Horse Stuff

I started taking riding lessons again about a year and a half ago.  I ride English - hunt seat (like the British, only I have never gone foxhunting), and I am a bit perfectionistic about it, although I am about as far from a perfect rider as you can get, but I am improving.

I bought a saddle sometime last year, and looking at commercial saddle pads to go with it, I found that there weren't very many variations out there.  I have this idea that I should be a little unique, even if I fail at it, so I didn't want the same ol' same ol' plain white saddle pad, or even the more daring pastels that girls tend to favor.  So I pondered, and pondered, and googled, and realized that the construction on a saddle pad is not that complicated.  It's essentially a padding of some sort between layers of cloth.  "Well, I can make that!" I thought, "And probably CHEAP, too!!"  That's always a selling point in my internal monologues... and for some reason I always think if I can convince my husband that I can make the thing cheaper than I can buy it, he will just lean back in his computer chair and say, "Well, why don't you just go on a guilt-free shopping spree, oh my dearest one!"

That never happens.  He doesn't ever say that, but I mean... It's never as cheap as I could buy one, at least not when it comes to a little-thin-chintzy-factory-made-in-indonesia saddle pad.  You can buy those things for like... ten bucks, if you find a sale!  It's unreal.

I went ahead in my mad schemes though, cuz once I get started, I can't stop until I've made or bungled the thing at least once.  I found a pattern, which my kind sister purchased for me (she wanted one too! and HEY, Maybe we could SELL them, we thought!!).

So here are some of the more recent (aka the ones I have pictures of) fruits of my labors:

This first one is my sister, and goes with her dressage saddle.  It doesn't quite fit my jumping saddle (left).  Dressage saddles have longer panels, which is why it hangs so far below the ends of my saddle.  Also, these photos are really bad.  I used to have a nice camera, but it broke.  Old iPhones just don't take very good pictures.

Not sure why there is that pinkish cast to the photo.  OH, yeah, because iPhone photos suck!

And here she is with her spanky new saddle pad, *cough* last summer *cough.  The dressage saddle fits it much better, see?  And it is very pretty.  We picked the colors for a grey horse, but here it is on a chestnut instead.

 Here's one I made for myself, in progress.  It's finished now, and works very well.

And below, you can see another in-progress shot, a little further along.  In the background is my first completed saddle pad ever, a little plainer, but still lovely.  It is a bit small for my saddle.

 





So what do you think?!

Where Have I Been? If You Find Out, Please Let Me Know!

I log on, and lo and behold it has been over a year since my last post about getting a new sewing machine.  Now that may lead one to the pleasant conclusion that I was so enraptured with my new toy that I have been mass-producing items of amazing quality and construction.  Alas... I've just been too... scatterbrained, inattentive... busy... sick... lazy...?  Pick one. 

I haven't been entirely inactive though, crafty-wise.  So, what have I been up to?  I'll post some pictures of my various projects.

In a minute.