A Pearly Mix Foal

Earlier this fall, Barn Buddy Kelsey texted me a photo of a Breyer Clydesdale Foal. She  had spotted it at a flea market and, knowing my love of vintage molds, asked if I wanted it.

It had a pearly look to it so I told Kelsey that I did.

In-hand, I could tell that it was an odd piece and I began to think that it was most likely not a pearly, but instead was a partial pearly. (A regrind of pearly and regular plastic.)

There is definitely a pearly glow in her body and neck.

As I researched pearliness in Breyer models, I came across this photo.

Photo retrieved from Google Images and taken by Andrea Gurdon. 

I followed the link to the photo and it turns out that Andrea has a Clydesdale Foal just like mine. And, like me, she had come to the same conclusion - it was the product of a regrind of regular and pearly plastic. (Read her blog post here.)

I've made a note on this little girl's tag of what she is and she's on the shelf with her sisters. (Another one of them is a pearly, too.) 

I sure am grateful that Kelsey has such sharp eyes and was willing to snag this piece for me!

The World's Smallest Horse

Mountain Mama Jessica sent me a link the other day to an article about the world's smallest horse, Pumuckel.

Actually a Shetland Pony, Pumuckel is twenty inches tall. He is used for art therapy and visits schools and retirement homes.

I was curious about his name, so I looked it up. In German, "Pumuckel" means "chubby." Naturally now I am looking at my shelves and wondering who would be a good candidate for that name!

The link to the article can be found here. (Photos taken from the article.)

Here's Harry! (And Adelaide's Hat)

I finally had time to open the box from Sue Kern yesterday and I am pleased with how the repairs look on Harry and Adelaide's hat.

Now I am wondering why I waiting several years to get him fixed!

He looks like himself again.

Sue had him well packed in paper, bubble wrap, and packing peanuts.

His legs had been supported with a chunk of foam.

The hat, too, was well packed with bubble wrap, paper, and foam.

 

Plus there was foam inserted in the hat to support it as it traveled.

Soon I will take Harry and the hat downstairs and reunited them with Adelaide and the rest of my Designer Workshop Hagen Renakers.

But in the meantime, they're on the shelf behind my desk where I can see and enjoy them. It's been a long time since either was on display and it's good to have them in one piece again and back home where they belong.

Johanns #2 & #3

I've added two more Johanns to my collection! 

The Appaloosa was the one I wanted most. (I received the palomino.)

 And the Lippizaner in Appaloosa did not disappoint.

He has red speckles that are reminiscent of the early (and popular) red roan color that Breyer introduced back in the 1970s.

I found the Appaloosa at the October GLC show as well as Johann #3 there, too.

The pinto one!

He is pretty, too, but  pintos are not a favorite color for me.

Even more so, I am not fond of the current trend of the pinking that is being added to so many models recently. 

While some horses do have some pinking, I feel that the pinking on many recent models is overdone - the pinking jumps out at you and distracts rather than being a subtle shading that enhances the model's coloring.

Pinking dislike aside, I'm pleased to have added these two models to my collection. Now I'm really hoping to find the bay one and complete the conga.

I'll do that Harry and Adelaide hat post soon - haven't opened the box yet. 

Stay 'tooned!

Harry is Home!

I have a really nice Monrovia Hagen Renaker Harry.

A gift from my friend, Cristine Holt, 

he does well in halter and collectibility classes.

Really well.

So when this happened several years ago,

I was not happy. It was my fault; I brushed against him as he stood on my desk and over he went.

His mama, Adelaide, also toppled over but luckily only her hat broke.

Sadly I picked up the pieces of Harry and the hat and put them on a shelf in my closet. I meant to send them out for repair, but the pandemic hit and they sat on that shelf for three years.

This summer I decided the time had come to get them both fixed. I researched repair artists and decided I wanted to use Sue Kern to fix them. She was booked pretty far out, and my reserved time slot was November 1, but I'd already waited a long time so I was not concerned about waiting a little more. 

Yesterday my repaired Harry and the hat arrived home again. I was in Indianapolis and did not get home until late, so I have yet to open the box. That's today's project, and I am looking forward to seeing how they look.

Stay 'tooned!

New Haversacks

It's been a while since I posted much about Horsiemama's Haversacks & Mercantile, and while the 2022 show season is winding down, I am still sewing and sending out orders.

This order went out yesterday.

An extra long Traditional in Chalk Horses. (That's proven to be a very popular fabric.)

A Traditional in Flamingos. (The last from that fabric - it's sold out now.)

A second Traditional in Candy Colored Jumps. (Another very popular fabric.)

And a Stablemate haversack in the Candy Colored Jumps.

I had enough fabric to make a Classic haversack from it to sell.

Model to show size.

And while I could make another Stablemate sized one or possibly two, for all intents and purposes the Candy Colored Jumps fabric is sold out.

The past two years I have closed the Mercantile for a few weeks so that I could sew holiday gifts for my family and friends, and I will be doing that soon. In the meantime, though, the sewing room is busy with haversack and 18th century period clothing orders.

It's a good thing I like to sew!

Purdue/Iowa Football Game

Second post of the day.

Saturday, Purdue played Iowa here at home in football. Since Sarah and Todd live in Iowa City and are big Iowa fans, they came over to go to the game with us.

Clockwise from bottom left: Lisa, Ian, Vanessa, Curt, Craig, Lukie (with Mila peeking out under his arm), me, Todd, Jenny (my sister), and Sarah.

It was cool, rainy, and terribly windy with 50 mph gusts. (I have two former students who are on the field and playing in Purdue's Marching Band. Not that I could pick them out.)

The Purdue team coming onto the field was fun to watch

until the Boilermaker Special had engine trouble and needed to be pushed off the field. (Another of my former students is one of its drivers.)

The world's largest drum.

Surprisingly, Iowa (who has not had a good year) beat Purdue (who has.)

That made two of the family's biggest Iowa fans very happy.

The Purdue fans of the family took the loss with grace and we all gathered at our home for dinner afterward. 

With the Iowa fans buying.