Secretly busy!

I know it's been a long time, y'all. I've been busy with my day job and also, my hubby has been out of town since last Thursday. He's gone to the cigar convention he attends every year with his buddy, and I just love the timing of it because it gives me time to work on his birthday present without worrying about him walking in on me.

Yes, I've been enjoying five glorious days of "me time", doing whatever I feel like and hogging the whole bed to myself. I always start out saying I'm going to spend all my time at the barn with my horse, and I do, a bit, but then I find other projects to work on, too.

You'll have to wait until the end of the month to see what I've made for Dave.  But I finished up a dark brown wool Bocksten tunic for myself or to lend to a friend. I'm still deciding on if I want to put embroidery on the neckline or not. I can always do it at another time. The fabric is very soft and fine. I might end up wearing this around the house!

Then I cleaned up and repaired a saddle for my riding instructor. Her youngest student is eight years old, and a tiny little thing, so the saddle she uses is also small. The first time I saw it, I squealed with delight -- it looks like she stole it off the mechanical pony in front of the drugstore! The seat is about ten inches from horn to cantle and it looks like a toy, although it is a proper piece of equipment. I polished it up and put a few stitches in a tiny tear in one fender, then brushed up and vacuumed the fleece to get it nice and clean. For size comparison, here is Ivan playing cowboy.

For two nights I worked on Dave's present. More on that later, of course.

And then last night I got out my box of leather whatnots to see what I had that could be re-purposed into a breast collar for my friend Emily. Nothing fancy, she said, and I aim to please. A heavy pair of harness leather reins seemed just the thing, and my tin of hardwares offered up a few rings and buckles to answer my needs. It's so nice not to have to run to the store! It's just three simple straps, so it doesn't look like much by itself. I'll see if I can get a snap of it on her horse later.

And now it's time for me to get back to work. I really wish I could show you Dave's present. It's kind of a departure for me, something I haven't tried before, and I'm quite pleased with the results. More on that later!