I'll Sing My Hallelujahs (Go Tell It on the Mountain)

Second Post of the Day

Titan also included some drawings in his penpal letter to me.

 A horse, a jack o'lantern, and a snowflake. Sounds like he is anticipating the holiday season!

This is the other video that just dropped that Cambria and Titan participated in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYJXr6kPctY

Called I'll Sing My Hallelujahs (Go Tell it on the Mountain), composer Angie Killian wrote, "The song weaves original lyrics and melody together with the beloved spiritual Go Tell It on the Mountain."

They went out to the Bonneville Salt Flats to record this music video. In August. I'll bet it was hot, hot, hot!

Titan sings a duet at 1:15.

Since it's a Christmas video, the kids are dressed in green and red. A long sleeved sweater on the Bonneville Flats in August? Oh, wow.

No solo this time for Cambria

but she's belting it out in the chorus!

Congrats, kids on your two new videos. I've watched each of them multiple times and am proud of you for your hard work. (Are your autographs still free? I am your Grammy...)

Stay 'tooned!

Cambria & Titan, Singing & Drawing

First Post of the Day 

Cambria and Titan, like Kate, are my penpals and I just got letters from both of them. As always, Cambria included some horsey drawings for me.

The theater horse made me smile the most. Looks like a Shakespearian recitation!

Cambria and Titan continue to be busy with the singing and acting part of their lives and they just had two more music videos drop.

They are working with two different composers, and this song, Etched on My Heart, is by composer Camille Uribe. It's a Christian song for children and the twelfth music video that Cambria and Titan have made.

To access it, you may have to go to this link rather than click the YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75A_QjTkqCg

Cambria is the thumbnail for the YouTube video.

 

She may be two years older than her brother, but I think Titan has topped her height-wise!

Titan has a solo that begins at 1:36

and Cambria sings the outro solo at 2:18

while the video ends with her outstretched hand.

A second song was just released, too. Stay 'tooned.

Feast Prep: Pricing Woes

Twice a year, I compare the prices I charge to similar items charged by others. Normally, I am within $5 - $10 or so.

This year's comparisons as I prepare for the Feast are way off - prices other folks are charging have skyrocketed. (Note: all prices shared today are public and have been shared on social media. Also, I am absolutely not trying to price shame anyone.) 

For example, petticoats. Easy to make and generally one of the lower priced items I sell.  Mine were priced at $65 for Kalamazoo, and I was considering leaving them at that or pricing them at $70 for The Feast of the Hunters' Moon.

I can across this post from a woman who, like me, has a small business and works alone. Here are her prices for petticoats:

She is using linen, but still, that seems like an awful lot.

A comparison with some of the big 18th century companies who have multiple sewists and employees showed a similar hike in pricing. Here's a cut and paste clip from my notes:

These prices are from reputable companies whom I have purchased from and who highly I respect. Neither are price gougers and are fair in their business dealings.

Some more prices that have made my jaw drop, prices of things that I make and carry regularly:

Wool cloak, unlined, $230 (mine $100)

Wool cloak with hood, lined, $290 (mine $175)

Pin pillows $26 (mine $8 - $10)

Trade shirt, $165 - $195 (mine $70)

Toques, hand knit, $91 (mine $45)

My block prints are imported from India, and their wholesale prices have gone up. Another highly reputable dealer also sells them and he charges almost triple what it costs to buy them wholesale. 

Am I just out of touch? Is it because I am not trying to make a living but am sewing and selling because I enjoy it? Something to remember, too, is that that may be their prices, but are they selling? There is no way for me to tell that.

So now I've got a dilemma. I do not want to undercut any other sutlers at the Feast with prices that are significantly lower than theirs. I understand that that would feel unfair and even anger some of them.

But by the same token, I feel very uncomfortable charging those prices that my competitors are charging. I spoke with Leslie and her jaw dropped, too. That made me feel better; she has a far better feel for the 18th century markets than I do.

I don't have to make a decision yet and will be thinking about my pricing for a week or so. 

Wish me luck, and stay 'tooned!

Dryandra & Cryptid

Dryandra arrived late Saturday afternoon. 

The usual Breyer boxes are blue, but they do use specialty boxes like this. (The Christmas models often come in a green box, etc.)

Dryandra is a part of Breyer's Wild Animal Series

and he has a gold label on his underside.

I am pretty sure he is a chalky, too. I got out my other Brightys to compare and he sure looks chalky in comparison.

The paint job on mine is really nice, but those stripes remind me more of a primitive equid than a numbat, the tiny anteater he represents. 

I don't have a lot of Brightys in my collection as I've never been overly fond of the mold, but I'm not unhappy to add Dryandra to my collection.  

Riding along with Dryandra was another box,

an orange Breyer Halloween box.

Inside was Cryptid, this year's Freedom Series Halloween horse.

He has metallic colors in his tail

and mane.

Like Dryandra, he has gold lettering on his underside that identifies him and the year he was produced.

He also has red eyes. They're subtle, but they're there.

The Lippizaner mold is the only Freedom series mold that I actively collect and Cryptid is #13 in the conga. I'll have him out on display until Halloween, so I have some time to rearrange the shelves so he can be with the others of the mold.

Stay 'tooned!

A Short Cloak Dilemma

I cut out two cloaks Friday and am nearly finished with one of them. And I don't like it. 

The pattern is by a leader in the 18th century living history community and is research backed. That includes examining extant garments when designing their patterns, and when they researched their short cloak pattern, they discovered (and have the photos to prove it) that many cloaks were 1) not lined, and 2) had an unfinished hem.

For 21st century sewist eyes, that is a huge shift, especially the raw hem. But it makes sense - wool doesn't ravel so there is no need to turn under the hem and stitch it - a tremendous time saver for 18th century sewists. 

But for a 21st century sewist (me), it just doesn't look right or feel right. It is absolutely period correct, but my buyers are from the 21st century. This cloak will take some educating of customers and may not sell well until the pattern has been on the market longer.

So, I bought another period correct cloak pattern and while I wait for it to arrive, I moved on to making petticoats.

I can make one in just a couple of hours. What takes the longest time to do are the knife pleats that go around the entire garment. I may shorten it a bit, too. I was aiming for 38", and I haven't done any final measurements, but I think it is longer than that. That's an easy peasy fix.

My Dryandra arrived yesterday. And as was the case with other collectors, it was shipped via Amazon shipping. The jury is still out as to whether or not that is a good thing, but I can report that between the time I received a shipping notice to the delivery time was longer than Breyer's shipping normally was.  However, the box has no damage, and I am happy about that.

I'll open Dryandra and the other "guest" that's inside later today.

Stay 'tooned!

In Which I Get Angry & Take a Stand

Two weeks ago, Ian had an away game at a school across town. When I arrived, I was shocked to see this as I looked for a parking space:

Every single handicapped space

was being used for food truck parking.

Every. Single. One.

Not only is that illegal, but it's just plain wrong. This was a school - what was being taught to the students (and their parents) by that?

I got hot. It takes a lot to make me angry, but I was TICKED. 

I'd never taught at that school, but I knew the principal, and spied him over by the ticket gate. I pushed my walker over to him and asked for a minute of his time. He looked surprised and then he looked very wary when he noticed my walker. He knew that using those parking spaces for food trucks was wrong; I could read it in his face.

I was cordial but firm and I pointed out that that was wrong as well as illegal, and asked him to stop. He said he'd "consider it" and so I thanked him and rolled off.

After I'd gotten home, I did some research. I wanted to be sure of my grounds because I certainly intended to push the issue if a change wasn't made. I looked up the American Disabilities Act and I was right - blocking those handicapped spaces was illegal.

Then I called Kathy and ran what had happened past her. She was just as shocked as I was and agreed - it was illegal and wrong.

I decided to give the principal a chance to do better, so I drove out the next week during the football game and checked.

Food trucks were again blocking the handicapped spaces.

There were fewer trucks this time and it looked as thought they'd been moved down a bit

which opened up three handicapped spaces, but still, handicapped spaces were being blocked.

It was time to address the issue. I would contact Dr. Hanback, the Superintendent of Schools. He knows me and who I am, both as an educator and a human being. I felt he would take my concern seriously and address it.

Dr. Hanback and me in May, 2018, my last day of teaching. He'd surprised me by dropping into my classroom to thank me for service in the classroom.

So I sent him the following email.

---

Hello, Dr. Hanback,

I am letting you know of issues with the use of handicapped parking spaces at Wea Ridge Middle School. They are being blocked off and used as spots for food trucks to set up and sell. There are no other marked handicapped spaces in that parking lot - I drove around and checked.

I spoke to Fred Roop on Thursday, 9/17 at the game. He listened and told me he would "consider it" when I asked him to keep the handicapped spaces open for those of us who need them. (I now use a walker and I need them.)

Yesterday I again went to WRMS for a football game. Again, the handicapped spaces were being used for food trucks. Not all of them this time, but then, there were fewer food trucks present than there had been the previous week. Mr. Roop may have considered my request (and I appreciate that) but he continued to use handicapped spaces for food trucks to park.

This is not acceptable and is a violation of the ADA. For those of us who need those spaces, it is not a matter of convenience. It is a matter of accessibility.  

I was not the only one using a walker or an assistive device at those games. Where did the woman in the wheelchair have to park? The elderly man moving slowly on his walker as he looked for a seat? As for me, it was a long hike from the parking lot and into the stands.

Attached are photos. The first two photos were taken at the Wea Ridge Middle School football game, Thursday, September 17. The second two photos are from the Wea Ridge Middle School football game, Thursday, September 24. Both sets of photos clearly show that food trucks are blocking the handicapped accessible parking spaces.

I am asking that TSC look into these violations and ensure that handicapped parking is not being used for anything except those who have disabilities and a handicapped parking plate or tag. At WRMS or at any other TSC school.

Thank you.

Lynn Isenbarger

TSC Teacher 

Hershey Elementary, 2006 - 2018

---

I don't expect to hear from Dr. Hanback until next week at the earliest. I am sure he will contact Fred Roop and hear his side of the story first before taking steps to address the issue. Just as I gave Fred Roop a chance to make a change before contacting the superintendent, I will give Dr. Hanback some time to respond and make changes, too.

In the meantime, I will continue checking the parking situation at that school. And if for some reason I don't hear back from Dr. Hanback (or I do and he's going to allow the practice to continue), then I am prepared to file a complaint with the ADA offices.

In my two years of using a walker, I have learned that those parking spaces are extremely valuable to those who need them. 

And as I said to Dr. Hanback, they're not about convenience. They are about accessibility. Accessibility that is necessary for living your life when you have a disability.

Stay 'tooned.

Working Hard & Having Fun

If you sew and sew a lot, it is not unusual to be asked, "Can you hem my pants?" "Will you alter my dress?" "Will you give sewing lessons to my kids?" And more.

I don't mind helping people, but I no longer sew for anyone else besides family members. Not many people sew anymore, and those who do are generally quilters. There's a big difference between quilting and garment construction, so finding someone to work on clothing is difficult. I get that, but no, I am not taking on other work. I have too much to do with my own projects.

Still, once in a while I say yes to a request for help. And the dogs in my family always get a free pass. 

Nash and Rosie got a brand new toy, and it didn't take long before Rosie had its belly opened. I used heavy duty linen thread from my 18th century supplies to mend it, but I have a feeling that Rosie will have it open again soon.

Despite the brief break from sewing to mending that toy, I finished making the bedgowns. I have 8 completed and ready to go. The Feast is four weeks away and if I get time, I will make a few more, but I still have short cloaks and petticoats to make. Plus, beeswax ornaments. (Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!)

A size 2XL bedgown from one of my all time favorite block prints.

I tuck point the edges of seams that are at the hems of the sleeves and the bottom of the garment. It adds time to the sewing process, but it makes the garment look nicely finished. 

A size Large. I also have this fabric in green. I may turn that into a petticoat.

And a size XL.  This fabric is beautiful and has purple, a popular color among reenactors but one that is hard to find in block prints.

The remnants from these bedgowns have been measured and bundled. Well, except for the green one. I barely had enough fabric to make that bedgown and so I just have scraps left. (Remnants: bigger pieces usable for something else; Scraps: small bits and pieces.)

I've sewn so many articles of clothing that I ran out of wooden hangers and had to buy some more. That turned out to be a really good thing for me.

Old on the left, new on the right.

The new wooden hangers are narrower and lighter. That will make them so much easier to carry downstairs, pack into the car, and then unload and hang up at the Feast. 

The difference in weight is significant for me - I have arthritis in my hands and a long term rotator cuff injury. And the new hangers look much nicer than the older ones. So I decided to replace all the old ones and will offer those for sale at the Feast.

With the bedgowns finished, I moved on to making cloaks. I cut out a hip length cloak from the forest green wool with enough fabric left for a second cloak. (Already on the to-do list for Kalamazoo.)

The blue wool will be a knee length cloak with a silk lined hood.

I cut some of the remnants into 2" x 4" pieces and will make those into pouches for sets of sleeve buttons.

Like these. The pouches help keep the sleeve buttons from getting lost plus they are a nice touch for sales.

I've crossed 8 things off my Feast to-do list and even though I am feeling some stress, I am in good shape and will be fine. The cloaks will stitch up fast and so will the petticoats. And I am really looking forward to making the beeswax ornaments - I find that relaxing and fun - pour and pop, pour and pop! 

Stay 'tooned!