First banner for the year

I'm over half way to my personal goal of making and gifting 100 banners to friends for heraldic display at SCA events. It started a couple of years ago when I made banners for everyone in my household (plus several non-household  good friends) to display at Raglan Fair in Wales and it grew to the idea of the banner project, when people liked them so much.

I love heraldic display and these are good, solid camp banners that can stand up to wind and weather. They're partly machine stitched and partly hand sewn and are not strictly period, but they make a good display. I've got four left to make for household members whose devices are still in the process of registration (That's actually my one rule - register with the College of Heralds or no banner!), but hopefully they will be approved in time for this summer's Raglan. Until then, I have a list of 17 surprise banners  to work on. This one is for Thora to take to Double Wars in May. I'm planning to show it to her tomorrow on Skype and she's travelling today, so I think the surprise is safe. It may well be my favorite, because it's an awesome fishy and you would never mistake it for anyone else's device! (Azure, a cod's head couped Or)

First finished item of 2017

One of this year's goals is to improve my SCA clothing. I've spent a lot of time for the last several years making garb for other people and very little on my own. I never looked bad or inappropriate, but I have decided that I'd really like to focus on a better wardrobe for 14th Century Southern Bulgaria. I've got a new base dress cut out from a nice dark green linen and am currently embroidering a heavy ochre colored linen overdress with split sleeves. It's coming along well, albeit slowly. That said, I've has a wool cap with fox fur trim languishing  half finished for months. I sat down and just finished it yesterday. In the end, it looks right, but I just don't like the way it looks on me. It may be better with a veil, but I need to get a much lighter weight linen to make that. We'll see how it all works out in the end! In the meantime, here's the hat. Fox is very hairy, but at least it doesn't shed like rabbit fur!

Well, that was unexpected. (This was supposed to post in February - oops!)

So, the Coronet of Love, for the rulers of the Principality of Insulae Draconis  was a lovely event. That part was not at all unexpected. Northern Ireland was unsurprisingly charming. Adding two new members to our little household was also not a shock, as one is the little sister of a current member and the other is a fiancée of a Linden. And two lovely, charming ladies they are indeed!

The unexpected - a dark horse fighter won Coronet. And his inspiration was one of the new household members! So suddenly we are a support household for the Princess for the next nine months. Huzzah! But for me personally, the biggest surprise was being asked to become a protégé, to not one but two Pelicans. Oh my! I said yes, of course, and now am happily working with Mistress Ariel and Master Pol.