The Things Happening Around Here

Things are always happening here and I am busy throughout the day. But, that doesn't mean I can write about what I've been doing. As a result, sometimes I struggle to find a topic for the day's blog post. (I do write posts ahead of time, but currently I have no drafts in the hopper.)

Here's what's going on.

The Sorry, I Can't Tell You Project

Unfortunately, the one that I'd really like to write about (and will take several blog posts to do so), is something I am not yet at liberty to share. It has consumed a lot of time, time that I might use for doing other projects and activities which would then lead to blog posts instead of me wondering, what on earth can I write about today??

But as soon as I get the green light, I will tell you about that project - I have been working on it for a couple of weeks now and am nearly finished. And I have taken a lot of photos to share, too. Stay 'tooned!

Should I? Or Shouldn't I?

Actually, I am  in the stage of Haven't Yet. Which doesn't mean I am not going to buy that Janome sewing machine with the historical pictures and horse on it.

I did some looking yesterday and found it at the shop where I got my embroidery machine. They are selling it for $20 cheaper than Amazon and are also including free shipping. 

I put the machine in my cart and started checking out.

But then I started wondering what else I could do with that money. It's a lot to spend on something that I don't need. Is there something else, something better, I could do with it? Maybe even donate it to a local cause that I feel makes a difference? 

I am still thinking, but I am starting to feel that this splurge is not the right thing for me to do. Stay 'tooned. 

Nash's Recovery

The Big Boi is still grieving, but he is acting more and more like himself.

He comes over every day right now and is watching over our world from the top of the stairs again. Yesterday I heard him howling from Craig's office. I stopped to listen and could hear sirens outside somewhere. Almost always, Nash joins in if he hears sirens. 

It was good to hear that howl. I've missed it.

A Home for Kathy's Tack

I am delighted to say that I have found a home for Kathy's tack, a place that will value it and preserve it. After all, it is a microcosm of 1990s tack and prop making.

It's going to Ardith and Corky's Model Horse Museum that they are setting up in Wisconsin. I've known them since the early hobby days and I have no doubts that they will do an excellent job of caring for it. 

Another Surprise Happening in the Sewing Room

I got started on a second sewing project. It's a surprise, but one I can talk about here. I am making the JCs^2 a quiet book.

I have made 21 of them (all six kids and fifteen grands) so this will be #22. They are a lot of work (72 hours in at least in one of them) and require lots of planning and sewing hundreds of tiny pieces together. I would not be surprised if someone making a quiet book coined the phrase, "labor of love." Because they truly are.

I'm two days into the planning stage with a 4th of July deadline. Yesterday I sorted appliqués, began choosing fabrics, and cutting out pieces. I ironed heat-activated interfacing to some of those. 

I got on Etsy and found more appliqués to use, checked my ribbon stash, bought some pony beads, and went through my stash of remnants from the Prom and bridesmaid dresses that I'd made my girls.

It was a busy day, but I am pretty much organized and ready to begin assembling some of the pages. My sewing room is an absolute MESS and I need to get it cleaned up before Friday because on Friday I have to put the finishing touches on the Sorry, I Can't Tell You project.

Then, in the middle of yesterday's chaos in the sewing room, Leslie texted me. She had received a new order of block print fabrics and had a request.

"Look at this gorgeous new block print! If I comp it to you, will you make a bed gown to help advertise it? You can keep the profits."

Oh, my. The fabric is beautiful, but I have two chemises and a cloak already cut out and ready for when I finish the Sorry, I Can't Tell You project and the quiet book. Oh, and did I mention that I told Sarah I would make her a tee shirt quilt for Christmas after I finish those?

Taking a few deep breaths before replying, I remembered that I was sewing for fun and to not let sewing  become something pressure filled. Leslie doesn't need that shirt completed until October, so I have plenty of time of time to finish my other sewing projects and do that for her, too.

I agreed and added it to my list of sewing projects to complete.

On the Docket for Today

Yet another busy day again. Nash is coming over. I'll be sewing this morning and then heading to the hospital for a bilateral spinal injection that will alleviate a lot of the back pain I have. (The procedure lasts less than five minutes, there is minimal pain or discomfort during it, and I can drive myself home and will be feeling less back pain almost immediately.) 

For sure, there are lots of things happening around here!

Stay 'tooned!

 

Should I? Or Shouldn't I?

Ooohhhhh, my. I may have found my next sewing machine and I'm only halfway kidding. Check this out and you will see why.

My favorite brand of sewing machine? CHECK!

Historical illustrations on it? CHECK!

A HORSE on it? CHECKCHECKCHECKCHECKCHECK!!

So what if I already have three sewing machines?! So what if it's a beginner's machine?! I could use it to teach grands to sew! And friends! Just yesterday my cleaning lady asked me if I would give her and her son sewing lessons.

But..

Having just gotten a new machine last August that I am extremely happy with, 

there really is no need for me to get another new one. 

And, I kept my first Janome, the one I sewed on for 25+ years and still love, 

so I already have two sewing machines. 

Three if I count my Janome embroidery machine.

But just as we do with model horses, sometimes you find something that you want pretty badly and so you splurge.

One of my biggest hobby splurges is this Metlox Poppytrail Circus Horse - I'd looked for this piece for decades. It is very rare and mine is in mint condition and has its stickers.

And when I found it, I found that the seller had the just as rare if not rarer palomino piece for sale, too. Two splurges, all at once. I love those pieces and had that money saved and ready to use for them.

Honestly, I am sorely tempted to get that sewing machine. 

My thought processes as I try to not make the snap decision I really want to make:

~ I do have the money saved from my Kalamazoo, Feast, and Horsiemama's Mercantile sales. And if I don't want to use that money, I have models that I could sell.

~ It is a beginner machine and I have enough grands old enough to be showing interest in learning how to sew. It would be used.

~ I love my grands but I really don't want beginners on the machine I got last August. I use it near daily and for professional sewing projects. Janomes are well built and hardy, but this is my "Metlox Poppytrail" machine, the sewing machine I waited decades to have. So...

~ If I bought the historically decorated machine, I'd now have two machines for beginners: my original Janome and this one. My professional Janome would not need to be used (or I could sew along with them on it as I teach.)

~ The cost is reasonable and not much more than I pay for a Vintage Club piece.

~ I have a gift card that I can put toward it.

~ While it would be a splurge, it is for something that is excellent quality.

~ Shipping is free. Good to note; unlike other brands, Janome uses metal parts rather than plastic which is why they so rarely need repair. But, it also adds some weight. Free shipping is good.

~ I watched videos about this machine and read reviews. They are glowing. Not surprising; even Janome's most basic machines are quality.

I'm going to think about it today. I do like the idea of selling a model horse or two instead of using my KZoo/Feast/Mercantile profits. I'll let you know what I decide.

Stay 'tooned! 

Big Change

Remember that big change that might be coming that I wrote about last week?

It happened! 

Yesterday I went over to Kokomo to pick up my embroidery machine and I came home with a new sewing machine!

I decided to go with a different machine than the one I'd looked at last week, and I am happy with that decision. I've tried it out at home already and I am excited with what this one can do!

While very, very different from my previous machine, so many of the controls are already familiar. 

They are similar to those on my Janome embroidery machine and so I was able to sit down and begin sewing right after I got home as a result.  And, my embroidery machine is all lubed and ready for me to begin my holiday embroidery as soon as I finish with the Feast.

It may sound silly, but it was hard to pack up my old sewing machine and put it into the closet. I felt like I was closing the door on a long and very happy chapter in my life.

And while that may be true, a new door has opened. 

I'm excited to see what this stage of my sewing life looks like.

A Big Change May Be Coming

Yesterday began very early for me. Kathy was on assignment from the Indiana Department of Education and heading out to observe two teachers who were finalists for Indiana's 2025 Teacher of the Year. She and another former Indiana Teacher of the Year were meeting at the halfway point between their homes in Kokomo and Kathy asked if I would drive her there to meet the other teacher.

I am always happy to give Kathy a ride. Kokomo is an hour away so that gave us lots of time to catch up as we drove. Icing on the cake? Tate came along, too!

I brought one of my sewing machines along - there is an excellent shop in Kokomo that services sewing machines, and my embroidery machine had not had a tune up for two years.

And... er... um... I may have bought myself a new sewing machine while I was there, too.

I have been using a Janome Memory Craft 3000 since 1999. I bought Hawkeye Sarah the same machine as a gift, fell in love with it myself, and bought me one, too. That was 26 years ago.

Here is a clue as to just how old my Janome is:

It was one of Janome's very first computerized machines! Now they all are and it is no big deal, but in 1999, that was a real selling point for this machine.

I have never regretted that purchase, and in the 26 years I've had it with countless hours of near-daily sewing, I have never, ever had a problem with it. Not. One. Single. Time. 

Until a few weeks ago.

I sat down, powered it up, slipped some fabric under the needle, and stepped on the foot pedal. There was a loud SCREECH and then the machine stitched normally the rest of that day.

The same thing happened the next morning - SCREECH and then sewing normally. And again and again. Now it is an expected part of beginning to sew every day.

I've looked at new sewing machines before, mostly out of curiosity, but I never bought another one because I liked my Janome 3000 so much. It's been a workhorse in every sense of the word.

But, since I was in the shop to drop off my embroidery machine, and because I know and trust the folks who run the shop, I asked about getting a new machine. I explained what I had and how reluctant I was to replace it, and, so they'd know what I might need, I told them about the constant sewing I do, mostly for 18th century events but for other things, too. 

Believe it or not, the Janome 3000 has been so reliable and such a best seller, that there is an updated iteration of it on the market. I looked at it and several others, and then I took the plunge and looked at the professional grade sewing machines. One was $30,000 - not for me! But several were more in my budget, and I sat down at one and discussed it with the owner of the shop.

I really liked it plus it was on sale, and the owner knocked the price down even more for me. I'm thinking about it and when I go back to Kokomo to pick up my embroidery machine, I'm going to take another look and let them know my decision.

In the meantime, I am using my Janome 3000 despite the initial screech when she starts up and it is still stitching things out beautifully.

Ian's shirt for this year's Feast. 

A trade shirt to sell in an unusual all-red block print.

The sleeve buttons in its sleeves.

Another just finished trade shirt

with sleeve buttons. (I am discontinuing the horn and bone buttons, although I will still put those on a shirt upon request.)

It feels a little sad to look at these and realize that they may be some of the last things I make on my Janome. I've created so much on it over the years - prom and bridesmaid gowns, jammies, clothing for the kids, quiet books, pillow cases, haversacks and 18th century clothing, wedding dress jackets and sashes, workshop items for Breyer, mending, alterations... the list goes on and on. (I've even made a Christmas jacket for Nacho, Kathy's previous guide dog, to wear to a holiday appearance!)

The decision is not yet final, but I am leaning towards buying that professional grade Janome machine. The possibilities of what I could do with it are so exciting.

Boy howdy, stay 'tooned on this one for sure!

Back at the Machine

I said I was going to take a break from 18th century sewing for a couple of weeks post Kalamazoo, and that's true, I have. But, I didn't say I was taking a break from sewing completely.

Just before I left for Michigan, several haversack orders came in, two of them quite large ones. I've been working on them since I got home and am nearing completion.

This is an Extra Long Traditional in Steppe Horses for those shelf eaters Breyer has been producing lately.

Another XLT in the Steppe Horses along with two different Dala Horse fabrics, Blue Hors, Vintage Sicilian, and Purdue fabrics.

Two Saluki fabrics and Mint Unicorns.

Ten Curio sized haversacks in a variety of different fabrics.

I am almost done with these orders and I just got another large order yesterday (show season is ratcheting up!) I am a little nervous about accepting too many orders at the moment - my machine is making a squeaking noise as it stitches that is getting worse and worse.

It's a Janome which is a very good quality machine, and it's lived up to that reputation. I've had it for 25 years and not once has it needed service or repair. (Which is pretty amazing when you consider how much sewing I do.) But it looks like it may be time to have it looked at and that may mean a delay in order completion.

Wish me luck that it holds out at least until I get these orders finished!