Sunday, November 20, 2011

Those Devious Donkeys!

Oh, you think they are cute don't you?


They gently take any and all treats from your fingers like highborn ladies at tea, they stand like fine Italian statues while you dress and undress them. They even come and rest their little shaggy heads on your shoulders if you sit a spell with them. All the books say they are very smart, but you think to yourself it doesn't look like much goes on behind those soft eyes and heavy brow.


If you think that you would be OH SO WRONG. They plot, in fact I know they likely whisper stuff as they stand three abreast in their trailer hut. Warm and dry while you lug hay through all kinds of nasty weather. So it was Friday late afternoon. The gate was getting hard to open and close with the snow, so I decided to do a stall guard with two lead ropes, one high, one lower with about 12-15" in between and some slack. I left them suspiciously eyeing my creation as hay was happily munched. At 7:30 that night Gene burst into the house after a long afternoon in town doing errands and announced that we had donkeys on the loose, all three were in the driveway. I got myself bundled up and out we went, carrots in hand. In the driveway you say? Not a donkey to be found, but so many little tracks in the snow going here and there, no way to track the little buggers either. No eye shine, no tell tale rustle of donkey coats, just snow and cold. Sneaky, quick and quiet you could add to that list of traits. So, after looking and calling we found ourselves back at the top of the driveway, when I spied a short little quick eye shine. The gang of three had taken themselves back to their paddock. Sugarfoot even put himself back in and was eating the last of the hay. The ladies were hanging by the intact lead rope stall guard, tapping their hooves and waiting for that errant doorman. I bustled them in, pulled the gate back into place, calmed the horses who were working on their own escape plan and went in and had a good stiff drink. I have new found respect for those little long ears.

So, besides the donkey incident, a flat tire on Bob the tractor ( he got a new one to replace it) snow, a cancer scare with one of the dogs (Pogo has an unusual type of infection and the fix is a long course of antibiotics..whew!), and Dennett going off and then back on his food, I have managed to put together a single new top. Sewing Workshop's Zigzag Top and it was a lot of fun.


It was a completely different collar/yoke construction than I have ever done and it kept me concentrating for most of the sewing. While tricky, the directions as always with SW patterns are first rate. This is made from pinwale corduroy and I have modified it a bit with the addition of some ribbon,


making little "cuff" tucks in the sleeves


and adding pockets. Only one has the little ribbon detail.


Casual tops always benefit from pockets and these are nicely interfaced and lined to prevent sagging. Overall I am happy although it is a bit too big. Next one I'll go down a size. This one might shrink though. I rarely prewash fabrics unless I am mixing them. Garment manufacturers don't so why should I? I build in the shrink room on the cutting table. It works for me.

Parting shots: You can take pictures of cute little me to your hearts desire,
but NO, I am not leaving this to go outside for a walk.
No way!

11 comments:

LA said...

Had a little walkabout, did they! What an adventure! I'm just glad they are safe and sound in their paddock. The shirt looks amazing! And, the parting shot, as always, is just too cute.

Leigh said...

LOL. Animals are amazing and an endless source of entertainment (if one can call a frantic night time run about, entertainment. :) Gruffy, our pygmy buck has figured out how to undo the bailing twin I use to keep one of the stall doors open. That means he's forever "locking" himself inside.

The ribbon is a wonderful touch on the top. Sounds like sewing is your cure for stress!

Valerie said...

I don't know why, but your donkeys capture my imagination more than any of the other animals. Maybe it's the childhood influence of the Bremen Town Musicians on me...then the adult influence of Shrek's donkey.

The corduroy top is cute! A little big will make it easy to layer a Tee under it.

Valerie said...

Oh my gosh..just realized that I think you have the making for the whole band of Bremen town musicians....if you have a rooster?

Better watch that gate more carefully!

Mary said...

Thanks for sharing the tale of your long ears. I love the blouse you made-the ribbon accent is a detail I may just have to copy.

ladyoftheloom said...

The camp has run amuck! Except for the sewing of course. Glad the donkeys and all dogs are OK.

Anonymous said...

Amuck, amuck, run amuck! Three little donkey's running all around... love those big earred kids of yours. Wonderful that all the kids are doing well and that you are sewing to your heart's delight. Happy Turkey day!

Theresa said...

I guess they did run amuck! Although running is usually not in a donkeys vocabulary. More likely they trotted jauntily or walked, which is their speed of choice.
Valerie, I'll have to bone up on the Bremen Town Musicians but no I don't have a live rooster. :) Will noisy Stellar Jays do I wonder?
Mary, go ahead and copy away and have fun with ribbon. There are so many beautiful ones available to us these days.
Leigh, goats are too clever for their own good, seems donkeys too!
LA, Stella more so than any other animal here photographs perfectly every time and she is such a pretty little girl, hard not to get a cute shot 99% of the time. Even her little black nose is photogenic. An she KNOWS it!

Thank you all for the compliments on the blouse. I think it's one of the most comfortable ones I've made to date. Something about corduroy too, just makes you feel cozy and happy to wear it.

R. Delight said...

Oh Theresa! I just love reading your posts. Always good for a chuckle, inspiration, and admiration. That good stiff drink was well deserved. I guess the antics of all the critters give credence to the saying "driven to drink!" Have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sharon said...

I wish our llamas were as easy to catch as your donkeys. I'm glad you post your sewing projects - you keep me inspired. I haven't sewn in a while, but I'm wearing one of my tops today.

Judy said...

You know they are plotting their next escape while you sleep, don't you? ;-) Thanks for sharing with us a great post.
I like your top, especially with the ribbon trim you added. That's a really nice touch.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.