Damascus Knife

Week by week I am getting closer to finishing my first knife. It isn't the first one I've started, just the first one that I've actually finished. Several billets were repeatedly lost, misplaced, or finished by others. The pictures are dark, but that is so you can see the layers of the knife. There is some de-lamination on the top edge where I had the weld failure. You can't see it on the pictures. It was too deep to grind out so that will have to be filled in. The pits are also too deep to grind out so they will just be there. I've hit the polishing phase and am currently at 320 grit sandpaper. After all the polishing is done, the handle will be added and carved. The blade length is 4 5/8" long from tip 8" to shoulder and just under an inch at the widest part. The tang is 3 1/8". The handle will be between 3 1/8" and 3.5 inches once added.

Home from SUN

As you might have guessed, I am home from SUN. My classes went well. People learned about blackwork and got suggestions on how to go about their own large embroidery projects. I practiced couching with gold, but I already had a good idea how to do it, just never had actually done it. I have some ideas of what to do with it already. The almond pastries and pork pie class was the highlight, and not because we got food during the class. I just wish I had taken the shirt class or the dance class at 4 but I didn't. Oh well. I got more embroidery done in that hour. I also went to the AS 50 Challenge meeting and enjoyed that too.

School is Done!

I officially finished the internship Monday. Had a fun birthday, and then it was right back to the business of Arts and Sciences. I did a set of 5 handkerchiefs for Nordskogen's biannual Largesse Competition. To be honest, they were pretty much my worst work ever. I started them a week before the competition and didn't have much time to get them done. I just hope they are still appreciated.
And I will never go to Joann Fabrics before 4 pm ever again on a weekday. There were two very annoying women there and I spent about 15-20 minutes in line just to buy two packages of needles. What fun.

Violated my Fabric Rule

I know, I know. I've been very bad about updating my blog. I finished up all my paralegal classes and have now moved on to the internship. Week 3 starts tomorrow and I'll be getting close to being halfway done with that at the end of the week. That is pretty much all that has been going on.

So for more interesting things. Between G and I visiting the Faribo Woolen Mills and Lillies, I seriously violated my fabric rule. No fabric unless absolutely necessary. I now have a large pile of wool and linen, none of which has been even touched on top of what I've already got. The reason for this is I have had to completely remake two of TJ's shirts (that I'm being paid to make) because the pattern wasn't clear on if there were seams included or not, so I added a generous seam allowance that I told the shirt had. They were two sizes too big for him. I had to take two completely apart and stop construction on a third to make them smaller. I will have the last cuff on the last shirt and do the button holes today on them. They'll be shipped to Pennsic once I'm done. Then I have another commission for him which will be making some square silk veils into oval silk veils. At least I'm being paid.

There has been little or no progress on my large embroidery project because of those commissions, but I am planning on getting back to it soon, at least for about a half hour a day. You'd be surprised what you can do in 30 minutes.

Weld Failure

This is auspicious...had my first weld failure at the shop tonight. I can fix it though. It's right along the edge of my knife where a layer bulged out a little from the edge. My knife is soaking in a borax solution and will for the next week until I go back.
The only other news is that the kitchen is now painted and I'm working on putting the shelves and other things back up.

Glass Blowing

So I tried galss blowing. It was fun and very difficult. It's gonna take a while to learn everything and practice so I get to the point where the steps are automatic. I did get one useful piece, which I am still debating on taking to Coronation or not. If I do take it, it would b epart of the "What I did this Winter" display. That feels a little like school when they made you tell about your summer vacation when it started again in the fall.

Fail! Big Time Fail!

I had a diasastrous failure last night. It wasn't my truck thankfully. It was the laptop. It just shut off and that was pretty much it. Anything I could do to turn it back on again didn't work. I bought a new one this morning. I had plans to do that anyway, but not for another couple months. The new is a Compaq with a 15.6 inch wide HD screen (good for watching movies). It has all the bells and whistles. I like it very much.
Coming soon...the beer stash update and current projects.

Cross One Off!

#9 is now done on my AS 50 list. Master Etienne and I performed three dances at a charity event for the Twin Cities German Immersion School in St. Paul. We did two rehearsed dances: Spagnoletto Regolatto (my favorite) and Contrapasso in Due. The third was a Galliarde, but was done to a waltz. It was a little weird, but it worked. People were really interested in watching, so I think I'd do this again, especially if we can get the audience into it.

AS 50 List

AS 50 List
AS 50 List Update. The most current progress is at the end of each project line in bold.
1. The Corset project. See earlier posts. Working on it, and will be for some time.
2. Make a trestle table. It's functional. Not pretty but functional and I will have it at WW. Needs more sanding and a finish. 3. Get better shoes. Either trade, barter, make or buy. I bought a pair of red shoes by Born from Schuler Shoes. They're mary janes and fit wonderfully. 4. Work on the Spanish circle (rapier). Haven't really practiced much.
5. Help someone new make clothing (I believe that one way to improve ourselves is to help others). Done.
6. Eat only period appropriate foods all day at one event and prepare them in a period manner, as in not using modern things like a silicone spatula. Lillies would be perfect for this. I'll have to do this next year. I didn't go this year. Haven't done this yet.
7. Make a period hairpiece because I don't have enough hair as it is. Not started.
8. Make a hat to go with one set of clothes. Not started.
9. Perform a dance before an audience, not just dance during a ball or practice. Preferrably with Master Etienne and I'd like the dance to be Spagnoletto Rigolatto. I'm going to perform the dance solo on Friday night. Done.
10. Make a 6 board box. My brother is actually making two for me, and he is really an excellent wood worker. He has the wood but hasn't done anything with it yet. They are actually made, one from oak, one from pine. I'm going to do stain and polyurethane the oak box and probably paint the pine box.
11. Finish the 15th century table knife. I'm to the point of sanding it, but the grinding is very cold in winter and standing in front of a belt sander that blows cold air back at you isn't my idea of a good time. I'm thinking about starting a new one. I have made progress on the one I've started so I probably won't be making a completely new one. I had no weld failures, but did almost ruin it but was able to fix it. Haven't gone to Danr's for about three months.
12. Make late period hair curling tongs. I'm just going to make these, not actually use them on my hair. Not started. Gotta do some more research yet. Again, haven't gone to Danr's for about three months.
13. Reline Flemish dress and make a pattern from it. Working on it. I've made progress, but I don't need this until it is warm again. Made some progress here.
14. Teach 50 embroidery classes on any type of embroidery, by individual or group. I've taught seven. Make that 11. I am at 13 now.
15. Finish the Tudor undergarments, not including the corset embroidery project, by Lillies. Didn't happen. Enough said there. I'll try to get this done by Lillies next year. Very little progress here.
16. Make a girdle book. Not started. No Change. Still not started.
17. Learn how to do smocking, and how it is combined with blackwork. Haven't learned this.
18. Make an outfit for an infant that can be let out as the child grows. I have the bodice part just about done. It's all lined and ready to be put together. Margaretta gave me some green wool for a coat.
19. Make a set of Roman style clothing. I bought the most wonderful mustard-y yellow cotton gauze today which is a good color for me. I'll probably pair it with a bright green gauze. I didn't buy any white because it came in two pieces and there wasn't enough. I have to get more fabric to do this. Still the same. I might just take this off the list, depending on fabric I find.
20. Make a beaded collar for the black silk Italian dress. I don't have the beads yet. TJ wasn't happy with them so he sent them back. No beads yet. Same here, no change.
21. Make a new chemise to go with the black silk Italian dress. Not started.
22. Find a use for all the fabric I own and don't buy any more unless absolutely necessary. This will actually take seven years. I'm nowhere on this one. Same here,no change.
23. New Champion Baldrics for the Barony of Nordskogen. I almost have all the threads pulled for these to have 12 even strips out of the blue. They will be lined with white linen. There will be a seam at the shoulder so they sit better on the individual wearing them. By the end of September I want to start the embroidery. Got the bardic badge embroidery almost done except for the strings, finished the embroidery on the archery badge, and started on the heavy champion badge.
24. Build a small shade fly with side walls to use for cooking. Not started. Same deal, not started.
25. Complete one set of wax tablets by 12th Night. Didn't get them done because I couldn't find the other half of the set. I just found it.
26. New Rapier Clothing. I bought wool and found some heavy linen that with one layer of each passed the drop test.
27. Make stands for Baronness Eithni and myself for our new ceramic cooking pots. Again, haven't gone to Danr's for a few months.
And the newest item:
28. Make a new apron.

Orchesography

I finally have a copy of this book! I am so very thrilled. I was in a group that won a competition to fill in an apparently missing section of a dance at one of the Dance Seminars and this was the prize. I never even got to look at the book as it was given to someone else in the group. I got together with one of my friends from my Calontir days that lives here now. We went to the Chatterbox for dinner and then to the Half Price Books on Ford Parkway. I wasn't going to go in the basement, but I decided to check out their dance section in the basement and there it was for $5! if I didn't have homework to do, I'd be up all night reading it.
Maybe new pics tomorrow. I've made progress on the Nordskogen champion baldric projects. The archery badge is almost half done, and the bardic badge only has the strings left to be embroidered.

12th Night

If there ever was a good day to be a champion in Nordskogen, 12th Night had to be it. How else can you get a standing back row spot to the following:
Margaretta named Bard of Nordskogen
Niccolo getting a Baelfire
Simon Morcar getting elevated to Laurel for Rapier (and sneaking really great photos the whole time)
Moraig getting elevated to Pelican
and last but not least...
Margalit put on vigil for Pelican

The look on Margalist's face was just incredible. Not only that, but I got a Heliotrope from Their Excellencies so everyone had to move out of my way so I could get around to the front. I've always wanted to do that because I think it's funny.
It's like saying: Hi, I'm already up here so no one has to look around to find me because here I am!

I got lots of neat and geeky embroidery stuff along with various sweets. I really didn't need the sugar but it's 12th Night. Erica Poitevins gave me a chatelaine, retractable awl, embroidery scissors and holder, and a really fancy seam ripper. Giovanna gave me two books from the embroidery exhibit she saw in New York. One was a small catalog, the other an instruction book. It was hard not to practice stitches, but I didn't have the right materials I'd want to start working on them with. Tamsyn gave me a rubber duckie with snowflakes on it. I have a small but growing collection of various duckies at work. I'm only adding to the collection when someone gives me one just to see how big it might get.

Moraig liked the short bread I made for her vigil. I didn't know about Simon's so I didn't make anything. He had a lot of food anyway. It feel apart when I bit into it which is exactly what is supposed to happen. I've never made any before so there was no failure.

Then when I went up to SR Harris to deliver something to Eithni that I picked up for her today, I found some really nice wool on sale for $6 a yard that I hope passes the drop test. I could use some new rapier clothes. I haven't had any for so long. All the others at Harris agreed it was a good fabric for me. It's greenish but with lots of flecks of other colors in it, and it is a thinner 100% wool. I will need to line it, but my current stuff is lined too. If it doesn't work for that, I will probably make a coat from it. There's about 6 1/3 yards there.

Here are two new A&S 50 list items:
New Rapier Clothing
Make stands for Baronness Eithni and myself for our new ceramic cooking pots.

Surprise!

My surprise was a brand new portable dishwasher. Dad and I got the old one out to his car, my neighbor came home and said he'd take the old one so we brought it back in. It's smaller than the old one, and is almost exactly counter height. They also put a six year unconditional warranty on it for me. It has a couple dents in it but they are purely superficial. They found it at an appliance outlet in Rochester. It was fully tested before being discounted so it works just fine. It even has a hard water setting which is what I've got here.
As far as today goes, I'll probably spend the rest of it messing around with my Wii. I want to figure out how everything works so I can take it to my parent's house for our late Christmas.

Not Enough Snow.

I am not happy once again about the snow conditions. After the day or so snow melt there wasn't enough to go cross country skiing. It's been the first time I've been able to get out since spraining my ankle after Thanksgiving. There were large open patches of grass and trail conditions were poor at best. I didn't even bother to buy a day pass, just turned around and went home. That was pretty much a day spoiler along with my parents telling me their visiting tomorrow. They did not ask, they told me they were coming, bringing my Wii and another surprise. Hopefully it's something to go with the Wii.

A T-shirt I Should Have and Don't

If there was any t-shirt I should have, it should probably be this one. Who knows what kind of chaos embroidery and sewing might cause.

Embroidery Frames

The embroidery frames were delivered today. I'm not very happy with my order. I asked for 20 pairs but only got 19 plus one extra. I only received 10 sets of nuts and wing bolts. I don't like not getting what I paid for. I was very specific about what I wanted and didn't get that. I'm a little disappointed at having to go get extra hardware on my own. At least I have some to deliver at Boar's Head in a couple weeks.

List Update...one new item.

1. The Corset project. See earlier posts. Working on it.

2. Make a trestle table. It's functional. Not pretty but functional and I will have it at WW.

3. Get better shoes. Either trade, barter, make or buy. I've been measured for shoes. Now I just have to order them.

4. Work on the Spanish circle (rapier). Haven't been fencing lately because of a hand injury. Now I have a foot injury, one very bad sprain that may take a month to heal.

5. Help someone new make clothing (I believe that one way to improve ourselves is to help others). Done.

6. Eat only period appropriate foods all day at one event and prepare them in a period manner, as in not using modern things like a silicone spatula. Lillies would be perfect for this. I'll have to do this next year. I didn't go this year.

7. Make a period hairpiece because I don't have enough hair as it is. Not started.

8. Make a hat to go with one set of clothes. Not started.

9. Perform a dance before an audience, not just dance during a ball or practice. Preferrably with Master Etienne and I'd like the dance to be Spagnoletto Rigolatto. Not done yet. I found a place that I can perform this, now I just need a dance partner.

10. Make a 6 board box. My brother is actually making two for me, and he is really an excellent wood worker. He has the wood but hasn't done anything with it yet.

11. Finish the 15th century table knife. I'm to the point of sanding it, but the grinding is very cold in winter and standing in front of a belt sander that blows cold air back at you isn't my idea of a good time. I'm thinking about starting a new one. I have made progress on the one I've started so I probably won't be making a completely new one. I had no wld failures, but did almost ruin it but was able to fix it.

12. Make late period hair curling tongs. I'm just going to make these, not actually use them on my hair. Not started. Gotta do some more research yet.

13. Reline Flemish dress and make a pattern from it. Working on it. I've made progress, but I don't need this until it is warm again.

14. Teach 50 embroidery classes on any type of embroidery, by individual or group. I've taught seven. Make that 11.

15. Finish the Tudor undergarments, not including the corset embroidery project, by Lillies. Didn't happen. Enough said there. I'll try to get this done by Lillies next year.

16. Make a girdle book. Not started. No Change.

17. Learn how to do smocking, and how it is combined with blackwork. Make an outfit for an infant that can be let out as the child grows (I just found out a non-SCA friend is pregnant and she requested an outfit for the baby). Not started. No change here either.

18. Make a set of Roman style clothing. I bought the most wonderful mustard-y yellow cotton gauze today which is a good color for me. I'll probably pair it with a bright green gauze. I didn't buy any white because it came in two pieces and there wasn't enough. I have to get more fabric to do this. Still the same.

19. Make a beaded collar for the black silk Italian dress. I don't have the beads yet. TJ wasn't happy with them so he sent them back. No beads yet.

20. Make a new chemise to go with the black silk Italian dress. Working on it. I started that a while ago. Not started.

21. Find a use for all the fabric I own and don't buy any more unless absolutely necessary. This will actually take seven years. I'm nowhere on this one.

22. New Champion Baldrics for the Barony of Nordskogen. I almost have all the threads pulled for these to have 12 even strips out of the blue. They will be lined with white linen. There will be a seam at the shoulder so they sit better on the individual wearing them. By the end of September I want to start the embroidery. Got one started.

23. Build a small shade fly with side walls to use for cooking. Not started.

And the next item:
24. Complete one set of wax tablets by 12th Night.

Beer Tasting Nights

This one was on Nov 17.
So I finally got a spot in one of the beer tasting nights at the Four Firkins. It was so very worth it. Our host told some great stories about Begium beer. I picked up some new stuff and didn't realize it, but I got another bottle of Omegang Chocolate Stout. I don't have anything going so I'll likely spend my Saturday drinking one and maybe having a steak dinner to go along with it.
This is what we tried:
Tilburg Dutch Brown Ale
Pauwel Kwak
Tripel Karmeliet
St. Feuillien Brune (pronounced Fuy-yen)
Koningshoeven Quadrupel
DeuS Brut des Flanders. This was by far the most interesting thing I tried all night.
Urthel Hop

I liked everything except the last one, and that is because I don't like hoppy beers. I like a lot of the stuff I try so there has to be something I don't like.

So I haven't updated the post for a while. My name was drawn in the lottery to get into a second beer tasting night. This time, it was Battle of the Beers IV: A Yuletide Tussle. I didn't write down all the winners, but I remember my favorites.
This one was on Dec 1.
The featured beers were:
Round 1:
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome
vs.
August Schell Brewing Co. Snowstorm 2008
Results: Snowstorm 2008 was my favorite, and it won this round.
Round 2:
Anchor Brewing Co. Christmas Ule 2008
Beer with what tasted like Pumpkin Pie Spice.
vs.
Shmaltz Brewing Co. Jewbelation 12
Their 12th Anniversary Ale. Mix of 12 hops with 12% alcohol
Results: Jewbelation 12 was my favorite, but the Anchor won.
Round 3:
Brouwereij Het Anker Gouden Carollus Noel
vs.
Brouwereij St. Bernardus, St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
Results: The St. Bernardus won and had my vote. The other one was just too fruity.

Overall Winner: Anchor Brewing Company Christmas Ule 2008.
Out off all the six, this was my least favorite. I liked the St. Bernardus the best.

I bought a few more bottles, Kwak, another Saison and Deus. Once again, I spent way too much at The Firkins, but Alvey (the owner) somehow never seems to mind that.

Clothier's Seminar

I had two classes, one that I thought went well and one I thought that did not.
Since I had to cut down the hand stitching class to an hour, I gave the three people who came a choice between clothing construction or decorative stitches. They chose clothing construction. I didn't have a hand out because it was a hands on class and they'd get some practice in the class and examples that they did on their own to take wit. It worked out well. I didn't mind only having three people because each one got more help that way.
The shirt class didn't go so well, but I know what I'll do differently next time.

I wore the silk Italian dance dress and it is lookingg even better on me now that I have lost about 1o pounds so far. It's much more comfortable too. I'm concerned about one of the neckline corners in the front that seems to be ripping a little bit. It'll have to be reinforced from the inside to prevent further ripping.

I participated again in the Walk Through History. My hair taping was a big hit with many people and so were the socks that were the main highlights. I demonstrated that a few times for people. I got more work done on the large embroidery project and I'm nearly ready to move to a new section. I haven't gotten to it since Clothier's, but I'll have more time starting this week.

Bent Hilt Projects?

I bent the hilt on my Darkwood Rapier. Leif and I had our hilts locked together and I had to take mine apart. Then it was like one of those metal puzzles to get apart. It won't be hard to rebend it back to how it was, but the real trick is to do it without causing any aesthetic damage. I like my things to look pretty.
Coming tomorrow..
Pictures of me as the Little Green Army Guy for Halloween

Neat Food Trick!

I found a really fast way to scrape the pith off of orange peels last week. I didn't like the idea of using the zester end of a citrus peeler because then I'd get really small pieces of orange peels. Instead, I quartered the peels, took them off the orange and scraped off the pith with the zester side. It took only a few minutes to finish each quarter, and each piece was almost intact so I can cut it into sizes I want instead of ending up with only small bits. I used to use a sharp knife to scrape off the pith, but that put too many holes and slices in the peels. This way works much better.
At Creating the Creative, I taught 3 people one embroidery stitch. Hopefully, I'll teach them more and they had time to practice. We worked on chain stitch only.

Creating the Creative

I'm nearly ready for the event. I am bringing along the Flemish underdress that is nearly rebuilt, the linen for Nordskogen Champion Baldrics, the corset embroidery project, teaching material and blackwork. It sounds like a lot but it isn't really. Most of it is small. I'll update the blog with how many more embroidery classes I've taught after the event.
I have a new plan for the A.S. 50 list. I haven't been adding to the list as much as I want, so the plan is to start adding one new project every two weeks until I get to 50. At last count, I was somewhere in the 20's.

Forge Night

I had sparks flying in my hair again. Luckily, I did not start on fire. All in all, it was a productive evening. Only Danr and I were in the shop so I was able to get a lot done tonight.
The last fold on my motorcycle chain knife is done. First, it had to be made into a billet and then I folded it four times. It will be a damascus knife, although I don't know how much of the pattern will actually be visible. I'll have to see about that when I'm done. This is my first knife and no welds failed! It will not have a full tang to the knife, and it isn't going to be that big. It'll be a small utility knife.
I nearly ruined it tonight, and Danr thought I couldn't fix it but in the end I had a good idea that worked to fix it. It took both of us to make it work. It was enough work to make it into a solid piece of metal so I could begin folding that I would be very unhappy if I couldn't fix what I did wrong. I was too thick at the end so the metal I had to take away to fix the mistake worked out just fine. I've now begun shaping the knife, and I need to consider what kind of shape I want. I'm hoping to hav ethis done by Boar's Head so I can show everyone.

Adventures with Animals

I was on my way home last night. I take Shepherd Rd which goes between General Mills and the Kare 11 News building. There is a small creek just behind the Kare 11 building. It was about 6:15 pm. All of the sudden I look to my left and there are three deer standing there and one almost runs out in front of me.
I yell something inappropriate and swerve to miss it, and it decides to run back to the bank by the little creek. I stop and it stops and we just stare at each other for a few minutes. My only thought was: "Where is my camera?"
I wonder how many other people almost hit a deer while riding their bicycles.

Embroidery Update

Here's a picture of where I'm at. I'm getting very close to moving to another section. I picked up a few more new colors, and the correct green I started with for the vines.

In other news, the dances are all planned for a mini-ball of 4-5 dances at Art-ic Madness, and I hope to be able to perform one, but I'll see about that.

I'll be on vacation on the 21st to the Black Hills and Wyoming with my family. I'll be taking along the wedding veil I've been working on for my foster sister, one of TJ's shirts, and the blackwork. There will be lots of time just sitting in the car. I'm taking two books, Dune and God's Clockmaker. And I lost 6 lbs last week! I am very proud of me.

Four Firkins Review

Here's the list of what I have from there currently that is unopened:
Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 16. Ale matured in whisky casks. See below for a description.
St. Peter's Winter Ale
Mikeller's Black Hole Coffee Stout
Bogedal No. 127. Dark Ale Brewed with Orange Peels. This was not cheap, $35 a bottle. I'm saving it for something really special. It was a special purchase so they had limited quantities.
It's brewed In Scandinavia with a gravity system, no pumps, so everything goes from cask to cask by a pulley system. See some pictures here in the link below. The main page is in English, but any links in the site are not. It's worth looking at any way. From the look of the site, they give tours, so if you ever find yourself there...
http://www.boegedal.com/engelsk/brewery1.html
Ichtegem's Belgium Ale. Spontaneous Fermentation, 25% ale aged in Oak, 75% fresh ale

Here's what has been tried already:
Peche Mortal (French for mortal sin). Imperial Coffee Stout brewed with fair-trade coffee. It was okay. I'm not sure if I'll try this again.
HaandBryggeriet. Norweigan Sour Ale Aged in Oak Barrels. I didn't like this. I'm not a big fan of sour ales. It was good, just not my type of beverage.
Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 16. I bought a second bottle of this so it has to be good. The casks they were used for Highland Park's 16 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. It's really different from anything else I've had. It's very thick and dark. Highly recommended.
Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 12. Same as above only the casks are from the 12 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Also, the bottles on each of these are numbered and dated individually. They also have the Head Brewer's and Master of Wood's name printed on.
Hebrew Pomegranate Ale. I got this because I wanted to see if I could taste any pomegranate and really couldn't. I won't be buying this again.
Weihenstephaner. A light colored ale from the self-described world's oldest brewery. I got some of this in about 2002 and really liked it. It was a one time special purchase from a liquor store, MGM I think. Then, I couldn't find any until The Four Firkins opened. I was so happy when I found it. It's not one of the higher end brews, but really good for a light colered ale.
Sheaf Stout. Yum. Enough said.
Golden Cap Saison Ale. Modern version of a traditional farmhouse ale. Brewed with spelt and bottle conditioned. This was good so I'll probably get more.
Samuel Smith Taddy Porter. I just really like this.
Flemish Primitives Wild Ale. Made with wild yeast, brewed in Western Flanders. I'm on my second bottle of this. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't have bought two.
Avery Anniversary Ale Fifteen. Ale brewed with spices, herbs and figs. Ingredients from hte label are: Rocky Mountain water (the brewery is in Boudler, CO), malted barley, malted wheat, hops, black mission figs, hibiscus flowers, white pepper and a very unique strain of brettanomyces yeast (another wild yeast variety). Highly Recommended. This is my second bottle and will be given away as a gift.
Duchesse de Bourgogne. A top fermented reddish-brown ale from the West-Flanders region of Belgium. A blend of 8 and 18 month old ales matured in oak casks. Unpasteurized. I really did like this one. It had a a good flavor without being too light or too heavy. I definitely will buy this again sometime.
Why this review in my A&S blog?
The Four Firkins is a beer geek's dream, Mecca and Heaven all rolled into one. Jason Alvey, the owner, really knows what he is talking about. On one trip there, I typically don't spend less than $30 so it isn't cheap but what he has are things that are hard to get any place else. If you ever find yourself in the Twin Cities and want to go, ask me and I will be glad to take you.
Here is the link, and there is a mailing list you can sign up for.
http://thefourfirkins.com/

A.S. 50 List-New Items

22. New Champion Baldrics for the Barony of Nordskogen. I almost have all the threads pulled for these to have 12 even strips out of the blue. They will be lined with white linen. There will be a seam at the shoulder so they sit better on the individual wearing them. By the end of September I want to start the embroidery.
23. Build a small shade fly with side walls to use for cooking.

Library Thing

I started adding books in Library Thing. I'm under the name Constanza, of course.
The Art Show went very well. We continue to top the last show each time. People were in awe that someone would take the time to do anything by hand at all. I'm amazed that they wouldn't.

Art Show Tonight

Tonight is my church's annual Art Show and Small Group Kickoff. I'm displaying my table, the corset project and the silk wedding veil I'm making for my foster sister. This year's theme is Art on the Spot, so I'll be working on either the wedding veil or the corset during the show. I'll see how that goes. I'm also bringing along the linen for the Nordskogen Champion Baldrics. None of the embroidery is started for that. So far, I'm just preparing the linen by pulling threads out to make 5" wide strips. Those will then be cut apart, have the badges sewn on and then lined. I'm going with sewn on badges so when the linen needs replacing, the badges can just be taken off and put on new linen.

I've been a slacker.

I'm sorry to admit that, but I have been. My current and least interesting project is recovering from a nasty case of Bronchitis. Yipee. No fencing, biking, or anything else fun like that. I've been watching lots of Monty Python and sleeping. Other than that, it is work and school.
Home organization is another fun project. I picked up the first of the replacement shelves from IKEA. Running out of bookshelf space is a huge problem. I've had to go to vertical bookstacking.
I do have one more item for the list:
Champion Baldrics for the Barony of Nordskogen. The only thing we have for the Champions are the choir robes, which are hot and uncomfortable.

Shoes

The quest is temporarily over! Now I can check off another thing on the A.S. 50 list. I found shoes for only $8. They are second hand shoes, but they are good second hand shoes. They are a pair of Naturalizer black Mary Janes with beige stitching. I'll have to see how they do when I wear them for a full day. I still plan on buying custom shoes, but I've suspended all major purchases in order to buy a new couch, which I haven't had in over 10 years. I'm paying cash for it instead of using the dreaded credit card so I've been saving money. That's not going to be for a little while yet, probably not until the Clothier's Seminar coming up in October or November. I still need to get my classes together for that.
Coming next time...shameless plug for The Four Firkins.

Camp Shui

Yes folks! It is finally here! Here's how you do it:

1. Finish a brand new trestle table less than a week before the event. Make sure the table is what you want. Mine is tailor made for me. It is exactly waist high to me. I put a tape measure at my waist while wearing shoes and let it fall to the floor, stepped on it and that measurement is how high my table is. The shelf is high enough to accomodate an 18 gallon rubbermaid box underneath it.

2. Arrive as early as you can when site opens. If you are on staff, get there the night before it does. If you get there the night before, go to sleep next to the ice machine on your camping cot. It's that white noise thing, like sleeping with a fan on.

3. Wake up inappropriately early (5 am) because the stupid birds are singing and go out for breakfast. Don't forget to have coffee. It's more important than food.
4. Come back from breakfast. Pick a place to camp that meets all your requirements. Don't forget to wander aimlessly for about a half hour before actually deciding where to camp.

i. In quiet camping. If you camp in loud camping, that's where you are at. I can't sleep with alot of random noise.

ii. Not too far away from where everything is happening so you don't have to walk a lot. A bonus if you have stuff to carry.
iii. Shade if there is any. Good for taking naps. Score more points for shade AND a shade

fly, and if there is a good breeze to keep you cool while napping.

6. Accessorize. Have a wooden frame chair or cover up your chair. Try to hide anything made of plastic or anything modern, like your cooler. It makes a great bench when covered. The weekend before the event I found a basket that I can crush and stuff somewhere which I used for fruits and vegetables. I also found a small wooden tray I can put things like spice containers or utensils I don't want falling off the shelf underneath the table. Second hand stores are good places for stuff like that.

7. Have a banner. People should know that is your camp, especially if it looks good. Don't let it sit in a puddle when it rains. Dyes can run.

8. Look good when sitting in your camp. If you have a well arranged, good looking camp, look good in it. Even if it is your worst, sloppiest clothing, look good in it.

I definitely met all the requirements in #5. I always make sure of that.

I failed some things in #6. I couldn't find the cover for the water cooler, butI didn't like the fabric I used for it so no big deal. I'll just make another. I didn't make efforts to hide the camp stove and modern cooking stuff. They're eventually going to have their own box anyway. The problem I discovered with the table is that it is too tall to cook with one of the one burner propane stoves on top of it. I put it on the ground and sat in my chair and cooked. I actually got compliments from people walking by when I was cooking saying how good the camp looked, even with the modern stuff out.

I have one picture I really liked of my campsite. I thought I took a closer one of the table itself, but I guess I didn't. The other one is of the view I had. Specifically, notice the long banner which was similar to my own. That made me happy.

What's Next on My Plate

After much toil, the work on items for the church are done, I can move on to things that have been set aside. They can finally have their curtains. It's not my problem anymore. I can finally get back to work on my embroidery which I have missed these past several weeks and finish rebuilding my Flemish underdress. I haven't got to the point in figuring out how it will fit after re-engineering seams. It was a little big and now it'll likely be two sizes too small. I can easily find ways around that. It shouldn't be a problem. I'm waiting for 20 yards of white linen for new underclothes to arrive from fabric-store.com along with 2-3 yards of blue linen for baldrics for Nordskogen Baronial Champions. If anyone has any good tips about making baldrics, let me know. I'm going to have a shoulder seam in them so they sit better. I have to make them able to fit a person from my size to Vlad's size to Ingus size. You never know who might have to wear them. I will be getting at least one new flemish chemise, a new Italian chemise, and one to wear under my lightest weight summer clothing (various robes). That will use up about 12 of the 20 yards.
I know all of you have been eagerly waiting to see exactly what Camp Shui is all about. Well, hold on to your camp stools and shade flys, because it will likely be coming this weekend! With pictures too!

Coming Soon To A Campsite Near You...

How you, too, can have Camp Shui!

Have you always wanted to build your own furniture?

What about hiding your modern cooler?

Well, now you can!

Stay tuned for more information on how you can have Camp Shui too.

AS 50 List Update

1. The Corset project. See earlier posts. Working on it.

2. Make a trestle table. It's functional. Not pretty but functional and I will have it at WW.

3. Get better shoes. Either trade, barter, make or buy. I've been measured for shoes. Now I just have to order them.

4. Work on the Spanish circle (rapier). Haven't been fencing lately because of a hand injury.

5. Help someone new make clothing (I believe that one way to improve ourselves is to help others). Done.

6. Eat only period appropriate foods all day at one event and prepare them in a period manner, as in not using modern things like a silicone spatula. Lillies would be perfect for this. I'll have to do this next year. I didn't go this year.

7. Make a period hairpiece because I don't have enough hair as it is. Not started.

8. Make a hat to go with one set of clothes. Not started.

9. Perform a dance before an audience, not just dance during a ball or practice. Preferrably with Master Etienne and I'd like the dance to be Spagnoletto Rigolatto. Not done yet.

10. Make a 6 board box. My brother is actually making two for me, and he is really an excellent wood worker.

11. Finish the 15th century table knife. I'm to the point of sanding it, but the grinding is very cold in winter and standing in front of a belt sander that blows cold air back at you isn't my idea of a good time. I'm thinking about starting a new one.

12. Make late period hair curling tongs. I'm just going to make these, not actually use them on my hair. Not started.

13. Reline Flemish dress and make a pattern from it. Working on it.

14. Teach 50 embroidery classes on any type of embroidery, by individual or group. I've taught seven.

15. Finish the Tudor undergarments, not including the corset embroidery project, by Lillies. Didn't happen.

16. Make a girdle book. Not started.

17. Learn how to do smocking, and how it is combined with blackwork. Make an outfit for an infant that can be let out as the child grows (I just found out a non-SCA friend is pregnant and she requested an outfit for the baby). Not started.

18. Make a set of Roman style clothing. I bought the most wonderful mustard-y yellow cotton gauze today which is a good color for me. I'll probably pair it with a bright green gauze. I didn't buy any white because it came in two pieces and there wasn't enough. I have to get more fabric to do this.

19. Make a beaded collar for the black silk Italian dress. I don't have the beads yet. TJ wasn't happy with them so he sent them back.

20. Make a new chemise to go with the black silk Italian dress. Working on it. I started that a while ago.

21. Find a use for all the fabric I own and don't buy any more unless absolutely necessary. This will actually take seven years.

There is more on here that is not done or even started than is done. Fun. And I have 29 more things to add.
All the largesse is done to pay the mercs at Pennsic. Finally. Now I can do something else.
I still need to make 2 pairs of pants and a cooler cover out of sunforger.

Gonna Blow My Own Horn

I'm Nordskogen's new A & S Champion! Woo-hoo! I'm never been champion at anything so I'm very happy about that. Plus, I get good seats during court. I usually don't go, but it might be fun to actually be behind the thrones. At least I'll be able to hear.
Dance starts officially on the July 16th with Italian Renaissance.

The Party is Over...

It actually ended about a month ago, which really sucks for me. No more embroidery while working. Consequently, I am really far behind with my blackwork. Not only is there no more embroidery while working, but I can't even have it on my desk. Period. All the stuff (toys) I have ast my desk are mostly harmless. There is a glow in the dark skeleton pez dispenser, a griffin, 3 small rubber duckies, a deck of cards given to various people by one of clients, a paper airplane, and various other things inlcuding a miniature keg about 2 inches tall. All of this stuff is apparently fine because I'm not likely to play with these while I'm working. I'll have to change that but it might make me look a little nuts. But then again, I work in the health insurance industry, and I'm in the SCA.
I might get a very small x-rated toy for my desk and putting it somewhere that is hard to spot and seeing if anyone notices. What I really don't get is the 21 year old who can plaster her desk with magazine cut out pictures of rap stars and "Sexy" written in marker with arrows pointing to said rap star. So that is okay, but not my embroidery.
What is with that?
Maybe I should write "Sexy" on a piece of paper and have it pointed at my embroidery. Maybe then it would be okay.
What I really think this is the inability of most people that I work with to multi-task. I have been asked over and over again by multiple people how I can embroider and work at the same time. Embroidery requires about zero thought for me. Most of my co-workers have trouble just doing their jobs, judging by how often I have to tell them the same things or train them in things they should already know. I have to go through claims training. A 2 1/2 hour training session in how to read claims in our processing system. Yippee. I am on a help line at work. Other reps call the help line for HELP. I help other reps with what they can't figure out, and I have already made a few suggestions about what to train the reps on based on the same questions I answer over and over and over again. So why do I have to take claims training if I help other people most of the time? Stupidity. And a waste of my time. At least I don't have to answer the phone during that 2 1/2 hours.

My New Quill Article

Why I like the 16th Century More
Constanza de Sevilla
The 16th Century gave us Shakespeare, world exploration, expansion of empires, and (my favorite) the first actual flush toilets.
They were not, however the first toilets in existence. There are records of toilets throughout the world, including one found in a grave in China. Flushing Ancient Egypt’s toilets involved buckets of water instead of having it piped in. Earthenware pipes still in use today drained them. Rome’s sewer system, cloxa maxima, made of stone seats with a hole in the center, was built over channels of water for drainage.
In 1189, London had a sewage system called garderobes. They could be public or private toilets. Private garderobes emptied by pipes into a pit, moat or river immediately outside the building where they were. Public garderobes emptied directly into the Thames, making it smelly and unsanitary.
In 1530, close stools became the most modern convenience. It was simply a chair with a padded seat, handles for travel and a pot that required emptying, often out the window or door. Those who could not afford a close stool used a bucket, cistern or just the street.
Leonardo da Vinci developed plans for water closets for the castle at Ambrose of Francis I, but they were considered nonsense and were never built. These plans included pipes inside the walls and vents that went up to the roof.
In 1596, Elizabeth I’s godson, Sir John Harrington, wrote an article called “Plan Plots for a Privy of Perfection.” Even though his invention worked, it leaked and was poorly ventilated. Sewer gas continuously leaked into the powder room, where the Queen would keep bowls of fragrances and herbs to battle the smell. Elizabeth I was so happy with the invention, that she had a copy of the article bound and hung next to her water closet. So, not only did we see the first toilet, but maybe the first reading material to go along with it. Harrington’s invention was ridiculed, and he never built any more than one for himself and one for the Queen.

http://inventors.about.com/ (search for “history of flush toilets”)

A Midsummer Night's Dream

I went to see the 1:00 pm production today with a co-worker, and it was just an amazing, incredible show. Of all the characters, Oberon and Helena were the best. Helena's facial expressions and voice inflections were wonderful, especially when she was arguing with Hermia. Oberon was just entertaining all around, and he looked really good in his costume.
I nearly fell off my seat with laughter during the play within a play. The entire production was 3 hours nine minutes long, and I wish that once it was over, that I could immediately see it again. We had 5th row seats and I'm glad we weren't closer to the stage. It was worth every penny to see it. I would go again in a minute.

3 1/2 Hours at Lillies

Yep. I went for 3 1/2 hours. The really odd part is that in that amount of time, everything that would normally happen at Lillies did. I had a drink, went shopping, did some embroidery, complained about the heat and made a dirty joke. TJ needed to drop off his things for By My Hand, so I kept him company for that trip. It took twelve hours and I had to get up at 3 am. I'm really missing being there, but it was just too hard to get there. I only have one good hand due to an injury so I can't lift anything and I have finals. I'm now done with finals, so I'm going to finish up hte Tudor corset I've been working on, do some embroidery, and I'll get to see a Midsummer's Night Dream on Sunday. Today I spent about 2-3 hours vacuuming and scrubbing out the interior of my truck. Exciting. Yipee.
And tonight...there will be tequila. Even if I have to drink it alone.

The Return of Dance

Rosanore, Tosten and I have got together to come up with a plan for dance practices in Nordskogen! I have high hopes for this. Even if I only teach one person, I'm teaching something. Each of us is going to focus on a specific type/time period. Rosanore is taking the Inns of Court, Tosten will be doing English Country (and maybe out of period), and I get Italian dances. Each moot night we will have a mini-ball so people can practice. What this allows everyone, including the teacher, is to focus on one kind of dance each week and not just get a few minutes to try out one dance, but to really learn and memorize the steps. Many of the Italian dances are complicated to say the least. There is 15th and 16th century, they are longer, have lots of steps in various orders, and the few times that people get to them makes them harder to remember. I haven't done my favorite, Spagnoletto Rigolatto (affectionally called Spaghetti Rigatoni by me), in well over a year. I hope I remember it.

Sunshine and Hail

Saturday night there was a not so wonderful storm. We had hail and sunshine at the same time. Only in Minnesota. I now have hail damage on my pickup. Yeah. I don't even think I'll be making a claim for it.
I'm so far behind on all my projects right now that it isn't even funny. Part of the reason is I have to wear a hand splint on my right hand for a month because of a ganglion cyst. The bad part of it is that it puts pressure on the nerve and is causing some numbness in my right thumb. The splint is an attempt to avoid surgery, which I don't think is going to work. It feels better after wearing it, but the splint is really uncomfortable to wear. I can't bike to work, and I can't find my card to get into the gym at work. The only other solution is to walk to work. Ick. I'd rather bike anyway.
I'm not going to Lillies because of a number of circumstances. It makes me feel like I've been conspired against. By what, I don't know.

Second Hand Stores

It's amazing what you can find. I had a donation to make to a second hand store, and decided to go inside after I did that. I went to Arc's Value Village on Penn Avenue South in Minneapolis. They have a craft section which I usually visit. In a small plastic bag marked at the value price of $0.99, I found two unused skeins of Splendor silk in beige, an ideal color for stalks of wheat, which I have in my corset embroidery project. I also picked up a pair of leather tan Land's End Mary Janes in my size that make passable period shoes which were nearly brand new. I can dye them black if I don't like tan. So now I can cross that off my list. I thought of a couple things to add:
18. Make a girdle book
19. Learn how to do smocking, and how it is combined with blackwork
20. Make an outfit for an infant that can be let out as the child grows (I just found out a non-SCA friend is pregnant and she requested an outfit for the baby).

Interesting Reading

I needed to look up the Magna Carta from 1215 for a research paper in my American Legal Systems class and found the following provision:

There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn (the London quarter), throughout the kingdom. There shall also be a standard width of dyed cloth, russett, and haberject, namely two ells within the selvedges. Weights are to be standardised similarly.

It would be even more interesting to find out the measurement from the 1215 ell and if it differed from the ell in the Spanish tailor's book from 1598.

More Taginne Cooking

I cooked in the taginne again today. This time it was orange chicken stuffed with couscous, currants, almonds and garlic. I also made more couscous to take to work and share. I did the couscous on the stove top, also with currants and almonds. I cheated a little on the orange for the chicken and used frozen orange concentrate and mixed in ground cloves.
















Things are going well on my large embroidery project. I finally gave up on making a frame and bought a frame. It was less than $1o, and I'm satisfied with it. I still have the problem of the ends being pinched together when it is put together. What I don't have, and don't miss, are the tension problems. The frame, from, Michael's, came with split dowels which I just wrapped some of my embroidery tape around and that fixed it. It's lightweight so my floor stand doesn't have a problem supporting it. It still plan on making small frames for anyone who wants them for blackwork, and I found what I hope is the right tool for the job. I'm a big believer in having the right tool for the job.
On the A.S. 50 project, I'm temporarily out of things to add to my list so feel free to give me any suggestions.

Taginne cooking

I cooked in the taginne last week. I made a game hen, beef sirloin tips and couscouse with currants and mint from the left over juice in the pan. The couscous was delicious. I had a co-worker try it who never had couscous before and convince her that it was really good. I tried natural wood charcoal for the first time. I found that I need a lot more of it because it wasn't staying hot long enough. I started out using standard briquettes and then ran out so I switched halfway through. I liked the natural wood charcoal, but I need to use more. I've had a requst to make orange chicken for a friend, so I may be doing that tomorrow. This time, I'm going to make the couscous first again with currants but with cloves this time and I'm going to stuff the chicken with it before cooking. For the orange flavor, I'm using concentrated orange juice as a brush on marinade. I might throw in some bit of fresh orange in the couscous stuffing also.

Iron Man

Go see it! And stay through the end of the credits, trust me, you want to. I took my friend Kim who thought she would not like it and did. She's a fluffy romance movie type and liked this, and it was hardly a fluffy romance movie. Besides that, Robert Downey Jr. looks really good in a t-shirt. This has to be my favorite pic though.

A Three Days Journey

Master Ingus and I took a long trip to the north, during which I took became ill with the Bardic Madness.
Of the twelve challenges, I took part in five. I was also patroness for Blow Someone Else's Horn. They were:
The Ensemble Tale
The Oakhart Challenge
Brought to You by the Number 3
Quod Libet
Royal Challenge

I do not have anything written down from The Ensemble Tale. That is done on the spot.
For Quod Libet, I argued for snow (I like cross country skiing), and threw in why I'd like to live in Mistig Waetru just for fun.

For the Oakhart Challenge, I covered what England thought of Spain from about 1500-1600 in a few sentences:
We don't want your daughter.
Yes, please give us your daughter.
Now we're going to treat her poorly.
We hate you, and we're going to sink all your ships.

In Brought to You by the Number 3, I wrote a riddle in a sort of rhymed triplet about three objects I use and offered a prize to the winner. Someone solved it in a couple minutes, and I'll let the gentle reader guess what they are:
These three objects I use,
We can be of metal or wood
So here is a riddle, I pray it will amuse

The first is of metal, long and light
Cutting bone and slicing flesh
A new one that is useful in a fight

The second is sharp and small
Fibers go through me which I decorate
Much used and seen, held in hand by all

With the third I strike a solid blow
Metal on metal on metal
While a hot fire burns and glows

Guess what are we three
Think on this and solve the riddle
And a prize yours will be.

For the Royal Challenge, I wrote a lullaby that can be sung in a round. Over the next couple weeks, I will be working on writing this in period notation and will put a copy up here. Special thanks to Ysolt for giving a class on writing period chants, because the tune was written with hints from that class. Another thing I like to do at Bardic Madness is take a class and use what I learn to write a new piece. This is the first song I've ever written:
Griffin's Lullaby
Bid ye rest lay down your head
Far from home or in your bed
Dream of griffins, stars so bright
Dream you of Northshield this night.

All of the above was written on site. I typically do not write anything ahead of time, or even read the challenges until I get there.

Enough Already.

Don't get me wrong. I love winter as much as the next man, woman, child or border collie who likes to dive into the snow while playing frisbee. But enough is enough. I want Spring. I want to ride my bike to work without battling the wind and the rain/snow/slush stuff that looks like it is coming at us horizontally. I want to ride my bike to the grocery store, the bookstore or wherever else I want to go. I want sun. I want 60 degree weather. I want to hang up my winter coat until November. I want to worry about if I'm wearing enough sunscreen.
So, Winter, all I have to say to you is this:
Go Away! Your turn is over for a while. Let someone else have their fun so I can have mine.

Frame 2.0

Frame 2.0 is a failure. So that's where I'm at. Monday night I took the embroidery off the frame because I was so frustrated. Here's what I've gone through so far with frames:
Frame 0.0
No frame. Didn't work. Started over.
Frame 1.o
1 inch square red oak. Nice wood, but far too heavy. My frame stand could not support the weight. The only way I could work on it was to put the stand on a table adn use it to prop up the frame. This made doing the embroidery really slow, and bending over the piece made my back hurt.
Frame 2.o
This is the one you see in the pictures of the project. It worked much better than Frame 1.0, but had its own problems. 1. It was made from Aspen, a really bad choice. I did not choose what type of wood. I will never, never, never make anything from Aspen again. Ever. Did I say never enough? One more time. I will never use Aspen again for ANYTHING. I don't care what the project is. You couldn't PAY ME to use it. The first problem with Frame 2.0 is that the holes were drilled to big for dowel rods. My dowel rods are 1/2" round, and that is the size of the holes in the stretcher bars. And this is where the problems begin. Because aspen is soft and the holes are too big in the stretcher bars, when they are tightened down to hold the dowel rods, there is tension for a while and then I have to tighten it again by turning the dowel rods. I had to tighten the bolts so far that the ends touched. I wrapped some of my embroidery tape around the ends of the dowel rods. My hope was this would add just enough size to the dowel rods so there wouldn't be a problem with the frame losing tension. It didn't work. It only made it so I couldn't tighten up the tension because the dowl rods didn't turn anymore due to the tape on them. Also, the started to crack while I was taking it apart. Aspen is far from the ideal material when it comes to embroidery frames.
Frame 3.0
I already have plans for it. I don't know if I'm building it or TJ is. It will be made from maple. Maple isn't heavy and is hopefully stiff enough to have some spring to it. I've already picked up the maple. If I don't use it for my frame, I will be using to make smaller frames to sell to anyone who wants one. More and more people are asking me about the small frame I have so I'm going to start making them.

Reno 911!

I think this show is dumbest thing I have ever seen. I don't know how or why anyone would ever think this is funny.

More for the List

16. Make a new white apron, maybe add a little embroidery.

Yeah, it's only one thing, but it's something.

SUNrise was fun, but I'm really tired. I taught 6 embroidery classes, inlcuding individual ones. One of those was a six year old. I was teaching Gwynneth (Danr and Katherine's daughter) how to do a stem stitch and she did very well. I drew a flower on some linen for her to do, showed her how and told her to follow the lines I drew.

Maestra Giovanna tooka picture of me in my new formal Italian and wearing my gold mask. I'll have it up here in the next couple days. TJ will be ordering the beads for the neckline and wrist trim. It will be button on glass pearl trim. I haven't decided what buttons to use just yet.

Spring Cleaning?

Can you really call it that if it seems more like winter? I usually call it The Great Purge. I went through all of my sewing stuff. I had so much stuff that I had to keep it in one of those three drawer plastic bins, the ones on wheels. The plan was to get rid of enough stuff so I don't need it any more. It worked. Everything now fits in my sewing desk. I have a 1920's era art deco desk that is about three fit wide, but it has 5 drawers and a cabinet for tall things. It is the perfect size for a sewing machine, and has a matching bench seat. My large desk is gone and has been replaced with a work station that fits all of the computer stuff, including the scanner. I just need to clean out that room and get it in order. Next, I'm going through fabric scraps. Anything that isn't from a current outfit or is anything I've had for more than a year is getting tossed. I try to recycle or give away anything that is useful, but I don't have the patience for trying to give away fabric scraps.

I have a lot to do before SUNrise. This list includes:
1. Rebuild the flemish underdress
2. Work on the new embroidery class
3. Put together a few more embroidery kits
4. Pack up all the stuff I need

I have three classes:
1. How Not to do Large Embroidery Projects
2. Late Period Women's Work Clothes
3. Individual Blackwork Instruction

I'm not taking over Etienne's dance class which I'm glad of. I'm doing so much teaching already that it'd be hard to fit in a dance class too. I'm taking alot already, then I'd have to add my stereo (Bose Wave Radio), hand outs, mp3 player and memorize the dances by Friday night. I don't like teaching dances from a piece of paper, and I'd like to avoid that in the future. Right now, I'm so far out of practice with dancing that I should just read my dance manual from cover to cover to remember what I know.

My table is coming along. I'll be ready to start sanding the trestles this Thursday if I have time to go to Danr's.

Destruction!

I did something today I've been meaning to do for a long time, and now I only have a week and half or so to do it in. I took apart my Flemish underdress. It was the first dress I handstitched, and I didn'tdo the best of jobs on it, at least in my opinion. I'm relining it making a pattern from it. This is what it looks like now

I'm have yet to cut apart the large piece in the first picture.

I did this ofr a couple reasons. It needed to be relined, so each piece is going to be lined individually instead of the entire upper piece being done as one. I have done on two other dresses so far and really like how those two turned out. Maestra Giovanna suggested that to me. One thing I need to do before lining it is cover up where I put the lacing holes. I made this long before I started using lacing rings. I'm hoping to start putting this back together tomorrow. If you look on the folded up piece, you can still see all the pleats in the skirt. This will make it a little smaller, but it has gotten a little to big for me. It will also be shorter, but it was a little long too.

Because I've been meaning to do this for a long time, I'm adding it to the list.

I left off the list at number 12, so I'm picking up on number 13.

13. Reline Flemish dress and make a pattern from it.

14. Teach 50 embroidery classes on any type of embroidery, by individual or group.

15. Finish the Tudor undergarments, not including the corset embroidery project, by Lillies.

I'm still taking suggestions on this list, if anyone has any. I have 35 more things to add yet.

Trestles

Tonight I finished building the trestle legs for my table. One of the shelf supports is a 1/4" higher than the other but that isn't anything that I can't solve by sanding. The other option is to make a piece or runner to stabilize the table horizontally that will slide over the 2x4 shelf supports and just cut one slot a 1/4" deeper.

TJ rebuilt my embroidery frame. The one Danr helped me make is really nice but my floor stand cannot support the weight. The stretcher bars are red oak which is heavy. The new one is poplar which is really light. I haven't had any time to do any embroidery at all since getting back from that trip.

Now with Pictures

I gave up trying to find software to download my digital photos. I picked up a card reader from Radio Shack for about $1o. Add another gadget to my growing family of electronic toys.

Without further ado, here are the first pictures from my digial SLR. I am pleased. I wanted the first ones to be of my table since someone requested those. These are the barn boards Giovanna gave me a couple years ago, and I didn't know what I wanted to do with them so they just sat around until I decided I wanted a new table. Danr took the pics in the shop. It's very dark inside, so I'm happy these turned out nicely. The front took about 2 hours of sanding with an electric sander and at least two hours of hand planing before that. I haven't sanded the back yet. I want to do the final sanding by hand. One end has a couple boards that are longer so I need to do some trimming on that yet. This was over the weekend, and I got the legs cut out before I went home. I was tired from working on a video shoot project since about 8 am that morning.

The next pictures I'm posting will be of the corset embroidery. I have some very nice close ups of the stitches, and it made my realize just how much more I need to practice. After seeing the pictures, I want to take some parts out and do them again, but what I'd be undoing is about an hour or two of work. I'd like people's thoughts once I get the pictures up. You'll see what I'm talking about then.

I'll be at TJ's Thursday night until sometime Sunday. It'll be nice to get away from home for a few days.

The Problem with Gadgets

The good news is the new camera works wonderfully. I took many pictures of the corset embroidery project. In some of the shots, the lens was only a few inches away from some of the designs, and there were no quality issues at all. The only problem now is downloading the pictures to the laptop and posting them here. I haven't been able to find the correct software. I didn't think I would need anything specific, but apparently I do. I'll keep working on that.

One nice thing about the laptop is I can play movies on it, and even better, listen to them on my Bose headphones. I didn't realize how much I was missing like background voices.

The A.S. 50 Update

Here is my latest update:

1. The Corset project. This is coming along. I'm trying to get in one hour a day during each week day and 2 hours each Saturday and Sunday.
2. Make a trestle table. The table top is together, done with much help from Danr. I need to go sand it now. I've decided on a modern epoxy finish because there are many cracks and I will be doing much cooking on it, including chopping.
3. Get better shoes. I decided to buy shoes. Because of my ankle problems, I need shoes with really good support. I will try to get as appropriate looking shoes as possible.
4. Work on the Spanish circle (rapier). I haven't done much with rapier lately. Part of this is just being very busy
5. Help someone new make clothing. I helped my old friend Matt make new clothes before 12th night, and did my first keyhole neckline with an overlay. It turned out very nice for my first.
6. Eat only period appropriate foods all day at one event and prepare them in a period manner. I will not be at Lillies this year, much to my dismay. I'm sad. I will probably do this during Ages of War. The event is in my hometown at the fairgrounds (Yay!), but it is all about war. I would like to do something about what a soldier would eat on campaign.
7. Make a period hairpiece because I don't have enough hair as it is. I haven't done anything on this.
8. Make a hat to go with one set of clothes. Same here, nothing done yet.
New things:
9. Perform a dance before an audience, not just dance during a ball or practice. Preferrably with Master Etienne and I'd like the dance to be Spagnoletto Rigolatto.
10. Make a 6 board box.
11. Finish the 15th century table knife. I'm to the point of sanding it, but the grinding is very cold in winter and standing in front of a belt sander that blows cold air back at you isn't my idea of a good time.
12. Make late period hair curling tongs. I'm just going to make these, not actually use them on my hair.

Gadgets, Lots of Gadgets.

So all in the past week and a half I got a different laptop with a built in wifi card, an SLR type digital camera and wireless. Wow. I can now post pictures again on the blog. I'll be doing that in the next week or so. I have to figure out some things on the camera first which means finding the manual online and reading it.
Refurnishing my apartment is going okay. I've now gotten wall shelves in the kitchen instead of the ones I had sitting on the floor. They're not quite straight on the wall, but it was hard to put them up by myself. As long as they're close to straight and they hold up, that's all I need. If anyone wants wide mouth canning jars with lids, let me know. I can deliver if it is in the Twin Cities or at an event.

I haven't gone back to Danr's to work on the table yet. I haven't touched the corset embroidery in a week and I've barely done any blackwork. I've had a lot of homework this week. I'm also trying to find time to clean my apartment, but I have too much homework and that is almost all I spend my time doing.
I bought three more thread colors for the corset cover: a bright pink/purple (more pink than purple), and heraldic red and blue. I'm almost out of the last two colors because they've been used on other projects.

The Table

I spent a few hours at Danr's today working on my trestle table. He helped me build the top. I'm using the recycled barn boards from G finally. I know I've had them at least a year and couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with them until recently. I had to hand plane down one of the pieces a lot, and that is not easy work. My arms hurt a little from that.
The table is going to fit together with wood pegs only, no metal and it will last longer. It will have an epoxy finish on it, so that won't be period. The only reason I decided on that is because there are holes and cracks that I'd like filled in. I'm going to use this table for cooking mostly, and I want the table to be easy to clean. That way, food bits also won't get stuck in the little cracks. The next step is to sand the top. I'm using a belt sander for this, but I might do the final sanding before the epoxy by hand.

For those who did not know, TJ is going on his third week back at work and is very happy about that. He cannot walk without the air cast on his leg though, but he can walk. The ankle will never be as flexible as it was before because of the pins and plates in it. I'll likely be down there later this month.

I read the post about Ages of War today. I can't wait to go! If the site plans become definite, it will be in my hometown about a mile from my parent's house. Guess where I'd be staying. I also read about the A&S Competition, and the later period Europe is right up my alley, so I guess I'd better begin planning a project. I think it would be fun to do something with food. Speaking of food, my last batch of candied orange peels were slightly burned. I think the honey got too hot too fast, and I didn't stir enough.

Broadband!

I now have broadband and couldn't be happier! I can get my homework done faster because my connection is faster. I don't have to worry about not being able to connect, or going to the library. I'm going to get the wireless router next. I don't think I would ever go back to what I had before.

I have one more thing from IKEA to assemble. I've spent about $400 there in the past couple weeks. I'm slowly refurnishing my aparment and enjoying every minute of it. It's just as much fun to assemble the furniture as it is to use.

A.S. 50 Challenge

I was reading about this challenge from posts on the list earlier this week. I think it is a really great idea, and I'd have seven years to complete 50 things. They don't have to be huge things either, though I'm sure some will. I started thinking about what 50 things I can do to be more, well, historical. So I started a list. I'll take suggestions for more I can. I'll update and repost the list about once a month.
1. The Corset project. See earlier posts
2. Make a trestle table.
3. Get better shoes. Either trade, barter, make or buy.
4. Work on the Spanish circle (rapier)
5. Help someone new make clothing (I believe that one way to improve ourselves is to help
others).
6. Eat only period appropriate foods all day at one event and prepare them in a period manner, as in not using modern things like a silicone spatula. Lillies would be perfect for this.
7. Make a period hairpiece because I don't have enough hair as it is.
8. Make a hat to go with one set of clothes.

12th Night

I think everything went well. I missed most of both courts, but managed to be there when I needed to be. For those who weren't there, the entire populace of Nordskogen was called into court. I think I did a good job as Royalty Liaison, and that is what everyone else said. The only problem was finding Royalty Room guards, but as the day went along, people volunteered.
The A&S didn't go well for me personally, or at least I think it didn't. I probably won't enter something for a while now. All I have to say is if you are going to give comments to someone about a project, good or bad, have the guts to leave your name on the judging form. And listen to what the presenter has to say.
Then there is the dress. That is now the gem of my collection. I was so happy that it fit right and it was comfortable. It fit and looked like an Italian dress should. The olive green voided velvet with the black silk was just perfect. I'm going to add pearls around the collars and sleeves as soon as I get them from TJ. That won't be till after Gulf Wars. It needs some minor repair work and fixing, and a hat. The dress flaunted a certain part of my anatomy. I fully expected that kind of attention which I didn 't even really acknowledge that much. It worked to get the young Royalty Room guards to carry stuff out to my truck during court!
And now for the TJ update...
He is home. He can drive now, and went back to work today. I had a little argument with him about merchanting last night. I told him how tired I was after Saturday, and it isn't like I'm at a merchant booth all day. I didn't mean that he wasn't working, but he gets to be in one place and does get down time. When you're running stuff at an event, you really don't get any. The most I had all day was during the A&S judging. I didn't get to sit down much at all. He can still be merchanting and sitting. I can't when I'm looking for volunteers or a specific person.

To Do List

I haven't put a to do list up here since starting this blog, so I'm deciding to do it now. Here is what I have planned for the next six months or so:
1. Make a trestle table and finish it before Lillies. Delivered lumber to Danr's and have decided on the pattern
2. Work on 12th Night A & S project, embroidering a corset cover. Finish the documentation. I didn't get any more done on the embroidery. The documentation barely got done in time.
3. Making my own set of cuffs collars. This has been started. I've gone back to working on this after getting the dress done. I'm taking to work every day. No more clothes for a month.
4. Finish the silk dress before 12th Night. I decided to change something so it'll take me longer than I thought, but I still have about a couple weeks. Done. See the most current post. It was gorgeous.
5. Cover the existing corset to make it wearable. I'm not sure when I'm starting this.

One Busy Person

Sorry for the lack of updates people. I've been a little busy getting straight A's in college again.
I've been able to keep up the 4.0 GPA despite everything I do.
So here is what is going on with A&S:
I plan on entering Nordskogen's 12th Night Competition. I haven't decided whether or not to enter the Novice/Amateur or Expert class yet. The corset project is what I am entering. It won't be anywhere near done. I've started the project over, made many improvements and I think that will show when this is done. If it is ever done. I have to schedule in time to work on it every day. One hour a day if possible during weekdays and two hours each day on the weekends also if possible. The bigger problem is that the project really isn't portable so I can't take it to work. It requires an embroidery floor stand which I had to buy since I didn't have one.
I'm working on a new dress for 12th Night. A black silk Italian, fully lined. So far I have the voided velvet sleeves done, the bodice is done. I'm lining the skirts now. I don't see any reason why this won't be done by event time, depending on what I have for classes.
My digital camera broke so there won't be any pictures until I get a new one. I have plans for one, but I'm really not sure what I'm going to be getting yet. There is a National Camera Exchange close by, and I may go trade in my film camera for a similar digital model.
The first Texas Hold'Em Poker Night was fun. I lost $10. I'll post when the next one is if people are interested. It might be a monthly thing though I may not always be hosting it.

In Goode Company

It's Black Friday. I didn't want to get up early and go anywhere, especially if it meant shopping. But I did. The only thing that didn't make it sad is that I was in the company of fellow bibliophiles. I went to Half Price Books. I got there at about 6:40. Most people, only about 20 or less, were still waiting in their cars. 4 people were waiting at the doors. I decided to wait at the doors. After that, other people started to get in line. At about 6:50 AM, the lovely employees brought out hot chocolate, coffee and snacks. I didn't get the $200 gift certificate, but they had Caribou Coffee which I was very happy about. I did pick up a couple books and a DVD. I also went to Joann's. I needed more sewing machine needles for the upcoming Christmas stocking class on Dec. 15. I'm about ready for a nap now. I've been up since 6:10 this morning. I have some house work left to finish before going out of town tomorrow. I'm headed to my brother's, and will be there until Tuesday morning.

I finished the green Italian work dress, and have got a start on the silk upper class dress. The back is just about pinned and I can start sewing it any time now. The next one after the silk dress will be rust colored. I'm not sure if that one is going to be Flemish or what yet. I also have the silk on silk embroidery to work on. I finally bought a thread organizer for the silk floss. It's very nice not to have to use the carboard cards the skeins come on anymore, and I can easily see all the colors. They will also stay cleaner not being in just a ziploc bag anymore.

There won't be any pictures on the site for a while. The digital camera broke. Sorry folks.

Got the Socks!

And they are nice! Follow the link on the right to Giovanna's blog, Quickly Unravel, to see them.

In the embroidery world, things aren't coming along. I haven't touched the Tudor Corset in over a week. I have been busy making tokens for KWAR. These will be going to Their Royal Majesties to hand out as they see fit. I want to be done with these this weekend. I'm probably about half done, so finishing by this weekend or earlier is entirely possible. The Italian work dress is coming along nicely. Everything is lined, and I just have one more section to pleat and then I can sew on the skirt. Its already hemmed, so finishing will only be sewing on lacing rings. I want to have the silk Italian dress done by Boar's Head. That could be possible, too. I just have to find enough linen to line the skirt. That's what others are recommending, but I haven't decided yet.

Here are the first pics I've taken of the corset. Its silk on silk embroidery.

Halloween!

I finished the last item for the costume today...the big white bow for my hair. Everything turned out so well I'm happy to say and it looks good. I'm taking my camera to work. I'll get the pics up tomorrow.

I also popped into heavy practice to drop off Edwin's belt he left at Otsukimi and chatted with G for a bit. I got to try on my socks! G will have them done by the end of the week. I can't wait to get them.

I'm at the point of closing the front on the new work dress. Since I've been working on that, the embroidery for the new Tudor corset has kind of fallen by the wayside. I want the new workdress done by the December folkmoot. By Boar's Head, I want to get my silk dress finsihed. That shouldnt' be hard. I have the two days off before BH, plus the whole week after Thanksgiving, plus the Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week. I'll need to do something to keep myself busy. Not like I don't have any books to read...or National Geographics.

A Very Bad Week

I think this week is one of the worst I've had in a long, long time.

My truck broke down. It will cost about $1300 to fix. I've managed to scrape enough together to pay for it. My parents have graciously decided to give me some money in lieu of Christmas presents to help cover it, but I had to empty out my savings account.

I had to bike to work one day, and my left leg gave out and I fell. I have some bruises, and my back hurts because that is what I landed on. It's feeling better now. Its really fun to have to kick your bike of yourself. That's a new experience for me.

TJ is very discouraged about not being at home yet. He has another doctor's appointment in a couple weeks, and is hoping to get the cast off and being cleared to drive. I hope so, too. Being at his parent's house is really difficult. I know I wouldn't be able to stand 24/7 with my parents for two months.

On the A&S front, I got new lacing rings from a drapery supply place I found online. They're for making Roman Blinds. I didn't have time to find any around here. It was $6.99 for 100 plus shipping. Then they didn't send me 100, there were only 82. It's enough for now. The rings are 3/8" inside diameter, which is larger than what I want, but they'll work. Pictures to be posted soon!

Largesse Competition

Lucia lost then found the blackwork I did for her. I'm happy not to have to do that again. I may have more to do for her yet, depending on the outcome from Crown this weekend.

I've started a new work dress in mint green. I'm lining each piece individually, then putting everything together. I'll see how that works. This dress is to see if the pattern fits for the new silk dress I want for Boar's head. I need to work on the other sleeve for that, but it shouldn't take too long. I may need to take the unfinished sleeve apart because I don't think I ever made a pattern for it. It'd be nice to have that if I ever want to make that particular type of sleeve again.

I won, meaning I get a lovely pair of handmade socks from Maestra Giovanna. I did more sweet bags. This time, the pattern on the bags was the compass rose. I brought the honey up to the hard crack stage this time. It was much harder to work with than when it was at the soft crack stage. I'm not sure what I'll do next time. I need to think of something different. This is the second time I've done sweet bags. The pictures are of the raw ingredients, the finished product, the embroidered bags and boiling honey.

No wifi yet...sigh

I thought since today was the last day of my 12 day vacation from work that I could go pick up the equipment I need for the wifi. I called the tech line to find out where to pick the stuff up at, and lo and behold, wifi in my area is delayed until the end of October. Wonderful. I have to deal with Netzero in all its glorious crappyness for another month. And classes start again Monday. Yippee.

And this is what I have done on my vacation:
Blackwork, blackwork, blackwork. The largesse is nearly done. The candy is made, and the embroidery is finished. I just have to stitch the bags together. There will be pictures, eventually.
I made a bag for the chair I bought. That's it. I expected to get more done, but I was lazy. I could have gotten alot more done on the silk corset cover. I didn't touch it for the entirety of my vacation, so being that a new corset was the next thing on my list, that is my next project.
I'd like to have a new dress in time for Boar's Head, preferrably from the black corduroy silk. I'll see how that goes. I'll have to start it mid-October if I'm going to hand sew it. That is what I'd like to do. It'd make a wonderful Italian dress, but I only have six yards and that may not be enough for an early Tudor. The sleeves are almost done and made from something else, so I may have enough. If I do a Tudor, I have to get the corset done first though. I may have to do something simpler, like another work dress from some of the fabric I got at Lillies.

Candy, Round 2

I made more candied orange peels and almonds, this time using a candy thermometer. I actually knew when I was at the hard crack stage. Everything was much stickier. Boiling the honey takes at least an hour and requires stirring, so I made sure it was the only thing I was doing.
The Caponi Demo is next week, so I'll have some there. I'm still working on largesse. I still have some time since I'm on vacation until Wednesday.
TJ is doing fine after the second surgery on his left leg. He was out of the hospital by noon on Thursday, but thought he'd be there until Friday morning. This Saturday there is an event in Indianapolis which he'll be at, wheelchair and all. It'll be nice for him to get out.

I took pictures, but I'm not going to upload any until I have wifi. Hopefully next week!

One More Day!

Finals are over tomorrow. The semester from Hell will be over. I get my brain and my time back tomorrow at least until classes begin again in a week and a half. Three classes are just too many to take at one time. I haven't done any A&S stuff this week at all, but I still have until next Tuesday off.
Pictures will be posted as soon as I get my wifi, probably next week.

New Embroidery Project

As I get around to finishing older projects, I start new ones. I'm now embroidering a silk corset cover in chain and stem stitch. I've gotten good compliments so far. I dont' have much time to work on it because I'm just finishing up a semester right now. I'll get pictures posted sometime.

TJ is doing okay. He went to the orthopedist today and had some staples removed just below his knee, so he marginally more comfortable. He's still pretty much immobile though, and will be for a while yet. Next Friday (14th) he is going for a second surgery to adjust some things so his ankle is in a more natural position. He only has a splint on the back of his leg, ace bandage type wraps (I think) and surgical bandages. There is no cast on his leg. I'll likely be visiting him in Indianapolis later this month.

I'm getting ready to go to Coronation, just to see Ingus elevated. He wanted me to go, and who am I to refuse a friend? It'll be fun though. I'm staying in Khadijah's room. I imagine we'll cause some sort of trouble at some point.

Hotspotting!

My apartment has a hotspot! I am so happy about that. Maybe I can finally cancel Netzero.

On to better news, TJ is okay, relatively speaking. He had a equal shot of surviving the wreck or being killed. I much prefer him injured but alive, rather than dead. I've talked to him twice over the past two days. I needed some cheering up after a not so great day. He seemed surprised that just talking to him could make me happy, but it did.

I bought a new gouge this week. It is a #7 deep gouge manufactured by Stubai of Austria. It'll cut down the time to make a set of wax tablets alot. I'm estimating an afternoon from start to finish, including final sanding and pouring the wax. I still have the set of fine gouges for edge work, but I can do fine work with just a corner of the large gouge. The modification to the portable carving bench is done. I've added a 90 degree angle stop to the other end. It's easier for me to carve at an angle rather than straight across. I used a piece of 1 x 2, glued on two pieces, cut away the extra bits with a coping saw, sanded it and then nailed each piece down with two panel nails just for strength. Altogether, for about $2, I've made a useful, portable and lightweight carving bench. I've spent about $100 on the carving tools.

The carving bench with the 90 degree

angle stop and one side of a set of tablets.

The new #7 Austrian gouge.

To give you an idea of how large

it is, the metal end is about 5 inches

long.

Nothing to Write

I've been to busy with classes to keep up with this. I haven't been doing much anyway. Just more blackwork. I'm on the last cuff on the commissioned pieces. Then I plan to work on my stuff. No more things for anyone else except what I've started.
I've soured a little on handsewing the channels on the outer layer for the new corset, but I know I'll like how it looks if I hand sew it rather than machine sewing. It'll give me that finished look I'm going for. I just wish I had something other than white linen to cover it with. Maybe I'll look for something tomorrow at Joann's. Last time I was at Harris, they didn't have anything that I liked at all, except for some black silk, and I really don't want to use that. I have six yards which is plenty to make myself a dress and enough for the corset cover.

Art Car Parade

On Saturday, I volunteered at the Art Car Parade taking donations. There were many interesting and strange cars. I got a front row seat for the parade though. I recommend going if you haven't before. I didn't take any pictures since I was busy volunteering, but it was fun. The heat didn't help though. Sunburn happened.

Metal Styli

I made my first two metal styli for wax tablets. I took a piece of hair pin stock, cut it in half and flattened out each end. I was trying to point the other end by heating, but the pieces were just too small to hold on to and try to pound. I ended up using a bench grinder/sander to point the end. showed Nate (one of Danr's other students) how to make the points. One still may need a little more straightening. The stylus on the left is better. They are also too small to polish on a buffing wheel so that will need to be done with a Dremel. Here's a picture of those. If you want to see more, there's an earlier post with a wood stylus. Click on the image to see it better.

I went to get Harry Potter #7 last night. I didn't stay up all night to finish it. I dressed up as Ginny Weasley as a Hogwarts student, just for fun. What else can you do with long red hair? It got my picture taken a couple times. Since the lines were long, I took my blackwork with me. Several people were fascinated by it so I talked about that.

Before getting in line I went to look at the latest issue of Piecework. There is a brief review of The Tudor Tailor in it, which I've got already. I also found some information on Medieval/Renaissance embroidery from Lagartera, Spain that was influenced by Islamic Embroidery. I plan to find more on that. It combined satin stitch and the double running stitch. I didn't buy the magazine since the only pattern in it is something I wouldn't stitch.

Warriors and Warlords

Another Warriors and Warlords has come and gone. There was a general lack of volunteers throughout the event which was unfortunate. I think the two areas most lacking was for marshals and the clean up crews. I had only three volunteers. People started helping in later with loading the firewood due to the storms coming in.
I arrived late Friday night after picking up Nate Otto, one of Danr's other students. He helped me set up the G-tent and unpack which he enjoyed. Due to getting there so late Friday, I didn't do anything. On Saturday, I participated in the Baroness' Whim which was just a blast! At 12:30 I stopped due the heat. From about 2 till 4, I was working on carving the next set of wax tablets at Artisan's Row. A few people asked what I was doing. Herr Janvier was also giving his mead making class at the same time. Lucia and I finally set the price for her blackwork commission. That's about all I did except for hang out and bother TJ. I partied with Warda for a while. I wasn't up exceedingly late due to the amount of work I knew I would be doing the next day.
I did get a Baelfire for my blackwork! Yay! I had to be bribed to go to court by Samia. She finally gave me the Arabic script for my tiraz bands. I hate sitting there when I could be much more productive sitting elsewhere.

New Blackwork Pattern!

It was so busy at work today, I spent the morning coming up with a blackwork pattern for the compass rose, one of Northshield's populace badges. This afternoon, barring being busy, I'm going to work on my corset. Then it's off to WW! Pictures will be posted of the new pattern and other things as soon as I feel like doing that, probably Sunday night.

More Projects

Over the weekend, I finally got back to work on my corset. I've sewn it closed and have started hand stitching on the front and back cover fabric which is just plain, white linen. I wanted something embroidered, but didn't have anything on had to use. I just want to get this done.
The lightweight persian coat is nearly done. It doesn't quite close in the front, but probably will in a few months.
I finally made my own carving bench. I bought a piece of about 8-10 inch wide, 3 foot long value wood from Menard's for $0.50, glued and nailed on a piece of 1 x 2 I had left from something else. It goes on top of my rectangular stool, and I sit on it to hold it in place. It should work nicely for carving wax tablets. The sheepskin gets folded back over to make it more comfortable. It needs two 1 x pieces put on the other end at a 90 degree angle to carve at an angle. It's similar to holding a piece of paper at an angle when you write. Sometimes its just easier.

Cloth Buttons

The project today at work was to make six cloth buttons for the Persian/mid-eastern coat. I tried with the instructions I found online to sew 2 lines in a running stitch near the edges of a circle of cloth and tuck in the raw edges before finishing. That didn't work so well for me. Instead of doing that, I started with the thread tail on the outside and folded the cloth in on itself once while tacking it down with a running stitch. I did that so the unfinished edge is already folded in when I pull in the edges. This is how I made them:
1. Cut a 2 x2 inch square of cloth and trim it so it is roughly circular.
2. Cut about an arm's length of thread, or enough to leave about a 7-8 inch tail on each end. While folding over the edge by about an eighth of an inch, do an running stitch to tack that down. Don't make those stitches too chose together.
3. Pull the threads a little to form a pocket. Don't pull too much because you have yet to stuff the button.
4. Cut a piece of scrap or use fiberfill to stuff the button. Add or take some of the stuffing out as necessary. The button should be solidly stuffed.
5. Pull the threads to close the button. Use the extra lengths at each end to sew the cinched in edges closed. Tie it off with a square knot.
Other good ideas:
Use strong thread because you'll be pulling quite a bit.
Use a small needle to do the running stitch, but use a larger needle to sew the edges closed so you can get through the edges easier, and so you don't bend the smaller needle.

Persian Coat

I've already cut out the Persian coat. It's mostly sewn together. I put a sleeve on the wrong way so I need to take it off and put it on the correct way. The I will just need to hem it and make or find buttons. I want to see what I have at home first. If I need buttons in a hurry, I'll put plastic ones on temporarily, then change them to cloth buttons when they are done.
I'm going to ask Giovanna if she will measure me for cloth hose on Wednesday so those can be started soon. I have 20 yards of linen just waiting to be used.

Lillies Report

I got back from Lillies on Sunday, 6/17/07. A good time was had by all. I really LOVED having the large shade fly G made for my wedge. Despite having a little trouble putting it up at first, and putting it up the wrong one, then putting it up the wrong way, it worked well. To change it the correct way took all of five minutes. The sun shade covers a larger area than the wedge itself, but I don't have a problem with that at all. What is really neat, is that it can be set up without the wedge, using the same the two 8 foot uprights from the wedge, and the two 6 foot uprights for the shade fly.
I spent lots of money. I bought 24 yards of fabric. I bought 10 yards of white linen, 5 yards each of rust colored and mint green linen, and 4 yards of a light weight striped cotton/linen blend. I also picked up my copy of The Art of Dining, with the painting of the waffle iron I'd like to make. One thing I'm really excited about is the copy of Scappi I bought. It is a 1570 Venetian cook book published by the Pope's chef, and it is on cd-rom. My collection of period cookbooks got much larger because of Lillies. I also got a 4 qt cast iron dutch oven for $13. It has 3 legs, and the lid can be used as a frying pan. That was by far the best bargain at Lillies.
All the stays were cut for my new Tudor corset at Lillies. I burned the ends of the stays (large plastic cable ties from Home Depot), so it is now ready to be closed and covered. I didn't do very much blackwork, and no smithing at all. I did take a class on making animal heads.
There will be a surprise for the Barony that I also picked up, but I can't say what it is. I'll post pictures later.

One Year!

I started the blog a little over one year ago. At lot has gotten done, started and I've found things I really want to do.
The next project I found that I'd like to do is a 1550 replica waffle iron I saw in "The Art of Dining" book. I'm getting the book at Lillies. I'll try to scan it and put the picture on here. The painting is a market scene with a woman making waffles over a fire and selling them.

The Secret Project

So I forgot to post what this actually was. I made period sweet bags for one of Maestra Giovanna's largesse challenges. I wanted to make hulwa with candied orange peels, but they turned out to be more like almond cookies, so they were almond cookies. I embroidered little bags with some of my hand dyed yellow silk. There is a picture of the silk in an earlier post.
It was definitely an adventure in cooking. The candied orange peels were really easy. Boiling down honey takes a really long time. Next time I do that, I'm going to start early on a weekend and give it at least an hour or two. The problem is that honey can't be boiled at high temperature or it will burn. It was somewhere between the soft and hard crack stage, closer to the hard crack stage. I was using ice water to check if it was at the hard crack stage. Next time I'm using a candy thermometer.

Dance Seminar

I did what I usually do, taught and danced alot. I met some really great new people and caught up with someone I know and haven't seen for a few years. It was all good.
The event project was to repair my banner. I spliced on a new piece replacing what was torn. It was something in the project bin. Now I just need to repaint the end and the compass rose. I dripped black in one area that was to be white, so I'm going to follow someone's suggestion and just paint over it with white paint. Instead of using the banner pole like I did before, I'm going to extend the spike on one upright of my tent, cut off the end of the banner pole, drill a hole at the end and secure it to the top of the tent. That way it wont' have a banner pole splice to tear on anymore. It also means I need to find a new use for the portable hole. A picture will be posted when there is one.
Then on Sunday Etienne and I went to Shava's 50th birthday party. It was fun! It was the best adult birthday party that I've ever gone to. There were pinatas, hidden kindereggs, and fishing for rubber duckies. I played a game that was new to me which Dahrien brought. It was called "kube," or something like that. The quick and dirty explanation is this: throw sticks at other sticks. The game was fun, mostly because of getting to throw sticks at other sticks. The resulting sunburn isn't so much fun. I failed to plan for a sunny day.

I'm such a geek!

I just got an earlier shift at work from 7:30 am to 4 pm starting May 7. The only thing I thought is that I will be finally able to watch Jeopardy. I like to think of it as the game show for smart people. I've been watching it since I was about 9 years old.
I hopefully have fixed my Italian work dress. I had to lower the arm holes a half-inch under the arms because of chafing. It actually ended up being three-quarters of an inch.
I'm teaching at basic Italian dance this weekned in Jara. I'm looking forward to it! It's been a year since I got to do serious dancing other than at dance practice.

An Expensive Weekend

I went to the gym for the first time since I hurt my leg and I wasn't sore afterwards other than normal muscle soreness. It's been about four months, and it's about time. I also bought one of The Firm workouts. Giovanna has said good things about it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I've also been biking to work at least three times a week.
I spent a whole lot of money this weekend. I got a new mp3 player since I broke the old one. It still plays, but the volume control doesn't work anymore. I bought 6 yards of black silk corduroy. It's very nice and should be at $10 a yard. That was half price at SR Harris. It's the most I have ever spent on a single cut of fabric, and it was worth every penny. I also had to get something to line it with. The dress will be lined in a plain red cotton brocade. I have a dress planned from it, for which I have made one of previously mentioned Italian sleeves. I should have the next one done in a few days, depending on how busy work is next week.
I am teaching 16th century beginning Italian dance next weekend at Dance Seminar in Jara. I have yet to prepare my class, since I actually have to teach it tonight at dance practice. Collectively, the Nordskogen dancers have come up with the other half of Half Hannikin (spelling). It's a dance I don't know, but it's dead easy.
The other thng I did last week Friday was finish my article for The Quill on candied orange peels.

Frustration Aplenty

I went to Coronation in Silfren Mere (Rochester, MN). I had a good time, got to see TJ, taught a class, bought something, had to go to a meeting, and I got to dance. It seems like a laundry list. I produced my first set of wax tablets and a stylus for the silent auction. I got some really good compliments, and pointers. I taught my first ever actual clothing class, rather than just something on blackwork. I've helped people with clothing, but I never had taught any classes on it. Maestra Giovanna was a big help with some pointers, and she even sent someone to my class. Yay! I also finally have pictures of her cuffs and collar so I can go graph the pattern and add it to my blackwork sampler. Two people were wearing my blackwork at Coronation on Saturday! I hope they got lots of compliments and told people I did that.

Bardic Madness XVII

The results are in, and everyone had a good time!
I had only planned to participate in two challenges and participated in four.
I took Freydis's sestina class and finished the one the class started together. Then I wrote another sestina for the Royal Challenge. I had never written any before, and didn't have any idea what a sestina was before I took her class. I'm told they are not easy to write, but then every time I go to Bardic Madness I get really inspired.
I carpooled with Ingus and Cecilia de Cambridge and saw something I have never seen happen before. It was Saturday night after feast and we were both sitting in the room where the bardic circle was going on. Someone else just finished singing. Cecilia stood up because she wanted to sing, and the room went quiet. Can you imagine a room full of bards not saying anything at all?
She then said that she wanted to sing but would wait if there was anyone else who wanted to go first. Everyone in the room collectively and loudly said: "No! We want you to sing!" Everyone was quiet and listened except during the chorus of the song that she asked us to sing along with.

Wax Tablets

First let me just say that walking into my college and seeing my name on the High Honors list for the first time ever is just a great feeling. I'm getting straight A's for the first time in my life.

The wax tablets are done two weeks before they need to be done! They turned out better than I expected but not as good as I wanted. I'm particularly happy with how the stylus turned out. That was remarkably better than what I thought. I've started another set in oak for my friend Ian.
Here's what I learned:
1. Have good carving tools. I'm currently using some of Danr's. I may get a Dremel with a router attachment if I continue to do more.
2. Put in less wax than what you need. More can always be added later.
3. Make sure the tablets are warm before pouring in the wax. Otherwise the wax solidifies immediately.
4. Do not move the tablets after pouring the wax for at least an hour. Once the tablets have been heated up for about ten minutes at about 200 degrees, move the wax tablets to a LEVEL place. Then pour the wax. Don't pour the wax then move the tablets.
5. The carved out area in the tablets doesn't have to be level.
6. When drilling the holes for the binding, drill in from each side, not all the way through fom one side because the wood might splinter when you get to the other side.
7. Oak is not an easy material to carve by hand. Cedar is much better. Oak is a much harder material than cedar so it can take

more abuse.

Road Trip!

Left: 5:30 pm Friday, March 16

Returned: 1:04 pm Tuesday, March 20

Total miles traveled: 904.1 miles

Total time spent in the car: About 15 hours

Tanks of gas bought: 3

That was my road trip to Marion on Friday, then to Des Moines and back on Saturday, and back to the Twin Cities on Tuesday. On the way back I stopped at the Pratt Blacksmith Shop in Pratt, MN. I was there about three minutes and I left. They no longer have a forge there, it's just a Harley shop. The previous owner had a forge there, in 1972.

I have now done both of finals in both my classes. Even if I do really bad on both finals, I still have an A in each class. The purpose of the road trip was to visit TJ for several days, and just get away from my job. I studied nearly all day Monday, and some on Saturday and Sunday. The next semester begins April 2.

I finally finished the last of the major blackwork project. The total length is 59.5 inches, with 43.5 inches being consecutive. Each cuff is eight inches. And look, there are pictures! To give you an idea what size this really is, the larger flower is exactly one inch, and the smaller flower is a half inch. I only have to clean and iron it. Scamp (one of my two cats) was trying to help take the picture on the close up.

I've been on this weird wax table/wood carving thing lately. It's because I'm really, really sick of blackwork. I bought more lumber over the weekend for wax tablets. I now have enough for 3 sets, and they've been cut, sanded, and are ready to start carving. The first set I'm making is going to my friend Ian the Green. Maybe I'll put a set in the silent auction. I want to do something for me though because I haven't for a while. Everything I've made has been or will be for other people. One of the next projects is to work on is a new Tudor gown, but I must finish new underpinnings first.

The Home Stretch!

I now have 50.5 inches of blackwork done, and only 7 more inches to go! I am so very happy about that. I'm really tired of embroidering the same pattern. I need to have this done by Bardic Madness, because the winner is on the kitchen crew there and that's when I'm handing it over.

The secret project is going very well! It's a three part project. The first part turned out extraordinarily well, I couldn't be more thrilled with it! I've started the second part of the project just in the past couple days.

Tomorrow night is forge night which Danr hasn't had for a couple weeks so I'm looking forward to that. Plus, so I can return his tools I borrowed and haven't used because I have finals coming up, and I've been working so hard on blackwork.

I'll be in Calontir (Iowa) this weekend again. I'll be there until Tuesday. Try the veal! Hopefully my brother and sister-in-law won't put me to work again on their music studio. I've had my fill of drywall and the dust from it. NO MORE! Maybe I can scrape together enough time to finish the last blackwork cuff. If I'm not bothered, it'll only take a few hours.

The Newest Project

It's a secert. I can't tell you. There will be pictures. It'll take a couple of weeks for it to be done. It is something I've never tried before. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out. Stay tuned!

If I have time, I'll be making another pattern my Tudor corset this weekend so I can have help with fitting it next weekend. The new farthingale is just about ready except for a waistband. I can't do more on it until I get the corset done correctly.

The Update

I won't be fencing or dancing for another month or two. I hurt my right leg pretty bad again on Wednesday when I slipped on some ice carrying something heavy. I went to check out the new location for dance practice, and I was only standing, not dancing, for about an hour while I was teaching a couple dances and I could really feel that afterwards. I want to better by the time it's warm enough to start biking to work again.
So I guess I'll be doing...blackwork! I have the neck band done now. It actually came out to be 43.5 inches with the pattern being what it is. I'm starting to get the cuffs ready by pulling the threads on the linen for those to get done. I can also work on the wax tablets. I'm pretty much going nowhere on those right now but I need to get to work on them.
I was doing homework all weekend. I just wrote my first ever legal memo. That's pretty much all I did was research and writing. I still have an "A" in each of my classes this semester. I'm at 96% in one class and 94% in the other. I plan to keep it that way as long as I'm in school.

A Raw Food Diet

Some people might find this post offensive, but what it is about I just found so disgusting and nasty that I couldn't leave it alone. I love to cook, but what these people do that I'm talking about just goes too far.

Today I think I saw the craziest thing I've ever seen, by far. I turned on the TV for a little background noise and there was this Wife Swap show on. One family was ultra clean and ultra urban, which I can understand completely. The other family was from somewhere in Iowa, were completely self-sufficient subsistence farmers, and ate only raw food. They did not cook their meat. That is what was hard to take. Their theory was that God put bacteria on earth, so it can't be bad for us if we don't cook our food. I'm not talking only about vegetables here. They were eating 4 MONTH OLD RAW BEEF. They called it high beef. I wonder if that is because how it made you feel. It had been refridgerated, but still...ICK!
They had to eat every five hours or they become anorexic. I'm sure that wasn't the word they were looking for. You don't become anorexic after not eating for a while. Anorexia is an eating disorder. I think they might have meant anemic, but still only after five hours of not eating? That seems a little unlikely.
I wanted to point out to them that people had been cooking their food since the existence of human memory. Biblical figures cooked their food. If we apply this reasoning to other things, like alcohol, you'd get something just as insane as the basis for a raw food diet. There is wine in the Bible, and God wanted in the Bible. If it's in the Bible, it can't be bad for you so drink as much as wine you want as often as you want! Bacteria is good for you so consume as much fetid, rotting old, meat as you want. It doesn't work like that. A biblical justification for the existence of bacteria doesn't mean you should eat only raw food.

Danr's Viking Boat

On Saturday, Feb. 10, the keelsons to Danr's boat were started. Two were cut out and were ready to be finished by hand. Two more were marked to be cut out with the chainsaw. I got to use the grinder to mark one of them. I was the only woman there working, but I didn't care. I'm typically the only woman there at open shop night, too. I don't have any pictures of us working, but if anyone sends me some I'll post them here.

Stupid Cold Weather Trick

So everyone knows that if you take a glass of hot water outside when it is this cold, throw it and it will freeze instantly. That's one. Here's another:
Make some bubble solution using
1/4 cup dish soap
1 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar (I'm not sure why, but it was in the recipe)
Then dress REALLY warm for the next part.
Get a bubble wand and go outside and blow some bubbles. They will freeze instantly and then you can shatter them.
This really works! I tried it tonight and it was neat! Once I get warm enough, I'm going to try it again.

Arc Welding

I learned how to arc weld last night. I thought it would be really hard. What I did looked really sloppy, but it was the first time I did it. It was a littla e hard to control the welder, but that will take a little practice.

It's been a while...

...and I doubt that anyone is reading this anymore. It wasn't meant to go on this long. I've been doing stuff, just not putting any of it on my blog. So this is what I have done, more accurately, have started recently:
my first billet for a knife, and it's being made out of an old motorcycle chain
wood carving for wax tablets. I'm working on carving my device on a flat piece of wood. It isn't going well.
And this is more of what I've been up to:
Blackwork! Yes! Blackwork! Isn't that a shocker? I hit a milestone just today, I'm at the halfway point of the 44 inch long embroidered band I'm working on for the winner of my yearly donation at WW's silent auction.
I haven't made any new clothes lately, or taught any new classes since KWCS in Jara over Thanksgiving weekend.
Coming up Jan. 13 is Nordskogen's 12th Night. I'm the class coordinator. I hope I've done an okay job.

Boar's Head

After being not at home for about 37 hours, and at least 10 of those hours being travel time, I still had a good time. I was in two rapier tournaments and didn't do very well in either but I don't care about that. I had fun!I did some pick ups which were the best time I had. Watching others participate was good too. I won an original composition from Don Mateo, which I will do my best to translate into period Spanish after he writes some lyrics, but that is a long way out. I got to see many old friends, meet new ones, and I got about 3-4 inches of blackwork done on the Italian band done during court. I didn't have a tape measure, so I don't know really how much I got done, but it's more than I had done before. I didn't buy anything new at all. I didn't even shop.

Knowne World Costuming Symposium

I'm gonna make this short because its nearly midnight, I just finished my homework for tonight and I'm really tired. I need to get up at 6 am to do more homework.
KWCS was great! I had fun. People took pictures of my socks during The Walk Through History (which is always fun to be in). Yep. My socks. Couldn't be my handstitched dressed, had to be the bright pink and purple mottled socks I bought from The BasketMan this summer. If you're wondering, I don't knit. I can do all this great, neat wonderful other stuff, but I don't knit. I have enough other things to fall behind on, like blackwork.
Speaking of which, I taught two classes on it and had a good turnout in each. I had more people on Sunday than on Saturday in part because there were some cancellations on Sunday. On Saturday I sold out of the embroidery kits I had available. There were drastic changes made from Saturday to Sunday, and the class went much better. I hope the people had more fun in it on Sunday than Saturday because of those changes.
Some of my recently completed projects are:
A new Tudor corset
Italian work dress, with sleeves
11 hair pins, 8 to be donated to the gift baskets
a number of beeswax cakes for embroidery
helped a person draft a doublet and pants pattern for a rapier outfit
put the cuffs on my new rapier gloves

That's about all.

Metal Work Weekend

I mostly did enameling, since that is what I normally do not get to do. I did get in some forge time, but I wanted to give others a chance since I can do that once a week if I want. I did get to see how TJ makes his hair pins so I can make my own if I want. Most importanty, I can make them even longer for hats if I want.
I enameled my own Cygnus, and made two more to donate to the Northshield Crown. I could do that more often, except that I don't know if the building's electrical system could handle a kiln, and I don't really have the space. I would have to put it in a room where I can shut the door. One of my cats likes to get into everything I am doing. He especially likes to play with thread, while I'm trying to embroider with it. This is what they look like, except the other two only had one hole in the copper disc.
I hope to get alot of A&S stuff done this weekend. I want to get at least half of what I have on this list done:
1. Finish pulling threads from linen for an Italian embroidered band and get it ready to embroider
2. Make beeswax cakes for embroidery classes coming up soon.
3. Put the embroidery kits together for the classes.
4. Finish shortening the stays in my corset.
5. Finish the last Italian sleeve and get the rings sewn on.
6. Put cuffs and trim my new rapier gloves.
7. Complete one thing from the repair/work in progress bin.
8. Go see the Borat movie!!! (I know I will do this).

What the Weekend Holds.

I will just have to wait and see. There are metals workshops all weekend at Master Danr's, which is where I will be. I'm trying to get all my homework done. I am getting it done but very slowly. I will have a house guest this weekend. I need to finish cleaning my apartment because I am a really busy, and a slob . I know I'll learn something new, and I'm wondering what it will be. I'm going to teach two classes soon on blackwork, but I'm going to come up with some new classes and start branching out. It's a little hard to do alot right now since I'm also in school, working full time and not cutting out any activities. My projects are what are not getting done. I have to take my friend Shannon to the airport on Saturday at around 5 am. She has thanked me alot, and so has her honey, Todd, aka Mr. Music. She'll be really happy about me mentioning this here. I hate getting up early.

Nothing new.

I haven't started anything new. Isn't that a shocker? Usually I accumulate projects faster than you can blink. One of the things I really want to finish is the new Tudor pinnings that fit properly, only because there is someone who would like to see me wear them. Or not, since they'll be under all the clothes I have on. I do have a new dessert I'm trying for a dinner party on Tuesday. I'm combing a recipe for froyles (medieval spiced pancakes) with a baklava recipe. The froyles are being used in place of phyllo dough. It should be interesting. I've already crushed all the walnuts I need to layer between the froyles, which I'll be making on Monday night. Tomorrow I'm making a cheesecake for the same party.

Suffering from Neglect

Which is exactly what is happening with this blog. I've been up to a lot more than nothing, as usual. I've been doing blackwork and blacksmithing. I helped teach a couple of Danr's younger students. That was fun. I wouldn't mind teaching at the shop more often. Generally just the usual suspects show up. They don't need help with their stuff.
I have been working on my corset, I have about 20 inches done at this point, doubling what I had done before. I didn't make it to Day of Arbeau which I'm not happy about. I had homework since I am a college student, again. I don't miss the homework or the studying. I'm still working full time.
Last week was Customer Service Appreciation Week at work, so I spent the last two weeks doing that. One week to plan, one week for that itself. Now it is over! I'm free! I built a mini golf course in the office. That wasn't easy.
The last event I went to was in Calontir, to Luck of the Gypsies. I cooked on the taginne. It's always a good event when I get to do that. Others from Nordskogen were there, and everyone had a good time. I have no pictures though, having left my camera behind.
The next event I will be at is Northshield Rapier Academy. It is next weekend. After that, is the metal workshop weekend at Danr's. I hope to learn a lot that weekend.
I had some new cooking adventures. I made saffron rice. It was lovely and delicious. Last night I experimented with a spices. I mixed kosher salt, pepper and cinnamon together. It was okay but I should have mixed some sugar with the cinnamon first. What I did first was stuff the chicken with diced tomatoes, then I sewed it shut. I then rubbed it with the kosher salt and baked it for a half hour at around 400 degrees. After the first half hour, I rubbed it with more salt and then pepper and cooked it for another half hour. For the last hour, I rubbed in cinnamon twice. It turned out okay, but could have been better.
I also cannot bake cookies. I can make bread, pastries, cakes, cheesecake, pie crusts, anything except cookies. I don't know why. I also am not good at pancakes. I don't know why.

Forge Night!

Tonight is open forge night! All the hot metal, fire and hammers I can handle. I might be starting a 6 board box or continuing to work on the hair pins.
I bought red/rust colored linen, enough for 2 petticoats. I have no idea when I'll get around to making them. I want to finish my Tudor underpinnings first. I've shortended half of the stays in the front of my corset, and have the other half left to go. Then I have to resew the ends of the channels and slip stitch the bottom of the cover. Then the farthingale needs a waist band.
I'm behind on the blackwork. Less than 10 inches is done. I have one sleeve left on the Italian work dress, and a rope corset.
I've been too busy with things for work to get a whole lot of A&S stuff done, or do much of anything else, even housework. I hope to get caught up on a whole bunch of stuff this weekend.
College starts on Oct. 2. I am starting a paralegal associate degree. My classes are online and very flexible, but I will need to do other things like studying and homework.

More handsewing.

I'm a little bummed. I looked at Shava's pictures of Coronation, and wished I were there. I've had to cut back traveling to events to once a month, if they are further away than 4 hours. Next weekend I'll be in Calontir, at Luck of the Gypsies. I have no idea if I'll be camping. Probably not since I've got crash space. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures because I'm taking my digital camera. I was going to go in full Tudor, but I didn't get enough done on my corset. I'll probably be wearing my Italian worker woman dress, in the last of the teal linen with purple linen sleeves. They are lined with cotton because I didn't have any more linen. Once I get more, I'll be relining them later and I'll use those cotton pieces as patterns. The sleeves are exactly the same as the flemish sleeves, except a little more generous to account for wider sleeves, and they are split from the elbow to the wrist and will have a couple of lacing rings to close the wrist. I still don't have a rope corset for the Italian dress. It's fine for now, but I probably should have one. I lined the bodice with really heavy non stretchy brocade. It's ugly too. I don't have an underskirt for that because I don't know if one was worn, and I didn't line the skirt because this is more of a summer dress for me. If anyone knows, post a comment about it.
I hurt myself at Danr's last week. I was putting one of the hair pins that was on the floor back in the stock bin. I missed the bin and the sharp end went into my right palm. It didn't stick in my hand, so it wasn't deep. I spoke with the nurses at work and they said I probably pierced a blood vessel because it bled alot. I can still see some bruising on my hand, and it hurts. First my middle two fingers were sore, and now my wrist is. Weird. It makes handsewing a bit of a challenge.

Minnesota Renaissance Festival

On Saturday Sep 9, I went to Fest. I wore my Flemish outfit. It was so cold, I wore my sleeves for the first time. Ever. I actually had fun this year. I did some goofing off and saw a couple of shows. I bought a custom made leather mask in black with gold highlights. I should have it by the end of the month. It will be very nice. I actually have pictures of me in the complete flemish outfit! I hate that hat with it though. I was wearing it too far forward.Now you can see it in all it's hand stitched glory. There is a purple stripe barely visible at the bottom, about 8 inches wide. I handstitched almost the entire outfit, except two seams and parts of the chemise. I was moonlighting as a security guard on the weekends for extra money and couldn't take sitting there with nothing to do. Here's the pic of me at the Secret Garden in front of the little waterfall they installed. Also, there's a lobster stuffed down the corner of the dress. That is what the red thing is, aka the bodice lobster. There is a lot weirder stuff than that at fest. I figured Why not?
The next picture is of the guy who washed my hands with rosewater, and that I later pinned. I gave him of the white glass headed pins from By My Hand Designs (shameless plug!). It's nearly invisible in the picture, but it's on the leg I'm holding up. If that guy ever checks this blog, I hope you like it. The lining of the over dress is visible in this picture because I have one side tucked up into my belt. I still hate that hat, and I need new sleeves, those have gotten too small.
In other project news, I'm working on a blackwork band for the winner of this year's silent auction blackwork prize from WW. I am doing a little work on my new Tudor corset. The front curve is too large so I'm making it smaller. It touches the seat of the chair when I sit, which makes sitting uncomfortable. I found the remainder of the wool from the aforementioned flemish outfit, so I can make a partlet. I wish I had one on Saturday because my chest was really cold, and I am one of the few people who can actually get sunburn on a cloudy day. It happened, and it is itchy. I finished the pirate outfit mostly. I need to add some more buttons on the cuffs. My friend Razz wore it, so it doesn't look as good on him as it would on me. I don't want to post a picture until I have one of me in it. I learned how to make hair pins at Danr's last Thursday, which will be donated to the gift baskets. I'll be finishing those this Thursday probably. Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll be making Danr's smithing apron for him out of white leather that I've had since Lillies. This weekend I'm putting cuffs on my new dearskin rapier gloves, if I find material I like to go with them, and I'll be adding some fur on them too. There might even be...some beads! If I don't do that, there will definitely be more blackwork done and more work on Tudor underpinnings. I want to start a hemp/rope corset to go with my Italian work dress but first I need to make the neckline square. I look better with square necks than I do with round, and that is how the neckline on the chemise turned out after I slip stitched on the band.

I just need to rant.

Like the title says, I just need to rant. You'll probably think this is funny, but I wasn't very happy about it at all.
My cunning plan was to stay home and do housework, A&S stuff, sewing, or whatever I felt like. I got up around 9:00 am and made coffee. Caramel chocolate brownie. Yummy. That was a good start. Nothing beats a great cup of coffee. That was the highlight of my day. Everything went downhill from there.
I usually have a lot of dishes to do because I cook so much and there is no dishwasher (until tomorrow). I ran a little water and discovered that my sink was backing up a little. I got my plunger and spent about a hour on and off trying to at least get the water to drain. That didn't work so I got out the lye, hoping it would burn out whatever was in the pipes. I put about a teaspoon down each sink twice, about an hour apart to no avail. Not only can I not wash the dishes, but I can't even use my drain because of smelly, standing water in my sink. Yuck. After about two hours the water drains out. At this point I left a not so urgent message for my landlord that my sink is backing up and he will need to call a plumber.
A little later, around 3:30 I'm in the spare room doing some work for college on my computer, and I suddenly hear running water. Not having any faucets on, this concerned me. Alot. I went into the kitchen and both sinks are full of stinky, smelly water that is now running onto my kitchen tile and my rug. I grab the phone and call my landlord and told him what was happening. He told me to go upstairs to the apartment above mine and tell them not to use the drain in the kitchen because it's causing problems in my apartment. I go up there are they are washing one head of lettuce. ONE! Just HOW much water do you need for that? 20 gallons? So I go back to my apartment, bail out my sink (which I've already done once earlier). I take my rug outside to dry and throw it on top of my truck so it isn't just sitting around in the parking lot. I cleaned up the water on my floor. This gets better.
There is a family living upstairs who have two children, about 10 and 12. They go outside to play while I'm bailing out my sink. Then I took the rug out. And they want to come see the water on the floor and in my sink. I asked why because it is just a sink full of nasty water that won't drain and a wet floor. They persist, which only makes me less happy. So I acquiesce, just to get them to leave me alone, which was what I wanted in the first place. A day by myself. So the boy comes in and says "My daddy can fix that with a bent clothes hanger." I said no. This needs a plumber. He was persistent in insisting this. After about 5 minutes of this, and a couple minutes of him staring at the pipes under my sink like he knows what he doing, I tell them I can't wash any dishes because the pipes won't drain. His little sister suggests that I wash dishes in my bathtub. She has no idea just how close I was to completely losing it at this point and I told them to get out of my apartment because I have better things to do. Those kids are nosey and mannerless with no sense of anyone else's privacy.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

Pirates!

I started the outfit I am wearing to the Minnesota Ren Fest. I'm going Pirate! Arrrrr!
The coat is in blue velvet and it will have 3 white brocade gores, one on each side and one in the back along with white cuffs. I'm recycling my foster sister's Italian dresses she never took with her. The trim is a silver braid, and will have have a gold satin sash. I'll have a white shirt which I'll later use for rapier, because I don't really have just a rapier shirt. And I'll most likely wear my shamrock pants with mismatched socks and brown leather shoes. It's going to be a really fancy outfit, but unfortunately out of period so you'll never see me wear it at an SCA event. I must be crazy to spend so much time on something I'll wear maybe four times. Oh well. I don't know what is worse, me making this or seeing how well the pattern fit and realizing with a couple of minor alterations that the pattern can work for a Persian coat. Other than that, I haven't been up to more than the usual mischief. Blackwork, sewing, more blackwork.

Missed Practice

I couldn't go to heavy practice. I had things to do for work that I need done by next week. I still have more to do. People will not be happy with me.

Time to Fight!

So I went to heavy combat practice and for the first time everything fit! I didn't get choked when I put on my helm. I was able to move okay but there will be adjustments needed in the future but it all fits! I can finally do heavy fighting!

As if I needed another project

I've started yet *another* new project. This one is going to last a long, long time. Instead of working blackwork samples on scraps, I'm doing a sampler of all the patterns I'm stitching over my lifetime. It'll never get framed because I'll always be working on it whenever I do a new pattern. There are two problems with this:
1. I get linen from different places. It depends on if I find something I like which means the linen is inconsistent. The sizes on the sampler might be different than the actual piece. 1 yard of linen lasts a long time, and I like what I get from Joann's the best. It is a 100% shirt linen with a really nice weave. There are few if no imperfections in the cloth and it isn't that poly/linen blend stuff they carry. The bad part is the cost, $10/yard.
2. I don't have some of the patterns I've already done so I can't go back and stitch them on the sampler.
I like the idea of this project, because I don't have anything that is really long term like this so I'll be fun to do. It the sampler ever gets full, I can start another.

Adventures with Saffron

I went to Penzey's in Minneapolis, bought saffron and two kinds of cinnamon (I was out). If you are ever in the area, go, if only to smell. It's a wonderful place.
I bought the cheapest saffron they had, Spanish Superior saffron, at $6.79 a gram. I only used a little over half.
After getting some advice from Despina and from a few websites, I went for it. I tried two different mordants, vinegar and salt. I used two cards of white Splendor 100% silk, a 12 ply 8 yard skein which I cut into four lengths of about 2 yards each. This is the same brand silk thread I use for all of my blackwork. I soaked each skein in about a gallon of water, with some amount of salt and some amount of vinegar. I didn't measure, I just poured some in. I had to dissolve some of the salt by stirring but the water was warm so that worked fine. While each skein was soaking, I made a little gauze bag to put the saffron in so it wouldn't stick to the silk and cause darker areas on where that might happen.
The next step was boiling and stirring. This is the most boring step but it made my apartment smell really good for 3 hours. Each sample was boiled with the same water for close to an hour and a half. For the salt mordant skein, I added a second little gauze bag because it was paler than what I wanted. After each skein was finished boiling they were rinsed in warm water and hung up to dry overnight. While rinsing, I noticed that the vinegar mordant skein not only turned out darker (think on the lines of Northshield gold), but was extremely colorfast. It was the opposite with the salt mordant skein. In the past when I've painted different fabrics I've done heat setting and I thought about trying that to see what would happen. I'm told even the darker yellow will fade with exposure to UV light, but I'll need to wait and see about that. For now I'm keeping the silk in a dark place (my filing cabinet). Someone is going to explain why one skein is lighter and one is darker, and what exactly the vinegar and salt did. I'll take notes and post that here, but if anyone knows, feel free to comment on why that happened.

What to do When you Don't Go to Work...

You spend the day handstitching your heavy combat gambeson while watching Elizabeth I and The Virgin Queen.

Chicken in a Coffin

And here is how Giovanna did the Chicken in a Coffin.
The crust had 7 cups of flour, 2 1/2 cups of salt and 3 cups water to make a dough. Roll it out and leave it sit for 10 minutes
Then rub the chicken with herbs.
Set the chicken on the dough and close it up inside the dough. Don't leave any holes. It'll look something like this:

Then it is put on a bed of ash.

And then you bury it with coals first and then dirt.

And two hours later you get a yummy, salty chicken.

Caponi Demo

We shrunk Ilya!

Beeswax Candlemaking

How many spices can you name?

Giovanna's Kitchen

The rest of the site

Lucet Cord Weaving
A good time was had by all at the Caponi Demo. Everyone survived the heat, I think. Congrats to Lord Faelan MacMillan, Nordskogen's new Rapier Champion! Lady Margalit Medicus, the previous champion, passed on the baldric Saturday also. Here are some pictures of a few of the arts and science activities that went on yesterday.

About other things

So now the push to get all that stuff on the list is done, I can finally write about something else. I've been neglecting this blog because I haven't decided whether or not to continue writing. I will still write about my projects and what I'm doing, but there other things going on that I'll probably write about now too.

Down to the Wire

The purple stitching of the blackwork is done! I've started on the teal part. I now have something to display for the cuffs and collars I'm donating to the silent auction. Bid early, often and alot! See you Friday!
I got some projects done that weren't on my list. I made a blacksmith apron, and started one for Danr but I keep forgetting how to put his together.
I started a chemise for the Italian dress and I am handsewing the neckline but have had to take the bias tape on the neckline off once because it wasn't big enough for me. It was too small across my shoulders. I would have ripped it apart if I could have gotten it on so I added ten inches and am resewing the pleats. I didn't do gathering because I prefer pleats.
I also made the tripod/sign holder, the Griffin Cab Co. Sign and tent stakes. I'm sure there is more, but I don't remember right now. None of that was on my list.

More was done!

The corset is now covered and I stitched on lacing rings. I went for a trial fitting and found I put too much of a curve in the front stays, so I will have to take it apart and recut those. I'll probably take it apart from the bottom since that would be where I am shortening the boning at. The farthingale has not been adjusted for height because the corset wasn't ready.

I decided to change the neck line on the Italian dress, but I've got it back together again and I just need to sew a couple more rings on it. I'm going to finish hemming it tonight. Tomorrow I'll finish the chemise. I don't think I'll be working on the sleeves quite yet. I never wear them anyway, but they are nice to have. I'll probably just cut them out. I need to get the size right first. I'll be able to do that before the weekend but it doesn't look like I'll be getting them sewn together.

The return journey on the blackwork will be started today, before I leave work at 4:30, if we are busy enough for me not to be sent home.

Happily Getting Things Done!

All the lacing rings are sewn on the Italian dress. I even got started on a chemise for it. I wanted to practice first so I made it from cotton. I'll make a linen one later.
The boning is now all sewn into the corset. I've stitched the sides and bottom of the silk cover together by machine because time is running short. It still needs tweaking which I'm doing after work.
More of the blackwork is done than what I had to take out because of my mistake. I'm much happier now that I've gotten past that.

Dissatisfaction

I'm not happy. I found another mistake in my blackwork, which means I have to take out what I've done. Again. I don't know why I didn't see this when I was doing the first journey. As of right now I am way behind on this because of that mistake.
I did get some work done on the Italian worker woman dress. The shoulders are now sewn together and I have topstitched around both arm holes. This dress is being sewed by hand. I'm going to put on the lacing rings tonight. Tomorrow I'll have someone else cut an even hem for me so I can hand hem it, and we'll be working on fitting new sleeves, which will be sewn by hand also.

And at the end of the day...

I have finished all the boning channels in the farthingale, finished all the raw edges and put in the hoop boning. All it needs now is a waistband, which will have to wait until I get the corset done. I need to measure what height I need the waist of the farthingale to be at, and for that I need to have the corset done because that goes on first. It does mean I can cross of two things now instead of one. And both were finished in the same day! I've been working on projects now for about 12 hours, and I'm tired so I'm going to stop working and and have a refreshing malted beverage. And maybe some ice cream.

Cross one off....

The beadwork is done. I'm so very, very happy about that. Now it can go away, and I can finally work on something else. My next project for today is the farthingale. I even took pictures of the beadwork. My instructions were to make sure the entire front of the doublet had beads. When I finished the front, I only had eight beads left so I just did an accent on the back near the top. I think it looks really good. Since the doublet is for someone else, if asked I will bead the back also. Each bead is individually stitched on with silk thread. They are real pearls, but they are not round, more like potatoes.

Work Day!!

I have NOTHING to do on Saturday. How unusual. It is going to be a work day! All day sewing. Just me and my mischevious little cats. I'll be working on the corset and farthingale mostly. There will be a field trip at some point. Joann's was giving away 50% off coupons for use on Saturday only at the cutting table, and I need material for a padded gambeson. I also need more large cable ties to finish the corset so I also get to go to Home Depot. I hope to get the farthingale hoop casings done. Alot of it will just be measuring out where they go and lots of pinning. The cats will want to pull out the pins. They'll have fun with that.

My Not so Triumphant Return?

I didn't get the beadwork or the blackwork done so I did not meet my first goal. I did finish the left hand side of the doublet today so I've been working on it. The beading needle was lost in the grass. I hardly worked on the blackwork at all. I did make a tripod while at Lillies. That wasn't on my to do list, but hot metal, hammers and fire is more fun than blackwork. I will put up pictures of the doublet later.

Completed...and started

The robe is done! . The pattern isn't quite period because of the overlap and it is printed. I really liked the way it looked which is why I bought the fabric. There are 22 buttons down the front, 2.5 inches apart.
One of the shade fly poles is finished. The other will not be done before Lillies.
I now have the doublet and pearl beads so I've already started on that which means no blackwork until the doublet is done. I don't think it will take me as long as I thought. I'll put up pictures of the beadwork later

More Work Done

I did alot of work on the robe last night. The lining is done and I have everything except the sleeves sewn together at the ends. I've picked out the buttons I want and I have enough of them to put them on the inside and outside. The only thing I am not happy with is the length. About an inch drags on the ground so I'm going to have to hem it up about an inch or two. I could take out the hem and completely redo it, but I hate taking out stitching so I'm not going to do that.
I also did more blackwork, as I do everyday. I hope to be half done with it by the end of today.
I'm going to Master Danr's tonight to work on the tent poles again.

Progress has been made!

I made significant progress on the robe last night. I have the outside completed. The lining is cut out and I only need to sew up the sides and then put them together. I'm debating on what type of closure I'd like. Since I want this to be reversible, buttons and button holes will be easiest. I just need to check if I have enough buttons of the same size.

Not as much progress was made on the blackwork as I'd like, but it is an easy pattern. It's also a slow day at work so I might get alot done.

The Projects

Here is the project and deadline list:
First deadline June 9. Before leaving for Lillies
1. Cut out robe lining and finish the robe DONE!
2. Finish three pairs of pants Two pairs already finished. I actually made four.
3. Finish shade fly poles for geteldt Poles have been cut and metal sleeves are filed and ready. Only one was finished.
Second deadline June 16. Return from Lillies
1. Beadwork on an Elizabethan Man's Doublet DONE!
2. Purple blackwork for flemish caul DONE!
Third deadline. Before Warriors and Warlords
1. Finish teaching someone else how to make a Viking bread iron The only forge work I've done since Lillies was making tent stakes. This didn't get done.
2. Sew hoop casings on farthingale DONE! I put in the hoops too.
3. Finish the boning on the new corset and cover it DONE! BUT NEEDS WORK
4. Make new sleeves for Italian worker woman dress and finish the dress. Involves closing arm holes, stitching on lacing rings or putting in lacing holes, drafting a new sleeve pattern and hand hemming the dress I finished the dress, but did not do anything with the sleeves. I decided to use the old sleeve pattern but I didn't get around to that.

Disclaimer: This following post has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with any of my projects. It's really funny. At least I thought it was.
My friend Andreas and I were driving back from Master Danr's house late last night and stopped at Cub Foods. There was some sort of buffet restaurant, probably Chinese. Some of the letters on sign was burned out, so instead of the actual name, Dynasty Buffet, the sign said:
NASTY BUFFET

The First Message

Well this is very auspicious. Not really. It's just the first message. And it's probably overrated. As you might have guessed this is about my projects. All of them. What I'm doing, and not doing and should probably be working on instead of doing this. I have many, many interests. My favorite two are blackwork and blacksmithing. I guess the word "black" might have something to do with both of them. They are both time consuming hobbies and each one requires a lot of attention. I also do alot of sewing, by hand or machine depending on what my goals are for the project. That's enough for now. It's late. I'm tired, and there are projects waiting for my attention.