Jolis Chevaux: Kalamazoo Prep

March 18 and 19 is the 2023 Kalamazoo Living History Show.  My sister Leslie and her husband, Rick , own the show and this is its 47th year. Lisa and I will be attending for our second year as vendors.

Lisa and me at the 2022 show.

The fabrics I use most for the 18th century clothing are imported hand printed block prints. Here are some things that I've made since Christmas and will be taking up to Kalamazoo to sell. 

An 18th century bedgown (from the back.)

And from the front.

A men's shirt with bone cuff buttons.

This one is actually a custom shirt and sold but I include it because it is an unusual "medallion print." You can't see it here, but when the shirt is worn, the pattern on the fabric forms a complete circle around the arms and body. It is a little tricky to get everything matched up when sewing, but worth it in the end.

Another men's shirt. The shirts are usually worn with a belt of some sort.

You might think that this shirt has a paisley pattern, but that' s not paisley. It's called "Botha" and is a very, very old pattern.

The patterns and colors vary a lot on the block prints.

I really like this pattern - it quite different from the other cotton block prints I've got.

I finished this one yesterday - it has horn cuff buttons.

I'll also be selling women's shortgowns,

chemises (also called "shifts"),

bum rolls,

hussifs,

 

an opened hussif (for storing sewing supplies),

panniers, 

pinner aprons, and lots more.

If you are a blog reader who happens to attend the show, please come find me and say hello. I may just have a little gift you you...

Leslie and me at the 2022 show.

Mila's Birthday

Mila's 7th birthday was in January and I've had the file of photos on my desktop but just not gotten to blogging about it.

We got her the BreyerMisty and Stormy set that came with the book by Marguerite Henry.

One of these Saturdays, Mila is going to come over and we will sew blankets for the ponies.

Naturally, there was a unicorn candle to blow out.

And cake and ice cream.

We look a little glum, but really, we had a lot of fun celebrating Mila's special day.

BreyerWest & BreyerFest Volunteer Model

 BreyerWest is happening this weekend out in Denver, Colorado at the National Western Complex. 

I'd planned to go "some day" - Denver Daughter Sarah and her family lived in Aurora and I thought I'd combine a visit with them and BreyerWest. 

But Sarah is now Hawkeye Daughter as the family moved back to Iowa two years ago. And while Sarah still works for the Aurora Public Schools, she works mostly from home and commutes to Denver as needed. It is doubtful I will ever make it to BreyerWest now. (Luckily, BreyerFest is only four hours from me and I can get there fairly easily.)

Breyer gave the BreyerWest volunteers their models and in doing so, announced that they were also the volunteer model for BreyerFest.

The model is called Chevaliere and is an Appaloosa pony with two colors revealed and a third that Breyer will reveal later in the year. (First two photos from Breyer.)

I've been asked to steward for the BreyerFest Driving Forward Novice Photo Show so I will be getting one of the Chevalieres. 

I've helped Breyer with some other things in the past so I have a couple of volunteer models.

I was lucky and got both versions of Ben Nevis. My favorite is the darker version, but none of them, including the 2023 Chevaliere, can top Zeitgeist, the 2022 volunteer model.

She is absolutely stunning. Appaloosas may be my favorite breed, but black is my favorite horse color.

I don't have any Crois in my collection so Chevaliere will be a first for me. I'd prefer the sooty black of the two that have been revealed, but that could change depending on what the third one is.

Guess we will all find out in July!

Our Nauvoo Temple Belfry Stone

We got an unexpected gift a few days before Christmas from Craig's friend, Sam.

A stone from the belfry of the original Nauvoo temple.

Sam is a craftsman and had visited Nauvoo in the 1980s. Back then it was not uncommon to be allowed to have access to piles of rubble that had been removed from the original site and dumped outside of town. People would take bits of the temple home as souvenirs and Sam had brought some back to Indiana in the trunk of his car. 

(Lending credence to this, Craig and I have pieces of plates and glassware from Far West that we got in the 1980s. We were allowed to walk through the farm field next to the site where homes had once been in the 1850s. The field had just been plowed and lots of fragments were on top of the soil. The owner told us to take whatever we found.)

Sam and Craig with the Nauvoo belfry stone in our front garden.

Sam told us that our stone is from the belfry of the original building. Since he is a craftsman, I believe him. I'd love to pinpoint just where it came from.

A photograph of the original Nauvoo temple.

The temple was in use for four years and then the Saints were forced from Nauvoo and went west to Salt Lake City. In 1848, an arsonist set fire to the temple which left only the limestone walls standing.

Nauvoo Temple pencil sketch by Frederick Piercy in 1853.

Then, in 1850 a tornado hit the temple and toppled the north wall and weakened the others. The town dismantled what was still standing for safety. People took stones as souvenirs and the rest of the rubble was dumped outside of town.

Quite a gift, especially since Craig and I were tour guides for the second temple built on the site and dedicated in June, 2002. 

Sarah, me, Craig, Vanessa, Jessica, Andrew, Emily, Cole, and Curt.

And, we lived in Illinois for 27 years and Nauvoo was a favorite place to visit, so special to us that our 45th anniversary celebration was held there just this past summer!

Me, Craig, Sarah, Trinity, Curt, and JC.

Cole and Emily were married in the Nauvoo temple in June, 2010.

Me, Sarah, and Lisa.

The Nauvoo temple is very, very dear to our family, and to have a piece of the original means a great deal to us.

Thank you, Sam. 

Indiana, a Hotbed of Showing: River City Classic

River City Classic is held by Angela Morlock in Evansville which is at the very southwestern tip of Indiana and on the Ohio River.

This will be its 5th show and it is a benefit for the Posy County 4-H Club. (All photos used with permission.)

The show accommodates 50 entrants, and this year's show on April 1st is full with a waiting list.

Tables are color coded to help entrants get their models into the correct class. and this year's show is being held at the National Guard Armory.

The ribbons for the show are lovely

and there are trophies, too! (In the early days of live showing, trophies were seen far more often than they are now.)

The 2022 ribbons - I love that pop of blue!

I was excited to see that a Youth division is also available to children 14 and under.

Things to know:

- There are two Facebook pages for the show and both are kept up to date and are current.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1877889812477938

    https://www.facebook.com/RiverCityHorse

- The show's web site can be found here:  https://rivercityclassic.org/?fbclid=IwAR2Hp_tYSAqRivpOOp8XPiLkwW6pHtBAI_slQ19pSwtwETSjsQhCpfxr5Vo%2F

- Show divisions are OF Breyer/Other, OF Stone, Minis, Artist Resins, Customs, AR-Customs, Micro Mini, Medallions, Performance, and Children's.

- Friday set-up is available at 6:00 PM, and doors open Saturday with the show beginning at 8:30 AM Central time.

- The entry fee is $50.

- Your show string  (with your assigned numbers, names, breed, and gender) must be submitted by March 15. No models are allowed to be added to your show string after that.

I've heard good things about this show but never attended - maybe in 2024. (And I might even bring Pony Pal Mila for that Youth show!)

Tomorrow I'll wrap up their series. Stay 'tooned!

Indiana, a Hotbed of Showing: Last Insight/Wrap Up

This series about live showing in Indiana was prompted when a new show in Indiana, The Clover Classic, was announced. As the series progressed, there was a question that was asked on the Region 8 Facebook page about how many NAMHSA members there currently were.  

Here's a reminder:

R1: 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming)

R2: 13 (​California, Hawaii, Mexico, Nevada)

R3: 11 (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)

R4: 15 Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, North & South Dakota

R5: 19 (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana)

R6: 20 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North & South Carolina)

R7: 28 (Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee)

R8: 35 (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan)

R9: 24 (Delaware, Maryland, D.C., New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia)

RX: 21 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island)

R11: 5 (Canada)

Region 8 rep Chris Wallbruch's response surprised me, and led to a discussion as to why Region 8 had more members than any other region. (I would have guessed Region X which is a very active region with a large population.)

It is interesting to note that 3 of the 7 of the Hoosier shows (Indy Blooms, Clover Classic, and Dark Horse) are in their first or second years while FAMulous is only in its third. The "hotbed" is either recent or heating up again, depending on how you look at it.

Will the trend continue? Or, as it did in the late 1980s/early1990s, will it fade again?

Hard to tell, but I am curious to as to what the future brings to showing in Indiana. Something I will "stay 'tooned" for myself!

Indiana, a Hotbed of Showing: the Fall Stone Show

 Thanks to Shannon Call, we have some information on one of the Stone fall shows. She writes,

That is so weird - everything about Stone's model horse show last fall is gone from the site. It was The Little Horse Show so Stablemates, Pebbles, and Chips. I attended and it was a lot of fun. My husband and I stayed the night and made a weekend of it. I hope they have it again at the same place.

 Pokagon State Park, where the show was held, is in northwestern Indiana close to the border with Michigan and Ohio.

https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/inns/potawatomi-inn-at-pokagon-state-park/

It has a lot to offer, and is well known for its toboggan run. The run has an elevation of 90 feet and takes you down a 1/4 mile track at speeds of up to 42 mph.

It's not for the faint of heart (which would be why I have never been on it. Nor will I ever!)

Here are some pics from Shannon from the show weekend - like the spring shows, the fall ones have activities along with a model horse show.

The inn where attendees stayed and the show was held.

One of Shannon's big winners.

A lake in the park. (That part of Indiana is riddled with lakes.)

Horseback riding was one of the activities.

Hiking.

Shannon and her husband.

Thanks, Shannon, for sharing - I knew there were Stone fall shows but I could not find the info. 

One more Hoosier show is left on the list, so stay 'tooned!