Adelheid in the SCA

It is time to use my basic sprang skills to make a project.  I saw a pattern that was created using s and z rows to create a subtle texture and immediately asked my språng mentor if she thought I could do that. She explained the method, and encouraged me to try. I ordered some silk yarn, laceweight, and did a trial warp. I did my s and z rows (by rotating my little loom instead of actually switching), and started the pattern. All that has taken me to this point today. But then, I got stuck. How do I get my fingers in to finish when the project really matters to me? Well luckily there is a very encouraging språng group who helped me find a technique from Collingwood's book and a video by Carol James of her demonstrating it. It is a diagonal finish. First step was to collect my tools. Knitting needles and a crochet hook are good for doing this finish. Then, I carefully removed my safety sticks and replaced the last with a safety cord. Before too long, disaster struck. I d...

My projects this past month have been SCA tangential - basket weaving and some lessons in machine sewing basics. I took a class with Jessica Silvey (Red Cedar Woman) with my friend Belinda. Here's the finished project, which we are supposed to "gift". I'll give it to my mother. Another project has been my grey kirtle mock-up. I was so pleased with the results, I decided to add a skirt and next will do "Snow White" sleeves to make a fun summer dress. Here's a terrible in progress picture: And finally... My dear friend Janice asked if I'd like to go through her fabric. I ended up with bins of quilting fabric, cutting mats, and an embroidery sewing machine (on loan till she needs it back). We decided to make matching bags, which turned into an intensive sewing lesson. The constellations glow in the dark! Bonus... Her machine does embroidery stitches so I played around with those, and an brewing up some thank you gifts...

 This is a bit of an odd post - I have been updating my wiki and wanted to show some of my favourite things that I have collected and/or been gifted along the way. There was no real room for explanation, so I thought I'd put them out here. My very first token was from Fjordland Rising in 2012 (give or take a year). Due to some life circumstances, it was a few more years before I actually found the local SCA again, this time through a friend. This reminds me to never give up. My newcomer beads were given at Baroness' Inspiration, which would have been November 2018. This was my first official event. These remind me that everyone starts as a newcomer. My mousetail came from my second event, probably February Investiture, where I was volunteering for gate and I met the loveliest person who was a nalbinder. I asked how the tail of her very cute mouse was made, and she showed me. I actually laughed and clapped like a little kid seeing a magic trick! This reminds me to be humble and ...

The next learning goal is holes. I love holes! I love knitting holes. I'm going to learn bobbin lace one day. And my lovely språng mentor can make net using a series of holes. I have made eyelets before, so today's the day! The snow is pretty but I will be staying inside. Miscalculation #1 - I grabbed the nearest string which was way too fine for a learning project. I finally got the frame warped and started going for it. Plain weave... Ok so far. For the eyelets, I started on a single pickup row and did the pick one drop two, pick two drop one pattern. Being clever, I knew I had to reverse it so I did pick two drop one, pick one drop two for the second row. Not quite. I re read Halima's instructions and realized I missed the plain u1d1 row in between. Ok so I tried that, then offsetting the second row and... Still no 🤣 I threw together a practice warp to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm used to things coming easy...

After thinking about it for a week, I got my mind around s-twist. I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself! There's a very cool looking error on the left which I'll have to learn to reproduce. This is the log cabin pattern. My dear friend and mentor explained it as alternative Z and S rows, which it was. The pattern comes from the warping. So pleased. YIS AW

It's been a while since I've had time it head space to craft. This interesting piece of sprang showed up in one of my feeds and instantly I wanted to make it! https://sprangart.com/musings/log-cabin-pattern-in-sprang?/fbclid=IwAR2pP1-t6DEhvXmChbswezT9zojUd9OmqqfncNhMzaDE971c3EfjCAhic0U  As I sat to warp my frame, I realized I have no idea how to warp a frame. My first frame was warped by someone else. So today's activity pivoted to learning how to warp. After reviewing the materials I had, I went with wrapping the frame "up front, back down" until I ran out of wool. Then I wove a stick thru the middle (over under over under) and that created the warp. Then I happily went about my business. Within a couple of warps, I realized I was just creating twisty strings. Snapdragons. So I untwisted and started again, this time picking up two from the back. Back in business. One row... Pick up one from the back, second row pick...

Språng was the art that initially drew me to the SCA back in 2012. There's a bit of a lag between first learning about the SCA and eventually joining in 2018, but that's not the story being told here. This story is about a 10 year long search for an ancient fibre art. I had a book about it, back in 2012, originally found in the inter-library loan program of BC. The book, now out of print, has mysteriously been "lost". Grr. A book and DVD by Carol James came up on the local buy and sell. I POUNCED! No joke. Mid COVID-19 shutdown and everything - dropped everything at work. Luckily, in a small town, it wasn't that far. I don't know who I thought was going to try to squeeze me out for a språng DVD. I dropped my lysol wiped money on the doorstep and picked up the wiped down goods. Took an online class, and got as far as warping a frame. But by the time I had that completed, the class had moved on so I put it down. At August Investiture, someone was selling pre-war...