Well, it's happened!

I've been sitting on this piece of news for a little bit, as I didn't think it was going to happen, but it has!

Last year I applied to get into a diploma course for enrolled nursing. The slight problem with this course is that it is on the other side of the country. I currently live in Melbourne, and the course is in Perth.

Semi-related pic is semi-related.

So getting into said course means only one thing - moving!

I fly out of Victoria on the 31st of January - about a week from now - and my course starts on the 4th of February. Because I am returning to study, I have made the decision to close my books and stop working on tack while I'm over there.

The course runs for 18 months, but who knows - I might end up with a job afterwards and stay there for a little while. So at this stage I can't predict when my books will reopen or when I will be back to making tack again.

This blog might get updated if I attend horse shows and have photos to share, but pretty much you should expect it to go quiet. If you add it to your RSS reader you will be notified of any new posts, though!

Thanks to everyone for their support and hose who have ordered from me up until now - it saddens me to stop making tack for such a long period, but in the meantime I hope to build up a lo of inspiration for my return!

Draft tack

Remember how a few weeks ago, I received a Stone Drafter in the mail, and I called him Monster because he was so big?

He is so big that I had to order in new lace just to fit his big noggin!

I'll back track a little bit. I answered a Wanted posted on MHSP for some draft tack - a halter and a bridle, and when the cutomer decided to work with me, dutifully went out and bought Mr Stone Drafter so I wouldn't have to work from measurements.

While the customer came up with her final decision for her order, I messed around with my leather to see what I could get to fit him. I knew part of the order would involve white lace, so I got experimenting with different sizes.

Unfortunately, the only two white sizes I had in stock were 3mm (1/8") and 8mm (5/16"). The 3mm by itself wasn't going to work, as I dislike the two-piece crownpiece some hobbyists use. I thought I would be smart and trim the 8mm down to 6mm, and attach 3mm straps to it for the cheekpieces and throatlatch.

Unsurprisingly, it was too big!

Frustrated, I put it aside and dug around in my leather bag. The customer by then had decided she wanted a bridle in a shade of brown, so I started to work on that. Luckily for me, I had brown in 4.5mm (3/16") width! I figured that if I could use that for the crownpieces, I could use regular 2mm for the cheekpieces and throatlatch. The difference in width between them would be less than a 1mm, so I figured I could pull it off.

And pull it off I did!

This is 'brandy' coloured lace, darkened with leather conditioner. (The conditioner hadn't fully  set in by this point so the colouring is a little wonky.) With the 2mm straps I could still use the B6 buckles from Rio Rondo (funnily enough, Rio Rondo says those buckles are for 3/32" lace (2mm), but I normally use them on 3mm lace). I did fix that wonky browband hole too.

I was very pleased with how it came out - but it didn't resolve my issue for making a piece from white leather, as I didn't have it in 4.5mm width. I whinged on Blab a bit but eventually caved and bought a 10m hank (at ~$25). I don't think I could have completed this order if I didn't order that leather!

At first I tried to copy the brown bridle, and use 2mm on the cheekpieces and throatlatch, and a 3mm browband and noseband, and cut the straps from the crownpiece right up the middle. But it didn't look right.

(Ignore the chain derp, haha).

I went back and did some more research, and found some pictures of Belgians wearing white halters that had thicker cheekpieces, but their throatlatches were narrower. Lightbulb!

So I went back, partially pulled apart what I had made of the white halter, and gave it 3mm cheekpieces. Then, with a new crownpiece, I cut the straps off centre. The straps for the cheekpiece are now closer to 3mm, and the strap for the throatlatch is closer to 2mm. When put together with a throatlatch made from 2mm lace, I got the picture I was after!

The cheekpieces could theoretically be a smidge shorter and the browband a touch shorter too, but right now they are good as-is.

The real reason for this lengthy post is to let you know I have a surprise about draft tack to share with you in a few days. :D I don't think anyone will care aside from me, but I am super excited, so I will be sharing it with you anyway - so stay tuned!

It followed me home, Mum...

... Can we keep it? :D

Unfortunately this big boy is only here for a short stay, just long enough to get some new clothes of the leather kind. He is one of Karen Grigson's newest projects, and I don't think he has a name as yet. (He's not finished, so ignore the paint marks from Equitana, hehe).

Isn't he fantastic? I can't believe he started out as the bubble-butt Belgian! Check out those fuzzy ears - and that beard!

Karen has given me almost-free rein on the stallion rig I am to make for him. Luckily, with Shires there is lots of variety - so I have a tough choice ahead of me! I do know he is going to look absolutely swish all dressed up.

I don't know what colour his flights (ribbons) will be, so I can't do a snazzy set with coloured nylon like this

 

or swish coloured leather inserts like this:
 

 

 

(To be fair, I don't think my leather skills are good enough to pull off a bridle like that!)

But there are still plenty of other options. I could go American-style:

or give it lots of bling.

I could go a little bit plain and workman-like,

or somewhere in between.

It's so hard to choose! Sure you don't want to choose for me, Karen?

An Order

Simple and effective - silver lace replaces etched or cast plates, and you can't really tell the difference!

When it rains, it pours...

This is what my order list looks like at the moment:

2 x traditional racing sets (one for a customer, one for sale)
1 x classic bridle for Stacey before December
1 x classic bridle for Lisa's D'Arry CM classic Haflinger
1 x traditional lunge set for Stacey before December

Then as always after a show, there are pieces of my tack that I need to fix or remake:

2 x classic girths to make (one to be done before December)
2 x classic bridles
1 x stallion presentation surcingle (Doorstop's, before December)
1 x trad Western bridle for Stacey

Luckily I am all amped up and ready to work! Just need to finish that sale saddle so I can get some cash to buy more lace. I might have also bought two hides from Packers, too. >.> But one of them should (hopefully) be the fabled dark brown I am looking for!

Saddleseat bridles

FC contacted me about six weeks ago to organise an order of two traditional saddleseat bridles for her ever-growing collection of Saddlebreds. A couple of years ago, when I was just starting out taking orders, I made her some saddleseat bridles.

This was 'back in the day' where the only tack colours I owned were black and this mid-brown. The browbands and nosebands were made with a combination of white and clear nail polish and pen ink. Hehe! These days I am lucky to have a ton of coloured leather at my disposal thanks to my awesome supplier Amazing Oz, so it's real coloured leather this time around.

FC had already bought two TWMHC Weymouth bits, but didn't want to post them, so we agreed to meet up at Mini Mania Live.

Bridle one is in a lovely dark chocolate brown (I'm really starting to fall in love with this colour again - it comes up with a lovely shine when treated with gum trag) with a red browband.

(I'm using Lonesome Glory as a fit model, as he has a fairly long and skinny head. I hope he will be a reasonable substitute for FC's Saddlebreds.)

Bridle two is the same, but with a cornflower blue browband.

While FC requested cornflower blue, she also requested the tapered browband style that is popular in the show ring. Unfortunately I don't have cornflower blue in the wider width (4.5mm) that I used for the red browband, so I've also made her a royal blue tapered browband (not shown), as that is a colour I do have in the wider lace.

We all know that I'm not so good with cutting straight, so I was worried about how to do the tapered browbands, until I came across this set on MHSP:

and I realised the browband on that set just had tapered ends, not that the entire browband was gently tapered. That's something I can do! In model scale you don't really notice the difference and I am quite pleased with the effect. Hopefully FC will be too!

Orders up to my ears!

Well, this is exciting! I don't usually get orders, but suddenly I have them coming out my ears!

FC: Two traditional saddleseat bridles in dark brown (received bits and pictures at Mini Mania)
Dan: Two pairs dark brown/dark brown skid boots, one to fit Rose Reiner, the other to fit Smarty Jones. Donation for BANG (Black and Gold Live, May 29)

I've also promised a donation to Central Coast Live on July 2. The host, Jennie, will be donating all profits to her friend's partner, Andrew Macintosh, who was recently diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. She's given me permission to post the story here on my blog.

"Those of you who were at Central Coast live 2010 would have met my friend, Nicole, who was judging the Custom Trad/classic section. 

In August 2010 Nicole's, then partner, Andrew was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. MND is a disease where the nerves that supply the muscles die, the muscles then wither, including muscles that control swallowing, speaking and other vital areas. 

Nicole and Andrew were in the process of building their own home - 2 storey.

Nicole and Andrew were married in April. At a recent fundraising event for Andrew, I learnt of the amount of money that is required for Andrew's treatment and equipment to keep him comfortable. It costs approx $40,000 to get him to China for the Stem Cell Treatment that is the only treatment with the possibility of a better quality of life.
I had planned to keep any profit from Central Coast Live 2011 to fund future shows, but I now see that any profit would be better used to help Andrew while he is with us.

So, for as long as we have him, Central Coast Live will be a fundraiser for the Andrew Macintosh fund. Thank you to all those people who support my show and the raffle, it is going to a good cause."

While I have never met Andrew, or even Jennie, I am always happy to help out where I can. I only hope that my donation to the raffle will help Andrew get to China quicker for his treatment.

If you would like to buy raffle tickets, please email Jennie or visit the show's website.