Here are a couple of photos of the final product. All the hems and seams are rolled and stitched by hand in linen thread. The neck closure button is a wee Nazar bead that my husband received as a gift (I believe from previous Artemisian Queen Esther). Nazars are ancient amulets to protect against the "evil eye," and would have been common trade goods throughout the medieval period, as they are even now. Honestly, I'll take all the good vibes we can get, whether real or not. The loop to go around the button is a bit of needle lace in linen. Making that wonky loop was a good reminder that I need to practice my needle lace some more! The embroidery at the collar is split stitch done in white spun silk and features a ramson flower from my arms and an acorn from my husband's (convenient that we both have white plant bits on our devices, eh? We didn't plan that.). This style is universal enough that the dress could work for either my husband's 9th-century Viking persona or my Norman one. Baby clothes haven't changed much, really. I put enough extra room in this dress that Freya should be able to wear it more than once, which is great, since it was certainly a labor of love.
I posted last week about what I'm learning about making baby garb and shared a few pictures of Freya in her first SCA outfit. She has a plethora of lovely hand-me-downs from friends, but I wanted to make something special for my little treasure. Anyway, when I shared last week, what you saw was the assembled dress with raw edges everywhere. However, I wanted to make an heirloom piece, one that might be worn by a future sibling, or handed on to other babies. One that would be soft and comfortable to wear, and pretty enough to merit our lovely firstborn. I firmly believe that handmade items are a physical manifestation of love. They show the hours we spend thinking about the recipient and giving them our good intentions. If billed by the hour at a rate worthy of the skill it takes to make these items, they would be cost-prohibitive. To that end, I knew I wanted to put some hours into making something special for my wee dove.
Here are a couple of photos of the final product. All the hems and seams are rolled and stitched by hand in linen thread. The neck closure button is a wee Nazar bead that my husband received as a gift (I believe from previous Artemisian Queen Esther). Nazars are ancient amulets to protect against the "evil eye," and would have been common trade goods throughout the medieval period, as they are even now. Honestly, I'll take all the good vibes we can get, whether real or not. The loop to go around the button is a bit of needle lace in linen. Making that wonky loop was a good reminder that I need to practice my needle lace some more! The embroidery at the collar is split stitch done in white spun silk and features a ramson flower from my arms and an acorn from my husband's (convenient that we both have white plant bits on our devices, eh? We didn't plan that.). This style is universal enough that the dress could work for either my husband's 9th-century Viking persona or my Norman one. Baby clothes haven't changed much, really. I put enough extra room in this dress that Freya should be able to wear it more than once, which is great, since it was certainly a labor of love.
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Well, another week has come and gone since I last wrote here. Once again I felt like I didn't have much of consequence to say about my SCA life, especially not my art, and then I thought about it, realized that yet again I have plenty to say, so I snapped a few photos and here I am. I will say that grad school is taking up a lot of my time right now, and add in some unexpected health issues and a full-time job, and I've got a lot to juggle. I'll keep doing my best to keep at this, and someday there'll be happiness again in Nottingham. ;) Last Sunday the Cavalry got together to have another project day to brush up everyone's fighting tabards for the upcoming war season. I brought over a bunch of scraps of linen, Beth bought a few more yards, and we got to work putting in side panels for the rapier fighters and adding applique arms all over the place. They are looking great, but we'll need one more gathering to finish them up. Honor War is just under a month away, so hopefully we will do it before then. I decided that since I find ramsons so tasty, and since they feature so prominently on my device, it was time to have some around. They aren't native to the U.S., and one previous attempt to grow them failed miserably (I'm an avid but inattentive gardener), but I bought more seeds and they arrived with a bonus package of corn salad, which I've also never grown before. Wish me luck! I'll be starting both indoors in the near future. They may stay indoors, to be honest, since Idaho summers are very hot and dry, and very different from the moist cool shady floor of a deciduous forest, which is where these normally grow. Check out kykeonplants.etsy.com for all kinds of cool seeds and garden stuff. I'll be back for more, I'm sure. In an effort to keep up with my finished object a month plan, I ordered the fabric for Sir Brynjolfr's Rus trousers, and since I liked the color so much, I nabbed enough for a dress for myself too. Not sure what style it will be yet, but we'll see. I also hauled out and measured this lovely tan wool, which I got from a friend when her mother died and left a big fabric stash. There are a few moth holes that need mending, but between that and the fact that it was free, I'm not so scared to screw it up by using it. My aim is to make this into a 14th century kirtle to wear with my heraldic sideless surcote from last summer. Tomorrow I'm helping a friend pattern and cut a bliaut, so hopefully she can help me pattern and cut my kirtle at the same time. Here's a pic of both fabrics: And last but not least, I made it out to the first Baronial archery practice of the season and got to test out my new longbow, a gift from my awesome husband for our anniversary last fall. She's a beaut, though I really need a better stringer. I'm still adjusting to shooting without an arrow rest too, but it sounds like practices should be happening regularly, so I should get a chance to get comfortable using it. Here's a few pictures from the session. This first one was a bit of a fluke, I split the wand (totally by accident, of course)! Here's a few photos my husband took of me warming up. This is going to take some getting used to, but look at my pretty new toy! And finally, the clout shoot. My fellow marching band veterans and I paced off the length to the flag from where we were shooting, and it was just about 90 yards. Once I got a feel for the distance, I did pretty okay. This shot is from the second round. I was within two yards of the target! Not too shabby. I need some longer arrows, and some good leather gloves if I'm going to use myself as an arrow rest, but I had a blast! Sore muscles today are a good sign, I think. Photo: Nicole Scofield
P.S. check out the lovely arrow bag my husband made for me! He's so talented, and he just whipped it out in a couple of hours. It's based on the Mary Rose quiver. It worked really well. I can't wait to decorate it! Well! Suddenly it's March and it's been a week since my last post, so it's time to catch up on what's going on in my SCA life, especially my Arts & Sciences life. I really didn't think I had a thing to talk about, then I remembered I have an event to talk about, and plenty of other little bits and pieces that have piled up. Firstly, way back in March of 2014 I submitted my device, which you can see and read about here. It passed without any issues, along with my name, in December of that year. However, the more I look at it, and looked at more period devices, and use the colors, etc. the more I felt like it just wasn't *quite* me. It was close. I was in love with the bear and the wild garlic flowers, but it felt a little sloppy to me and just not quite right. Using the resources from www.heraldicclipart.com I came up with a new configuration using a more period image of a bear, and elements that feel more cohesive. The switch from or (gold) to argent (silver), the move from a per fess (split in half horizontally) to a chief (smaller border at the top) and a move from wavy to embattled division looks a lot better in my opinion. I'll be submitting this later in the month once I get my paperwork colored and sent in. What do you think? Two weeks ago our household had a banner-making day to make some signage to identify ourselves when we go to war. We used canvas drop cloths from the hardware store painted with latex house paint diluted with water, and Duchess Clare's handy projector for tracing on the designs. Here are a few pics of the fun Facebook also reminded me today that it is my one-year anniversary of becoming my Laurel's apprentice. Both Mistress Antonia and myself are introverts with busy lives, but I have tried to be a good apprentice this year, and I've made lots of new garb, taught two classes at events, and set an agenda to make sure I keep up my art this year even while I finish up my master's degree. I have gained a sister student who returned to our barony after a long absence, and I'm sure I'll continue to learn and maybe even improve!
Finally, on March 5, last Saturday, my husband and I attended our kingdom's coronation celebration in the Barony of One Thousand Eyes I volunteered to serve on the new Queen Veronik's retinue when she asked for people in our area to step up, but I have a feeling it will be a very different experience than my first time around with Duchess Clare. I am beginning to see how deeply I dove in and how gleefully I took on a full-contact experience. I was really hungry for a deeper view of the SCA, and I surely got it with Clare. Damon and Veronik, who were on the thrones when I first started playing, seem to be fairly low-key, with good senses of humor and the knowledge of experience, as this is their third reign. In any case, I did not hear from Her Majesty or anyone on her retinue after her email asking if I would serve, didn't have any duties on Saturday, and wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't pick me out of a lineup, though we did meet once last summer. In any case, I'll be here to help at the events they attend in our Barony, and hopefully we will get to know each other a bit too. This commitment level is a better fit for my life right now, and the longer I play the more variety I see in how different people approach this game. It helps me remember how much of what we see in the SCA is just convention, habit, etc. I saw queens from my area, like Duchess Kortland and Duchess Clare, who had long courts, naming retinue, giving favors and tokens, and filling long stretches of time with pageantry. A king and queen who stepped up, were brought the regalia by members of their own household, put it on themselves, accepted oaths, and left it at that was something new to me. We'll see what the future holds. For now, here's a couple photos of the day. The first, by Mistress Jacquelinne of Cobalt Dragonfly is the oath-taking. I'm in my blue bliaut and white silk veil, my husband behind me in white shirt and green cap. The second is a selfie of my husband and I. We're both making odd faces, but I share it because the trim on his hat was woven by yours truly. I had just enough for the hat, with a bit left over for the cuffs of some future sleeves. My husband and I have a friend who joined the SCA about a year after we did, and whose interests are not as much in the direction of the arts and sciences. The two of us have been sending small care packages with a few little bits and bobs, mostly accessories, to help our friend with his garb. In the SCA, as in the mundane world, accessories really make the outfit. My contribution was a populace badge for his barony (can't for the life of me remember which one), embroidered on a bit of leftover aqua colored linen from a bliaut I made (click the garb tag to see photos). The thread is just cotton embroidery floss, but the stitches are all period. Stem stitch for the borders, satin stitch to fill in the three hammers, and Bayeux laid work for the background. This was my first time with Bayeux laid work, and it was a lot of fun. I want to give it another try with wool, and learn more about using it to create textures and contours. Not sure what I'll make yet, but it's rattling around in my brain. Of course, I signed the back, dated, and used a lazy daisy stitch (I have NO evidence that this is period) to stand in for the ramson flower on my device. Turned out pretty nice for a quick little belt favor, eh?
Phew! I have no clue how I'll manage to catch up with this blog, since I seem to have a new event or project to write about every time I sit down to try to talk about one of the ones that's already happened. Today I'll tackle the Fest of St. Pyre in Loch Salaan, which was April 24. I decided to go to this event last-minute when it turned out Her Majesty needed some attendants. It was a fun girls' trip, since she, another one of her ladies, Lady Britta, and I, all drove down together and stayed at our friend Lady Dria's house. We made the pilgrimage to Ikea in Salt Lake, which I'd never done before, and had a fun night getting to know Her Highness Esther, also staying with us. She is a very talented belly dancer, and as soon as we all sat down with a beer she was offering lessons to Lady Britta and I. I was abysmal, but Britta did very well. My car project on the way was attaching the blackwork cuffs a friend made for me to my Italian camicia. I did a trade with him for a pair of green knitted socks. The cuffs have garlic bulbs (which, in addition to being one of my favorite foods, hearkens back to the garlic flowers on my device) and knitting needles with green knitting on them. I got so many compliments on these. I just attached little ribbon ties to the cuffs, but will probably go back and do buttons. The cuffs are just thick enough that the wrists of my sleeves are too snug, so I'll have to work on that too. Also staying at Lady Dria's was Princess Esther, who gave us a mini belly dance lesson the evening before the event. She's a very talented dancer, and we had a great time. The drive to the site in Logan the next morning was so beautiful that I had to take a bunch of landscape pictures, but I'll just subject you to one. The event was a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed the carrot nose tourney and the barroom brawls put on by the heavy fighters. In the carrot nose tourney fighters attach a carrot to their helms and must try to break off the carrots of the other fighters. The barroom brawl included a tavern table made of a shield and swords, and various barroom implements such as a guitar, a turkey leg, a dead cat, bottles, tankards, etc. Those of us in the audience had beanbag tomatoes to throw at the fighters. Here are a few shots. In the afternoon we had some time to do a photo shoot of Her Majesty and her many ladies who were in attendance. As you can see, I've added additional trim and sewn some freshwater pearls on to my Italian gown. It was a lot of fun to wear, and I got a lot of compliments. The one thing I'll change next time will be to add more room under the arms. They are high enough that I can't comfortably tie my own shoes. There are a few shots of Lady Britta and I together in our matching Italian dresses. Her beading on the bodice was just amazing, and the smocking on her camicia was too. Below photos: Nicole Scofield There was also a lovely feast, an A&S competition, a bardic competition, and of course, court. Here's a shot of Her Majesty and Her Highness showing their unadulterated girl power. There was a lot of laughter and lightheartedness at this event, and it was a great time. The after party at Lady Dria's house was nothing short of absolutely wild. It was just a huge pack of SCA-dians, mostly women, dancing and imbibing until the wee hours of the morning. It was a great time, but oh boy was the drive home the next morning rough. Oy.
I can't believe I forgot to mention that my name and device were both passed as of December 14, 2014, a nine month turnaround from my original submission. Here's the text from our Kingdom Herald:
Ursula de Strattone. Name and device. Per fess wavy vert and Or, two ramson flowers affronty argent seeded Or and a brown bear passant proper. Blazoned on the Letter of Intent as sexfoils, these flowers are not sexfoils. We have reblazoned them as ramson flowers. I was particularly pleased that they re-blazoned my device, since my original intent was always that the flowers on my device were, indeed ramson (wild garlic) flowers. Before submitting I was told by folks on the SCA Heraldry Chat Facebook page that I should blazon them as sexfoils, as it may be hard to show that ramsons were known in period, or used on devices, but I did include some of that in my documentation, and I'm thrilled. In honor of this, and in exchange for some knitted socks, a friend is embroidering blackwork cuffs for my Italian camicia. The motif will include both garlic bulbs and knitting needles, and the socks are coming out beautifully. I have a few other projects I've been working on, a bit of embroidery for my own garb, etc. and lots of projects I'd like to do, but all my SCA crafting time lately has been consumed with helping with garb for Their Royal Highnesses' coronation next weekend. I will share pics after the event, at least of the work I've done, but hopefully some of the couple in all their finery. It really is coming out beautifully, and I don't mind wearing a dress I've worn before, especially since I am sprucing it up a bit, and since the event is 100% not about me. The theme of the event is 12th century Anglo-Norman, which happens to be my persona's time and place anyway, so I already have perfectly good garb to wear, and it's far more important for this event that TRH look perfect. I am hoping to make at least one new bliaut in the next few months though, and I'd love it to be something a bit fancier for court, likely in a synthetic taffeta or possibly China silk, since I love the idea of having something light and drapey, as bliauts often appear in art. The biggest event my husband and I (and half the kingdom, it seems) will attend in the next few months is the first coronation for the Kingdom of Avacal, the newest SCA kingdom and likely the last in North America, which is directly north of us. It should be a once-in-a-lifetime event, and the monarchs of every SCA kingdom will be in attendance. I am considering wearing my Italian dress to that court, which I will considerably fancy up between now and then, and hopefully I can make a black giornea to go over it, which will then give me some very nice black and gold (our kingdom colors) garb to wear. The thought that I may get to view that ceremony from behind the thrones is really exciting, and it's enough to tempt me into making the fifteen hour drive it will take to get there. I hope to get the Italian ensemble polished up and finished in time to share it as my entry to the Artisan's Display Tourney (formerly the Laurel's Prize Tourney) at Uprising War, our Kingdom's largest event. That means giornea, partelet, possibly a hair covering of some kind, and additional trim/embellishment on the gamura itself. I want to continue trying to participate in competitions even though it's intimidating for me, especially since I will be officially becoming an apprentice on Saturday at coronation, and HRH has said she will make an effort to attend the ceremony. I also plan to enter the A&S competition at the Crown Tourney event in April, so I should really get on that. ARGH. Don't even get me started on the whole grad school thing, which is what I actually SHOULD be thinking about. That said, it's going to be an awesome spring/summer. Here is the device I submitted in March, 2014 for approval. Lots of thanks to the SCA Heraldry Chat group and to my husband for help with the art (and a lot of the research and documentation, too). As you may have read on the Persona page, my persona is based in the Cornish town of Stratton, famed for its gardens and "good garlicke."
The wild garlic that grows in Europe and Asia is Allium ursinum, called Bear's Garlic, and supposedly dug up and eaten with great relish by the brown bears that originally lived across much of Eurasia (including the British Isles). I loved foraging for the stuff when we lived in Scotland, and I've long hand a fondness for brown bears, so this device was a no-brainer, along with my name, Ursula (Latin for "little bear."), and the stories of St. Ursula, who may have lived in that very part of Britain. I still haven't had word of an approval (or a denial, for that matter), but I'm sure it won't be too long. Fingers crossed! The argent sexfoils seeded or are the flowers of the wild garlic plant, but calling them "garlic flowers" would have been a bit problematic for the College of Heralds, at least according to the facebook group. Here's a picture of what they really look like (source: internetgardener.co.uk) |
UrsulaI like to: play with fleece, spin, knit, weave, sew, garden, cook, eat, bake bread, dance, read, sing, and learn new things. Archives
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