Finished Bosal and Halter

Lots going on today so this has to be short. The Halter is a two color interweave halter for Jamie Stine. The colors are purple and dk green and didn't show up really well in the pictures, but in person you an tell.

The Bosal for Heather Jackson Lain's Model Horse Anonymous Live model Horse show is finished. I thought it would look spiffola on my Lonestar with my Terry Newberry saddle. I know that the leather is different colors but Terry's work always deserves a spotlight.

I hope your Monday is better!

Jumbled, backed up ideas

Above is a photo of some etching that I did on Sunday, while my husband played with/distracted my Son. I've been really trying to make my etching/engraving look a lot more refined. It's difficult with my dremel engraver because it has LOT Of vibration that just KILLS my hand.(Ie is really painful) Just when I get the flow of doing some engraving going well, my hand starts to ache really badly. I'm going to have to look into getting something with less vibration but with the same, if not more, control. I've come a long way though since those days with just a regular dremel!

I took the two above photos of my workstation while I was working on a woven halter. (you can see that too. It's now most of the way finished). The bright colors of the thread are really inspiring to me. I have SOOO many ideas in my head for braided tack that I can hardly contain myself and focus on the tasks in front of me. That is a really, really nice
feeling.

I'm still working on the mecate for the red bosal mentally. There HAS To be a way to do it and keep the right amount of tension on it. It's SOOO hard to do by hand though. I've looked at videos of how machines make them and I just WISH I had some kind of motorized or hand cranked contraption to help me. Maybe an engineering class of some sort is in my future? We'll have to see..

working on the mecate

Above are my first attempts at the Mecate. I say "first attempts" because I was wholely unhappy with how that first attempt turned out. It just would not stay twisted together to my satisfaction. I Should've left it alone but I was so mentally SET on getting it done that I rushed it a bit. It was also near the end of munchkin's nap one day so that added extra pressure. I can tell you that it's very hard to get waaaayyy into something (like I do)and then have to drop it. (Not that he's not worth it :-) )

So I tore it up and I'm trying it again a different way. Some of you may remember that I bought a drop spinner to try to learn to spin my own yarn.. well I never figgered it out because the directions were totally unhelpful to me. There are videos on youtube though that show one how to do it so I'm definitely going to go there when I have more time.

Munchkin didn't sleep well last night, which means that I didn't sleep well last night. Then he didn't want to take his normal morning nap. (of course) This means that I didn't sleep well and I haven't had a chance to catch up on sleep at all today.. Maybe this afternoon...

Finshed Bosal Hanger... onto the mecate!

Bosal almost done...

Above is another in progress photo and then a photo of the bosal hanger almost completed on a stand and on a "Phoenix Phace" resin head sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis. It doesn't really fit Phoenix but I wanted to show it on a western pleasure style horse. I still need to put an earpiece on it and make the mecate.

I've had a lot of time in the studio lately and it's been wonderful! I almost don't know what to do with all of the time up there. I have SOOO many ideas that it's hard to keep focus! hehehe

I may go ahead and make a bridle using a rio rondo bit and wait on a bridle with a hand made bit until later this year when munchkin isn't so sensitive to the dremel. I've been reading and hearing from other people that all munchkins are afraid of loud noises.. it's a defense mechanism of some sort. Poor bub.. I didn't know I was scaring him with all of my noisy tools!

IN progress pictures

I've actually, happily, been busy this week in the studio. Since all of the TV Shows that my husband and I watch together are on hiatus(thats our "together" time.. hubby LOVES tv..), I've been spending the evenings in the studio.

The Donation for Heather Jackson Lain's show is coming right along although it did give me a bit of trouble. I am using the "slit braid" method of attaching the hanger to the bosal and I finished one side late one night and then started the other side. My dumb brain couldn't remember how I did the first side so quite a bit of time was lost figuring it out so that I could duplicate it on the second side. duhhh.. hahahaha

I was going to use two colored rings but again, after I got part of it together, I didn't like the way it looked so I made solid colored rings instead.

The halter is for Jamie Stine. Jaimie has been nice enough over the years to always comment about my posts to my yahoo group or about the halters that I have put up for sale so I wanted to reward her by making her a custom halter for her Honey Bay Lady phase. As I mentioned a couple of posts ago I am considering doing a lottery every couple of months for custom halters so I just consider Jaimie's halter my first. The knots on her halter are blue, purple and white which is a very striking combination.

After I finish up these two projects I'm going to go back and try to learn the 4 bight long knot. I see it everywhere on tack and I feel like I really need to figure it out before I make any more braided bridles.

The little bit shank will have to be redone. Unfortunately I wasn't watching where I was dremeling close enough and I kinda screwed it up.

More Bosals

Above are pictures of the Bosals that I've been working on lately. The first picture, on the far right, is the bosal for Heather Jackson Lain's Model Horses Anonymous Show. There will be a headstall with some braidwork on it and a mecate. The photo underneath shows a "First draft" if you will, of that same bosal. I decided that the red and white nose button looked silly and unrealistic so I did it over with solid red. I think it looks much better that way!

More Blatherin..

Above are my latest attempts at bosals. The one on the left actually has a triple color interweave of white, brown and dk green. Unfortunately, in the picture or in person, you can't see the green now that it has been coated. Point driven home from Sue about how the colors have to be highly contrasting in order to see them THe second one, is rough because it's the one that I've been practicing on. Youc an also see at the bottom left of the heel knot where I should've gone under instead of over with the black thread.

The red one is similar to the donation that I'll be sending Heather Jackson Lain for her
Model Horse Anonymous model horse show. Heather is a vet tech in TN and we've spent hours at model horse shows talking about critters - mostly kitties. So it's my pleasure to donate to her show because the proceeds go to the Throroughbred Charities.. With any luck, I'll find a job this year and I'll be able to travel to the show myself.

Hubby and I have decided that the basement studio is a no go right now because of it's unfinished state. So no kiln for clay or PMC Clay right now. Maybe in the next house.. I'll still need to eek out my bits using dremel and silver. Hubby has promised that I can have some "Noisy" time on the weekends while munchkin is awake.

I posted the below to my yahoo group this morning. I haven't gotten any response to it which is disappointing so if you are reading this, and would like to comment on it, please do. I really would like to know if there is still interest custom work from me.

Posted earlier today on my
Yahoo Group:

Since I'm sure that you guys are probably being bombarded on your Yahoo Group lists with well wishes for the new year from several Folks, I'll keep this rather brief!

Firstly, thank you to everyone that entered the lottery for the last western show halter and for still being on this list and supporting me. It really does mean a lot to me!

Secondly, I'm considering doing a once a month lottery, or once every two months for made to order Halters (any kind of halter, not just western ones). This year I HAVE To find some kind of job so I am not totally sure how my time is going to work out which is why, if I do the custom halter lotteries, that I am going to limit it to something small like this.

The other alternative is to do what Susan B-Y does, which is hold a lottery every couple of years for custom tack orders with a turn around time of a year from when the order is started. I would like some feedback about this as it is a decision that I don't take lightly.

Third, and this is big news for me, I've learned to interweave a second color into my knots. This opens up an amazing amount of possibilities for braided and western tack and I'm really excited about it!

I will be sending Heather Jackson-Lain a donation of a Bosal Bridle for her Model Horse Anonymous show. (held in TN)

I will be doing something for the NAN 2009 auction.So stay tuned and I hope everyone has a wonderful new year!!

Heather Abounader

Museum Quality Miniatures

http://www.desertnightcreations.com/

http://desertnightcreations.blogspot.com/