Neck Strap DIY

So, neckstrap DIY time. I roached Gwyn's mane and needed something to hang onto in moments of super fast acceleration. This was my solution.  Material: Nylon webbing and a buckle.

I chose bright lime green because I'm in the Green Bean Endurance group and I wanted some way to identify myself. Once Gwyn's mane is longer I'll just braid in green ribbon. 

First, secure the strap on the non adjustable side. Some buckles are adjustable on both sides. I opted for one side fixed.

Square and cross with a straight stitch.

Add pyrotechnics to seal the edge of the nylon so it won't fray.

Thread the adjustable side and seal the edge again with fire/heat.

Test it.

Approval! With extra length just in case.

Bonus: I made two more belts! These are for sale and will fit a larger waist size rider.  There is a black with gold geometric ribbon and a navy with teal ribbon.

It was sunny and warm today so I removed Gwyn's blanket.

We had kisses and cuddle time

*SMOOSH*

"I nom your phone, Mom"

Then I got itches in return for scratching her.

Equestrian Surcingle Belt

I follow a horse blog called DIY Horse Ownership.  It's pretty much in line with my thoughts on horse ownership, and I do love to DIY something if it means it'll be cheaper. I also feel like I own the end result more, take pride in it.

In December, they posted a link on how to make your own Surcingle Belt! Now their thought process was mostly driven by cost. Mine is driven by 'what is available in my size'? Belts for riding are NOT one of them. To that end, this DIY project was right up my alley.

I finally made a trip to Joann Fabrics (before I got sick on Saturday, it really came out of nowhere) and got some supplies. Because really, this looks like an amazing project and if I can sell some... well, that's even better! I could even market to the plus size rider group. 

Tonight I finally felt well enough and had kid free time to sit down and make one.  When I got the cotton belting, one of the pieces was less than a yard. Not great for an adult size belt, but perfect for Kaylee. I also found some clearance ribbon with Frozen characters which Kaylee immediately took a liking toward. So my first attempt won't be for sale, but will be for Kaylee!

While I do a basic DIY, I recommend heading to the blog link above. Their instructions are fantastic.

My short piece of belting and the clearance ribbon.

First, measure out your ribbon so it's 6 in longer than your belting. Pin the ribbon to the belting.

Sew the ribbon to the belting

Attach all the buckles and badaboom, you're done! (LOL, told you to go to the other blog)

I think Kaylee will be thrilled.  

This belt has a waist size range of 20-32 in so perfect for kids and highly adjustable. Total cost, not including thread, needles and pins is $11.14. It took me less than an hour to make, my very first time. I consider myself an advanced beginner sewer, fwiw.

Riding Skirt: Prototype 1

So I've made my awesome quarter sheet (that I have a few additions still left to do, namely a tail cord and maybe some weights so it actually stays centered on Gwyn's butt) and with temperatures now in the single and negative digits, I decided I can't put this off a year and need to get moving on making a riding skirt.

I've seen one website linked a couple times from different horse friends of these awesome riding skirts made by a woman owned business in Alaska. These things look spectacular and there are a couple different kinds for all sorts of weather. There's one made out of what appears to be a sleeping bag or heavy duty winter coat material, a wool one, a duck canvas one and a lighter one for rain.

I really want all of them. But my bank account says NONE.  They are seriously so expensive. But I do already have a sewing machine and a serger. And JoAnn's has fleece for 50% off like every day (just mark it down to that price, silly capitalists!)

I figured I could make a working muslin of a riding skirt with cheap fleece and once I perfected the pattern, go and snag some decent winter jacket material from Seattle Fabrics so I have a REALLY warm one!

Image Heavy Below this link! 

Day 2: Thankfullness (with some photots)

2: What are you excited about in the coming month?

Oh boy!

So, the biggest thing I'm excited about right now is my riding lesson next week. I'm hoping this trainer will be a good fit, though I'm less enthused at HOW MUCH I'd be paying for her to come to me versus me going to her given the distance that separates us. (Less than a mile)

I've also gotten permission to thin out some brush between my neighbor and the farm fields so I can get Gwyn back there for some winter riding.

I've also applied to a job at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, which would give me a shorter drive to work and likely more money. The job I really wanted was already gone from the website, despite still being out on the webs. Ah well.

Our neighbors are having a belated Halloween Party on Saturday that I'm also excited for. They are good people.

And there's a seminar on becoming a wildlife rehabilitator that I'm planning to attend with the same neighbor. That's something I've always wanted to do and I'd like to know how feasible it would be and how much time and money commitment is necessary.

It's almost bedtime, but I'm also feeling really motivated to get my hunting season quarter sheet made up so we can safely ride in the chill. I'm also looking into making my own riding skirt for warmth and water protection. I just need the ride material and I think I'm going to need to order that online. I'm not sure if there's a specialty fabric store nearby that would carry it.

And so this isn't all words...

She insists on carrying Gwyn's feed pan 

I did a thing to my hair, this was a transition phase. 

Lanterns light the way at night

Sunsets are beautiful

The thing with the hair is better

Hazel gets a tiny curly pony tail

We all make silly faces

She wasn't actually grumpy, she was testing out her faces since she could see herself on the camera, lol

Kaylee draws EVERYWHERE, which is actually an improvement from when she refused to draw anything

Everywhere

Sunrise just hitting the tops of the trees

School Photo

Halloween Snow

"Wait a minute..."

He did not stay out long.

November Thankfulness

So here's the plan: I've got two sets of daily journaling prompts, one about thankfulness, one about horses. They'll be separate posts (and the horse one will be posted to my Gwyn Blog)

So let's jump in, happy NaNoWriMo to those who are participating!

Thankfulness

1: What do you want to do this month? Write your goals for the month, and think about what you need to do to accomplish them.

So my first goal is to do these journaling prompts every day in November. It will be self reflective time.
Second goal is riding once a week minimum. I'll be having a riding lesson next week so I'll have things to work on! This will be the hardest because it's now dark and cold when I have riding time (excepting weekends)
Exercise 4 days a week.
Go to a wildlife rehabbing seminar.
Make my Orange quarter sheet for safe riding during hunting season
Draft up a pattern to make a riding skirt for warm riding

It's a lot! It's ambitious.  To do this I'm going to need to rely on Eric a lot for support watching the girls. I should be able to ride on weekends, and maybe work on the sewing projects after the kids are in bed, which is also when the exercise will be happening.

I'll likely do the journaling either right before bed or during slow moments at work.

I tend not to write about terribly awful stuff unless it's really bothering me and I need to sort things out in writing to clarify my feelings.

This is not that kind of post. This is self indulgent whine. I am not ashamed.

I woke up to Eric's alarm this morning, peed and tried to fall back asleep. The light from the bathroom (we don't have a door, just a doorway) kept me awake so I browsed facebook. It was briefly nice to say goodbye to him this morning, because normally I'm passed out asleep.

But then, after he left, I just lay there. And realized my left nostril and sinus was utterly blocked. And that my mouth was dry and I felt like shit and that lingering sore throat had finally ramped up after weeks and weeks of simmering on low.

UGH.  I have a cold. Possibly sinus infection because my gums ache but more likely just a cold and I can't take anything for it to alleviate symptoms.

So I'm going to wallow in my own misery. Especially since I couldn't get back to sleep. Kaylee woke up at 8 and came in to snuggle with me. She turned on her kindle to do something and finally sleep was within reach. But only briefly.

Thankfully she's an independent sort of kid and we try and keep kid friendly snacks and meals within reach for her, so she brought me a juice box and some stuff to open for her to eat while I tried to snooze.

I gave up at 9 and coffee loaded myself up in an effort to make it through to the afternoon when she'd go to school.

She's now at school. I told Gwyn last night I'd play with her today, but honestly I don't have the energy to be out in the cold.  So I'm going to work on my sewing projects. I can sit, turn on music and zone out if needed. If I watched tv I'd probably fall asleep. Or if I laid down. That may still happen.

Fabric for my projects. I'm planning to make a labor gown and summer dress. I've got enough fabric for at least 3 in this picture. The pink is reversible and will be one on its own. The b/w print will go with the solid teal, the black and teal solid will go with the upper gray.   The bottom black is a swim suit lycra and the bottom gray is a quick drying sports knit. Those were more impulse purchases...

On a positive note, I bought a wrap and ring sling from my friend Laurel and it arrived today!  I'm so excited to use it, it's beautiful and feels so soft. I think the ring sling will be on the list to bring to the hospital and I'll babywear Hazel immediately.

The bottom rainbow is the girasol wrap. Very high quality wrap and already broken in! The more pink one is the ring sling. It's nice and light! I think it'll be perfect for summer. She also threw in a pair of baby legs, two swaddles and an amber necklace that Kaylee is currently wearing.

Day off being a Mom

Judy called yesterday and asked if Kaylee was available. We told her she had camp in the morning but was welcome to pick her up from camp for the rest of the day.

So suddenly, I dropped Kaylee off at 8:30 this morning and was left with a WHOLE DAY to myself. I was overwhelmed with time.

What did I do?

I came home and worked briefly on the jumps I'm making and finished drilling holes and sanded down the edges.

Then I went inside and took a nap. It was glorious. I'm still sick with a cold so while this seems like a lazy way to go, it honestly was one of the few things I can do to get better thanks to the pregnancy. OTC meds are not allowed in 1st and 3rd trimesters (like Nyquil) so I've been managing with tea, vitamin c cough drops, steam and sleep. I woke up right around noon, noted no one had called my phone in a panic regarding Kaylee's pick up and went to go make lunch.

After lunch, during which I watched some Netflix, I headed downstairs and troubleshot the printer, getting it back onto the wireless, at which point the two print jobs that were queued to it started printing. While that worked, slowly, I went to my craft corner and started organizing more.

My sewing machine is now set up and ready for stuff to be made! I've got a couple things in the docket that I've been wanting to make and now that I have a good workspace for that, I can move on it!

I also practiced my viola. I ended up getting a short gig to play at a backyard wedding. I'm getting $30 for 45 minutes of my time. I did end up buying $20 worth of sheet music but if I continue to do small stuff it'll be negligible now that I have the physical music. The gig is Friday evening. I'm planning to go and do my best.

The pregnancy is going well. I've really only had some crazy exhaustion, minor nausea, no throwing up, which is about par for the course and similar to my last pregnancy with Kaylee. Talking about all that is really its own entry, so I'll stop there for now.

Sewing Project list ahoy!
1. Training underwear for Kaylee! We're night training now, and while she hasn't had an accident, these underwear have a little bit of extra absorbtion in the crotch. They seem simple and are a pattern written by a friend, so I promised to try it out.
2. Peg Legs pattern. These are a legging pattern that I got for free through a FB group (legitimately free, btw, I paid for other patterns that I mention later) I want to try and modify them to make my own riding pants. I'm not sure I found the right fabric at Joann's though. I did order sample fabrics from Seattle Fabrics because they specifically carry equestrian breech and riding tight fabric.
3. The ears for my crocheted covers. I want to use a netting for better air flow and want to experiment. Again, I have the fabric already, I just needed my machine set up!

To Do:

1. Apply for an Environmental Quality Analyst position with the Michigan DNR because it's also in Warren (where Eric will be working) and it's the kind of job I've been wanting to do!

2. Pack up most of my sewing supplies. I still need to finish Cheryl's blanket for Sara but that shouldn't require more than thread, scissors, my sewing machine and a seam ripper. Probably my chalk too, but for that project I might use wall chalk instead!

3. Finish the blanket for Cheryl.

4. Call real estate agents about viewing some property while we're in Michigan after Christmas. We fly there in a week.

5. Contact a friend of Eric's from high school who runs a horse barn and get some recommendations for vet, farrier and saddle fitter.

6. Paint the stair risers once Eric has cut them to size.


This move is getting more and more real!