One Month to Go

I'm finished! Well, with trade shirts, that is.

Nineteen shirts, coming to Kalamazoo. Add in the two I made for the gentleman in Nebraska, and that's a lot of shirt sewing.

In the end, I was able to speed up the sewing process by dovetailing steps together. And, twice I did end up getting a shirt completed in just one day rather than the usual two.

Sometimes the pattern of the block print slows me down. On this shirt, I had to be very careful that I cut this fabric out so that I would cut right down the center of the design when inserting the placket.

Making so many shirts meant I went through a lot of sleeve buttons. I ended up ordering more buttons so that I could create enough sets to take to KZoo. (I sell sleeve buttons separately in addition to adding a free pair to each shirt.)

I finished the last of all those shirts on Wednesday and felt like celebrating when I did.

Don't get me wrong, I love sewing and I love making trade shirts. But, to make so many in a short period of time? 

I am ready to switch to something else for a while.

And that is bedgowns. I have a couple of those cut out and got started yesterday. 

I was able to find some very beautiful purple fabric for them - isn't this block print fabric stunning? 

That bedgown is far from done - I need to put in the side pleats and then finish the neckline and hem it. But I can get that done today, even though it's Friday and Nash and Molly will be spending the day with us.

I'll probably make 4-5 more bedgowns and then on my list are several "if I have time before the event" things I'd like to make:

- a set of panniers

Twinsies! I'm wearing my own panniers in this picture while one of Lisa's students tries on a pair.

- several pockets

- one or two wool cloaks

- twenty to thirty more mini bags for sleeve buttons 

Everyone who buys a shirt or a pair of sleeve buttons gets a mini bag to keep their pair in.

The mini bags are very quick and easy to make

plus they look nice in the display case 

and are a fun little bonus for customers.

I also need to start making beeswax ornaments (a Wednesday or Friday project when the dogs are here) and I need to call my friend who makes the maple cakes and order those for the event.

The Kalamazoo Living History Show is just one month away.

Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!

My BreyerFest Prep

I am a minimalist when it comes to preparing for BreyerFest. At least this year. I'm not showing or taking any seminars, NAN is not being held, and my sisters are coming with me. (One is horsey but not a collector, the other is neither.)

Aside from clothes, snacks, and sunscreen, this is all I have had to prepare.

A mini misting fan, a map of the CHIN, single day tickets for Friday and the evening show at the horse park, a parking pass, a printout of our motel reservation, and my info for the Collectors Club tent.

Not much! And the tickets were free from Pat Reed - when we spoke at the Stone Country Fair and she learned that I was going for just a day, she offered to send me three wrist bands that she had as extras. She added in the tickets to the show as a surprise.

It's been fun reading what people are doing as they get ready for the biggest event in the model horse hobby world. People are painting and prepping models, making tack, packing sales items, preparing for the shows, and talking, talking, talking on social media. There's a buzz of excitement, and it's fun to be a part of it.

I'm not jaded or anything about BreyerFest; in fact, I am very excited to be going. But I have been many times, and for me, the fun is more about seeing old friends, shopping for a special model or two, and just being around the horses in the horse park. I guess I am a "quiet" BreyerFester. (Hah!)

Everything else is just the cherry on top!