Making Progress, a Mistake, & More Icy Weather

After nearly selling out at last year's Feast of the Hunters' Moon, this month it was okay to just start sewing whatever I wanted to work on. The size didn't matter, the block print patterns I selected didn't matter - I needed to restock almost everything and so I could get to work without  taking inventory.

I hit the tipping point this week. While I still have many items to make, it was time to stop randomly sewing and check what I have already made and see what I still needed to sew.

I started with the trade shirts, my biggest seller. Ten are completed, including two kids' shirts.

Then I looked at chemises. Six are finished with two more cut out and prepped for stitching up.

I took note of sizes and the number of each that I had in one list,

and then made a second list of what I want to be sure I make in order to have a good assortment for the Kalamazoo event in mid March. 

I also looked through my patterns - I was planning to draft a 2XL pattern for a chemise, but I had this nagging feeling that I already had that pattern. And I did - I found it in some things my mother had sent me. It was labeled "queen," the old, 1980s catch all size for larger women.

I laid it out and put the XL pattern pieces over the queen sized ones to compare them. I was right! The queen sized chemise pattern from my mother was the next size up from the XL. Queen is what is now called an XXL or 2XL and the size I'd been looking for.

It's now cut out and prepped and ready for sewing.

Notice anything familiar about the fabric weights I am using instead of pins to hold my pattern pieces in place? (Aside from the very obvious magnetic pin cushion, LOL)

They are Yankee Candle toppers! I usually have a candle burning while I am in my office or sewing room and as I was disposing of a depleted candle, I looked at its topper and had a light bulb moment. (Er, candlewick moment? Hah!) Why not try that topper as a fabric weight?

It worked very well, so I have begun saving them for use when I cut out patterns.

This week's work was very productive - three new chemises. Since all but the most recent are already pictured above, I'll just show the one I completed Friday afternoon.

This is a size XL

with sleeve buttons of silver and "paste" (rhinestone).

I was doing the final pressing and was ready to close down the sewing room for the evening, and I guess my mind was too much on our evening plans to go out to dinner with Lisa.

I set the iron down, went to remove the chemise from the ironing board, and bumped my arm into the edge of the hot iron.

Oooo, did that hurt! Luckily I just grazed the side of the iron but it was a good reminder to not get preoccupied with other things while using it!

My plans for today may be changing. Lisa just texted me and said that it is very slick outside - we had snow and ice again last night. Right after her text, I got one from Leslie who also said the roads were very bad.

I was going to get some flowers and head to the cemetery later this morning. A friend lost two children on this date years ago, and I do that for her every year. I'll see what the road conditions are later this morning but if I have to postpone going to the cemetery for a day or so, my friend will understand.

Wish me luck and stay warm!

Back at the Sewing Table

I am an organized person (which stood me in good stead when all our kids were young and at home) and before I can start any project, I need to finish what I've been working on first. So, that meant that Monday morning was spent in the office wrapping up sales figures from the Great Lakes Congress Show. 

The rest of the day I was in the sewing room. But I wasn't sewing, at least, not at first. I was counting and sorting what was left of my haversacks. I needed to know what I had left so I that I knew what I needed to restock.

That meant going through over 150 file folders and deleting sold items. I also deleted albums that were fabrics which were completely sold out and that I would not be able to restock, both in finished pouches as well as in fabric waiting to be cut and stitched. 

It was a huge undertaking. And when it was done, I went through my entire fabric stash and sorted it. I had pieces that were no longer big enough for even one traditional haversack, so I pulled those all out and began measuring each piece.

And when THAT was done, I began cutting and marking it into Classic, Curio/Venti, and Stablemate pouches to stitch up. Any fabric left from all that was put into scrap bags to give away at the next live show I attend.

Everything is now organized and sorted, and I am sewing those newly cut fabrics into haversacks to replace what I sold at GLC.

I have been busy.

There are six new Stablemate haversacks 

(and plenty more cut out),

two Curio/Ventis

all photographed and ready to be put into my albums,

and three smaller Classics

that will also work well with Traditional foals.

Getting nine finished on Tuesday

felt good, but there are a lot more to make in these sizes.

I spent Wednesday cutting all the rest of the smaller pieces of fabric into the three smaller sizes, marked them all, and then got out a bolt of fleece and began cutting it and pinning the pouch fabrics to it.

I lost count of how many I prepped (non prepped ones go into a basket, ready to pull out and pin to fleece when I get time) but there are at least fifteen ready for me to start sewing today.

It feels good to have the accounting for the GLC sales done, the albums sorted and ready for new items to be added, the fabric stash sorted and all those smaller pieces pulled out and cut, and nine new haversacks already in albums and available to customers.

And then I remembered that I still need to update the Jolis Chevaux folders post-Feast of the Hunters' Moon, too.

A stack of eighteenth century fabrics ready to be turned into trade shirts and bed gowns, and a jabot that is in progress.

My next event is at Kalamazoo in March so I have plenty of time to work, but still, organized-me needs to update the Jolis Chevaux files and remove everything that was sold before I can begin making more.

There's another pile of nine fabrics in my car waiting to be prepped, too. Leslie got a new post-Feast shipment in and invited me to come shop!

And sometime  soon I need to stop my business sewing and get started on the Christmas sewing! Although there are no files or anything to do for that - I can just jump right in.

And speaking of Christmas, I haven't forgotten that many of you have asked if I would be selling the blackened beeswax ornaments here on the blog. Yes, I will; look for that in a day or two!

Making my list and checking it twice!

Stay 'tooned! 

118 - Just the Beginning

How did it get to be Wednesday already? I only have two more days to prepare for the Indy Blooms Swap Meet! And while I made good progress yesterday, I still have a lot to do.

Currently, my sewing table looks like this.

There are 118 haversacks, all stitched up and ready to go sitting on my sewing table. I was surprised at how many I had on hand. 

I'd thought to sort them by size and put them in the sales baskets I use, covering them to keep them clean, and then packing them into my car ready to set out on my table at the swap meet.

Now I am not so sure. While I am going to do a mock set up today to see if I have enough sales baskets (I don't think I do), 

with so many to transport, I may need to pack them all back into their tubs in order to be able to get everything into my car. It may be car Jenga at its finest. After all, there are:

10 Extra Long Traditionals,

3 Extra Long Classics,

21 Hamilton/Large Traditionals,

14 Regular Traditionals,

21 Classics,

12 Curio/Venti,

and 34 Stablemates.

I am glad to have so much inventory on hand, but there is still more I plan to put out that hasn't been inventoried yet - the haversacks are just the beginning.

17 pony pads,

4 show aprons,

4 tea towels,

and an as of yet uncounted number of scrap and remnant bags to set out on the table.

And remember all those models I sorted out to sell last winter? I was planning to taken them all, too.

At this point, I don't think I will have room for more than a couple of them (if any) on the table.

Today's plan? To get that mock set up done and see what I can squeeze onto one 8 foot table, and then finish inventorying what I will be taking.

Wish me luck!

BreyerFest 2023: Almost Time!

It's the day before BreyerFest and the Clarion is filling up. Room sales have begun, friends are reconnecting, and hobbyists are touring thoroughbred farms, Keeneland, and other horsey sites.

I'm grateful for all the photos and stories flooding social media. Jennifer Buxton, also a virtual attendee, is sharing lots of news and photos on her blog - if you aren't attending BreyerFest in person, it's a good place to go to see what's happening. (It's a good place to go regardless!)

I'm replicating BreyerFest week as much as I can. I usually leave on Thursday, after spending Monday through Wednesday making final preparations to go. This year I chose to work on a project that really needed to be done - inventorying and reorganizing the Horsiemama's Haversacks & Mercantile sales albums.

Opened in August 2020, the Mercantile was pandemic inspired - my annual pony party, Happy Trails, could not be held as usual. So, I held a photo show and made haversacks as thank you gifts to all who entered. One thing led to another, and suddenly I was in business.

It's been three years, and while I have done some inventorying in the past, never have I gone album by album, comparing what I had in stock with what the album showed, and deleting SOLD photos and adding others that never were posted.

I'd never counted those albums, either. I was stunned to see that I had a whopping 166 albums! The inventorying project is now finished and I winnowed that number down to 138 - still a lot, but far more manageable.

And, while I knew that I had been selling a lot of haversacks recently, I had not realized just how low my inventory had become. I desperately need to cut out more and get busy! (I've been sewing, but it's been 18th century clothing, not haversacks.)

Today is Thursday and that has always been my travel day. Since I'm staying home, that can't be replicated. I'm going to do some cleaning and sorting, and maybe even cut and prep some haversacks. Rain is in the forecast but I hope to run out to the barn for a candy cane moment or two with Abby and the herd.

Look for a special announcement tomorrow in honor of BreyerFest! 

Stay 'tooned!

BreyerFest Prep: Lesson Learned!

With just three weeks to go, many collectors are scrambling to prepare for BreyerFest. Whatever facet of the hobby you are involved in, there is prep to do - making lists of models to track down, finishing dolls or custom pieces, inventorying sales items, making plans for Zoom meet ups, and more.

I set up a room on the Road to BreyerFest Sales and Trade site to test selling in a place other than my Facebook page. Sales started coming in so quickly that I could not keep up with them. I fulfilled the orders that I got, declined taking any more, and then decided I would stick to selling from my Facebook page for now.

Sales are also booming there, plus I am going to a live show in August and will be selling haversacks at the show, too. With all the selling that I have done recently, it was time to take inventory and see what I had and what I still needed to make.

Yesterday I pulled out all the tubs of completed haversacks and got started.

I've long wanted to have a list of models that will fit each size of haversack that I could give to buyers. While most hobbyists can visualize if a haversack will fit more common models, I wanted to be sure that those seeking one for a lesser known mold could find what they wanted, too.

Haversacks were strewn about the sewing room as I measured and sorted them into size piles and then made up a list of models that would fit.

Just because the model is part of a line or scale (traditional, classic/freedom, etc.) doesn't mean that all models in that scale will fit the haversack.

For example, the new Maggie Bennett Mustang is a classic scale piece, but it is long with reaching forelegs, has a wide tail base, and its head is turned a bit to the side. That affects how it fits into a haversack.

So, in addition to having patterns for Breyer's scales, I also make what I call "odd size" patterns for haversacks. Tucked inside each of those is a card with a list of models that it will fit. (I put a card in each inventoried tub so I knew what was in it.

I inventoried towels, too, but I didn't tackle the ornaments. I did those a while back and had not made any recently so their numbers hadn't changed.

Pony pads in a variety of sizes - people like these for more fragile models like chinas and use them to lay the models down at shows so they don't get knocked over and break. I make both foldable as well as non foldable pony pads.

With six tubs full of haversacks, pony pads, and towels, all sorted and prepped, I am in pretty good shape for BreyerFest and the August live show.

Still on my prep list? Making some wider haversacks for long, stretched out models like Dundee, the Shagya Arabian, and Bristol.

I've learned an important lesson - have a very large stock of haversacks before going to high traffic selling sites, and limit custom orders to a pace that allows a one-seamstress operation to handle the demand and still enjoy what she is doing.