Bling It On

Yesterday Owen was looking so adorable as he greeted me when I arrived to the barn that I just had to get a picture of his handsome little self.  Unfortunately, he kept following me around, so this is all I could get.  Not terribly flattering, is it?

Work has been really tough lately, since I've been seeing a lot morbidly sick pets.  I have three coming back in tomorrow for radiographs under sedation...all double booked with my regular appointments.  I haven't actually had a lunch break in several months, but what are you going to do with sick pets?  Tell them to come back when it's convenient?  The hard thing is that I have a sneaking suspicion that two of them are going to have fatal cancers and one is going to need several thousand dollars of orthopedic surgery if she is ever going to walk normally...breaking bad news to devastated owners is the worst part of the job. 

So, when I get home I really need to do something satisfying, and as of late that's been sewing.  I've had some more ideas about western outfits that I'd like to sew, and I'm afraid this making garments is getting to be a bit of an obsession, especially since I don't even have a western horse!  Owen may have to start showing in western pleasure this summer just so I have a chance to wear it all.  But he's gotten so lazy that may not be much of a stretch.  The lambskin came yesterday for the appliques.

First I sketched a curlicue and cut it out of cardboard.  Here is the template on the apron corner:

Then I cut the shape out of crocodile embossed lambskin and lightly glued it down so it would stay in place when I started sewing:

Sewing down the appliques was a real pain...I wish I'd been a little less ambitious, since turning a couple lbs of leather in the machine was very tough!  But here it's sewn down, with a bunch of crystals painstakingly hand placed.  The glue's not quite dry, so that's why there are some whitish areas; the glue will eventually dry clear.

I don't think this apron is ever going to be finished.

Ruff'n It

I've had a couple of comments from ladies that also enjoy sewing sidesaddle attire, so I thought I'd show you a casual sidesaddle turnout that I have admired for many years, and which inspired me to attempt a leather apron.

These pictures are of a trail riding apron made by my friend and long time sidesaddle enthusiast Barb Thelan.  Barb is one of those riders about whom you tend to hear little, because she dedicates her sidesaddle time to the trails.  It's ladies such as Barb that I think we really need to trumpet about because, while you'll never see her picture in a horse show magazine, she quietly promotes riding aside by the sheer numbers of people she interacts with on the trail.  She rides out with the cowboyz in their tough astride saddles...and she keeps up over very tough country.  She literally spends hours in the saddle at a time, so if there is any sort of fit or comfort problem, she'll know about it.

Here's the apron sitting on a stand.  I'm pretty sure it's cowhide...tho' it may be deerskin.  She didn't have a big enough hide to get the entire primary pattern on and had to piece.  While I added a seam down the front thigh dart, Barb ran a vertical seam about 6 inches from the back edge.  Like me, she used handcut fringe.

Barb looking sportin' in her cowboy hat and leather apron.  You can see her Steele sidesaddle on her horse, Beau, in the background.

However...Barb values her cranial contents more than her appearance, so she wears a helmet once mounted.  Her apron is fastened with a velcro strip, allowing for infinite adjustment.

Barb also has this cool matching suede jacket with Native American style beading to go with her apron.  She's all geared up to hit the trail with matching saddle bags, etc..

Barb has had this apron for many years and it has held up beautifully.  Given the rough type of riding she does, there is no way a fabric apron would have lasted as long.  When they take a break out on the trail for lunch, Barb just pulls off her apron and spreads it on the ground to use as a picnic blanket!  She says that she has little trouble cleaning her apron...the dirt and mud brush off the leather once dry.

Truly a multipurpose garment.