Post Gulf Wars Project List

One of the great things about going to a week-long event is being able to come out of it with a list of things to work on or improve. I have found that there are deficiencies in my kit that I can only really become aware of by putting it to the test. Coming out of Gulf Wars, I have quite the list of projects, primarily in the areas of my recreation I haven't put much thought to in recent years, or with things that require investments I've found it difficult to commit to. Many of the things I talk about below will require funds that it will be some time before I have. Others are relatively easy fixes that will be added to my running list of current projects.

Project Complete: Apprenticeship

Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of support and love on my last post. I'm so grateful to be a part of such an amazing community!

So I figured I'd start this post where I left off on the last one. By that point, I had finished my new chemise, and finished refitting the gray wool dress.

I had washed and line-dried the blue herringbone wool for a new cote to wear during my vigil and into court. I used the two larger pattern pieces of my chemise to cut the wool as a symmetrical dress. I had intended on doing a front lacing, but when I got everything sewn together to try it on, I really liked the plain front look, and decided not to mess with a good thing. (Good thing too, I would not have had enough time to sew all the eyelets!)

Easy to get a bit cross-eyed sewing this herringbone.

Through the Paces

Two weeks ago, I packed up nearly all of my garb, went camping at Pennsic, and put my kit through its paces. It was hot, rainy and muggy. In order to get through the week, I had to mostly use my older garb- the linen dresses I'd packed along with two of my lighter-weight wool dresses. To make the most of it, and to convince myself that it was okay to use these older pieces, I used my new chemise when I could, and I made a plan for how to mix and match what I packed.

Medieval Hike & Picnic

A few weeks ago, some photos crossed my Facebook news feed of a small group doing a medieval trip into the woods for a meal. I've seen these sorts of trips from several European groups over the years, but I'd never done anything similar, nor had I ever heard of anyone I knew doing it. So, for the rest of the day, I day dreamed about it, thinking about how fun a medieval hike might be. Then, that evening, my household sister sent me a message, linking to the same pictures. She too had spent the day thinking about doing a medieval picnic in the woods. We knew at that point that it had to happen, even if it was just the two of us.

Our intrepid group, loaded up with our gear and ready to go.

Preparing for Pennsic

I'm incredibly thrilled to have the opportunity to go to Pennsic this year, for the first time in 11 years. Things aligned just right, and while my husband will be unable to accompany me, I'm relieved to have the break. My life has been on high-octane for a bit too long, so bumming out with a few thousand of my friends for a week sounds absolutely lovely.

If you follow me on Facebook, you can expect another round of #whatedythwore throughout war week. That was really fun to do at Gulf Wars back in March, and I really enjoy having that visual record of the outfits I pulled together each day. The difference this time is that it will be hotter, and I've decided to devote more of my traveling space to my pavilion and less on my garb. It's a challenge I've considered since first thinking about attending Pennsic this year.

If you've been a reader for more than a year, you may have realized that I tend to create pieces rather than outfits. I look at the relative pros and cons of each new garment I make in terms of whether a) I really need it, b) it works with my overall persona/period goals and boundaries, and c) it works within the larger picture of my entire wardrobe. As much as possible, I work toward more pros for each of these considerations than cons, but there are certainly pieces that don't meet all these requirements.

All of this works toward one end goal: a wardrobe with flexibility. Since each piece I create bears some kind of relation to every other piece (for the most part), I'm able to grab out select pieces and combine them in ample variety. If, instead, every garment I create was designed specifically to fit into a specific outfit, the mixing possibilities would be limited. Color combinations would fail, details would clash, cats and dogs living together. You get the idea.

So I looked at what I had available (which is a pretty good amount thanks to an overly-productive winter and spring), and I've decided to see what I can do with just 4 pieces for the week. Here are the pieces I picked:

Red Rose Dress

This is a heavy-weight linen dress with a linen lining in the bodice. It's one of my favorites, though it could use some adjustments at the bust for more long-term support, so I typically wear it with my supportive short cotte. With long sleeves that don't roll up, it only works either under something or by itself- but it looks pretty awesome by itself.

Green Linen Cotte

My newest supportive dress, this one is two layers of linen. It fits great, with great support, so I don't need to wear my supportive short cotte underneath it for extra support. I'm really not overly concerned about wearing it directly against my body, though I know that might bother some people. This dress also has long sleeves that do not open, so other than color it's practically the same as the red one, just a different style.

Blue Wool Middle Layer

The single-layer wool dress I completed this past winter is pretty flexible. Since the sleeves are buttoned, I can wear them down or up, and I can wear this dress in a few different ways (and layer positions). It's also a nice medium weight, and though it's not wonderful in the heat, it's not the worst thing ever, and my body acclimates to it well enough.

Brown Wool Gown

With short, roomy sleeves this single-layer wool gown is incredibly comfortable. It will also only work as a surcotte. Like the blue wool the material isn't heavy, so it's not likely to overly stifle me when Pennsic hits the 90+ temps. Since it's the neutralest of neutral colors, it works with all three of my other picks, so if things get a bit chilly, two layers of wool would be possible with this one in my limited wardrobe. (I also realize that I still owe you a full post on this one.)

I will, of course, not slack on the under-items I need to pull these four dresses into a week's worth of outfits, but there will be a lot of airing out between wearings, and possibly a hand-washing of my supportive short cotte at a certain point in the week. And just to be on the safe side, my single-layer orange linen supportive dress may also make the trip on the chance that I need a lighter option.

You can be sure my entire hat box will also be joining me.

What about you? If you're going to Pennsic, would you accept the challenge of limiting your week's garb to just 4 pieces... or even fewer?

Chapter Three: In Which Edyth Gains a Family

It might help to read Chapter One & Chapter Two first.

In the Middle Kingdom (and I'm sure other Kingdoms), a student is like a man-at-arms. There's an agreed associate between Master and student, but it's not formal. On the books, I was a student for 9 months. In reality, it had been clear to both of us fairly early on that something more formal was going to happen. Even better than that, we agreed pretty quickly that we wanted to go about it a certain way. So here, at the end of my tale, is how I became an apprentice to Master Cellach McChormach.

Interestingly enough, as he and I discussed what an apprenticing ceremony might be for us, we agreed that it would be best done as a business transaction. So yes, I'd spent all this time realizing that being somebody's apprentice wasn't just all business, but there we were, agreeing to start the whole thing off that way. It made a huge amount of sense to us, though. First, apprentice contracts are period. Second, an apprenticing is a civil relationship, so an oath like what would be done for a squiring felt out of place.

Period apprenticing contracts are interesting things. They dictate what behaviors each party would be allowed and/or required to do, both in the relationship and as people just living their lives. Women apprentices, for example, were often expressly forbidden in their contract to marry. And most medieval no-no's (like gambling or engaging in lewd behavior) were also highlighted as things not to do under contract. The contract is worked up twice, on each side of a single sheet. After signing and sealing, the contract is cut apart in a zig-zag or otherwise uneven line so that the two piece could be matched back up to prove their authenticity if needed. This jagged cut was known as "indenturing", so a contract of this type (and the relationship it dictated) could be referred to as an "indenture".

We asked my mom, THL Elspeth Clerk, to create the contract for us. Unlike most extant contracts, we liked the idea of a simple illumination in the center, so she created (knowing it would be cut) a vine band centered on a blue stag (a charge on His Excellency's device).

For the sealing, I created a silk fingerloop ribbon in my colors, and he made sealing wax using beeswax and frankincense. A simple die created for coins acted as his seal.

Border Raids, on May 16th, was wet. It rained on the way there. It rained when we started setting up. It rained during the battles. It even rained into our car. This wouldn't have been a problem, except that the contract was sitting (we thought safely) in the backend. Which was steadily turning into a puddle as the rain trickled through a crack in the roof. The scroll case could have been waiting for us anywhere else in the car, and would have been fine. But no.

I'm very proud of everyone involved in the discovery and rescue of the document. Nobody panicked or totally lost it. The scribes on duty that day came to our aid, drying the contract and pressing it to keep the wrinkles at bay. I'm so thankful to them and their quick thinking. And I'm so proud of my mom for everything she did to create the scroll and for not crying when she discovered it's state.

Comfortable with the fact that we at least still had a contract to sign, even if it was damaged, here's how the ceremony went down:

Master Cellach started everything by explaining what we were going to do and a bit about the use of indentures in period. It was important to us both that when we were in the moment of actually doing the apprenticing we weren't mixing mundane explanations with period practices. So when he finished with the information, he requested that we all shift our minds to being medieval.

After asking me if I was ready to proceed, I requested that the contract be read out loud so that our witnesses would know what it was we were about to agree to. He was adamant that he should read the contract rather than the printed text (still taped to the back), even with the damage. I have to give him props for that. Here's what the contract says:

"This indenture witnesses that Edyth Miller of Fenix places herself in apprentice to Master Cellach macChormach of the Middle Marches to learn what arts as she may and to serve him after the manner of an apprentice from the 14th day of the reign of Ragnvaldr III and Arabella III, and she shall not be released save by word of one of the said parties, or through her attaining mastery of her craft. During which term the said Edyth shall strive to be an eager and dedicated student to learn and further her craft and shall serve the said Cellach as master in all things lawful and honest, well and faithfully, courteously and diligently to the best of her power. She shall honestly and obediently bear and hold herself both in words and deeds towards her said Master and all his with dignity as a good and faithful apprentice ought according to the custom of the Kingdom of the Middle during all the said term. And the said Cellach shall keep the said Edyth as his apprentice and shall freely teach that which he knows, provide guidance and support in her endeavors, treat her with dignity and respect, and for her fidelity and all and singular aforesaid covenants on her part shall protect her from those who might do her harm. In witness whereof the aforesaid parties have set their hands."

Our wording differs from the period contracts in that we treated in more like an oath. We did not include specific behaviors (like me getting married) or things that he had to provide (like fabric or clothing). We like it this way, since it was much more comfortable for us to sign it, knowing that we weren't agreeing to anything we had no right to demand from each other.

After reading the contract, he asked me if I was still in agreement with it. Essentially, he was asking if I still wanted to be his apprentice. I agreed.

Using pen and ink (dip-style nibs), we signed the two sides together. Nobody got close enough to photograph our signatures. Which is a shame, really, since I'd been practicing.

I'd been wearing the ribbon I made on my arm, so I removed it and explained to our witnesses that the ribbon was to act as my authentic mark in place of a seal. I folded the ends of the contract up to protect the signatures. Then I cut the ribbon in half and threaded it through slits already cut into the contract. The wax had been melting over a candle up to that point, and was ready to be poured over the ribbon and pressed with the seal. It did have to sit a moment, but it dried pretty quickly.

While the seals set up, he proceeded with the markings of my association with him. First, since I don't typically wear belts (full disclosure: I had been wearing a belt all day before changing to keep my skirts out of the mud), rather than giving me a green belt as a symbol of my apprenticeship, he had made a green wool open hood for me. (Which is totally awesome.) For the days that I didn't wear the hood, he gave me a brass and enamel badge made in the style of a period funerary badge. It is a green belt encircling his livery of blue and white lozengy. This was made by Lady Faydwynn Randve. (And is also totally awesome.)

About the time I was getting my ribbons into place, Their Majesties joined us. With the seals set and carefully lifted from the tiles with a butter knife, Cellach asked His Majesty if he would do us the honor of indenturing the contract. Using a pair of period scissors, he cut the wavy indenturing line. This left one half with the body of the stag and the other with the stag's head upside down.

With the contract indentured, and gifts given, we concluded the ceremony. Hugging and applause all around.

His Majesty said it best later on in a Facebook comment. "A period ceremony, bringing friends together, making family, and everyone enjoying the experience. THIS is what the SCA is about. Thank you to all who were present."

My heart has been so full. I see this hobby not only from a new perspective, but with a new family by my side. I am no longer afraid. My ego has come to accept and understand that I'm not better than needing help. And I have gained so many new friends that I would have never known if I hadn't reached out. I have a partner I am inspired and encouraged by, and I am ready for the road ahead. However long, and wherever it may take me.

(Photos of the ceremony are courtesy of Countess Vukasin of Lozengia and Lady Marissa von Atzinger.)

[Disclaimer: This is my story and my perspective. I'm sharing it because you, dear reader, are my friend. It's not meant to be taken as advice. It's simply my testimonial.]

What My Wardrobe Taught Me at War

Last week, I had the enormous pleasure of attending Gulf Wars, a multi-kingdom SCA event in Mississippi. This was the first week-long event I have been able to attend since Pennsic 32 in 2003, and my first real vacation in that same amount of time. My husband and I left our children with Grandma and ventured south for a much needed break to recharge our batteries and have an adventure.

Since the event was a full week, I knew this would be a great opportunity to put my garb collection to the test. I spend so much time sewing garment after garment, but I rarely have the chance to see how they all work together to form a functioning wardrobe. The weather reports and predictions of my friends indicated that the option to layer linen and wool was a good one to have, so I packed up every dress I have that currently fits. In addition, I packed up just about every headdress and hat I had that was remotely correct for those gowns.

View from our pavilion.

It turned out that wool was not really the ideal choice for the week. The temperatures ranged between the low 70's in the mornings to the low 80's by lunch time. And the constant threat of storms from Wednesday on mostly just manifested as humidity, especially in the early evenings. It was not the expected weather.

I did my best to mix my items in ways that worked for the weather, but also worked for my plan that day. For instance, on Wednesday morning, I taught a class on headdress, so I wore my horned veil, which I wore with the navy wool dress and orange linen underdress. On Thursday, I was teaching German Brick Stitch, so I wore my hair in braids paired with my German pleated kerchief. My ginger dress and blue day dress gave me a generic 15th century look that mostly worked with that.

I never touched the heavier wool dresses I brought, but all the linen got play, sometimes more than once. The ginger dress in particular needs more attention once it's clean. That linen has more stretch than the other pieces I've gotten from Fabrics-Store, and the higher humidity (and therefore more moisture around my body) seemed to exploit that. It needs some very careful adjustments to compensate if I'm going to get more use out of it over the summer.

My overall assessment is that I'm happy with what I was able to put together given the unexpected weather. I was able to combine pieces appropriately, and on the two days that involved wool, I felt that I'd made good choices to stay cool, both in the headdress I wore and in making sure I had a fan or stayed in the shade. I'm not disappointed in any of my pieces, even the ginger linen.

There are some things, however, that this experience has pointed out to me.

First, I need more lined linen dresses. The red rose dress, which is heavy linen lined in the bodice with linen, was more comfortable than the two single-layer middle-weight linen dresses worn layered together. I wore the red dress twice- once on Tuesday with a veil, and again for court on Thursday evening paired with my black wool open hood. If the linen was not quite as heavy, and layered throughout, I could see that very easily working as a standard summer uniform.

I don't really think there was anything wrong with my push last year to use more wool, and I'm not giving that intention up, but the hot weather last week was a reminder that the climate that we play in is not always a medieval climate. I may explore my options for silk blends or tropical-weight wool, to avoid an over-reliance on linen, but I need to be willing to compensate for the heat and humidity while still maintaining my period and persona. I have a gorgeous green linen waiting in the wings, and have every intention of using that for my next dress.

Second, I was able to determine some of the missing pieces in my wardrobe in terms of the period that my persona covers. Along with this, I can see that there's a disconnect between the headdress I tend to favor and the outfits I like to wear. These are actually two separate things, but they compound into a larger issue.

On Friday, I attended a 14th Century Deed of Arms (which was awesome to watch) and it made me realized later that I'm lacking options for portraying that last decade of the 14th century that I very specifically included in my year range when I finally settled on a persona. Since the one 1390's dress I have, the Grandes Chroniques wool dress, was too hot to wear, I wasn't able to accurately portray a 14th century look. (As a side note, it was actually completely coincidental that I was doing anything 14th century that day- I'd forgotten about the Deed.) The closest I could do was to pair my laced-front pink wool dress with my 14th century open hood. For my persona in general, this was incorrect, but more importantly, that style of hood would not have been worn with a fitted dress. They simply don't line up that way. And that means I wasn't taking my own advice by mixing the two styles. Certainly I had fair reason, but this was a great opportunity to identify a point on which I could do better.

I actively avoid falling into the "make all the things" rabbit hole that us costumers often find ourselves in, but the reality is, I need more things. They need to be right though, and not just another piece. Last week was an invaluable tool to show me why that is, and what "right" means for me and the persona I'm trying to give justice to. It's not about finding just any piece or outfit in my period and going for it. Instead, it's about assessing whether or not it's correct for me, works in conjunction with what I already have, and fits a gap. So the action item I gave myself to get started on this point is two parts. A) Separate my headdress into two categories- those I use for demonstrations and classes, and those that are actually correct for Edyth. Those that are specifically for classes can be pulled out from my "regular" wardrobe, forcing me to create new headdress that are accordingly correct instead. B) Locate at least one outfit from the 1390's that's right for my social station and can be rendered appropriately in a light-weight material.

Finally, there are some pieces that I've known I needed, but continued to put them off because they didn't seem necessary in the context of just going to day events. Specifically, I need to reassess my supportive layers. Currently, I use my linen short cote as a supportive piece under those items that aren't all that supportive on their own. The only real exception is my red rose dress. Unfortunately, I only have one short cote. It did a lot of airing out last week. The other issue was that the short cote still has no sleeves. I'd planned on attaching white linen sleeves before we left, but I'd put it off. On Thursday, having white sleeves showing on my arms would have been more appropriate than my bare forearms. These types of "back end logistics" seem so trivial in between weekend events, but they really can make or break your efforts toward a more correct look. At least one new supportive cote with sleeves is most definitely in order.

Gulf Wars helped me see the gap between what I know to be correct and what I have. It's not a huge gap, thankfully, but as I move forward in my personal challenge to focus on what's accurate on a more specific level, it's a gap that can and should be closed. In the coming weeks, I'll share more about the pieces I now feel I need.

In case you missed it, I shared my daily outfits on Facebook last week. I really enjoyed showing you my outfits each day, and I hope that those of you that followed along found it fun and inspiring.

I also want to thank those of you that stopped me to say hi (even briefly) or attended one of my classes. It means so much to me to know you're out there, watching me take this journey, and I can't thank you enough for the support you give me just by reading.

The Dream Realized

Cross-posted to my other blog, Growing Up Medieval (because it's that important to me.)

Earlier this month, at Harvest Days in Flaming Gryphon (Dayton, OH area), we were having a bad day.

We took all four kids, which isn't something we do very often (I've spoken about this before), and even though we were all on deck, I had a class to teach, and Ulfr, as Regional Archery Marshal, had a huge amount of business to conduct. The boys in particular, just didn't care about rules and boundaries and staying away from the archery range. My daughter, who is only recently potty-trained, had some obsession with going to the bathroom (a long walk from the range) every five minutes. As far as events go, it ranked pretty high up there on the suck scale.

It's hard, in the midst of those types of events, to find the good. Stuck in your own headspace of worrying that things aren't going well, and wondering why you can't gain control, you tend to overlook that there are experiences and moments happening that truly matter. There are conversations that happen that you know mean a tremendous amount, and you wish you could perhaps be a little less distracted for them. You struggle to maintain your composure as you try to make it past a group of people as your child runs circles around you, refusing to listen. When you get help in that moment, it's hard to relate how grateful you are, and how relieved you are that someone recognized your need and wasn't judging your parenting abilities.

It's hard to recognize that good things are happening when you're focused on what's not working.

But, despite everything that was sucking that day, something tremendous happened. Something tremendously good.

In the weeks prior, we'd assembled some new items for my daughter, a kirtle, a 14th century hood, a smocked apron, even a huvet. Her outfit was adorable, and she loved it. She was full of confidence, and for the first time that I could tell, she really seemed to understand that what we were doing was something special and unique; that events weren't just parties, but were an important part of who we were and what we believed in. She wasn't just dressed in pretty, girly clothes. She was part of something. 

When I was teaching my class, my mom took my daughter for a walk. Unlike her brothers, she had been mostly behaving and was borderline cocky as a result. As they walked, she admired the armor of fighters leaving the field, and even told a few as much. Never before had she seemed to notice or care about what was happening on the list fields, but now she appeared to not only care, but to recognize when a person's armor was different or somehow special. She was seeing the event with new eyes.

Then this happened:

Photo by the amazing Marissa Wheatley Williams

This.

This is everything perfect and wonderful and right.

This is happiness and joy and a moment to be treasured, not just for the people involved, but for all of us.

This is The Dream.

On a day when my 4-year-old daughter's eyes started to see the world of our events with more clarity and understanding, the King, just being himself, saw her, just being herself, and created something perfect. And thankfully, Marissa, just being her talented self, caught it.

My daughter didn't walk away from that experience unchanged. Her language changed. She felt new ownership of the event, and a deep understanding of how she fit into it. When I asked her where she'd gotten the bracelet, she said "I got it from my King."

At the next event, Coronation this past weekend, my mother (it was just the two of them that day) witnessed the results of this moment. My daughter took every opportunity to not just see the fighting, but to watch it and attempt to understand it. She was not a bystander, as so many of our youth often become. She was at the event to BE AT THE EVENT. Not because she was carried along, but because it was her event to go to.

She recognized those she'd seen at Harvest Day, and even conversed with a Duke for a 2nd time. Fearless and confident, and joyfully a part of the day. I value whatever wisdom His Grace imparted to my daughter. I hope whatever impression it made on her lasts. I also hope the impression it made on him lasts as well. For it's not enough for these moments to happen and impact just one side. These are moments that shape the young children among us, and direct them to either love the Society or dismiss its importance in their lives. We owe it to ourselves to care about the impressions we leave on those still too young to participate in full.

So because a man took the chance to be a King to a little girl, and because the people around my pre-schooler stopped looking at her as just a child for just a moment, and acknowledged that she too was there to experience the magic of our community, my daughter is today a SCAdian.

My SCAdian daughter the morning of Coronation

Do I have high hopes that my daughter may someday sit on the throne, remembering with clarity the day our crazy garbed adventures finally made sense to her? Of course. But for now it's enough for me to see that she just "gets it"; to see that The Dream is hers to realize too.

What the Waffenrock?

After the fiasco of having all four kids at Unicorn in unexpectedly miserable weather, I decided that each of the kids needed to have a warm weather AND a cool weather outfit that we could easily layer or un-layer as the weather dictated.  So these past two weeks, mom and I worked on getting some new garb for the kids for Border Raids this weekend, making use of the various scraps we had available.

Lee and Kara got new long sleeve linen smocks, since they'd grown out of the one's I'd had for them, and Lee's not big enough to fit in the next size up I have of Owen's old garb.  (That's a problem I didn't account for- Lee doesn't fit in Owen's garb hand-me-downs.)

Kara still fits in her Durer dress, though she's gained about an inch and a half of height,so we just needed to get a linen option for her.  I came across the funerary garb of Dona Maria, and decided that an old embroidered linen we still had scraps of would make a great sleeveless, Spanish-like surcoat for her.  Mom sewed this one, and with her new linen smock, Kara looks very girly and cute and comfortable.

I also made a pale green linen "riding"-style tunic (13th century) for Lee, but I didn't get any pictures of it.

The big thing for Lee, though, was his new wool garment- a waffenrock. I got the idea after observing a very simply cut waffenrock on a baron two weekends ago. It was so simple and understated. After realizing how much I liked the look, I decided a waffenrock would look pretty nice on Lee. Plus, it's fun to say "waffenrock".

I started with some (really bright) yellow cotton and created a sample that I'll use as his pattern. I made a few adjustments in the top after letting him try it on, mainly around the neckline. Then I attached the bottom "skirt" and let him play around in it for a bit. Other than it still needing sleeves, I needed to shorten and remove some of the fullness from the skirt. It was really cute, but I'm not going for cute- I'm going for waffenrock!

After the second trial, with sleeves, I realized that I went too short on the skirt. I needed to go about halfway back to the original length. I didn't redo the skirt panels to be less full, so part of the issue could have been that as well. I machine sewed the sleeves on, which pulled the top in a weird way. Beyond that, though, I needed to add some curving to the armhole. I just hate set-in sleeves, you know.

So I made the modifications, and committed them to the wool. I used some of the left-over wool from my fitted dress. I machine sewed it together, then finished the seams by hand (all but the sleeve seams, just because I needed to move on to another project).  He gets really excited to wear it, and doesn't want to take it off.  He understands how it fastens at the top, and I think that makes him feel cool.  Of course, the mohawk helps with that too.

He looks kind of melancholy in these photos, but that was more from a rough, cold night of camping.

I wasn't able to get to Owen's new garb in time for this weekend, but he's got a pale blue linen tunic in the works and probably a new wool doublet, since he's almost grown out of the one he's got now.

But the bigger project on the table now is to begin my pink wool cote- the foundational layer of my Garb Quest.  Though I now have a suitable draped-method pattern for fitted gowns, I'd like to explore using a measuring method, as it seems feasible as an authentic patterning option.  June is a quiet month for us as there are no local events, so I hope to at least get a good start on this completely hand-sewn project.  Plus, now that my gray dress has hit the ground running, and proven to be successful (and relatively comfortable in 85 degree weather!), I need to maintain that high!

Event Recap & Dress Success

Summer event season is now over for me and the family- Harvest Day is typically the last hoorah before we pack up the camping gear.  We had not had an opportunity to take the twins to a camping event earlier in the year, so this was the first.  It did not go well.  It was pretty chilly Friday night and the twins aren't accustomed the having to sleep in their playpens. Somewhere around 2am, we brought them into the bed with us, but they did not like the air mattress any more than the playpens (though they clearly enjoyed how much warmer it was sleeping next to us).  The camp itself was not at all family friendly, and it was very difficult for us adults to actually fall asleep.  So, about 3am, we retreated to the van in the parking lot.  Dearg slept in the back with the twins and I stayed in the front so I could turn the heat on if it started getting chilly.  It wasn't ideal, and the twins still had issues, but we all got at least an hour of uninterrupted sleep sometime between 4 and 6am. During the day, it was hard for everyone to make it out of the camp, since we didn't have a day camp set up near the field, and it was a bit of a walk.  Owen was also being a stubborn 3 year old, which worked pretty quickly on everyone's nerves.

My class was during the first time slot, which is pretty tricky to have success with.  My first students were about 15 minutes late, and another group showed up about 10 minutes after that.  I rushed through everything to get it all in, but I don't think I missed any really important things.  Overall, I think it went very well (all things considered) and it is definitely a class I will teach again.  I'll be uploading the class notes when I re-do my website, so keep an eye out for that.  I think you'll like them- they're a coloring book!

What was really good about the event, however, was how successful my blue linen test dress ended up being.  I got it to a mostly-finished state Friday morning (finished enough to wear) but there's still work to be done on it.  I sewed the sleeves up, rather than doing the buttons, and there are no lacing eyelets (mom literally sewed me into the dress Saturday morning!)  There's also the finishing work on the sleeve and hem that still need to be done.  I do think, though, that I will open the sleeve seams back up and do the buttons.  And the eyelets. 

The fit was great!  It stretched, obviously, but even at the end of the day, it looked good.  And it was very comfortable.  There are a few adjustments to make: it ended up being a bit too long, so I need to turn the hem up a bit, and I think I may need to tighten the sleeves a little.  I'm pretty proud of myself, though, for finally achieving a dress that performed so well, looks good in photos, and was so easy to wear.  So, in terms of the end result (and not having anything to do with the test aspect of this dress) I count it as a success!

I didn't manage to get a good picture of my mom's outfit, but she and I inadvertently matched.  She wore her blue kirtle (a bit darker than mine) and her 14th century red hood.  It was kind of silly, but at the same time it was pretty neat that we were, as a pair, showing the same look in two different centuries.

I also scored an awesome deal on a very nice worsted wool- 5 yards for only $35!!  It's one of those great ambiguous colors that looks different depending on the setting- it's a greenish-brownish-gray.  Lightweight and smooth, too.  It will make a very nice kirtle... perhaps to go under an overkirtle made of this.

So, for the time being, I've got no projects other than my website update.  We're moving into a new house this month, so once I get my sewing stuff together and settled, I'll have a better idea of what to work on through the winter.

Garb Performance

I took my camera yesterday with every intention of taking photos of my outfit, but alas, no pictures were taken. It was one of those events.

Very last minute we decided to day trip Spring Faire in Columbus instead of camp at Border Raids in Kentucky. We found out on Wednesday that there wasn't going to be archery at Border Raids, and since that was the primary activity Dearg wanted to do, it didn't make much sense to spend the money to go to an event he'd just sit around at. Spring Faire ended up begin a great choice, however, since there were several archers and three tournaments. Dearg won all three.

I spent most of the day chasing after Owen, who decided that he was hard of hearing and insisted on running toward the archery range or several yards away to find whichever one of us was missing. Therefore, though I'd brought several things to work on, I didn't work on any of them (except for a few stitches on a German brick stick I've had kicking around for a long time now.)

I did, however, discover a few things about the garb I'd worked on all week.

First, the lavender hose worked well (though my leather garters had an issue by the end of the day.) I did have a few instances when the seam at the bottom bothered me as I walked. I didn't get a blister, but I think that was pure luck. I did not finish the seams on the hose, and that was no doubt the issue. I think I may just go back in and tack the seam allowance down at the seam to keep it from bunching up. The wool hose probably won't have that same problem, but it's made me re-think going with the full sole instead to avoid the seam under the foot altogether. I wasn't able to get my black hose cut out before going, which is a good thing now. I'll need to go back to the drawing board on the pattern.

I was pretty accurate about the starching on the fretwork veil. I did not have an opportunity to re-starch it, so I knew that the center was going to collapse. By about 2 the very center 2 inches had completely flattened. By the end of the day, the rest of it was still open, but was no longer stiff. If it had been more humid, I'm sure they would have collapsed more. I think the issue was two fold. I did not lay on a thick enough layer of starch in the center and I think the starch needs to be more concentrated. If I put the liquid back on the stove and boiled it down a bit, that might do the trick.

I also wore the huvet under the veil. It was perfect. The bumps did effect the way the veil draped from the top of my head, but I'm probably the only person that noticed. I'm glad I finally upgraded. Since I didn't get my wool hose cut out, I cut out my second huvet attempt. I redrew the curve of my head with some chalk, then double checked it using my 15-minute huvet (which I know is right) before cutting out. So that's the project on my plate right now.

The sideless surcoat was nice. It's a little long, but I think a quick turn under on the hem will fix that. The top kind of had a mind of its own, but I don't think that would have been a problem if I were wearing a different dress. The neckline on my black dress is so wonky, if the surcoat wasn't centered on my shoulders everything looked off. It will be a nice piece of garb, though, during my pregnancy, since it's pretty accommodating.

Not sure what event I'll be going to next, so I'm going to go back to my regular pace for at least a bit. I'm still working on the hose, but since I have the huvet cut out, that's probably the main project I'll be working on. At least until I see something shiny.

This is Me

Not that I'm thrilled that I was wearing my make-shift garb for this, but check out this wonderful portrait that Master Phillip took at the event today. I could sit here and criticize myself until the cows come home, but that would completely negate the fact that this is a very lovely photo. The food, by the way, is completely fake.

This really is just the kick in the pants for me to get some new garb done. So the next time there's a photo booth, I don't look so uncomfortable in my garb.

Did you spot the ferret?

Trying to Save Some Garb

Completely last minute on Friday evening, I realized that I'm sick of not having any garb that fits. My black linen dress fits, but has issues (a little too short, wrinkles in the back, off center neck/shoulders, not quite big enough around the breast.) My other garb is either too large, or doesn't really work well with the rest of my garb. In my frustrated bout of putting things on, I made two decisions.

First, the black linen dress functions well enough as an underdress, and will thus be relegated to that purpose. Second, while I'm waiting to have fresh new garb to wear (waiting until I make it, that is), there's nothing that says I can't try wacky things with the old stuff.

Sooo, knowing that I could wear the black linen dress as my first layer, I pulled out my old rust linen dress. You may remember this dress from this or this post. I removed the sleeves and took the side seams in (but didn't touch the other seams). It's kind of a precursor to what I decided to use the gray wool for. Here's the result:


I also decided to pull out my Flemish Kerchief for this one- it's been a while since I wore it last. I'm holding Lee in that bottom photo. Here's some more pictures of the family:


So, does Owen have enough attitude for you? Do you recognize that teal tunic? Maybe it reminds you of, say, this? Recycling=Good!

Bust

Every so often an event comes along that feels like a complete bust. I just had one of those.

I knew it was probably not going to be the ideal day when I experienced a major garb crisis Friday night. I'm in the middle of redoing my teal wool dress. I had planned on sewing it back together Thursday night, but as soon as I put the first part on the sewing machine and started to sew, the needle broke. I had no idea where my replacement needle was. The only other dress I have that fits is my black linen dress, but it's got some issues. I only have 2 long sleeve dresses and neither of them are correct for my period. I ended up wearing one of them, a brown wool 12th century dress (which I'm not at all sure on the accuracy of). It was comfortable and warm enough but here's the issue- I was going to teach a class on the fitted dress. And there I was, not wearing a fitted dress.

It took 3 hours to get to the event, and the weather was kind of bad, but it was an indoor event. In doors meaning EXTREMELY crowded. We were literally wedged in. With three kids. And it was very hard to hear since the building didn't have any noise buffering properties and the heavy weapons pretty much took all the sound space!

So, we were barely settled in when I had to find out where the classes were being taught, since my class was at 11. By the time I found it, it was already 11:10. And no one showed up for my class. Bust.

Oh well. After that, I was pretty much done. Lunch was good, and I got to work on some embroidery, but I was ready to go home. Luckily, no one else I was with seemed to be having the same day, so I wasn't in a bad mood about. We did head out early, though.

It's kind of a bummer, especially since coming up with site fee isn't the easiest thing for us right now, but you figure that there's probably some kind of mathematical equation that tells you how many event busts you're going to experience in a given year. My number was apparently up.


I was able to wear my new veil. It's not technically a frilled veil, and it's not officially done, but it was nice to wear it. The linen and the layers in the front are perfectly weighted. I only had it pinned in at the top of my head- just one pin- and it stayed on. I'm planning on doing a honeycomb style stitch (or "fretwork"). That's Kara on my lap. The garb mom made for them right after they were born is still working out. We've got to do something a bit different on the back- the ribbons on there now aren't staying tied. And here's Lee on mom's lap:


So, I'm thinking I'm going to finish up my teal wool dress and complete the veil, then move on to Dearg's garb for a bit.

Ketchup

Ok, this is going to be a long one- hope you like ketchup. Ketchup. Catch up. Get it?

Alright. Moving on....

Last we left off, I was showing you the results of my black linen dress re-fit, but I stopped just short of showing you the complete outfit. So here's the dress in final form as I wore it at Royal Hunt:


Overall, after having worn it for a day, I'm happy with the way it turned out. I wish I hadn't rushed it, though, because in order to make the neckline not so weird, I had to pin it into my smock. The pin, of course, kept poking me. Luckily, my red hood did a good job of hiding the poor cut at the shoulder. The other issue I had was that, no matter how hard I tried, the lacing wouldn't tighten completely at my bust. Ultimately (sorry, no photo) I ended up loosening the lacing above this trouble spot to make it look more intentional. Not precisely period, but it was a solution none-the-less.

The event was very nice. It was small, but still fun. Friday night was freezing, and our air mattress sprung a leak, so we ended up sleeping almost directly on the slats of our bed. We had every blanket, cloak and even my teal wool dress on the bed to keep us warm. A few days before the event, I found one of my first items of garb- an 11th century brown wool dress. I wore that Friday night. I was glad to have a warm dress that didn't require lacing.

Since it was just Dearg and I, we tried to make every effort we could to limit how much mundane stuff we had out. This included our food. We had intended to make a fire to cook over, but there wasn't much communication about where to get the firewood. Luckily, we brought our camp stove just in case. It was very nice to have a hot bowl of bean and chicken stew Friday night, and a plate of warm salmon and eggs Saturday morning.


With my black dress re-fit complete, I could move on the the second tailoring project- creating a new fitted pattern. This time around, we used muslin instead of linen, which helped in that it didn't stretch as much, which was the major problem with the last fitting. Mom came over this past Saturday and we did the fitting using Mistress Mathilde's instructions as a guide. We did two rounds of fitting- once making it semi-tight, then a second time refining the fit and making it supportive. I'm just, personally, not comfortable without a bra, and I need to wear one anyway to keep my breast pads in place, so I wore my nursing bra to do the fitting. I wouldn't normally wear this bra outside of my house because it's not supportive. Achieving a supportive fit with this bra was the real challenge.

What we came to realize as we did the fitting was that, with the size of my bust in relation to the rest of my body, a straight front seam is probably always going to gap at my bust- the way that it does on my black linen dress- if it's going to be tight enough everywhere else to actually show off my shape. So we put in a curved front seam, but the curve is very shallow.

I've cut the pattern pieces out, but I need to transfer them to something else so I can make them better. I think I'll just opt for another bit of muslin, cut out the pieces and actually sew them together to be sure everything's right. My main concern is how I cut them out below the belly. I just need to make sure all my seams are straight down there. Once I'm satisfied that the pattern is good, I'll take it all apart and transfer it to paper.

With the pattern complete (even in it's rough form) I can now redo my wool dress. The first step is to take the whole thing apart. I'm going to discard the lining- it was the linen we used for my initial fitting, and it's so loosely woven, it frays just by looking at it. I've got a light-weight white linen to use for the new lining. With the dress apart, I'll lay the new pattern over each piece and re-cut them. Then I'll sew the whole thing back together.

I wasn't able to complete my frilled veil for Royal Hunt, and I actually still haven't completed it. Come to think of it, I haven't picked it up since the event. Hand sewn projects tend to be like that for me- if I can't get them done in a matter of days, I kind of put them aside for long periods of time. I really want the veil, though, so I may start working on it again this weekend.

I also taught a new class at the event, and I'll be teaching it again at Christmas Tourney. It's a class devoted specifically to the fitted dress. It truly amazes me that more women in the SCA haven't embraced the fitted kirtle, but it's probably just because they don't know about the superior qualities of a tailored dress over a princess-cut dress, or even a pattern-following Greenland gown. There's a time and a place for these types of dresses, but when it comes to creating a truer medieval silhouette- nothing beats the fitted dress.

Was that everything? I think so. Stay tuned- there's lots more on the way!

Event Re-cap and Garb-Weeding Underway

Despite the lack of attendance and the un-planned-for cold rain, Mischief and Mayhem was a actually a fun event for me. It was almost just a practice event, really, and we had no real problems with having all 3 kids there. Only downside, though, is that there weren't a lot of people there to see Owen's awesome 13th century-esque outfit:


He got pretty wet, but I'd planned ahead for the cold by making the hood, and we were able to keep him warm by keeping the hood up when he was outside the shade. This outfit will still fit him when we go to Royal Hunt later this month. With the twins, it's harder to coordinate making new garb for Owen, so anything that can last a while is good. The twins, by the way, wore their gowns again, but I didn't get any photos of them this time since they spent most of the day bundled up under a blanket in the playpen.

Right before leaving, I'd wondered if I really needed my teal wool dress to stay warm. Ultimately I decided to wear it, and I'm really glad I did. I wore an old light blue linen/rayon dress underneath, and I was quite warm enough. For most of the day, I wore a wimple and oval veil (which you can see in the photo with me and Owen), but that had gotten pretty wet and wasn't comfortable anymore. I switched to my German kerchief and put my goller on (above), and still maintained a comfortable warmth level.

It's kind of hard to tell in this photo, but I tucked the ends of the kerchief up under the edge which was pinned tight around my head with a single pin at the nape of my neck. I've previously had a hard time getting this veil to work for me, but now I realize that it was because I was doing it wrong. Now that I've figured it out, I'll definitely wear this veil more often.

Today, I pulled all my dresses out and decided which ones to keep. This was just the dresses I had in my garb closet and didn't include garb I'd packed away (that's a project for a later day). All I've decided to keep are my black linen dress (which I'll take in), my blue linen v-neck gown (which I won't worry about adjusting- I'll just use it as a throw-on layer for camping events), and my teal wool (which I will completely take apart, remove the lining, re-cut according to my new pattern (yet to be created), re-line, and reassemble). I'm also going to keep the pink jacket I whipped together as a camping robe, but I'm going to sew up the front to make it a tunic instead. I've also got the new sleeveless smock I just made and my fitted underdress in the keep pile. The underdress will be replaced, however, when I get the linen for it, and decide it's time to create my new pattern (which will probably happen in November). This leaves me dismally low on garb, I realize, but what better excuse to buy more fabric and make more clothes?

Double Trouble

My new bundles of joy have finally arrived, and though it's been hectic and at times frustrating, I couldn't be happier. Lee (on the left above) and Kara are doing well and are healthy. Lee is about 2 pounds heavier than Kara. Owen is getting accustomed to them, though he's still not quite sure what to make of them. He's entered the "I'm not listening" phase, which has made things a little tough, but we're doing our best to remain patient.

We ventured out to Harvest Day this past weekend with all three kids. It wasn't the easiest thing, and I certainly exerted myself a bit more than I should have, but it's an experience we needed. Going to an event with a young child is hard enough, but adding two infants into the mix adds a whole new dimension of logistics that you don't really know exists until you test it out. We've got several adjustments to make to not only our set-up and take-down routine, but also with how we can schedule personal time into the day. Dearg desperately wanted to get to the archery range all day, but never made it. I got to the merchants once, right as it started to rain, but we had the twins with us, and it just made more sense for me to carry them back to our shade.


My mom made gowns for the twins, which are a bit large so they'll be able to wear them for a while. We used a christening gown pattern that worked out very well and looks very nice. We used a brown linen/rayon blend for Kara's and the same blue linen/rayon for Lee's that I made my v-neck gown out of. I have the pieces for their white linen tunics still sitting by the sewing machine- hopefully I can get those completed before the next event.


I was also able to mostly complete Dearg's new tunic. I haven't done all the contrast stitching nor the decorative stitching around the neckline, but it was finished enough for him to wear. It was nice to see him in a different tunic for a change!

As far as my other tasks, I've made the updates to my website (except for cleaning up the code on the main page), but that's about it. I decided not to create nursing garb, as we've found breastfeeding the twins too time consuming and difficult when not home. Instead, I pump right before or right after they eat, and we bottle feed the breastmilk. So I don't need nursing garb, but I do still need to be able to access my breasts to pump regularly at an event. For now, this just means that anything I wear needs to either lace or button up the front. I'm not sure that it requires any special type of garb beyond that.

I started working on my "Beyond the Burgundian" class notes by re-reading them and making some edits. I want the full notes to be highly extensive and informative, so for the moment I'm taking my time with them. I don't think I'll put them on my website when they are complete though, since I think I'd like to submit them to the Compleat Anachronist for publication.

Finally, you may notice that I swapped the nursing garb for a frilled veil in my project pile progress bars. I haven't decided which style of frilled veil I'd like to do, but I know that I'm going to raid Isis' extensive thesis for information on the topic and let her knowledge help me decide!

Border Raids Recap

Took me forever to get the photos off my camera- sorry about that!

Border Raids was incredibly hot, but it was nice to get to at least one camping event before being stuck at home to finish out my pregnancy. It was especially nice because I was called up in court and received a Silver Oak for my research into period headwear! Companionship into the Order of the Silver Oak is the Middle Kingdom first level award for sciences, which research is considered. I felt a little awkward in front of Their Majesties because I didn't want to embarrass myself by kneeling with my big baby belly, but they didn't seem to mind. Unfortunately, all I remember hearing is Her Majesty saying "your classes are great".

I ran out of time before that Friday and didn't get all my class notes typed up for my 3-part class, but everything still worked out alright. I'm going to finish them and have them available for the women that attended the class. My mom had suggested that I look into publishing the entire class in Tournaments Illuminated or The Compleat Anachronist. Then someone asked me at the event if I'd published anything- to which I relied that I wanted to submit it to CA. So after I get the initial class notes completed, I'm going to send the abstract to the CA editor.

Despite the heat, I wore my new v-neck gown all day on Saturday (including court). It's only one layer of linen/rayon, and with my single layer linen sleeveless smock, it wasn't too heavy to wear. I would have been just as hot, if not hotter, in anything else I could have worn. The main problem I was having was that my hood kept slipping backwards. I think it was because I ended up using my St. Birgitta's coif on Friday to setup, and it got stretched out just enough that the weight of the hood's liripipe pulled it back. Note for next time- wear a fresh coif on the second day.

There are some obvious adjustments I need to make on my next try. The angle of the "V" in the front is completely wrong- it's more of a "U". I also need to plan my length a bit better- it ended up shorter than I'd like. Also, when I wear a placket, I need to a) iron it and b) pin it better to avoid the puckering I got at the base of the opening (you can clearly see it in the photo above). Overall, however, for not really having any idea whether I was doing it right while I was making it, it turned out to be a very nice dress that I'm sure will get a lot of wear.

I also wanted to share a few photos of Dearg. We're slowly working on making his new early Irish Norse garb, which started with a new pair of pants. They are narrow (though not as narrow as they should be- he prefers them loose) and fairly long with a drawstring waist. They are a medium weight linen cotton blend in a greenish-brown.

He opted to wear just his undertunic for the day (because of the heat), but with the addition of his accessories (note that he's stolen my belt since I can't wear it right now), he looked quite nice. There's nothing like a handsome man in garb!

So, I'll be offline for a while. I've got 5 weeks to go in the pregnancy (less if the twins decide to arrive earlier than 38 weeks), and I'm pretty focused on nesting and trying not to over exert myself. I do not want to end up on bed rest, but I'm also an "I'll do it myself" type of person, so wearing myself out is pretty easy to do. Once I'm on maternity leave, though, I can chill out and get some of my back-log class notes completed and online, as well as make some changes to my website as suggested by some of the wonderful people out there who have come across it. Thanks to all of you for the feedback.