New Chapters

Somewhere on my third or fourth outing on Nick, I realized I was going to be hitting an annual brick wall. Cooper was a green horse once long ago and had the benefit of two good years of daily riding from April to November. Over that two years, we parted ways a few times, had many discussions about acceptable trail behavior and grew together as rider and mount. He turned into my perfect partner and I like to think I'm his. Dandy had a fine start before he came to us and needed about 30 days of consistent riding to get into condition and beyond the skills he had come with. Nick as horse 3 in the herd is never going to get that kind of time here. I have more things other than riding that I like to do and truth be told, I like my two easy experienced trail horses. Isn't this what I worked so hard for? Yes, it is.  So it is not with a heavy heart that I tell you Nick is starting a new chapter in his life, one in which he gets the opportunity to be someones much loved "Cooper". When my occasional riding partner Mary saw Nick, she fell in love with him. When I mentioned I needed to move him along she thought that he would be a fine replacement for her much loved but ready for retirement horse, Woodrow. I thought she would be perfect to handle his gregarious and playful nature.



 Both her riding style and soft touch bode well for a blossoming partnership.  There are 4 happy souls in this deal. Everyone is getting just what they need and want at just the right time. Bonus is, I'll get to visit him since he won't be too far away. He leaves tomorrow and I know there are going to be tears, but not too many.

Since chapters is part of the subject of this post, here are two wonderful new additions to my small sewing library. The first is actually a weighty textbook for fashion design students and covers a wealth of topics taking you from basics to couture.



 I have coveted this book for a while but the price is out of this world.



After over a year a reasonably priced copy came up on eBay and Gene grabbed it for me. The second is all about inspiration.



 It's not going to tell you how to make something, but when you're scanning around for ideas to jazz something up, this is a go to for sure.



The horizontal pin tucks on the cuffs of my last San Diego top came right from this book.

Very little sewing has happened this week. Preparations for Nick's move and deck stuff have eaten into hobby time, but I did manage one lovely sleeveless duster from Connie Crawford's new Butterick pattern 5473.



This was a fun pattern to do and very nicely drafted. It is easy but does have a fair amount of finishing to the garment so it takes a little more time than you would think for a long vest.



The fun colored selvage provided a little detail between the bodice and lower portions



Finally after a week of grumbling and swearing, Gene has finished up the eight forms. The concrete company heads up this afternoon to pour those footings and we can get to the actual structure building next week. I'm sick of the ladder. Bringing groceries in yesterday was a real pain. I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend with no holidays or festivals. Maybe a reflective morning ride or two.

Parting shot: Purple Timmy, when green or orange Timmy just won't do!