Quiet Time

And yet another In-Between Mare pops up on eBay…that’ll make it the third "new" one in the hobby in a year, right?

Like I’ve been telling you, I’m really beginning to think that those Mares are more common than hobbyists realize, because of the perpetual (or eternal?) confusion between the Old Mold/Proud Arabian and the Family Arabian Mares.

A similar thing happened with the Woodgrain Old Mold Mares and Foals, not so long ago: they went from being "virtually nonexistent" to "just really, really rare" when more hobbyists started paying attention to the not-so-subtle differences between the Family Arabians and the Old Mold/Proud Arabians. 

The In-Between Mare ("IBM") is just close enough to the Family Arabian Mare - a mold that most hobbyists don’t even give a first glance to, much less a second - that I think some are still getting passed by, too.

If I had noticed the latest IBM on eBay before it sold - it was a "Buy it Now" at a "mere" $1800 - I might have considered buying it. Yeah, really: I’ve been working just enough - and saving just enough - to have been able to cover it. Plus, I think that price is more in line with where the market will eventually settle to, once the market finally shakes a few more of them out of the tree.

On the other hand, if this is more proof that they are really are more common than we realize, I probably should just bide my time and hope one turns up locally. My local flea market is just good enough for me to give me hope.

The flea market, though, has been fairly quiet for me for the past few weeks. Aside from some odds and ends, the only things I’ve picked up are random sewing supplies - patterns, fabric, and another unfinished vintage quilt project (an applique thingie from the late 1940s or 1950s that, like most projects I find, has to be completely disassembled and re-pieced.)

Everyone (capable of it) should do a little bit of handwork - be it sewing, gardening, painting, woodworking, or even baking. It’s better than therapy, I think; the mostly repetitive nature of the work is soothing, and even if you don’t completely resolve whatever problem you’re dealing with by working it, you at least come out of the experience with a beautiful or useful object.

While I am enjoying - in its own way - all of my BreyerFest prep, I am so looking forward to getting back to my sewing after the trip. I think its absence from my life is one of the things that's been keeping me more agitated than average lately. 

The BreyerFest prep, oddly enough, has been going almost disturbingly well. No drama, no major catastrophes, emergencies, or unexpected expenses. I even came up with three - three! - different costume contest ideas that I either already have the pieces for, or that I can buy at minimal expense. My only decision is which one I should go with. (Or maybe I shall bring them all, and draft friends and roommates into the cause?)