Can't Stop the Signal

I can't stop writing.  It all started with my inability to keep my thoughts to myself.  I know I tend to over-communicate.  Always has been that way.  It's a nasty habit that should not be performed in public.  I think Heinlein said something to that effect. And of late I have been actively trying to stifle that urge.  But I woke up yesterday morning with this insatiable appetite for putting words on paper.  Or screen as it is in this case.  It had to get out before I totally lost my mind.  The words keep rushing out so fast that my fingers can barely keep up with my thoughts.  Since then I have written to just about everyone I have been putting off writing to.  I've stayed very active on my email, Facebook, Yahoo and Google’s lists.  I wrote extensively on my blog and I have polished off two chapters of a terrible erotic novel (don't ask...not sure where that bit of darkness came from!!)  WTF!  It's like the opposite of writers block......writer’s diarrhea? 

I need to work on my articles for the Tournaments Illuminated.  The History of the Fork is well over due and the editor has been so very patient and kind.  And it's just a re-write.  So me new documentation and it will be perfect.  Maybe that should be my next project.  Seems I should ride this wave until I've exhausted it.  

But in the end it always makes me happy.

al-Barran's Baronial Arts and Science Competition

This weekend I attended al-Barrans Baronial Arts and Sciences Competition.  I got a chance to do the one thing that gives me the most pleasure.  I got to judge.  Now most everyone I know in the SCA hates judging.  It's always viewed as a necessary evil.  I like to look at it as an opportunity for me to learn and interact with someone.  If it's a new piece to me and my skill set sometimes I will feel a little trepidation.  I mean really what do I know about Scientific Instruments?   But in the end it always makes me happy. 

There were five pieces in my folder.  A very nice collection of Origami that was amassed as a "Life's Work". A Rice in Almond Milk dish and a spinning project both by the same lovely lady. A Carving of wood which turned out to be a piece of a loom.  And a lovely Hip Quiver of worked leather.  Each of these pieces was so very special in its own right.  I was excited by all of them.  I so hope that each of my competitors goes on to continue their research and mastery.  I hope that they each take to heart the small comments I made with them.  It makes me feel so very good when I have past judged competitors come up to me and tell me how much my comments helped them better their craft. 

The one thing I did note was that each competitor could have benefited from the guidance of a Documentation Class.  I think that I will put together a small collegian of classes for persons entering the Kingdom A&S competition this next year.  I firmly believe that there is no  single right way to write documentation.  Get six judges in a room and you will have seven differing styles of documentation.  Towards that beliefs I think several classes on how to write documentation is the best method.  A brief description of each method or philosophy of documentation will be in the class description and from there the competitors can choose their preferred method.  Maybe a brief class on Primary and Secondary sources.  A class on Visual documentation.  And how about footnoting and bibliography?  There are several differing styles of that as well.  Anyway off to consult my calendar about dates. 

Saying Nice Things About Ones Peer



I am blessed to have a wonderful Peer in my life who has taken it upon herself to help me navigate the complex waters of Outlands Politics.  Now don't get me wrong, that is not the only thing she does as my mentor.  Nor is it the most important.  But it is the one thing that I am most grateful for.  Since no matter how well meaning a person is you can still find yourself trapped by your own words or without thinking discover that you maybe should have left something unsaid.

Her Grace Duchess Cainnleach is a wonderful Peer.  Holding both a Pelican and a Laural she has been a long standing member of the Outlands.  Someone said to me recently that she is a member of what they think of as the "Legendary People of the Outlands".  And I couldn't agree more.  I'm glad that I know her both as Marcy, a kind and understanding friend and as Her Grace Duchess Cainnleach, my Pelican.

While we have a very untraditional Student/Peer relationship, she is exactly the right person for me to learn from and she came at exactly the right time in my development.  I am very lucky to have been "found" by her.      

 

Renaissance Gloves - The Mock-up and Patterning



The mock up in progress

I've started on a new project.  For years I have been interested in making gloves.  They are such lovely things and really are a Ladies Accessory.  Gloves have recently gone out of fashion but you can still find many lovely examples at Flea Markets and Yard Sales.  This is helpful when you want to look at something and see how it is made.  I've collected them for many years and had a pretty good idea how construction should go.  I beefed up my common sense with some patterning research on the Internet of other peoples links who had made period gloves and even ran across an extent pair or two on line.  Armed with that research and Butterick's "Making History" pattern B5370.  I set out to make myself a pair.

Plasic sheeting pattern

I used the Butterick pattern to the extent that it was a helpful guide to drawing up my own pattern.  This I have cut out of plastic sheeting.  The kind you use for covering tables at quaint Italian restaurants.  The thicker the better.  I make all of my patterns from this wonderful stuff.  But I'll write more about that later.

Cut pattern pieces

The first attempt was my mock-up of a ladies small glove with a flanged cuff.  I made it out of felt.  Felt was a very period fabric for the early Middle Ages on into the Renaissance.  But the real reason to use it is to get a feel for what your going to need to watch out for while making gloves.  Since your working with small seams and tight corners all of your work really should be done by hand.  I understand that there are glove machines that can sew these seams with great ease.  But really that wasn't what I was going for anyway.  Felt doesn't fray.  It stretches just enough to provide help in fitting. And it is cheap.  Materials for this project cost me about $2.50 including the on sale .99 cent pattern. 

My next attempt will be with velvet.  Velvet gloves are very period for the SCA persona.  Velvet gloves have been found as extent garments all over Europe.  Since I have a surplus of velvet it only makes sense that I use it.  But keep in mind that the fray-ability of velvet is very high.  I am debating on waxing my seams. 

Waxing ones seams is a old way of keeping fine fabrics from fraying while you work with them.  This is particularly helpful when working with fabrics that are being hand sewn.  Hand work put a lot of wear on the fabric in its most delicate state.  The one issue I am concerned about is the bleeding of any waxy residue onto the fabrics fashion side.  I think this is going to take some experimentation.  But the smell of bees wax should lend a pleasant side to the project.  I'll post more on my waxed seam experiment later.    

Syn's SCA Travel Basket

I

The perfect SCA companion

I have been experimenting with Syn's travel basket for events.  This one was so adorable and he fit in it rather well. The angle of the photo makes it look rather small and him some what large.  But that is just the picture.  Also it was light weight and easy to carry at events.  I test drove it at Grand Outlandish a few weeks ago.  The event itself was perfectly dreadful.  I only stayed for 2 and a half hours and the dust storm was so bad that I kept Syn covered up most of the time.  We stayed long enough to pay a site fee and shop at the merchants.  Then we got out as quickly as possible. 

Syn in his basket

But the carry basket was perfect.  It also converted into a car seat as I was able to strap it in with a seat belt.  Not bad for what I needed.  His regular carseat basket however is much larger and has a lid that I can tie to keep him inside if need be.  But it is really too heavy to walk about with for a couple of hours.     

The Mighty Syn

During camping events of course I have a lovely travel kennel that stays in the tent, but for day use this one seems to be a good bet.

Battlemoor - Getting ready for the fight

This weekend close to 50 people descended on the Battlemoor site at Walsenburg CO. It was amazing! One of the prettiest pieces of land I have ever seen. While the camping will truly be primitive I can't imagine anyone complaining about it. The Views!! Oh my lord it was something that I will always remember. Majestic mountains rising on the western side and a mesa vista that spreads out for a hundred miles on the east. There were moments when I was speechless.

The work was grueling, but honest. Labor having never been my forte, I still managed to put in my four hours. We cleared scrub brush, cut wood and hauled it all off to make way for wonderful camping sites. The babbling brooks and streams were a lovely accompaniment. The weather turned hot and cold all day, but never too much of either while the work was being done. The evening was a different matter. I understand it was miserably cold. I opted to come home and finish working on Bela's garb. I was thinking I would miss out and wishing I had stayed, but not after I heard how cold everyone had gotten.

The next Work Day is 5 & 6 June. I'm looking forward to it already. Now I have to get on to making all of the little things I promised for the event. Wash stations, stenciled hangings, signs, glow in the dark path markers. Lots to do.

Coronation Garb is DONE!

His Majesty Bela's coronation garb is done. What a difficult project. The patterns just kept getting weirder and weirder. 100 inches for the waistband of his pants????...Really???? And it was so diffcult to get a real perspective of the pieces I was working on. Somewhat like sewing a tent. It's just so big that you can't really see how it drapes and falls because there wasn't anything to hang it from.

But after much trial and error I think I achieved something that he can wear. My only wish was that I could have had a fitting before turing it over. But it is finaly out the door and on it's way to Their Majesties castle. I added a couple of nifty details. Some hand carved chinese wooden beads became uber cool buttons and I placed a iron on apple patch over his heart on the inside of the Over Vest. Annas device is apples so I am hoping he will be charmed by the detail and not see the problems inherrent with the over all design.

Today I get to work on my own new gown for this weekend and finish up cutting out plastic patterns for Their Majesties as a parting gift. I also have several more of Bela and Anna's garb pieces I could finish up to give to them this weekend. Let's see how much of this I get accomplished before Friday.