Vintage Club, Vintage Clothing, & "Vintage" Pup! - Part 1

There is nothing like spending a fun and fulfilling day teaching and then coming home to not one, not two, but THREE announcements from Breyer about newly available Collectors' Club releases!  And to know that you are eligible for all three! (All photos from Breyer's announcements.)

Members of the Deluxe Collectors Club receive a free Stablemate every year as part of their membership. Since I don't collect Stablemates (even though I have over 100 of them...) I don't always join the Deluxe Club.

Receiving the announcement that Horatio was available surprised me, but I went to Breyer's site and checked my account. Yes, I had joined for 2024, and so yes, Horatio has now been ordered and will be on his way to me soon.

Next was a notification that the last Vintage Club offering was also available, Gambler's Choice Outlaw who comes in three colors!

This mold is TIPPY and, tired of all the frequent falls on the shelves and the domino effect that that caused with my other models, I sold all my Buckshots several years ago.

Having said that, it's a pretty mold and looks really good in all three colors. I'm an Appaloosa girl (that one reminds me of BreyerFest 2021's Dani) but the buckskin is gorgeous, too. I'm not much of a fan of pintos or paints, but I do like this one. So, I will be happy regardless of which one comes my way.

The third model? Felix, the annual Vintage Club Stablemate freebie which will be sent in Outlaw's box. 

A vintage Maureen Love G1 sculpt in one of the best vintage colors ever - black Appaloosa? Call me thrilled!

Note: This post was interrupted while I was writing it. Originally intended to be a three part post in one, I'm going to turn it into several posts in order to get a post up this morning.

Part 2 may come later today or it may be tomorrow's post - I don't know at the moment. But I will write about the vintage clothing and the "vintage" pup mentioned in the title.

Stay 'tooned!

Check Out that Local History!

I can check two things off my to-do list.

Yesterday's out of town lunch was fun and very much worth the time it took to get there and back. Not everyone is in the best of health and sometimes you just have to cherish the moments when you are able to be together. This was one of those times and I am so glad we were there.

And, I finished the men's shirt and now I have every size in stock if needed. I don't do checked fabrics very often and it was fun to change it up from my usual block prints.

Since the car that was blocking the shelf where my wreaths are stored was out of the garage, Craig pulled out my fall horse head wreath and put the summer horseshoe one away for me.

Lisa gave me this bench pillow for my birthday, and while some might consider it Thanksgiving decor, it has pumpkins and I like the sentiment, so it's on display until December. Now I just need some big pumpkins to set out on the porch.

In preparation for today's presentation to the 4th graders at her school, Lisa and I both spent some time in the evening figuring out which 18th century clothes to wear to school today. Usually Lisa wears her red riding habit, but I think she may wear this one today. 

That hat was her grandmother's and Lisa always wears it at every event (or school presentation) as a nod to my mother's memory.

Lisa, my mother (wearing the hat), and Jessica at an event in the 1990s. 

And just for fun, here's another generational family picture - this time three generations of Feast and living history interpreters are together.

Me, my mother (in a different hat), and Jessica at Feast in 1998 or 1999. The boy in the blue and yellow jacket (Breyer's colors!) was a student of mine and his mom took this photo and then sent it to me.

As for today, I have already packed the things I am taking to show the students in the car. But there is still lots to do before I head off to school:

~ I need to get out my trade silver earrings and seamstress necklace (both made by Rick), 

~ find my fichu (I KNOW I saw it in one of those tubs!), my knit stockings, my hat, and my 18th century shoes, 

~ grab an apron off the sales rack (to wear in case my pins fail and I have a "wardrobe malfunction" [ahem!!] while presenting),

~ and set out some Tylenol because I am going to be standing for a long, long time this morning. I will need it.

Despite the preparation work and all the things I still need to do to get ready for Feast, I am really looking forward to teaching today. I love teaching regardless, and when it is something I am passionate about like the rich history that's right here in our own county***, I am thrilled to spend time with this group of 4th graders.

I may not be able to walk when I'm done, but it will be worth it. 

It's going to be a great day.

*** Battle of Tippecanoe (fought just a few miles from the school); William Henry Harrison, 9th US President, French outpost Fort Ouiatenon, the Underground Railroad and St. John's Episcopal Church, Prophet's Rock, Tenskwatawa, Prophetstown, Amelia Earhart... There's so much more than this that happened right here in Tippecanoe County.

Can you tell I am a historian's daughter??

The Feast Clock is Ticking

It's Monday, and there are just 12 days until Feast. I have a men's shirt to finish and the final pieces to Lisa's robe a l'Anglaise to stitch and then attach to her gown.

Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!

I can feel that clock ticking down the time. 

I've been preparing for months; why do I feel so stressed? And why did I schedule an out of town lunch with friends, two MRIs, Pepper's monthly injection for her Addison's Disease, an out of town Friday Night Lights football game, and a doctor's appointment for the MRI results this week?

Oh, and going into Lisa's classroom to teach all five 4th grade classes about 18th century clothing as they prepare for their field trip to Feast School Day.

A past classroom visit and teaching about panniers (French)/pocket hoops (English) and letting the kids see what they look like before the petticoat is put on over them and how they look when a woman is fully dressed while wearing them. See how my hands are folded in front of me as I wear my panniers? 

That's because when you wear panniers, you can't put your hands down at your sides. If you do, you look a lot like Randy after his mom dresses him for cold weather in A Christmas Story!

Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!

Asking myself, "What's the worst thing can could happen?" is a strategy I have used for years when I feel stressed and boy howdy, I am asking it now. The answer this time? Not getting those two clothing items finished - that's what I am concerned about more than anything else.

When I have determined that answer, I then ask myself, "What can you do if that happens?" Well, I already have 14 men's shirts made; would not having one sized Medium shirt be that bad? Not really. It's not a size that is asked for very often and I could offer to make the customer one post-Feast if need be.

As for Lisa's gown, I don't have that much left to do and I am pretty sure I can get it done despite the busy week. If not, we have two alternatives in mind for clothing that she could wear. 

And, looking ahead to next week (which is Feast week), I won't be setting up until Wednesday. I'll have Monday and Tuesday to sew, and then surely I can get some more done after set-up is finished. I won't be opening for business until Saturday morning.

Breathing a little easier as I think about that. But still in my mind I hear...

Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!

It's muffled now, but it's still there.   

It's gonna be a week.

BreyerFest: The Indian Pony!

Breyer's Indian Pony mold, sculpted by Chris Hess in 1970, is one of my top five favorite molds. There are 31 Indian Ponies in my collection (and that doesn't include the six Stablemates.)

The buckskin Indian Pony with warpaint was my very first Indian Pony. I named her Miss Windy Warpaint. (Hey, I was a kid!)  

She is such an early piece that her mane has hand painted tendrils - the arrows point to some of them.

I photo showed her in the early 1970s and did especially well in costume classes.

Those feathers are from my parakeet, Buttons. When he molted, I'd collect some of the feathers and save them in a box. 

Then, using some embroidery floss (I was sewing even way back then) I'd make costumes for Windy and for my black Appaloosa Running Stallion, Tribal Dancer.

Nothing was researched for authenticity (there was no internet then) just feathers, embroidery floss, and my imagination. And by golly, she even won some championships! (How far the model horse hobby has come since those 1970s photo shows!)

What with loving this mold so much, it was a no brainer that I'd want Can't Hold Us Down, the Indian Pony in a pretty brindled pinto offered at BreyerFest 2024.

There were two variations of the brindling pattern offered.

The dark brown version (which I got), and then a lighter one, called white by Breyer but really a silvery grey color.

Honestly, I'd rather not have the brindling, but hey, it's the Indian Pony, so I wanted both versions. (That's a collector's mind working there, for ya!)

So, when Breyer held the Second Chance Sale, I ordered another Can't Hold Us Down.

And got another dark brown brindle.

I was a little disappointed, but I had known that there was a good chance I'd get a duplicate and not the silver brindle.

Sometimes you will find some significant variations among runs,

 but aside from their blazes, these two are twinsies.

I might sell or trade one of them, but for the moment, I don't mind having two. After all, you can't have enough Indian Ponies, right? 

Big or small!

Athenian Lady Unboxed!

 Second Post of the Day

There's nothing like waiting until your home is in total Feast chaos to start opening Breyer boxes.

I don't know about you, but it takes me a while to free the pony from the box - there are a lot of things used to secure models in Breyer's boxes nowadays. (Not that I am complaining.)

And after the model is free, there are wire clippings and plastic holders, sometimes clear inserts, plus the box to clear away afterward.

But it's worth it to pull out a lovely model who has arrived well protected as a result of all that detritus.

I love the Dundee mold. And while mine does not seem to be made from the glow in the dark plastic that some folks received, check out those forelegs. Do they look odd to you? They do to me.

It's difficult to tell in these photos, but there is a definite pearly aspect there. I don't mean the shine you can also see, I mean the the glow that emanates from her forelegs. Like I said, it's hard to see, but it is there.

Just as there are chalkies and partial chalkies and swirly plastic and partially swirly plastic that is found in models, this is not the first time a pearly shimmer has caught my eye and gotten me to wondering. 

We already know some of the Athenian Lady models have glow in the dark plastic in them; is that what I am seeing? (I've checked that briefly; it doesn't appear that she does.) Or has some pearly plastic been reground and added to the mix?

I don't know, but I have enough pearly models to recognize what I am seeing. This is definitely a mystery I am going to pursue. (When things die down around here. Like in January. Hah!)

Anyway, she is a lovely model and I am happy to have her. 

She was the "last straw" for my Dundee conga - because they are shelf eaters, I've kept them sideways on the shelves behind my desk. Not anymore. There was no more room on their shelf! 

So, I moved them into the sewing room. Those shelves are deeper and this mold can fit facing out rather than head to head sideways. The Dundee conga is right next to where I sew so I can just look up to see them.

There are two more BreyerFest models to show you, so stay 'tooned!

A Brief Switching of Plans

First Post of the Day

Yesterday didn't turn out to be the all-day sewing day I'd originally planned. I decided to take a video of the pre-Feast chaos and as I walked through the upstairs looking at all that was in progress, needed sorting, needed inventorying, needed to be straightened up... the day's plans changed.

Welcome to my messy upstairs! To the chaos that is Feast! Yeesh!

It's reasonable to have things all over the place when a big event like The Feast of the Hunters' Moon is approaching. But I also knew that I'd feel better (and be better prepared) if I changed gears and spent the day sorting through my Feast tubs, taking inventory, pricing, and just doing some general prep.

And I was right. I got SO much done. All the tubs have been sorted out and repacked so that the things in there are what I'm actually taking, not just things stored there because the tub wasn't full. (Those things have been put together and set aside.)

I've inventoried everything except the clothing and recorded it all on my inventory sheet.

Oh, and I did go back into the sewing room as part of this sorting/preparing process. I had 14 leftover remnants from making shirts and bedgowns that needed to be prepared for selling. 

Not enough fabric is left for my purposes, but enough that someone could find a purpose for them. I measured all those, folded them neatly, and tied them up with string. 

The fabric remnants I bring to events are always some of the first things to sell, and there are women who visit my tent early on opening day because I sell out of them so quickly.

The woman in blue always checks out my remnants, both at the Feast and at Kalamazoo. The blue patterned fichu she's wearing is actually one of my remnants that she's repurposed. It makes me happy that they can be used instead of simply being thrown away.

Today's plan is to either work on finishing Lisa's robe a l'Anglaise or maybe stitching up one last men's shirt. I've got 14 shirts made already, but I discovered that I do not have any in size Medium. That oversight needs to be fixed, so one is cut out and ready to go. I can probably finish it today.

A second post is coming this morning. Stay 'tooned!

Feast Prep: Mila's Clothes are Done

Second Post of the Day

Finished! And by the deadline I'd set myself. (I do that to keep myself on track as I have so many items of clothing to finish sewing.)

I spent all day yesterday making Mila's jacket. It has a lining, so essentially I made two jackets and then sewed them together. That involved very precise matching of seams and sides, and with those cut out flaps, I had to be very careful or they would not lie smoothly when stitched together.

It took a lot of pins. Any guesses as to how many it took to put the two pieces together? (Answer below.)

I pressed and hung the jacket and then began working on the sleeves.

Because they would be turned up at the bottom, I made the lining out of leftover petticoat fabric rather than the white cotton I'd lined the jacket with.

And then I sprinted over to Mila's home - I had to do the fitting session before she headed off to soccer practice, so time was of the essence.

Everything fit!

I took it back home because I had one last thing to do.

The jacket closure was twill ties and those needed to added now that I knew that everything fit her.

I'm happy, Mila's happy... 

and now I'm moving on to  finishing up Lisa's robe a l'Anglaise. 

It has taken a lot of pins, too...

but if I ever counted them, I don't remember how many some of the parts of it have taken. 

(If you are wondering, it took 125 pins to pin together the lining and outer part of Mila's jacket together.)

Wish me luck - I'm in the home stretch of making the dress for Lisa, but it is still going to be time consuming. My goal is to be done by Tuesday evening of next week.

Carpe diem!