For all the meanings, greetings, thoughts, prayers and offerings of Easter. I hope you all celebrate this weekend in each and every way.
Hugs from Jack and Kat xo
Happy Easter
Posted with BlogsyWhirlwind Week
Back in Oklahoma it's back to a busy week of shooting club matches, practice days and rounded the end of the week with a trip to Arkansas for their club match today.
Last Saturday Missouri Mae and I ran a shooting clinic for 11 keen shooters. By all accounts it went well with those reporting they'd learnt some new things and we're happy to receive new tips. I wish them all the best for their future of shooting!
Sunday was a great day for them to follow up on their newly acquired skills with The Territorial Marshal's club match. Jack and I had a blast shooting with these guys again and there was an exceptional turnout of 65 shooters.
Wednesday, besides being a much cooler day, was practice day and for 11 of us that showed up for that we got through 6 stages pretty quick and headed off to 'go eat'!
Yesterday Jack decided we should head to Arkansas to shoot with Judge Parker Marshal's at Fort Smith.
We drove into town from the West and was looking for the new Marshal's Museum but alas it still hasn't started construction. It is reported to be opening in Sept 2019.
There is some new mural art on the sides of buildings that I noticed.
The club match today was good, attended by 15 cowboys and cowgirls.
Six great stages with everything from single tap to multi tap sequences and a variety of target sizes and distances. We are both pretty happy with today's effort.
For now, it's plan, pack and get ready to get on the road this week to Louisiana, then on through to Texas before heading back into Oklahoma for Land Run.
Look forward to seeing you on the trail somewhere!
Kat xo
Airside
Jack and I are ready for our next adventure.
We are through security and sitting ready for boarding at Brisbane.
To all our family and friends, take care, love and hugs and all that jazz!
To all our friends on the other side of the world – see you on a range real soon!!!
Kat xo
The Gamblers Overland Co.
There's a new stagecoach coming to town when The Gamblers set up for the Heartland Territorial in July this year.
One of the projects Jack and I worked on this time was the building of a stagecoach for The Gamblers.
Jack had worked out a design and with the use of Mad Dog Tannen's shed and tools, we set to creating saw dust. A couple of days of drawing out and cutting and we had a blank slate ready for me to paint.
After a few questionable moments, we finally got things together with some changes or new ideas brought in along the way. This stagecoach needed to pack down which we managed to do in the lightest and easiest construction we could think of.
After many days, The Gamblers Overland Co. came to life and appears to be sitting in Monument Valley somewhere at dusk (well actually if you look closely, the left hand shelf has the two mittens featured on it 😉 )
Finally, it has 3 shooting positions – front of stagecoach table, door table and the rear table. Oh! And Jack cut the spokes for the wheels in two flat sheets and decided that he wanted them to sit out from the coach and to roll?!
She's all varnished up and looking mighty purty! For a full picture however, well, you'll just have to wait 'til July when she gets rolled out on her maiden voyage at 'Another Roll of the Dice'.
See you on the Gold Coast in July Gamblers!
Kat xo
1890’s for me!
Yes! I'm doing a gown for me! Yay!
Thanks to Annie Hicock for passing on some check flannel fabric and for an inspiration photo that I found on Pinterest I felt a new 1890's gown would be the go for me.
My inspiration – this sweet little, simple looking skirt and bodice. Now the hat I had already made on a trip to Texas last December?! It just needs the finishing touches of brim trim and a dead bird or feathers as such.
Meh, still thinking about that decoration seeing as I didn't get to the shop in Mount Tamborrine that has the most divine hand constructed velvet flowers.
Back to the main construction and I started on the skirt using a Buckaroo Bobbins pattern of the Primrose Skirt. That will work but I didn't want the semi check plaid running straight across. Nothing like making work for myself. (She says rolling her eyes)
The fabric had that much movement in it I was almost tempted to give up and construct something else. Always up for a challenge, I persisted after I got to match the front panel how I wanted. (Now with somewhat gritted teeth)
Eventually I got all the panels around the skirt to match as close as possible and I got to thinking about how much fabric the pattern matching was using up and whether I would have enough for the bodice. I also had some black velvet on the shelf and decided the inverted pleat section in the rear of the skirt would look good using this. It will certainly match in with the use of it for the waistband.
With the saving I made using the velvet I had enough of the plaid fabric to definitely play with further pattern matching on the bodice.
It's time to use the old noodle and work out how in the world I can create the look I want with the bodice and the hidden closures required to get in and out of it.
I got that semi worked out, fabric's cut and pieced together in order for it to look like a blouse (shirt waist) and short jacket. So far, so good.
For now, I'm on track. I need to do some more deciphering of the inspiration photo and research closures to see if anything matches with the idea in my head.
Brain power required.
Kat xo
Mountain Lion, Horse and Dog
What on earth could these three things have in common?
I'm glad you asked, oh you didn't? Haa Haa, well I do have a little story about them and it all started with a request from Lil Magill for her next interesting B-Western costume.
This time Lil had found a vintage 1940's brown gaberdine shirt and skirt featuring, you guessed it, a black mountain lion, dog and horse with a chenille palm tree like detail.
After discussions about changes of colour etc we decided to keep it to the original as close as possible.
I set to finding fabric similar to the original and during this quest for fabric, trim and snaps, Lil's brother John contacted me wanting to have this for her Christmas present. I'm sure she was presently surprised!
Now, around the time of initiating the project Jack and I were actually visitin with Texas Mac and Texas Flower. Flower and I were deep in conversation of the outfit and we both wondered as to the unusual grouping of the dog, horse and mountain lion.
As enquiring minds tend to do, I threw it into a Google search and to our surprise (and now this presents a whole new surprise to Lil. SURPRISE!! 🙂 ) I found a 1957 Golden Book – Roy Rogers and the Mountain Lion.
I could not believe my luck! I bought it straight away as a gift for Lil to go with her costume. The book itself other than some minor foiling missing on the spine does not appear to have ever been read. There are no creases in the pages, no writing in the 'This book belongs to' section and is in excellent condition.
Now I could get into the costume and get cracking. Eventually I found suitable mountain lion, horse and dog embroidery designs that I could then spend time changing colours and getting it to look close to the original.
The embroidery floss chain stitch detail was to follow and I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself at how it's coming together.
Finding the right fringe proved again to be an interesting feat so I purchased a longer version and spent time cutting it back to the required length. I eventually found the black snaps required. (actually should have been brown but as Mum says 'a blind man on a galloping horse wouldn't see it')
I altered the usual cuff pattern to make up similar to the original and was very pleased with how this turned out. It's all coming together nicely!
Next to last was the fringing and it looked terribly long, checking my measurements and a quick message to Lil meant 4 inches needed to come off! Unpick the fringe, cut, stitch and reapply.
Finally the hand stitching was completed and the snaps are on and the 'Roy Rogers' inspired outfit is ready for sending!
So looking forward to seeing you wear this one Lil!
Cheers and stitches!
Kat xo
When In Texas….
It's go bold, go big or go home! Lol!
So here I present the 'I Love Texas' outfit that I made for Pistol Packin' Pami.
You would have seen it boldly worn at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix at Winter Range 2018! (Tuesday over there)
Others desiring this similar theme were a little disappointed when I said I couldn't do a corset for them because 'somebody else' was already getting it.
Pami wanted a Texas flag corset incorporated with blue bonnets and the main part to be like the flag. We put our heads together and came up with the star embroidered on the blue, the red and white on the left as per the flag – perfect – and at the back the two middle sections would be white and feature the Texas state flower, the Bluebonnet. (The 'lupinus texensis' the bluebonnet was adopted as the official state flower by the Texas legislature in 1901)
Pami, being a colourful character who I treasure, loves colour and so we went with a red top with a small blue and a white frill in a style she is familiar with.
Her flamenco styled skirt in red features a blue frill with white embroidered stars, the white frill has a smaller version of the blue bonnets and a plain red frill – see where I went with that? Keeping it in similar order to the flag itself.
With, of course, a quick little headpiece to boot!
The final product and one very happy cowgirl! You look amazing my friend, can't wait to see more photos of you in this outfit on range.
Somebody please post more pic's on Facebook so I can see it in all her glory!
Kat xo
When In Lawrence….
Here at 'Beerandbullshitcorner' it's all fun and games!
This morning after the pups woke us up, it was breaky time for them, breaky time for us and I decided I needed to clean the back and side patios. Knowing that it was green waste recycling week, I picked up the previously pulled thistles but not content with my view from the window – or the spa – I decided to keep going and pull out more, totally filling the green bin for Tuesday pick up. The grass is still a little on the long side but the thistle and milkweed has gone.
Jack and I, being light on the wifi at the moment, took to playing the Wii today with a few hits of tennis and then some awesome games of ten pin bowling. I tried out some boxing, canoeing, downhill ski jumps and then got put in my place with the fitness set calling me a 'couch potato' and that I need to balance more working on my core. How rude! Probably some truth to that at the moment though haa haa haa.
As the day drew to an end, we enjoyed a spa and a sampling of Garry's home made Blonde Lager! Noice one Garrrryyyyyy! (Lol, if you watched any othe the cricket you would have heard that before) It was exceptional, we shall talk more about what you did! 😉
Ahhh the serenity!
Hope you are having a good one!
Cheers
Kat xo
Days Have Flown
It doesn't take long for days to pass and from last I wrote we have been to Newcastle to the girl grandbabies and caught up with them and all girly things.
A dip at the beach, a catch up with Jack's daughter as well, lunch with them all, a BBQ on Sunday and in between its dolls, puzzles, scooters and playing.
We dropped off Jackrabbit Johnny's sombrero and vaquero coat and had a great catch up with him and Ruth on the Sunday night.
Yes his jacket does fit him and he was over the moon. I look forward to seeing it with his whole outfit together.
Monday it's on to Sydney to catch a quick flight to Adelaide to see the boy grandbabies. Cars, planes, swimming, beach, bubbles in the backyard. You can fit a lot in in a couple of nights and a full day but still wasn't long enough. They have grown so much but I did get to see Archer go to Kindy this morning and Jack went with Charlie to day care before our flight back to Sydney.
Had a good morning with Dad and Mum checking out their new house, breakfast and coffee with Aunty Lynn as well before heading back to Grafton to house/dog sit for a few days.
Side note: this now includes a tyre change before we can go anywhere North.
It's humid here in Taree and warming up fast for the day, once the tyre is fixed we can get on the road to Grafton.
Make each day count, hope yours is a good one.
Kat xo
Shoot Low! They’re Ridin’ Shetlands!
In some form or another this line has appeared in songs (Texas…….), movies (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and a book title (by Lewis Gizzard).
Bloody funny and for some reason came to mind when I finished the new horse prop for the livery.
Keeping things proportionate when enlarging them meant my horses ended up a little on the short side and perhaps if I'd just done two, then their heads would have filled the window a little more than the 3.
That's okay though, we are getting more air flow through which is what we wanted to maintain.
I took a scrap piece and created the 'Greenhill Farms' sign to install above the window. Injecting a hint of another shooters alias into the range. Greenhill Bart has made the horse table props for the range and being from a farming background so I thought it appropriate to use that for this piece.
So welcome to the Greenhill Farms equine establishment! Today we are selling Shetlands! Cheap at half the price! Haa haa haa
At the mine I'm creating a couple of neat pieces featuring miners – they are still to come. Another scrap piece however I've created the tag board. Miners would place their tag on the board upon entering the mine and at the end of each day you would remove your tag as you came out.
We saw a display in Walsenburg, CO which had been called 'Numbers Up' meaning if work was completed for the day or something had gone wrong in the mine, who's ever tags were left on the board meant your number's up, you weren't going home and miners could be identified.
That's it! See ya!
Kat xo
The Adventures of Jack n Kat 