It's a Give Away!

I'm having a small back procedure this morning (basically an injection in the spine) so just this  quick notice today. I'll be back tomorrow!

In the meantime, I'm holding a give away of these cute wristlets and keychains made by Cambria and Titan over on the Horsiemama blog. Want to win one of these? Go there for directions!

www.horsiemama.blogspot.com

Welcome, Spring & the March Give Away!

The astronomical first day of Spring was yesterday. Prior to that, the weather here had been in the 60s and sunny.

And then things quickly changed.

All in one day - a tornado watch, a high winds advisory, and a forecast for snow.

I'm always on alert when there is a tornado watch, and so when things got dark and then turned orange, I got up from my desk and took a look out the windows.

Turns out it was a precursor to the storms - bands of dust from the Plains were blowing across the country ahead of them, and they were passing through Indiana. (Photo of I-65, Chad Evans.)

Craig and I turned on the lights in the house because it had gotten so dark, grabbed the dogs' leashes and kept them nearby, and waited for the next wave. It didn't take long.

The storm arriving and right over us - it was only 4:00 in the afternoon but so dark that neighbors were turning on their lights. Our automatic night lights were popping on, it was so dark in our home!

It was a fast moving storm and blew through fast. 

Remember that tornado watch? We were lucky - there were tornados as the storm approached us and then beyond us as it continued east, but we did not have any. Any tornado activity picked up off the ground and didn't set down again until the storm had passed over our town.

That quick storm exposed a weakness in our safety plan - our tornado closet is big enough to hold Craig, Pepper, and me, but we could not fit Tammo in with us. We have to find a safe place where he can be with us before we have another risk of tornados.

As for the snow, temps dropped and we got some flurries, but no big deal. However, the cold temperatures are hanging around for a while. 

Spring indeed!

Keeping Busy

Second Post of the Day

Is it just me, or is Breyer sharing new models, BreyerFest or otherwise, at an unprecedented rate? I don't remember ever seeing so many offerings in such a quick succession.

Yesterday they announced Maddox, the first Collector Club Special Run of 2025.

If you are a club member and interested in him, he becomes available today at 1:00 PM Eastern time. The mold is fairly popular and Breyer advises that you order quickly if you want one. 

I love my Nemea, but I am not a fan of the mold (too much of a shelf eater)  so I won't be ordering. (Photo of Nemea by Breyer.)

I love to do give aways, but I rarely get to enter one. Jennifer held one in January

and I was one of two lucky winners of her Notch and Ruffle medallions! I was so excited!

Jennifer also had some horsey fabric going spare and she tucked that in with Notch and Ruffle. Fabric is always welcome in my home. Thanks, Jennifer, for the medallions and for the bonus fabric!

Speaking of fabric, I continue to spend a good deal of time daily in the sewing room. 

I have made ten trade shirts in the last three weeks

and feel much better prepared for Kalamazoo. (It's in mid March so I have a little over a month left  to prepare.)

Now I move on to chemises (I need to make at least four of them)

and pockets. I only have one pocket left from Feast

and while I'd love to make some more embroidered ones (this is my personal pocket), they take a lot of time to make. I don't think I will have that time so embroidered pockets will have to wait until Feast.

But sewing for KZoo is not my only task.

I also have a very large order for haversacks that I am stitching up - fifteen for a woman who is returning to the hobby and is preparing for a live show.

That project started out with a good dose of frustration.

I opened a brand new bolt of fleece fabric and found this. I've unrolled the bolt and don't see any more holes, thank goodness.  If I had, I'd have taken it back to JoAnn's and returned it. But I will be checking every inch of that bolt of fabric as I unroll it and cut from it.

Finally, a little bit of sewing humor. I've done four online seminars for Breyer, so when this meme popped up on one of my sewing social media sites, I laughed out loud.

Using a long strip of fleece (both comfy and stretchy!) this sewist has tied her phone to her head so she can film what she is doing as she sews.

Of course, that didn't really happen, but she is poking fun at the problem anyone who teaches a sewing seminar has - getting the actual stitchwork filmed for those who will be watching the video.

Been there, but NOT done that! LOL

Have a good one, all!

I Won! And NaMoPaiMo

Lucky me, I won fellow blogger Jennifer Buxton's January Give Away!

I won a set of Jennifer-made Notch and Ruffle medallions and I am thrilled! Thanks, Jennifer! (Pictures are screenshots from Jennifer's blog.)

Jennifer mentions NaMoPaiMo (National Model Painting Month) and if you are interested in participating, here is the link for information and to register. 

In exciting news, Stone Horses is an official sponsor this year and they have some special things they, too, are offering as part of NaMoPaiMo.

If you've never done it, I highly recommend you give it a try. NaMoPaiMo takes a lot of the blah out of February and is for all levels of painting. I have done it twice and hope to do it again some day. Do it!

Stay warm everyone!

Give Away Winner!

Yesterday when I wrote that the next couple of blog entries would be about Breyer's scales of model horses, I'd forgotten that I needed to announce the winner of the Clydesdale apron Give Away! 

That's too important to postpone, plus I want to be sure the apron gets to the winner ASAP so that they can wear it in time for the holidays. (Although, truth be told, I wear mine year round.)

Congratulations, fastapp! Please send your mailing address to horsiemama8@gmail.com. Thanks again to all who entered!

December 9 Advent Calendar Reveal

My guess for today's advent calendar piece was most likely some tack or possibly another person. (I like to guess every day - haven't been right yet, haha!) I was very surprised to discover another horse. 

And what a horse - just look at the shading on this piece!

It even has the white shoulder shading that was found in the very early Breyers like the Stretch Morgan and the Grazing Mare. If I were attending a show with a division for Mini Whinnies, I'd put this jumper out on the show table.

The winter scene is growing, but as it does, it is getting difficult for me to pull the box out from the back without knocking scene items over. This morning I toppled all the mucking tools which (of course) scattered across the shelf. I think I am going to rearrange things so I have more room to maneuver the box when I open it.

Back to talking about model horse scales tomorrow. Stay 'tooned!

 

A Christmas Give Away

The holiday season is the perfect time for a give away, and I've got something special this time. If you watched the November Collectors Club workshop on snow globes that I did for Breyer, there is a hint in that video.

Hmmm... is the give away one of the snow globes that appeared in that video? One of those yellow boxes seen in the background? Something else?

Another hint...

The give away is very similar to something in this picture. (No, it's not my first born son; besides, Cole is my 6th child and third born son. You'd get Kyle if that were the prize. LOL)

The give away is an apron with Santa's Christmas Delivery Horse on it!

There are over 40,000 stitches in that Christmas horse and, like the woodland scene I did for Sarah and Jessica, it was a difficult design to make.

It's also on a cotton fabric, so if you choose to iron it, any wrinkles around the design may be a little hard to smooth out. (Washing it in cold water will help with that.) 

I originally bought this design because I was looking for a horsey Christmas pattern to make. But there was another reason it caught my eye.

It looks a lot like the mini Hagen Renaker Clydesdale Stallion! (Photo from Google Images.)

See what I mean? 

The Give Away begins now and ends Friday, December 8 at 11:59 PM. You can enter once a day simply by commenting on that day's blog post. (Or, you can enter once a day by emailing me your blog comment at horsiemama8@gmail.com.) The apron will be mailed postage paid and I do accept entries from outside the USA.

Winners will be announced ASAP - I'd like to get the apron in the mail by next Monday so that the winner can wear it during the holiday season. (And if you are like me, you will use it year round!)

December 5 Advent Calendar Reveal:

An Appaloosa stock horse!

I was surprised to get two horses in a row, but am happy to have them.

Stay 'tooned for tomorrow's advent calendar piece, and don't forget to enter the give away!