I ended up with a “surprise” project for Christmas. When I took my mittens to the yard sale Oct.16, I noticed a 'horse' across the parking lot …. looking at me. No kidding. I had horses (show/breeding) for 40 years – although I don't have any now, I still LOVE them (if I ever win the Lotto & can afford stable help, look out!). So I moseyed on over when I didn't have any activity at my table & checked them out.
Couple of things – first of all, they are LARGE. Not the usual Breyer size. The Palomino horse is 22” tall at the tip of the ears & about 22” long. The white one, that doesn't have a name stamped on the inside of the leg, I call the “Arab” - neck/face are reminiscent of an Arabian horse. Second, they were definitely used – dirty, a few dings, couple of pieces of mane cut (not too obvious). Third … they were $1.00 each. Yes, that is ONE dollar per horse! Would you believe I walked away? Used, dirty …. but then the Arab was still looking at me across the lot & that $1.00 price tag kept going “ding ding ding” like a bell in my head. I figured my little great-nieces would love them …. I could always clean them up as best I could AND I could afford a $2.00 “mistake”. So I went back over and bought them :-) Boy, am I glad I did. Not 15 minutes later, some little girl came along (maybe 4 yo) … there was a 3rd horse, also $1.00 – black with a blaze. This one wasn't all that attractive IMO & was missing half it's tail (someone had “happy scissors!). She went BONKERS over that horse & her mom promptly gave her the dollar she needed to buy it. “My” two horses likely would have been gone as well – at least one of them would have.
So, I got to looking at these two & decided to make them horse blankets to jazz them up a bit for gifting them. Since I've had horses, I know what blankets look like. BTW, a fabric blanket on eBay for one of these horses was $35!! I also found the Palomino horse on eBay … condition: used, dirty, with tack, but the tack is broken …. a mere $69!! Checked with my little great-nieces' mom & the favorite color for both is purple. I had one brand new “lavender” skein of RH Super Saver & I ended up buying another skein of “purple”, Mainstays brand. Both yarns aren't super soft, but have a 'harder' finish – I need something tough.
So the blankets have been “design as I go”. I am using a “waistcoat” stitch that looks a bit like knitting. It is very sturdy & dense – not a holey pattern. It should stand up to lots of wear & tear. I got the neckline on the Arab to work out – both sides. Next was figuring a way to get rid of the 'points' from the decreases – got that worked out. The Palomino blanket is done except for weaving in ends, making a 'surcingle'/belt to help hold it on (real blankets have them too) & finding some fasteners for the front chest closure & the surcingle. I have some ideas, if I can find them – got to be easy enough not to frustrate the 3 yo who is likely to just rip the blanket off if she can't undo the fasteners.
I already had Christmas presents for the girls, so these will be “extra”. The horses are “growing” on me – I like them more all the time. I did a test spot clean & some of the worst (looks like blue paint) came right off of the white horse. A stronger cleaner, magic eraser & a mane/tail wash with baby shampoo & they'll be all freshened up. A little “bling” on the blankets & I think the girls will be very happy with their new horses! So far, this has been a super fun project.
In the parking lot, right after I bought them
Blanket on the right before edging (you can see 'jagged' edge from decreases), blanket on the left is edged, just need to run in ends
Edging detail on blanket on left in picture above – I really like the way it turned out
PS - got two cast iron skillets for $1.00 each, too ... just need cleaning up/reseasoning. Sold 8 pairs of mittens, $5 each (used leftover yarn from projects since 2013 so I had no yarn cost, just my time to knit & wanted to sell, thus cheap price). After space rental ($5) & bought items ($4), that left me $31 to the 'good' and I had a blast talking to people so it was a great morning!!
