Right now I'm knee-deep in the last part of the spring semester at school, and the health challenges continue. I am doing my best not to get bogged down, but I'm definitely not at my absolute best these days. Thank goodness for the SCA, which helps distract me from my woes.
Firstly, I have an FO for this month, and there's more than a week left! I may even manage another! One of my goals for the year was to make a set of SCA camping pajamas that will keep me warm, be fairly comfortable to sleep in, and not too painfully modern when I'm wandering around. I opted for some male Norse garb, with a set of trousers, a t-tunic, and probably an over-tunic and/or hood. I had hoped to finish the whole set, but life gets in the way of these things.
Due to the lack of primary source material on the construction of viking trousers, and for simplicity's sake (these are pajamas after all), I decided to go ahead and trace a pair of pajama pants I own and like the fit of to get my pattern. I used the leftover brown linen I had from my Slavic dress, and it took a little less than two yards. It's a pretty decent pattern for not wasting fabric, though you could piece them to make them even less wasteful.
ere's the cut pieces (the top edge is a fold) with the waist band on the right. Since the fit was pretty good I didn't even put a waistband on these, let alone a drawstring (thanks hips, you hold my pants up), though I may go back and do that at some point. If I make another pair of these, the waist is higher than I usually wear my pajamas, and the legs are pretty wide, though I'm sure they'll look great tucked into the boots I forgot to bring to wear. I sewed these on the serger, because again, they're pajamas. I did hand hem the bottoms because it's easier to do in the car.
I have about two yards of gray wool flannel that has been stashed away for something, and I think I'll make a second tunic out of that. I may also have enough of the tan wool from my cotte for a little Skjold-style hood. That should keep me toasty, and I can wear hand-knit wool socks until I learn how to nalbind some.
This past weekend was our first camping event of the year, Honor War in the College of Lyonsmarche, An Tir. I had heard stories about this event from friends for several years, and just had to come along. This event started, I believe, as a war between Lyonsmarche and the Barony of Wealdsmere, but has become a mini inter-kingdom war between An Tir and Artemisia. The site is an island in the middle of the Snake River outside Clarkston, WA, which is the border between the two kingdoms, and there's been a bit of a feud to control this important trading port. Last year, Artemisia won by a single point, won in the rapier fighting, and this year we were determined to defend our new territory.
We arrived, along with most of the Cavalry of the Sword and Horse, on Friday afternoon after a lovely drive through western Idaho. I got some sewing done in the car, and we stopped at my mom's house, about halfway there, for a lovely lunch. We arrived in time to set up camp and have a drink before dinner. The Brotherhood of the Black Unicorn, who are kindred spirits to the Cavalry, ran a marvelous camp kitchen and fed us margaritas and stir fry for dinner, then we sat around the campfire catching up with old friends.
On Saturday we got up early for breakfast burritos and bloody marys (hey, war is hell, right?) and got ready for the day's events. I enjoyed watching the heavy fighting taking photos while generally relaxing and recharging my batteries. I had planned to take a class or two, but I came down with some stomach bug on Friday night and wasn't feeling 100%, so I let myself just relax, enjoy the perfect weather, and support my friends. I skipped the archery shoots too. Sometimes all you need is to sit int he sun and laugh with your friends. We ate lunch on the edge of the battlefield, and then the rapier fighters took their turn. In both the heavy and rapier scenarios, there were two corrals of sheep to defend and a river with a bridge between them. I will say this, the An Tir fighters work very strongly as a team, and they REALLY love their sheep. We got spanked every time.
I went back to camp to cool my feet in the river then lie down for a nap before dinner, which was gyros cooked over the fire and more margaritas. The evening concluded with a bardic competition, won by a friend of mine from Arn Hold, Lady Merin. I was also very proud of my husband, who won their baronial A&S competition and their brewing competition, thus ensuring that we'll be back next year so he can run them. The night continued with lots of drinking, singing, laughing, and story-telling around the fire.
On Sunday morning we woke up to impromptu french toast and bacon, because why would the cooks want to haul uneaten food back to Montana with them? Some of us, myself included, went ahead and put garb on to enjoy the morning in style, and the youth armored combat and rapier tournaments both took place before noon. I had fun watching the rapier, and being reminded that next time I'll be expected to compete. I'm a long way off, but I can see the pieces starting to come together, and I've enjoyed what I've learned so far.
The drive home was the way it always is after war. We were tired and hot, wishing we didn't have to go home and so anxious to get there. I drove the whole way, and we were back in Idaho in time for dinner. This was such a fun event, with a five hour drive (not bad in my book) and an absolutely beautiful site. Here's some photos of the day. I have lots more still to upload from the camera, but this gives you a feel for the events.