Cowgirl Up!.....er, I mean down!

In the midst of the rush to finish sewing for the show, in the midst of installing 4 FOUR new exhibits in THREE locations at the museum, Anastasia had an equestrian event Sunday at Oberlin!

2 hours to drive up there, hurry up and wrestle her chaps on, which went surprisingly smooth....then, being a nice horse mom, helped a competitor zip hers up, and helped the other 2 girls on the team with theirs. Almost thought they weren't going to go! Told both Beth & Colby, no salt this week! I won't be able to go to the next show, it's the same day as the Go Green with Red Panties Trunk show, so they're out of luck!

Ana looked GREAT on her first ride; they had been pulling horses all morning for just being crazy wild....Ana's original draw was pulled, and the horse they substituted was a bit prancy. Seems a LOT of the horses just were spooked by the crowd; they wouldn't come all the way down the ring, they would spook at the rail, what a mess. Anyway, Ana was doing a great job with her ride; got that horse to come nearly all the way down, riding tall, then on the reverse, was trotting, just got the call to drop to a walk and BAM! Horse just sat his butt down sideways, and DROPPED her!! She held on to the reins for a good bit, and her hat stayed on!! (I was good, didn't run right out into the ring to save my baby!)

Judge came over to see if she needed a hand up; she looked rather stunned! EMT's came in to see if she needed checked out, but she just pulled her chaps up and waited for the ride to be over. Judge gave her a THIRD place ribbon....imagine she might have gotten 1st if she'd stayed on!

Then, we found out, she'll have to be disqualified since she became separated from her horse...so I took a quick photo of her and the ribbon....which she ended up getting to keep after all, just no points for the ride. Ana said, if they took her ribbon, it would be like winning Miss America, then getting stripped of the crown for naughty pictures in her past!

This was all by 10:00am; after that, we had to wait HOURS in the cold, cold, barn for the second ride; Ana got off the horse at 6:00 PM; worth the wait though, because she placed SECOND!!! Yay!! (different judge, different horse!) No photos though, it was the LAST ride, pratically in the dark since very few lights in the barn, and everybody wanted to get the heck outta dodge!

It was a very strange day; during the second rounds, a horse actually kicked the rail AND 2 other horses; needless to say, they pulled that one too! The horse that dumped Ana didn't get away with it, though; the owner took him into the second ring and rode him quite a bit, til he settled down, because he couldn't think it was acceptable to throw a rider.

Ana was all set and prepared, in case the horse would rear, or would drop his head to buck her off, but the sideways move was a new one, just way too Ninja for her, and wasn't able to counter that! But she was applauded when she got up out of the dirt and walked out of the ring, and a couple of the other coaches told her, way to cowgirl up!

Model Fittings for Fashion Show

....were a success, I think! Ladies with arms full of clothes, running amok in Sherri's shop, and I am so thrilled with how great they looked!

At one point, there were probably 6 models trying things on....I tried to keep track and take photos of each assigned "look", but I missed at least 1, maybe more. Sherri had one of her jewelry designers there, as well, and she accessorized each outfit for a complete package....the ladies looked amazing!

Here's a sneak peek at the funway...I mean RUNway!

New look at some New Looks!

I found TWO of these tencel J Jill skirts at the thrift, in 2 different sizes. They drape really well and feel very soft. I also found this shapeless chocolate brown velour dress; apparently the clothing manufacturers think we real-sized women want to look like a big brown cow!

With a little more thrifting, and some great printed knit fabric, these reclaimed clothes have turned into........THIS!!










I think these are much more fun! The chocolate brown velour skirt can be skooched up to ride around the hips like a mini-skirt, with the top draping over a bit. I think this will look great with leggings and boots!

The J Jill skirt met another fun skirt from the thrift, and now I think it's a champagne party top! Great for that New Year's toast at midnight!

Quick time out for a Quick How-To

In the midst of getting ready for the Go Green with Red Panties! Truck show (I love saying that!) I am also going thru my supplies of tags and such, and have reached a decision: I will try to use recycled tags at least 90% of the time, instead of constantly purchasing little plastic boxes of blank, pre-strung ones.




The reason is mostly selfish, I admit: It's not that they're expensive, it's that I'm constantly misplacing them and having to buy another package. When I don't need them, I find 3 boxes in my studio. When I'm in a rush and looking for them, they are nowhere to be found.









Lately I've been buying attractive little tissue boxes for my desk at work; I love the patterns, they're cheerful. So, I'm using these empty boxes to create new price tags for all my work, whether it be clothing, tote bags, Ghost Kitties, or holiday gift tags.




Just cut them out, punch a hole, string a ribbon and voila! Scraps get recycled, I get practically free tags!

Shameless Self-Promotion!

Yep, it's the first ever Red Panty Designs Runway Show!!! Yippee!!

Sherri at Go Figure is sponsoring the Go Green with Red Panties Trunk Show, to be held at the greenovate(tm) studio at 15 E. Second Avenue in Columbus. November 20th, doors open at 7:00pm. Refreshments, music, fun, Admission is Free!

My biggest Fall line ever, featuring Knits, LOTS and LOTS of recycled/upcycled materials, ruffles, embellishments, little jackets, fun separates, cute dresses and tunics that look great with boots or leggings, all for the REAL sized woman!

There will be plenty to choose from, and who doesn't need one nice piece to wear to the family Thanksgiving, the office party, all those Holiday events coming up?

I'd love to see you there!

New Fall Fashions

After a day at work, which included driving up to Mansfield to pick up artwork, I came home and managed to finish some new fall fashions!

2 new tops, (the color is most accurate in the close-ups)











and a new dress. I recycled some garage sale jewelry to give it some bling!

Sewing in the Art Barn

Today I invited Sherri from Go Figure Consignment to play in the Art Barn. Sherri has wanted to learn to sew for awhile now, so she brought her toys and we played!


Here is Sherri, sewing on my Bernina........



and here is her finished project! Is it not divine? I think it's very important to be able to finish something in the first lesson that you are happy with, and Sherri looks very happy!


You may recall that Sherri sells my Red Panty clothing at her shop; well strap yourselves in, because we're doing a Fashion Show! That's right, Go Figure is sponsoring a Fashion Show blow-out on November 20th! Admission will be free, and you'll find great music and refreshments plus Fabulous new Fashions from Red Panty, Sherri, and other local designers!



Get that great outfit for all your family holiday dinners, office parties and the upcoming holiday season!