Actual sewing content!

I spent most of today on a silly, but fun, project. I decided that I wanted to make something heraldic for the Twelfth Night A&S competition - so what to do? Well, what could be more fun than a pair of dog coats with Emma's device on one and mine on the other? They are both cut out and half assembled. I've used wool that I had on hand from earlier projects and am hand appliqueing them using silk or wool thread, depending on color. I hope to finish them both tomorrow and put together some documentation based on one illumination and reference from the Devonshire Hunting Tapestries and the book The Hound and the Hawk. I'll post photos when they are done.

Life gets in the way...

of blogging! The first half of the month of October was spent in South Korea for my son's wedding and the second half was spent catching up back at work from all that I had missed in the previous two weeks. The wedding was amazing and worth every second of catch-up work. I now have an amazing daughter-in-law to go along with the excellent son-in-law that my daughter had already provided! Here are a few pictures to prove it really happened!

Mom and Logan        

Mom

                                     

The Altar

The Bride and Groom!

The wedding party at the end of the ceremony

Arr, matey!

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day, so I figured I needed a new pirate name! 

My pirate name is:

Captain Bess Kidd

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Fruits of the season

We're eating lots of peaches these days from our own trees! The two peach trees that were left after the clean out of deadwood got pruned lightly in the spring and have repaid the work many times over. The fruit isn't very soft, but is it ever sweet!

We've got apples coming on as well. This tree produced excellent fruit last year and we have every reason to believethis year will be the same when they ripen. This tree still needs more pruning, but it is producing well despite that.

The things you learn by looking in the trash!

There's a large pile of construction rubble in front of my house, waiting for removal by the contractor. Over the course of the summer, it has grown sunflowers, thistles, and most recently a thorn apple. Thorn apple is also known as datura and although it's beautiful, it is very poisonous. My volunteer plant is just past full bloom and full of fruit, so I am guessing we'll have more next year. For the medievalists, this particular plant was one of those used in the "flying potions" attributed to witches. You can find a very nice article about it here at the Medieval Garden Enclosed.

                                                  

My house is pink!

All the exterior work is nearly at an end and the house is fully insulated and painted. Here are some shots with and without scaffolding. Please excuse the fact that what will be the front lawn someday looks like the Somme, They just knocked down the old wall with heavy machinery and are digging the footer for the new wall.

 

Too long

I owe posts!! Things have been busy, which is better than dull, I suppose! Here's a quick one with some photos of Guy's hood for Raglan. I coulnd't get to Raglan this year, due to work committments, but the rest of the family went. It was the rainiest one on record and everyone was glad for warm and dry clothing. This one is hand-stitched, wool, lined with a cotton/linen blend and inter-lined with cotton duck for durability and warmth. Handmade thread-over-wood buttons close the front. They were a first attempt as practice for a later doublet.

Birthday books

A few weeks ago, I celebrated my birthday. Friends and family know books are just the thing as gifts and I am now the pleased owner of:

The English Housewife by Gervase Markham
The Good Housewife's Jewel
All the King's Cooks: the Tudor Kitchens of King Henry the VIII at Hampton Court Palace
A Sip Through Time

Can you tell that I like period cooking and brewing almost as much as sewing and embroidery?

Finishing WIPs

Since I last posted, things have been very frantic at work and my energy for writing has been very limited. My immediate supervisor was killed in a traffic accident and I and two other staff members have been trying to pick up the pieces of jobs that are partially finished. Add that to the fact the we changed university presidents this morning and it's a bit shambolic. I feel pleased to have actually finished a work-in-progress and posted it to its intended recipient this morning. This is for Lady Constanza,and the acorns are symbolize her membership in the Order of Ffraid. It is 100% wool, lined with a cotton-linen blend. The embroidery is a silk-bamboo mix from the Handweaver's Studio in London, using split stitch, stem stitch, and candlewicking knots. The long seams are machine-stitched, but all others as well as the seam finishes are all done by hand. Hopefully it will arrive by post in time for her to wear it at Ffair Rhaglen. Another box is also in the post for her husband, Lord Guy, but more about that later!

More May travels

We spent day two in Plovdiv mainly in the old quarter, visiting many museums. It was lovely.

It was also good to see the Roman amphitheater again and to see it is in better condition than during my last visit.

The road from Plovdiv to Veliko Turnovo goes through the Shipka Pass. It's the site of a crucial battle between the Russian army and the Ottoman occupiers with assistance from Bulgarian freedom fighters.

This monument doesn't  look all that big, but it's seven stories high and there are 1000 steps just to get to the entrance. Whew! You can see the snow clouds rolling in on the view from the top. The weather was dreadful that day.

Next we went on to Etara, an open air museum. It's built to look like an 18th century village from the Gabrovo region and has examples of virtually every industry from that time period that could be water-driven, including this fulling mill.

I spent a lot of time with the blacksmith and ordered a lot of ironwork for my house. He was very pleased to make sets of hinges for my gates, fancy door latches and locks, 100 decorative door studs, a door knocker, and a set of fireplace implements.

There were several weavers. This one worked on an upright loom to make panniers for donkeys from goat hair. The bags were very durable, but very scratchy.

Theere were also rug weavers, icon painters, a silversmith, a cutler, a woodworker (who made some amazing bowls), a potter, musical instrument makers, a furrier, a leathermaker, a coppersmith, and a wood carver.

More to come...

Summer in the village

It's very interesting to watch the cycle of the seasons in a small village. The neighbors have made two hay cuttings on the various hayfields in front of my house during the last two weeks and the technology used (or lack thereof) ranges from a communist-era tractor and standard baler to a horse-drawn cutter and a load of people forking the loose hay onto donkey carts to haul back to make into haystacks near their homes.

When I drive to work each morning, I pass groups of people of varied ages heading out to the fields to hoe and weed and water everything from cabbage to tomatoes to tobacco. Living in town, it was easy to forget that many people here still depend on subsistance agriculture to get by, but now I see the evidence on a daily basis. It's humbling, frankly.

The plums have been harvested and it looks to be a good year for apples and grapes. The wheat looks ready to harvest and the sunflowers aren't far behind. It's nearly time for the pepper and tomato harvest and soon the whole village will be scented with roasting peppers and simmerng lutenitza. It will be mouth-watering!

We're also enjoying watching the storklings learn to fly. Our pair had three young ones again this year and now that they are as big as their parents, that huge nest is pretty crowded! The adult male spends a lot of time on the chimney on the next house, just watching the kids flap around. I can't say I blame him!

In just a few weeks it will be time for the the Sabor, or village fair. That's the signal that back to school is just around the corner. Can't say I'm ready for that!

Looking back to May

The Monday after graduation, I travelled across Bulgaria with some friends and family to see Plovdiv, Etara, Bachkovo Monastery, and Veliko Turnovo. Leaving Blagoevgrad, we headed up through the mountain pass at Borovets. Lots of fog slowed our driving and there was still snow on the ground in some places. We had lunch at a charming little ski shack, "The Happy Duck." Please note the (rude)skiing duck on the chimneypiece!

On the way, we stopped at the Assenova Krepost, or Assen's Fortress.



It's far up in the mountains and the fog swirling around was quite creepy. We kept waiting for someone to challenge us for being there!

Plovdiv was lovely and we saw lots of interesting sights and shopped quite a lot. We even settled on a paint color for our house, based on this one:

We saw the remains of the Roman Odeon on our first day there and it has been beautifully excavated.

More about the trip tomorrow!

What's up with this site?

I'm not quite sure what the problem is with Blogger, but for the last week, no matter what computer I use, the program opens with an error on the page and I can't post. At this point in time I can write, but I can't add a post title. Very weird! ETA - after posting this, I tried to edit the post and could add a title.

Pavillion ideas

One of my goals for the A&S 50 is to make or buy an appropriate pavillion for my persona. Now that I've finally settled on 14th century Bulgaria, it was easier to find an illumination of one from that time and place that I like and which complements my heraldry. In the Froissart Chronicles, there is an illustration of the execution of the Christian prisoners after the Battle of Nikopolis in Bulgaria. Despite the gruesome nature of the illumination, the red pavillion in it suits me perfectly, so I'll be looking for lots of red canvas! (And yes, I realize that it's almost certainly an Ottoman tent. I still like it and it's from the right time and place!)

Sun-browned and happy

I'm back home from this year's Winchester Pilgrimage and once again, it was awesome. Photos tomorrow! We couldn't have had better weather - sunny and warm every day!




A corner of the encampment at the Hospital of Saint Cross.





Here's the family on the walk.



The fiber twins - Spin and Knit!







Constanza and I vowed to do better on the Pilgrim's Knowledge competition this year and we tied with HE Susannah of York for second place. We won a beautiful candle lantern made by Lord Matthew Baker to light us along the Pilgrim's Way. Not too bad! We offered to help with next year's competition and are going to add information about Orthodox saints too. :)



Many of our friends were there and I am so glad that Lady Sofia di Marcello was able to come with us. I think she really enjoyed meeting everyone and going on pilgrimage.





Pretty Winchester buildings.



The Cathedral.







During Court, HE Genevieve la Flechiere was put on vigil for the Order of the Pelican. She will give her answer at Raglan Fair in August. I really wish I could be there, but my work schedule prevents.

On a different note, there have been more than 400 aftershocks since last week's 6.0 - in fact, there was just another little one. It's getting old, frankly.

What's shakin'?

That would be us! I'll do a real update later today, but for now - wow! That was a noisy 5.8 earthquake! First tremor felt here at 03:06, first aftershock at 03:10. Novinite says the entire population of Sofia is out on the street. That would be something to see. Here's an update - they're now saying 5.9, maybe 6.0.

Gifts

One of our graduating SCAdians stopped by my office today to say goodbye and to tell me about his plans for the future. He'll be working in Tirana, but plans to come back to campus for at least one College (SCA) event each semester for the next year. Then he hopes to go on for a Phd at Oxford. I guess at that point we'll have to hand him on to the Insulae Draconis lot, but until then , he's one of us. It was good to know how much he values the Society and our company. It was the real gift of the day.

A Dyer's Garden

Now that I own my home and garden, I can finally have a dyer's garden again. I used to have a really good herb garden in upstate New York, before we moved to Europe. Since them, it's been all rental flats or houses,with no garden space. Well, not any more!!! So far, I've started weld, indigo, coreopsis, false saffron, black-eyed Susan, hollyhock, Lady's Mantle, pot marigold, sunflower, and tansy for dye usage. I've also started my culinary herbs and veggies and am really looking forward to building this garden from scratch.

Camera woes

I am SO tired of being unable to post photo updates here. Argh! You see, when I moved last fall, friends helped me pack. I say "helped" loosely, because all too many boxes were mis- or un-labeled. The packing was fine, but finding what you needed later, well, not so much. Because we've been unpacking as rooms are finished, is has been even harder to find things; especially small things, well-hidden! I gave up this morning and ordered a new camera charger. I have the camera, the computer cables, the case, but no charger. >sigh< So in a few days, I should be back in the photo business, just in time for some shots of some almost finished items!

Waiting for the weekend!

Just four more hours and it will be the start of a four-day weekend for May Day! I hope to finally do all my spring cleaning and finish the planting outside. And maybe even get in a little more sewing and/or embroidery! I only have 26 days until I fly to the UK for the Winchester Pilgrimage, so I need to get moving on my projects.

More gardening fun!

Yesterday afternoon three friends came by with a rototiller and strong backs and tilled 3/4 of the garden (It's pretty big) They also planted our new лозе, or vinyard. They were pickier in their doings than a first-time mom with a new baby! But they said the grapes we picked were good varieties, both the ones for wine and the table grapes. The old grapes that are already here are in bloom, so we'll have at least a few for this year.

Almost Easter

I'm on a four day break for the (Eastern) Easter holidays, and unlike good Orthodox girls, I spent yesterday working in the garden. I planted more roses and forsythia, and separated more narcissus and hyacinths. (I got the ones that were completely under the boxwood out into freedom!) Mom was a real help in re-planting. Unfortunately, there are still eight grapevines and a lot of trees to get in.

Today has been spent on laundry and unpacking more boxes, because we've been having thunderstorms. If it's all unpacked by our one year anniversary here it will be a miracle!

Tomorrow will be our traditional Easter dinner of ham and scalloped potatoes, relaxing, and sewing. Who knows what Monday will bring!

Weekend progress

I'm down to the fun stuff on Guy's fencing hood. I'm embroidering some roundels with the fountain and bee from his device to add some color. The fountain is nearly done and I have a pattern devised for the bee, so it should go quickly. I'm using DMC floss on linen and will back each piece with buckram for a little added weight before appliqueing it to the hood. It should be washable, because who wants a smelly fencing hood? I'm working the fountain in split stitch and I'll do most of the bee in cross stitch

I also cut out all the bits for heraldic banners for Emma, Logan, and Guy yesterday. I'll be doing machine applique on those, since they are made for outdoor usage. Logan's gets some fabric paint too, since I'm not crazy enough to cut out or embroider all the little bits for a pean background!

Gifts from good friends

As you know, I'll be going to the Winchester Pilgrimage next month. (Not an April Fool, either!) I have a friend who lives and works in Winchester who just sent me a book from the British Museum that she thought I would enjoy, plus two linen napkins. She's not an SCA member, but she knows what her friends like and does things like that just because she is that kind of person. You can't ask for a kinder or more thoughtul person, really! Many thanks, Natalia! And the book? Finer Than Gold: Saints and Relics in the Middle Ages. Just my cup of tea!!

Pre-Winchester Planning

In May, i'll be going to Insulae Draconis for the Winchester Pilgrimage. There are going to be at least five in our lot, which makes me very happy. It will be Lady Sofia's first event outside the College and I think she will really enjoy it. On the family front, Lady Constanza, Lord Guy, and Lady Catherine are definitely coming. Huzzah! Now we need to convince Logan's good lady that she would enjoy it too, so that they will come on pilgrimage with us. Between now and then, I have two projects to finish - a wool kirtle for Constanza and Guy's fencing hood. It's absolutely manageable, because both projects are over half complete, which is a switch from my usual pre-event rush. Just because I started both of them last summer doesn't mean anything about my time management ... or lack thereof!

Post-equinox celebration

Here in Bulgaria, we wear martenitzi to keep us strong and healthy in the upcoming year. They are red and white cords that are traditionally tied around your wrist on March 1 by family and friends. I have taken mine off today, because I fulfilled the ritual by seeing the first returning stork of the season. I've actually seen three so far today, without ever leaving the house. Several of the neighbors have nests on their chimneys and the birds are returning to their summer nesting grounds. They are amazing to see!

Trees and shrubs and flowers, oh my!

I wa inspired by the lovely weather to stop after work yesterday and look at what the garden center had to offer. I came home with a 5 foot tall weeping pussy willow, a lilac, some hazelnuts, forsythias, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and a climbing pink rose for the arbor. More work, but how pretty it will be in the future! Now I have to decide where to put a small pond and fountain! And I think I will go to the Wednesday open market and see what the local producers have on offer to add to my garden. Could be fun!

Spring, at last!

It's been a terrible winter here, with lots of snow and ice and bitter cold down to -30 C. We're finally getting a taste of spring and this weekend has been glorious. My snowdrops are in full bloom and the daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths are in bud. Becausse this is my first spring in this house, I had no idea what would come up in the garden. What I have is around 25 years worth of un-separated bulbs. It won't help them bloom this year, but I've started to separate and replant them after tilling the beds. I finished up my first two clumps of daffodils and stopped counting replants when I hit 100! Wow! Next spring should be amazing.

Mom and I have agreed that the view from the walled garden is amazing. We sat drinking our breakfast coffee in jeans and t-shirts today and the Rila mountains were our snow-capped backdrop. It looks like something out of the Sound of Music, really!

I'm off now to relax a little and work on the fencing hood I promised to Lord Guy many months ago. Luckily for me, he has now registered his arms and it gives me ideas for embroidery. I have just three major WIPS right now - the hood, Laady Constanza's Ffraid gown, and one of a pair of kingdom kneelers. if I keep at it, I think I can finish them all before Winchester Pilgrimage in May and perhaps even get some embellishments done on some of my own dresses. We'll see!

ILL is my friend!

I've been contemplating some book purchases for research and I was really interested in a new (first ever English language!) translation of John Skylitzes Byzantine History. It's available on Amazon.co.uk, but only in hardcover at 75 British Pounds! So I asked our university library to borrow a copy for me on inter-library loan and it arrived today. I'm on the second section about Leo the Armenian (already!) and it is excellent. Even better, I just re-checked the price on Amazon and it comes out in paperback in three days at 1/3 the price! It's a win all around!

January Revel update

We had our first revel of the year last Saturday and it was quite fun. Our group is pretty fired up since our name was passed by Laurel in December - so we are now officially the College of Saint John Of Rila (incipient). We're waiting for word on our device, which we also hope will go through smoothly. Anyway, the news was inspiration for a lot of personal heraldry, which we worked on at the revel. Robert, Sorcha, Guido, Sofia, Theodora, and Gunther all have good designs made and are in the "living with it for a month" phase before submitting.

"Live with it for a month" was the best advice I ever received when working on my own heraldic device and I hope it will be useful to my friends. My own first version was far too detailed and would have been a nightmare to paint or embroider. What I chose in the end was a clean, clear design that is easy to use in almost any form and one that I really like, even a few years later (Argent, five linden leaves vert in saltire within a bordure gules).

We followed up the heraldry research with a feast, which was very tasty, if non-period. We had determined earlier that this would be an ethnic potluck, rather than a medieval one, so we had Pad Thai, Enchiladas, stuffed eggs, cherry cheesecake, cream horns, and black bun. Yum!

New Year's gift

I just received a gift of Churchkhela from a Georgian student. I've never seen it before and now I want to know two things: how can I make it at home and is it SCA period??

Actual sewing content!

After a long hiatus, I actually did some embroidery this weekend. A long while back, I made Lord Guy an embroidered Tablero board, with the proviso that if he got his arms registered, I would add them to the board. Well, he did, so I started adding them (Per fess embattled Or and gules, three fountains and a legless bee proper) on Saturday. I think I may do the actual board as his arms, rather than simply putting them in the margins. We'll see!

Christmas gifts

I have received two new books that should certainly make my clothing design step up a notch for upcoming spring and summer SCA events.

First is The Queen's Servants: Gentlewomen's Dress at the Accession of Henry VIII. It makes me want to try all sorts of clothing that doesn't really suit my persona at all, but would be fun to make and wear.

The second is Moda a Firenze 1540-1580: Cosimo I de' Medici's Style. I think I may have to make some things for both Guy and Logan from this one.

We'll have to see how it all goes. I'm hoping to get to both the Winchester Pilgrimage and Rhaglan Ffaire, and maybe to Double Wars as well, so it would be nice to have a new court outfit. I have my camp/work clothes well in hand! It would also be nice to get Lord Guy a little better dressed, especially for fencing!

I'm still here!

It's been ages (well, three months) since I posted, so I need to get things a bit updated. Here's a brief list of what's gotten done since mid-October...

- The second floor of the house is done, furnished, and inhabited. It's three big bedrooms and a full bath. One of the bedrooms is also going to serve as my sewing rooms when I don't have guests. Yay!

- All of our stuff is here, under one roof, including the things that had stayed in storage near the old house. I'm not saying it's unpacked, mind you!

- We have a working kitchen, even if it is ugly. And we have the BEST refrigerator ever.

- The College of Saint John of Rila has an approved name and the device is pending.

- We had our first official College event, the Feast of Saint Nicholas (or Nikulden), in December and their Majesties attended!! Huzzah! Sofia and Sorcha both received Awards of Arms and we couldn't be happier. We actually had four other non-College attendees and that was just amazing as well, given that they all had to travel from Germany to get here. This is just the best kingdom!

- We survived the big storm on Friday, even if all of the brand new roof tiles didn't.

Well, that's it for today. I'm getting back into sewing and embroidery as I unpack boxes, so there will be more posts to come. Whew!