the Long Way?

I finished two orders for the Nebraska Contingent this week.

A trade shirt, size 3XL, with a hand finished collar, pleated cuffs, 

and sleeve buttons. (I made the sleeve buttons, too.)

Another trade shirt, XL, again with a hand finished collar, pleated cuffs, and sleeve buttons.

I love how nice pleated sleeves look - so much nicer than gathered ones.

I'm really happy with how both trade shirts turned out,

and their new owners are, too. I'll pack them up and take them to the package store on Monday.

Now I am moving on to fill in size gaps in my trade shirts. I made a list of what I had and what I'd like to make for the Feast of the Hunters' Moon.

I have four to six shirts to make, and at the current rate of two a week, I won't finish until mid September. That will leave me only a month to make some bedgowns and petticoats, plus a bunch of blackened beeswax ornaments.

Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!

Yeah, I'm starting to feel the stress.

In various 18th century sewing groups online, some sewists post frequently about how much they've sewn each week. I read what they have done and I can't help but wonder, how do they get so much done?  

Here's an example.

She even made a 100% hand stitched shirt! 

Another sewist wrote,

I've considered messaging some of these sewists who get so much done and asking for tips on producing clothing more quickly. Do they have other sewists working for them? Do they cut out their own patterns or does someone else do that? Etc.?

There are some shortcuts that I could take but those would affect the quality of my work. Shortcuts are often visible in the finished work, and I don't want someone looking at my clothing and seeing shortcuts; I want them to see that I took care with what I made.

Some shortcuts that I could take:

~ Not preplanning the look of the garment and placing pattern pieces so that things line up together. Look again at the in-progress maroon shirt. See the repeating block print pattern that extends down from the neck to the hem? I had to think ahead and place the pattern carefully to achieve that look.

~ Not ironing much, if at all, as the garment is constructed or when it is finished.

~ Not pinning seams together; instead, grasping the fabric between my fingers to hold it together as it is stitched.

~ Machine finishing the collars and cuffs rather than hand stitching them (which hides the finishing stitches.)

~ Gathering the sleeves at the cuffs and shoulders rather than pleating them.

I am not willing to do any of those things. Not yet, at least. I am getting some arthritis in my thumbs and some of the hand stitching has begun to hurt. My hand finishing days may be numbered. But they aren't yet.

My plan is to just keep on sewing as I already do and bring what I've gotten finished to events. I truly feel that I am giving my customers my very best work, so does it matter how many I can turn out in a week? I'm not going to sacrifice quality in order to up production.

Stay 'tooned!

The Celebrations Begin

Yesterday was my birthday and the local family (minus the kids who were in school and Vanessa who had to work) took me out for lunch. My choice?

Trish's Red Bird Cafe. 

Tucked away in tiny Dayton, a town a few miles outside of Lafayette, everything is homemade and delicious and the service is friendly and fast. Each table gets a free plate of beignets while you wait for your food, and then I received a free slice of homemade key lime pie to celebrate my birthday.

When we got home I had a bit of a food coma and decided to take a birthday nap.

Apparently, everyone else had had the same idea! Not to worry - the birthday girl got them all to make room.

The local family is all coming over for dinner and cake and ice cream on Sunday, but I went ahead and opened the gifts that the non locals had sent. 

Two packages of some much needed Janome bobbins came from Jessie and her family along with a "mystery gift" that she's gone in on with a few of her siblings. (It is on the way but no ETA yet.)

I think Jessie felt a little sheepish about bobbins as a birthday gift, but you absolutely CANNOT sew without them, and I was all out so this was a very big need. Those two packs should be enough as I continue my Feast sewing and then move on to the holidays and Christmas gifts. Heartfelt thanks, Jessie; I will use these every day!

A flat, stiff envelope with "Do Not Bend" stickers plastered all over it arrived from Cole and his family. I figured it was a new family portrait of them all, or maybe just of the girls.

It was a stunning lino print (aka linocut) by artist Sydney Munns. (It's still wrapped in clear plastic, hence the glare.)

After working with hundreds of block print fabrics, I recognized immediately that the painting was block printed, and Cole confirmed that it was a lino print when he called me that evening.

 A few details were added by hand and the artist signed it at the bottom.

Cole explained that he had seen one of her lino prints on Facebook Marketplace and was intrigued so he'd contacted her and asked her about doing a horsey print for me. Turns out she is a horsey girl herself and was happy to do so.

 He's also sending me a frame for it, and then I will hang it in our home, somewhere I can see it often. I really like it.

All the kids and their families called me as did some longtime friends so I spent the rest of the day talking to those I love most and just enjoying the day. (I couldn't use the new phone Craig got me as I hadn't set it up yet, but I will soon!)

Thank you, Craig and all, for making me feel so loved.

And, there is still cake and ice cream to look forward to on Sunday. (True confession, SOMEONE has already gotten into the ice cream. Probably Pepper, right?)

Stay 'tooned!

Newer, Stronger, & Longer

Second Post of the Day

These old clothes racks have held up well, especially when you consider how heavy 18th century clothing can be. (Wool, anyone?)

But their wheels are small so they don't roll very well, and the top racks are tippy and not very sturdy. 

So, with my birthday coming up, I gifted myself with a new clothes rack.

It's much sturdier, with larger wheels, two shelves below instead of one on top, it's taller and can be adjusted to three different heights, the top pole is longer,

and the final selling point was that the ends have pull-out extensions. Just what I need for those bum rolls and Frances Rumps that can take up so much space on the racks!

Who would think that a clothes rack would be so exciting! I must really be an adult now, right? Hah!

Stay 'tooned!

Cam Deformity Update

First Post of the Day

The news from my appointment with my orthopedic surgeon is mixed. New x-rays were taken and a cam deformity with impingement was confirmed.

But, I still have good range of motion in the hip,

and because of that, there is an option that I can try before we go down the surgical road. I took that option - an injection into the hip joint, just like the sacroiliac joint injections I am having. That could calm things down and give me some time before I need surgery.

And more good news, the doctor who does the sacroiliac joint injections for me will be doing the hip injection. Those injections are very intense, but she's good and they are over quickly. I hope that likewise the hip injection will be over fast, too, and that it will help with the pain.

Wish me luck.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog!

Stay 'tooned!

Cam Deformity

Second Post of the Day

Cam deformity. 

Now, there's a diagnosis. And honestly, I think the word "deformity" ought not to be used. It doesn't feel right to tell someone they are deformed. Or, in my case, a body part is.

I am probably overreacting. In fact, I am sure I am. But boy howdy, that word really got to me. And I want it to all just go away. I really don't want to start down the path that may now lie before me.

ANYWAY. 

A cam deformity is a bony bump that causes the ball of the hip joint to be deformed misshapen. The head of the femur can't rotate smoothly in the joint and this causes impingement, cartilage wear, and labral tears. (Photo of a cam deformity from Dr. Ronak Patel/Google Images.)

That is not my X-ray.

But this is:

And let me tell you, impingement is very painful. Tear-inducing painful. I'm pretty good with pain but WOW. This HURTS.

In 2004 I had my right hip replaced. My surgeon, Dr. Dangles (now there's a name for an orthopedic surgeon!), told me that my left hip was actually in worse shape than the right and that I would need to have it replaced eventually, too. He said that the balls of both femur heads were misshapen (a much better word than deformed), and so there was a lot of slippage going on within both joints.

But the left hip has never really hurt much - until last week. Out of the blue, I was suddenly struggling to walk, I cried getting in and out of my car, and I could not sit comfortably anywhere. There was no relief no matter what I did - my hip hurt constantly.

My wonderful PCP got me in immediately for X-rays, thinking I might have a hip fracture, but none were seen. Instead, I've got a diagnosis of a cam deformity and a referral to the orthopedic surgeon who replaced both of my knees in 2010 and 2011.

Just a few weeks ago, I was speaking to former student Kyle O. who is a second year med student and plans to become an orthopedic surgeon. He and I were laughing because I said I was going to save my left hip for him to do.

That may or may not happen now.

Wish me luck at my appointment today. 

And stay 'tooned.

Susie's Baptism

First Post of the Day

Two weeks ago, Susie chose to be baptized. In our church, babies are given a blessing shortly after birth and then are invited to be baptized when they turn age 8.

I made Susie's baby blessing dress and Emily has laid it out on the table in the photo.

Getting the lace overlay JUST right on the hem and sleeves was a bit challenging, but I was pleased with how it turned out and happy that Emily was sharing it at Susie's baptism.

Susie's baptismal dress was lovely and you can tell from these pictures that she felt pretty in it.

She especially liked the pleated skirt and how it swirled when she twirled!

In just about every picture taken of her, she is holding that pleated skirt out.

See what I mean? Sweet girl.

Lisa was able to attend the baptism and took all these photos but sadly, Craig and I were not.

I haven't said too much here, but there have been some new significant health challenges for both Craig and me and neither of us felt up to the drive down to Nashville. We were sad not to go, but Cole and his family were aware of the challenges and understood.

Thankfully, Lisa kept us supplied with pictures and we FaceTimed Susie later that day and had a lovely chat with her.

I'll share one of the recent health challenges that so recently popped up in the next post.

Stay 'tooned.

The Nebraska Contingent

The Nebraska Contingent began my very first year setting up Jolis Chevaux at the Feast of the Hunters' Moon. This very tall, friendly man walked into my tent and began looking through the trade shirts I had for sale.

We chatted just a bit as I rang up the sale, and then the next day Blake returned with his wife Carrie to show me how the shirt looked as he wore it. (I love it when customers do that!)

Blake and Carrie have returned to my tent every year to buy trade shirts and they are a highlight of my Feast - good people who have become good friends.

Blake and Carrie preparing to depart with the other voyageurs down the Wabash River. He's wearing another of my shirts.

Earlier this year I heard from a gentleman named Ryan who asked if I could make him a trade shirt in blue. Although I didn't know him, I sent him pictures of the fabrics I had on hand, he selected one, and when I asked where to send the completed shirt, it was to a town in Nebraska.

Nebraska?! He must be someone who comes to the Feast and had gotten my card, I surmised. Two more (also blue) shirts later along with a chemise, pocket, and a petticoat for his wife, Ryan commented that he'd never been to the Feast; he'd heard of me from his friend Blake.

Ryan's friend Blake and my customer Blake turned out to be one and the same person.

Then, earlier this month I was contacted by a woman who asked if I would make her a trade shirt and if she could see some fabric options for it. I sent her some photos of the block prints I had on hand along with my terms and asked if she'd like some references since I did not know her and figured that was mutual.

Her response caught me off guard.

"Well, thank you for the compliment," I thought, "but where on earth is the Grand Portage Reenactment?" And I did a search of living history events to find out - it's up on the northwest corner of Lake Superior in Minnesota.

I still did not know who was wearing my shirts up there, but then I got a message from Blake a few days ago.

Hey Lynn,

I hope all is well with you!

I’m reaching out because my wife and I won't be able to make it to the Feast this year, which means I’m going to miss out on picking up a new trade shirt in person.

With all the summer events we’re doing out west, a person can never have too many trade shirts—especially yours! I get so many compliments on them that I’ve actually run out of your business cards to pass out.

I’d love to see what you currently have in stock.  Looking forward to connecting and seeing what you have available!

Best,
Blake

There it was. In addition to wearing my shirts, Blake had been passing out my business cards. What a nice thing to do! I do put my cards out when Jolis Chevaux is set up for sales, and I don't mind a bit if people take multiples; I guess I just didn't realize that Blake was acting as a walking advertisement for me!

The two fabrics I showed yesterday are for trade shirts for Blake and Carrie.

I started with his shirt, a (Blake is tall; my dressmaker's mannequin is not. Hah!)

The sleeves are finished; I just need to attach them to the body of the shirt, stitch up the side seams, and hem the bottom.

I will finish that today and then start on Carrie's shirt.

Of course, I will tuck in some more business cards with their order and probably a beeswax ornament or two as a thank you gift.

There is another couple in the Nebraska Contingent - Chris the tinsmith and his wife, Linda. I'll share about them another time. (Do a search of the blog and you will see them.) They, too, are good friends.

Stay 'tooned!

Done & Moving On

I'm done! Finally! And I am so so, SO tired of the color white. 

But, I now have 12 chemises on the rack and ready for The Feast of the Hunters' Moon.  Here are the most recently finished ones.

This one is a size XL.

I love these elegant domed gold sleeve buttons.

 A size 2XL.

Flat and shiny gold sleeve buttons.

 Finally, a size S

with pretty pearl sleeve buttons.

I'd still like to make one more 2XL, but I ran out of fabric and had to order more. 

I buy white cotton by the bolt. There are 15 yds of fabric in a bolt and I can get around 5 chemises out of each bolt. I've gone through two bolts already just sewing for the Feast!

The new bolt of fabric has just arrived, but I haven't opened it. Right now, I am ready for some color. And trade shirts made from colorful block prints are on the docket.

Here are the two fabrics I am starting with:

A very unusual maroon and olive green block print,

and a pretty (and very popular) multicolored block print.

These are for what I call, "The Nebraska Contingent." More on them coming. They never fail to make me smile.

Stay 'tooned!