Horseplay!

TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2012

Horseplay

I have collected model horses since Christmas, 1963 when Santa brought me Brownie, a small china horse complete with English tack and chain reins. He's been broken many times and patiently re-glued, first by my Dad and then as I grew older, by me, and is proudly displayed in my china hutch despite his bedraggled state.

My collection numbers 500-600 pieces now, and I still buy a few pieces every year. But, I am beginning to think of selling some of it - my family doesn't want to inherit all those horses (can't say I blame them - it takes all of my office and a china hutch in the living room to store them!) but I do hope they choose a piece or two to keep when I am gone.

I used to show my collection several times a year, and Jessica, Lisa, and Cole sometimes came along with me when they were little. But it has been at least eight years since I took my collection anywhere, so, when I saw a listing for a show in Iowa this April, and it was being held on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, I decided I would pull some pieces out and go play ponies with other collectors.

It has surprised me to discover how excited I am about going. I am looking forward to drooling over other people's collections, chatting with some old friends who I haven't seen since my last show days, and just having a chance to pull out and mess with some OTHER old friends - my own collection pieces who rarely leave the safety of their shelves.

My old show materials needed updating, so I decided to sew a new stable cloth for the show table. (Naturally I selected orange.) My friend, Loni, has a sewing machine that will stitch words, so she is going to let me come over and use her machine to write my stable name and the year it was established on the cloth. "Windsong, est. 1963."

And, I am making pony packs to pack the models in for transporting them to and from the show. I created a rectangle pattern with a flap that I am sewing out of orange fleece.

 To ensure my pony packs fit my horses, I pulled an old favorite off the shelf. This is Sham, one of my original pieces. I have had him since the late 60s. (Yes, he has a name, and yes, I could not resist kissing him on the nose when I took him down!)

Sham is not one of my more valuable pieces despite his vintage status (he is 45+ years old), so I could use him as a model and not worry too much about harming his show status. Even now as I write, I look at that picture of him and smile. I do love my collection, especially my oldest pieces! The rides they used to take my Barbies on...

 Since my collection spans a variety of different sized horses, I am making pony packs in several sizes. All are out of orange fabric, Windsong's stable colors. (The orange handled scissors just happen to be manufactured that way, but they do add to the color scheme, don't they!)

Here's a stack of completed pony packs. They go very quickly - maybe five or six minutes start to finish. (Gotta love fleece fabric which doesn't ravel so you don't need to finish seams!) The tub on the bed is one of five I bought to pack the collection in when I go. The tubs I used to have for shows are long gone.

My LDS friend and fellow collector, Cristine, has invited me to stay with her as she lives just fifteen minutes from the show hall. She is a stake Seminary supervisor, and has a meeting the day of the show, so she will only be able to show for part of it (although I may proxy show some of her pieces for her.) I am going to stay at her home, Holt Haven on the Mississippi River, and maybe get to play with her REAL horses, too. (Note to self: pack some carrots!) Sunday I will go to church with Cristine and then head home that afternoon.

I can hardly wait!