Oh, Breyer!

First Post of the Day 

Remember those three orders I'd made from Breyer that got caught up in CCG's shipping woes? I'd contacted Breyer about all three and eventually did receive them. I thought that was the end of it and did not expect to hear anything else - case closed.

Well, yesterday I got an email from Breyer responding to my old email about the Brilliance Gift Set and saying they were looking into that missing order.

Two minutes later, and before I could respond and let them know I had actually gotten the set, I received a shipping order that "my" set was on the way.

Not again! I still have the extra blanket they sent me in a similar situation. I'd emailed them about that and asked for directions on how to return it, but never heard a thing back and so it sits on a shelf here in my office.

I emailed the woman who'd contacted me and let her know that the set had actually arrived and that I did not need a replacement one. There has been no word back from her and the order is currently listed in my account with a new order number and labeled as unfulfilled. 

I know the warehouse is trying to straighten out all the shipping messes there, but there sure seems to be a way to go before that is accomplished.

In other Breyer news, here are some recent BreyerFest updates:

The SuperDogs are returning after a six years absence. There is a "pat and chat" afterwards.

On Monday Breyer sent out a last call to those who would like to volunteer at BreyerFest. It's too late now to volunteer, but there is always next year!

Two more guest horses, both part of Kentucky Horse Park's Mounted Police, will be making appearances in July.

Gentle giant Oliver (no models available) and Hytyme Legend will not only be policing; they will be guest horses, too.

There will be some Hytyme Legend models available for purchase at BreyerFest.

The official guides to BreyerFest, both in-person and virtual, are now posted for attendees.

I have been to BreyerFest in person many, many times. It's fun and I hope every collector gets to attend at least once in their lifetime.

But I really love the virtual component and enjoy staying home and participating from afar. I am not hiking long pathways around the KHP grounds in the heat and humidity, standing in line, fighting crowds, or circling around as I search for a parking spot.

I do the virtual workshops, watch Kimber and her interviews, and chat throughout the day with other friends who are also doing virtual BreyerFest. Craig and I go to dinner at Bob Evans (a long time BreyerFest tradition for us) and I watch the evening show and the auction.  I even watch my own seminars - there's something about going to Breyer's web site and seeing one of them listed there that makes me happy.

(My next project after Kalamazoo is to get this year's virtual seminar recorded.)

Speaking of Kalamazoo, my things may have already been loaded and are on their way north to Michigan, but I am still doing preparations here at home. I even finished a Frances Rump!

Pictures coming soon - stay 'tooned!

Catching Up with Life

Second Post of the Day

I have been unable to do my usual daily routine for almost a week now. And, I have not been as able to stay in touch via social media during that time, either. Today is a day of starting to catch up with life and possibly even doing a few more parts of my usual routine.

First, Breyer News

Breyer has announced a few guest horses for BreyerFest, some of whom have been Breyer models in the past. Hobbyists are cautioned that there will not be a model available for any of these horses. (All pictures are screenshots taken from the BreyerFest blog.)

Danash's Northern Tempest

Paddyngton's Mark of Distinction

Rain, a Pryor Mountain Mustang and daughter of Cloud

Biloxi, a Pryor Mountain Mustang and barn mate of Rain

In other Breyer news, their shipping department, CCG, continues to struggle and be the subject of many, many frustrated posts all across social media platforms. I share in that frustration.

I have made three orders since the first of the year - the Stablemate Brilliance set, Vintage Club Inferno, and Prague, the first release in the 2025 Exotic Destinations Series. I've had to send emails about each delayed order and I even called Breyer once only to get an answering machine. I left a message that was never returned, and the emails have only gotten an acknowledgment of having been received coupled with the remark that Breyer "would respond to your case as soon as possible."

Those Brilliance Stablemates have arrived as has Inferno, but there is no sign of Prague. There is still no shipping notice and the order is still marked "Unfulfilled" in my account.

Let's hope Breyer and CCG get this straightened out. It truly is a mess of gigantic proportions.

One last piece of Breyer news. 

Maddox is still available. I don't remember when he was first offered, but it was before my surgery last Thursday, so he's been up for a week at least. I almost went ahead and ordered him this morning but 1) I was leery about having another shipping problem to resolve, and 2) if I were to order him, I would no longer be able to check his sales progress.

Moving on to the Sewing Room!

With Kalamazoo only a little over three weeks away, time is short for preparing clothing to sell.  Not only did I write blog posts ahead of my surgery, I also cut out garments I'd like to have on hand to sell at the event.

I buy many of my fabrics in bulk so I had to first do some measuring and cutting off the bolt before I could begin pinning patterns to the fabric and cutting them out.

Usually fabric is either 42 - 44" or 56 - 60" wide but my white cotton is double folded on the bolt. It is 108" wide and with that double fold, I simply cannot use it unless I cut smaller pieces off the bolt and then open the second fold so that I only have a single folded piece of fabric to use. It takes time, but the fabric is cheaper bought that way. 

Normally I don't mind the extra time to cut things out, but last week I was feeling the pressure of the time lost to surgery as well as having to make those extra cuts in the cotton.

Still, I got three chemises cut out, marked and ready to sew as soon as I feel up to bending over the sewing machine. I also cut out a couple of pockets from some red wool and stacked those on top of the chemises in my prep cart.

Will I get to those projects today? I hope so. I love to sew and I sew almost every day. I am under a lifting restriction but I don't think my iron will be a problem. (I use my iron a lot - the key to really nice end products is ironing before, while, and after you complete the piece.)

Wish me luck - getting into the sewing room would be a huge step towards normalcy for me!