Happy Trails V - The Dan Patch Show is Almost Here

The Dan Patch Show is only one week away! And I have been very busy with final preparations for it.

So have Brooke and Tom - the Prairie Victorian/Dan Messner building (left) is really starting to sparkle! (Photo by Brooke.)

The swag bags have been filled. I wish I could show you what's in them, but some folks who are coming also read Horsiemama and I want them to be surprised. (I did take a photo; maybe I'll show it after the show is over.)

This is a fun show so the classlist is not your usual live show set of classes. I'm judging and I told folks that for the most part, I would look for the piece that best describes the title of the class. The judging will probably be tricky as a result.

I have a big bag of rosettes that someone gave me a while back and I was delighted to find four complete sets of champ and reserves for the show.

Between leftover ribbons from past shows, donations, and adding in ribbons I've won myself in live shows, I have plenty to cover the classes.

I purchased these Collecta by Breyer pieces as prizes for the two divisions of the show,

but then I ended up creating four divisions. At this point, I am undecided as to how I will use them.

There are lots of donations for the raffle.

All proceeds from the raffle will be given to Brooke and Tom to use as they continue their work on restoring the historic building.

The show also features a swap meet, a brief talk by Brooke about the building's history and connection to Dan Patch, and a Toilet Paper Derby!

Craig, Mila, Emily, and Lukie in our family Toilet Paper Derby last summer. I learned a lot by watching the one we did at home - roll the paper, don't pull it, no lifting the paper off the table, and have a well balanced Stablemate!

I am so excited about this show and can hardly wait for next Saturday!

Donations for the Happy Trails V/Dan Patch Show

Long time blog reader Elise Partanen sent me a very large box and said she wanted to donate a few things for the upcoming Happy Trails V/Dan Patch Show.

Inside was a card for me and underneath that, a TON of goodies.

Starting with this fantastic 1000 piece puzzle - how cool is that! That's going to be a popular raffle item - a lot of people will want that. 

A variety of note pads.

This pretty gift bag is from Horse and Hound.

A mystery Breyer wrapped in candy corn paper! I don't know what's inside and I sure hope that whoever wins it opens it at the show so I can find out!

These lovely bookmarks will go in the swag bags that each entrant will receive.

Oops! Left one out - a snowy owl bookmark.

Six heart stones.

I'd never seen these before but they are beautiful in-hand.

And finally, a bubble wrapped something with a note that it was for me.

A little pony made of stone!

Last spring Elise had sent me some pictures of her own stone pony with the following note: 

"That’s the little stone pony that I found at a quaint gas station in rural Utah. I also got some other colors.  I’ve seen these at other places and I know they’re little doodads aimed at tourists, but it’s cute and the right size for motorcycle travel."

 

And then later she rounded up all that were in her collection and sent me their photo. (That's a donkey on the far right.)

I agree with Elise - they may be doodads aimed at tourists, but they are cute and I am excited to have one!

Thanks, Elise, for the donations and the gift! I will post them on the show's Facebook page later today and I am sure the entrants will be excited. I know I sure am!

Project Work

I hadn't done any embroidery work since last November when I was making Christmas ornaments and gifts for my family.

I'd run into some issues with the bobbin thread holder

and had had to stop before I'd finished everything I wanted to make. (This towel, one I was able to finish, was a gift for Hawkeye Sarah.)

On a whim, I pulled my embroidery machine out and set it up, thinking that I'd see if I could fix the problem myself.

To my surprise, the problem had disappeared! The machine stitched as it should! (I had oiled it just before I'd put it away in November; perhaps that was the issue?)

Embroidery work is an expensive proposition. There is backing to buy, fabric (or in this case, a towel), fabric clips, and thread. The thread needs to be a good quality; I learned early on that cheap embroidery thread breaks and snarls, ruining a project and necessitating that I start over. Of course, that meant buying more backing, more fabric or another towel, etc. It's cheaper in the long run to buy a good quality thread.

The digital patterns the machine uses has the thread numbered rather than by color. After struggling the first few months I began embroidering, a friend told me about color guide booklets that sort it all out for you and make it easier to discern which color the pattern is calling for.

Which makes sense since there are a lot of colors.

Lots and lots and LOTS of them. Each of those colors represent one spool of embroidery thread, and each spool costs me about $3.50 - $4.50. This way I get the exact color the pattern needs.

There are four different colors of thread in this towel I just made ($14), the towel ( $6, also good quality, another lesson I learned early on), and the backing ($10) for a total expense to make of about $30. I plan to either use it as a show donation or to sell it for $15, so I will not make those expenses back.

Having said that, there is a huge factor of enjoyment in embroidery work. It is relaxing and it is fun to create 

Sixteen colors are in this donation to the Indy Blooms show

and in the same pattern with a name change for the one for Midwest Mini Mayhem.

I have another project whose completion date is May 1, so I've packed up the embroidery machine and its accoutrements and set up my sewing machine again.

Carefully supervised by the girls to be sure everything was back where it belonged. (Molly has a knack for lying JUST where I need to put something!)

And I even got some more haversacks cut out and ready to work on. (Having one or two prepped and ready to go means I actually get more stitched up than I would if I waited until I had a block of time to work on them.)

The tea towels are all finished and ready to go to Indy Blooms and Midwest Mini Mayhem.

A sales towel (and one I like so much, I may keep it!)

Another that will be up for sale at the swap meet.

A donation to Indy Blooms.

And another one that I personalized for them.

A donation to Midwest Model Mayhem

and another, only in brown. (I ran out of the white flour sack towels and had to pull from my stash of colored towels.)

One project done and one more to work on. May 1 is 11 days away so I am in good shape, but still, I am having dreams about not finishing it. (And goats. I am dreaming about goats. Go figure.)

Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! 

Stay 'tooned!

Stitching for the GLC Show, Family, Friends, and a Headless Llama

Saturday's Great Lakes Congress show is just a few days away and the L bag is getting full.

It is crammed with Mercantile orders and donations that Barn Buddy Kelsey is taking with her to the show for me. (I still have a model that I sold to put in there but I am not sure it will fit.)

What's the L bag? It's a tote that was gifted to me by a student during my teaching career.

Of course, the L stood for Lynn. (I is a difficult letter to find so the student settled on my first name.) Liz Cory and I use it to carry things back and forth to each other which works nicely since her name begins with L, too!

Yesterday I finished this Hamilton sized Traditional haversack in Jockey Caps as part of an order that is being delivered to the show.

It may be traditional sized, but the Hamilton mold has a tail that requires a wider haversack to accommodate it. I've had to create a category of haversacks just for that mold!

I am just about finished with all the ornaments I've been making for family and friends. Now that my family has opened theirs, I can post a picture of what I've been embroidering.

Gingerbread ornaments! I am so happy with how they turned out.

Yesterday I made two Naught/Nice/I Tried aprons, one of which is a GLC donation.

And I finally finished this tea towel for Hawkeye Sarah. This pattern is absolutely the MOST difficult I have ever embroidered - it took four attempts and several weeks to finally get a finished towel that had no errors.

Sarah is a wildlife photographer so this pattern is perfect for her.

After the aprons and tea towel were completed, I went back to stitching up the last six gingerbread ornaments that I needed to make. A friend of mine who also has an embroidery machine calls hers "the moody teenage girl."  Well, mine chose that moment to join the moody teenage girls club.

It was skipping stitches, breaking threads, and not cutting the jump threads as it should. That can lead to what is called "birds' nests" where the thread balls up and looks like a bird's nest (a bowl of spaghetti might be easier to envision.) I only got one small bird's nest on the back, but the stitching issues on the fronts of these two ornaments ruined them and they had to be thrown away.

And while an embroidery machine is not quiet while it runs, it should not sound like this. That occasional ratchety sound is the bobbin holder.

I pulled it out to check it, but I cannot see any reason it is rattling around while it works.

I had to shut down the last of the ornament work and am going to have to take my machine to a repair service in Kokomo. Those who were going to get an ornament from me will get a mini loaf of pumpkin bread or something instead. 

I wasn't the only one frustrated with the state of my stitchery; Local Son Curt sent me this text he'd received from Pony Pal Mila.

She was so upset that they FaceTimed me so she could show me the problem and ask if I could sew the head back on. (Because, you know, that glue gun just won't fix her llama! LOL)

Headless llama is coming over today and has been added to my list of things to do. Repair work is becoming a bit of a sideline for me -  I fixed two of the dogs' favorite toys and two stuffed bunnies for Mila and Lukie yesterday, too!

Today I will finish up the last of the GLC donations and transfer the L bag to Kelsie. (There's a thank you surprise in there for her, too.) The llama will get its head back, and then I have a basket of cut out and pinned haversacks to work on.

Nashie and Molly are coming to spend the day with us, and I will get to see if my repair holds on the toys this time. (It's the second time I've fixed them.)

Nash waiting at the laundry room door into the garage for Lisa to come in.

I'm going to work on Christmas shopping, too. Some of it is done, but there are still a lot of people to buy for.

Speaking of gifts, I received a very special one from a hobby friend on Monday that I am excited and very touched about. Stay 'tooned.