Finis

I finished the pink saddle blanket today. I promise it's not that crooked in person.

I always forget how long these take to make. I have been working on this on and off for the last three days. Granted, a fair amount of that time was spent picking out mistakes, but still.... I could have made an English saddle in less time! There are a handful of hobbyists who sell custom cross stitch pads in the $10-$25 range. I don't how they can do that. Obviously they must stitch a lot faster than I do. Or something.

I do like making my own blankets, but as far as sale tack goes--I think I'll stick to leather goods!

Best. Classic. Ever.

It really doesn't get any better than that. If you missed it live, there's a link to the video here: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/53354/its-all-zenyatta-in-the-bc-classic.

Think pink

My husband started his new job today. It's a good job but it's a long way from home, so he was up and away long before I got out of bed this morning. The kids left for school at 7:45, and then, for the first time in a long time, the house was truly my own.

I haven't made a lot of tack in the last two months. I've been distracted and worried, and the thought of making anything complicated has been absolutely overwhelming. Now, however, all that has changed. Seth is re-employed. The kids are in school. We survived the rough patch and life should be getting back to normal. I feel both ready and eager to tackle the remaining backlog.

But you know that saying about the best laid plans?

I didn't get to work on the Portuguese saddle pattern today. Or the Mexican saddle pattern, or any of the other complicated things I thought would keep me busy. Instead, I spent most of the day with my older son and his newly diagnosed case of Pink Eye.
Oh well, at least we have health insurance again!

Despite the bored and unhappy kid, I did manage to squeeze in a little tackmaking time.
This is the beginnings of a saddle blanket. I chose the colors to match the gaming saddle's seat, but I teased Ryan that the various shades of pink were a tribute to the current color of his eyes. He didn't think that was funny. I did. Life is getting back to normal. Everything is funny to me today.

Breastcollar

I am feeling a bit under the weather so today's post is going to be another short one. Here's a look at the breastcollar I made to go with the little gaming saddleOriginally I'd planned to cover the shoulder straps with long sections of woven trim. However, it wasn't long before I was overwhelmed by the sheer pinkness of that design. I cut the trim off and started over. I like this much better.

Finished!

I finished the pink seated gaming saddle! I can't believe it. This one has been in progress so long that I'd mostly given up on it. I think I am going to start photographing all my old unfinished projects and posting them on my blog. Maybe that will inspire me to finish a few more things.This is the first full blown Western saddle that I've made in years, and although it's not perfect I am pretty pleased with the way it came out. I tried a lot of new things. Most of them worked. I'm particularly proud of that horn. Too bad it's attached to those kind of awkward swells...

Best of all, this saddle actually fits the very-hard-to-fit junior rider doll.

Of course, "finished" is a relative term. The saddle is done, but it still needs a pad and a breastcollar and a bridle and...

Crazy Ladies, part two

As promised, here are my pictures from the Resin Workmanship division at the Crazy Ladies live show held yesterday in Parker, Colorado.

We have a fairly small pool of resin showers in this region, and I tend to take pictures of the same horses at every show. Knowing this, I made a special effort to photograph models I hadn't seen before, like this cute baby sculpted by Kitty Cantrell, painted by Kim Shepard and owned by Jane Schneider... and models that exhibited really super paintwork, like this Artist's Proof Elizabeth sculpted and painted by Jennifer Scott.

Teresa Fedak's War Chant. I'm not sure who painted this guy, but he sure is lovely.

A really nice Finn resin. I wish there was a big version of this resin!

Two very detailed roan Mini Scarletts By Sheila Anderson Bishop.

I love, love, love this Eberl Vincent resin by Jennifer Scott.

He looks real.

Detail of the flea bites. These pictures are clickable. Be sure to check out the full size views of Jenn's amazing workmanship!

Another incredibly detailed grey--this one by Sheila Anderson Bishop. I'd seen this Stormwatch on MH$P, but he really does look so much different, and better, in person.

Close up of the dapples.

The Appaloosa class was another tough one. This cute little Lynn Fraley Chickory was painted by Jennifer Scott.

Sheila said she stayed up to 2 am the night before the show working on this mini Ravenhill. He wasn't completely finished, but he still looked pretty good to me.

However, I liked Sheila's other mini Ravenhill a little more. I just love his roany blanket!

One more Sheila Appaloosa. This is an Eberl Carlito resin owned by the very lucky Teresa Fedak.

Detail of his face.

And again. Sheila has such a light touch with the roaning. I could spend hours looking at her Appaloosas.

Happily for me, Sheila has agreed to paint my Starfire resin. I can not wait to have my own Sheila Appaloosa to admire!

Crazy Ladies, part one

Happy Halloween!

I am pleased to report that my Halloween has been quite happy so far. I spent the morning at the Crazy Ladies live show in Parker, Colorado. Although I didn't bring any horses to show, I did get to meet my new Hazel for the first time. Here's a picture of her in her current "almost done" state.
I've always admired Jennifer Scott's paintwork, and I am so excited to be adding this girl to my collection. Look at her pretty face! Now if I could just think of a name...

Of course there were lots of other pretty things to look at. Here's a peek at some of the Stone models on Janet's table.

This year Crazy Ladies was billed as the "Yellow Card Extravaganza." Despite being an halter show, there were no Halter (Green) NAN cards to be found. Instead, Original Finish models were judged on collectibility and Custom and Resin models were judged on workmanship.

I really enjoyed seeing all the documentation that accompanied the OF models. It almost reminded me of a performance class!

Here's one of the showholders and judges, Regan O'Keefe studying a class of vintage glossy Breyers.

A few people wore their Halloween costumes. This is Jennifer Scott in the hat and Sheila Anderson Bishop in the horns.

Sculptor/painter/new performance addict Morgen Kilbourn judged the workmanship classes and also found time to check out Teresa's tack box. Take it from me, there are a lot of good things in that box.

Jane also brought her tack box and I was delighted to discover this beauty in there. It's an Australian saddle made by Jana Skybova. This was the first time I've seen her work in person and it did not disappoint. What a lovely saddle!

I took lots of resin pictures, too, and will post them later today or tomorrow.