Posts

Working on Garb Embellishments

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Recently, thanks to the generous nature of Mistress Afra, I had the opportunity to help with a garb project. It is important to note that I enthusiastically asked to help. I mention this because I eventually reached a point in the project that was so frustrating and disappointing that it drove me to tears. Here's the final project, which I feel comfortable sharing because it has already been posted to Facebook with attribution. The process of getting there was full of very high highs and very low lows. The short version: I learned a great deal about reaching out and not working in isolation. When we first spoke about the garb, Afra had been given some details about the style and a reference photo of similar clothing. She handled all of the fitting and sewing, as well as the embellishment around the neckline. My part was to create white appliqué stars on a Tir Righ blue band around the bottom, along with matching cuffs on the same linen. I spent a great deal of time joyfully plannin...
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More house organization

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 Again, not strictly an SCA post but a reflection of what I can call "my process". I find that a low stimulation, "self-running" environment makes the difference in my life between having mental/emotional capacity for my arts or not. Service oriented tasks are one thing, like processing heraldic submissions, answering emails, doing little administrative projects for people... these are all easy enough to accomplish, have timelines, and don't require that rested, uncluttered brain. For me at least. Others' experience may vary. I find that a quiet environment promotes my ability to settle into something that might require more problem solving or creativity on a cozy weekend, or an evening after work. In the pursuit of a calm home, here's some of the tasks we've accomplished since January. First is the recycle closet. This isn't really a showstopper in design or anything but has meant that our cupboard is functional as a recycling spot, pantry, and ...
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Retinue for Tanists F&E

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This is the second time I've been part of a retinue. The first was for the amazing Viscount Saif and Viscountess Alessandra. I was simply an attendant for them, mostly Viscount Alessandra, as Viscount Saif would take off with his long legs and I'd promptly lose him in the crowd. But it was a great learning experience about the amount of work, organization, outreach, communication, and heart that goes into nine months of a reign.  This time I am much more involved in the lead up to Investiture. And despite presenting my Pelican with a "scroll" of stick figures and a poem about "How I'll Never Be A Scribe", apparently I am. It took her 10 years but she caught me using copy calligraphy and wordsmithing. I was asked to do another couple of assignments for copy, which worked out pretty well in terms of confidence boosting. Is it perfect? No. Do I have a lot to learn? Yes. However about part way through my last draft, I had the feeling that I could in fact do ...
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Copy Calligraphy

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I was asked to do some copy Calligraphy for the upcoming reign of F&E. It was very flattering to be asked and I jumped on the task right away!  I pulled out my scribal stuff, which is a bit rudimentary at best, and realized that I had no ink and my nibs were a bit dodgy. Any scribal I had done to this point was done with the borrowed tools of my Pelican. But a bit of practice, playing with nibs, and some determination (and an amazon order) I was ready to tackle the assignment. HAVOC:  Doing the Havoc was a lot of fun, and I felt pretty successful. The font was quite large and bold, so it was easy to get the thick/thin line effect that I really enjoy in calligraphy. However, this was not without issue.  I did my first “final copy”, and noticed there was a missing letter. I did another “final copy” and left the word blank until I could circle back to it and add the “w”. I was sure to practice and practice, wrote the word a number of times, and then was feeling confident...
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My home has been a 3 month project

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I haven't had the headspace to work on any big projects lately. However, I have been making HUGE strides on my physical space. For several years, I feel like I have been holding on to stuff. Now the baby birds have flown and it's time to let go. All I want to do is to organize my home and spaces. I started with what I'll lovingly call "the green room", which was one of my children's bedrooms. All three slept in there at various points and it was filled with furniture, lego, clothes, musical instruments, books, water bottles, school supplies... Just filled.  I had made an agreement with my workplace to work from home one day per week and I wanted this to start as of October. I was motivated to create this space. It started with clearing the room and painting the walls cream. Where did all that stuff go? Garbage and obvious donations were sorted and hauled to the appropriate places. I put the bunks, bedside table, and a bureau up on freecycle, and most of the ot...
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Fingerknüpfen

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At the last event, St. Crispin's hosted by the Shire of Lionsdale, I got a chance to see it a little more up close when my wire weaving class teacher walked another student through fingerknüpfen. I've seen the lovely Duchess M of Insula Magna doing this technique, but until tonight I've never tried it. I will definitely use this again. It engages the brain (no muscle memory yet) but it's simple and satisfying. Practice will fix the tension, right? Otherwise, I am working hard on digging out my craft room, which is taking up a lot of my time. It's going well, and I'm also working on a secret project. Oooohhh 🥰
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Event Stewarding - August Investiture

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Long time since my last post, but I have kept busy with things that are hard to photograph!  I put in an emergency bid for August Investiture, which was approved 5 months out. I expected maybe 100-120 people, until the King and Queen of An Tir decided to attend!! All of a sudden my little event ended up being higher profile, and luckily for me I had a team of people who had a better idea of what to do than I did ha! We had 221 people through gate at a very rustic but charming site. There seemed to be non-stop issues to contend with, some site related, some situational, and some due to my inexperience. However, as with all events I've planned in my modern life role, eventually the momentum takes over and things run themselves. The photos of the day were gorgeous because the beauty of the Sunshine Coast is unparalleled. Did that mitigate the pain of sore feet for attendees? I hope so.  Event Stewarding under non ideal circumstances seems to have a lot of "staying calm and trying...
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