Fabric Surplus and the Annoying Dress

People know that I sew. Every so often, when they don't know what to do with their fabric, they send it to me. Usually it's appreciated but sometimes it's too much of a good thing.

I was sewing a lot, desperately trying to stay ahead of the threatening avalanche of cloth.  A lot of it was my own thrift-store purchases, for which I had enough storage space (sort of) until I had to give up one of my basement rooms. I sorted and re-folded and even sent some less-desirable fabric (what was I thinking of when I picked up that stuff?) back to a thrift store, and I thought I was making some progress.

The shelf is bending under the weight of neatly-folded wool. We'll need some extra brackets before I can hang more clothes on that dowel

Then my loving daughters showed up with more cloth! Around Remembrance Day Jodi showed up here with a large duffle bag full of fabric she picked up at the Good Neighbor store -- just for me. Well, not all for me -- Damon picked out some choice red and black pieces and said "Hey Mom, can you make me some new fighter garb from this?" A day or two later Raven showed up with four boxes and a few bags of surplus material and no-longer-needed garb. Yikes! How am I going to process all that stuff?

There's the table full of the goodies my darling daughters gave to me!

I already had plenty of projects on the go. One was a dress made from a fine 100% wool twill which Victory had given me some years before. I liked everything about the material except the colour, a sort-of-blah-pinkish-grey. It had been washed a couple of times before I cut out the pattern pieces. There was barely enough fabric for the dress I wanted to make.

Then I had a terrible thought: what if it shrinks a bit more? I serged all the edges of all the cut-out pieces and washed them once more. Sure enough: a bit more shrinkage. I assembled the dress with the narrowest seam allowance possible, just a hair wider than the serging, and had to re-do many of the seams because a bit of the serging showed on the good side. When I tried on the dress it was too small, of course. Extra under-arm gussets fixed that problem somewhat. Front lacing provided a bit more breathing room but oh, making all those eyelets was a pain!

I tried on the dress while at Coronet and with Jodi's input decided that maybe it would be OK but all the seams would have to be stitched down because the narrow seam allowances wouldn't lie flat. Maybe the nondescript color would look better when worn with strongly contrasting colors….

Trying on the unfinished dress in the washroom: it fits, but not with that underdress!

And a washroom selfie taken at the same time, just because

And then I was put on vigil. Suddenly I needed new clothes for my elevation, only three weeks away!

I did the math: one week for felling all the seams, one week for a navy underdress with a row of buttons on each sleeve, and two or three days for an unlined hood with buttons. Machine stitching on the inside of the garments but only hand stitching on the outside…. yes, it could be done.

The entire outfit was finished a couple of days ahead of schedule. The annoying overdress fit better than expected after it was ironed. Many people commented favourably on my clothes and, after looking at all the pictures, I feel quite pleased with how they turned out!

A close-up of all the buttons, taken during the elevation ceremony

Coronet Excitement!

Life takes some unexpected twists and turns.

I went to November Coronet Tournament a few weeks ago. The event was hosted by Myrgan Wood (Saskatoon). Dirk chose to stay home with the dogs so I drove there with Slava and shared a hotel room with her and Kataryna and Rosaline. I brought along some garb to sell, and some largesse for a competition, and a (finally finished!!) dress for Eyoddi, and new fighting clothes for Gunther.

Eyoddi's dress, with Laura's embroidery on the sleeve

Gunther is pleased with his new fighting garb

Back view -- obviously made for a winner!

Garb sales were disappointing and the feast was…. forgettable, but the rest of the event was definitely exciting!

The King and Queen were in attendance because one of the heavy fighters would be knighted. (This was no surprise as he had been put on vigil.)

Right from the start, Gunther said he was planning to win the tournament. He did not fight for Eyoddi this time (she's rather busy with her own boys and the day home) but chose a friend named Amethyst to be his inspiration -- with Eyoddi's approval, of course). Amethyst was given her AoA (award of arms) on the spot because Royalty deemed it inappropriate that a potential princess might not be a "Lady".

Well, Gunther fought with determination and won the tournament. His opponent in the finals was knighted on the spot. Another knight was unexpectedly inducted into the Order of the Pelican. Apparently Their Majesties enjoy making Peers!

Victory lap!

Court was long. Many awards were given out. I was one of the people called up to be recognized for contributions of largesse. That was fun; the Queen spoke very kindly to us.

Then I made my way to the back of the hall where the light was better so I could do some last-minute hemming on Eyoddi's dress. I was vaguely aware that the members of the Order of the Pelican ("the Pels" for short) were called up. And then I heard my name called out by the herald. The next few minutes were a bit of a daze…. and then I was put on vigil to be elevated as a Pel at Yule Feast.

Me? On vigil? As a Pelican?

There I am in front of King Styrkarr and Queen Stjarna, with Tanist (prince-to-be) Gunther and Tanista Amethyst looking on

Court continued. I did not give as much attention to Erik's knighting as I had planned to.

Reality hit me when I stepped outside to load all my stuff into the van. Not only was it cold -- there must have been six inches of snow on top of everything! The ride back to the hotel was slow and tense because it was difficult to see where the road was.

That's what the van looked like when I parked it at the hotel. Brrr...

Once we were back in the hotel my roommates helped me celebrate with a glass (or two) of wine. Funny how I always seem to take some wine along on these trips. I called Dirk to tell him my news but he had already been told about it that afternoon. I found out later that Jodi had known about it for over a month!

"Here's to the Bird!" Rosaline and Slava were already out of garb; I only got as far as removing hood and belt

Three weeks to consider what this means and prepare for my elevation….

Thinking about Sergeantry….

I really enjoy hanging out with the members of the Borealis Culinary Guild. We work together, eat together, drink together, travel together…. and we talk a lot. When the conversation topic isn't food it's usually SCA life:  events, politics, future plans, etc.

It recently occurred to me that the reason my culinary friends are so well-informed and so passionate about the SCA is that they're all either members of the Order of the Pelican or members of the Sergeantry, or both. All except me (and some of the more recent additions to the group).

I've been playing this game for about 15 years and I believe I work as hard as the other members of the group. Now I have several options: I can keep on doing what I have been doing and just not care about the labels. I can complain that my service is not appreciated and cut back on my activities. I can work extra hard and hope that someone notices. 

The strange thing about the Order of the Pelican is that doing extra work in the hope of being noticed is a sure way of not being noticed. The theory is that service should be done freely, without showing off, without any hope of reward. How the Order chooses people who are worthy to join them is a mystery….I believe there's a lot of politics involved. The bottom line is that one should not aspire to become a Pelican.

But Sergeantry -- that's different. It's something one can work for. The requirements are clearly laid out. I may not be able to do any fighting but I can work toward being a Courtier. It would not be difficult for me to swear fealty to our lovely Baroness Divera. Some of the Sergeantry requirements (e.g. persona development, A&S projects) will be very easy for me. Others will require a bit of work. That's OK -- I enjoy a good challenge. 

I've made the first few steps toward becoming a Courtier. The testing won't be until next summer -- a long way off. Sure, I'll be much older than the other Sergeantry candidates, and that may be a disadvantage in some areas but it can be made to work in my favour in other areas. I'm willing to give it a try!

What Happened????

Short answer: Lots!
I just didn't get around to blogging about it because I was too busy doing. 

Long answer: I forget…. I forget to blog. I forget how to blog. I forget the things I was planning to blog about. I forget where I saved the pictures to go with the stories. 

And now I've reached the stage where "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well/ It were done quickly." At least I've remembered a few things…. must push ahead before I forget again!

So here are just a couple of pictures from Quad War -- one of the many events, activities and projects I plan to blog about soon.

The Newcomers' Breakfast, just behind our cabin

A not-so-period but totally cool way to spend a hot afternoon

That's Raven, with the  "new K&J" cabin in the background

And that's me, with the St. Birgitta's cap, the knitted purse and the now-sleeveless surcote, and the "wee cottage" in the background

Logan concentrates on making a glass bead -- with Coryn's Garb Shop in the background

Jillian, Logan and Silas in front of Raven's "Cloaking Devices"/ James' "Coffee Shop"

A few of the many people enjoying the hospitality next door

Time Away

It's good to get away occasionally.

I recall a conversation I had with my children about 20 years ago. They were very involved with the SCA; I wasn't -- yet. They were talking about making a Viking tent. It sounded like an expensive, time-consuming, trial-and-error venture.
Me: What's the point of making a tent like that? It may be good for going to some SCA events but what about when you want to do some real camping, like in Jasper? Get a practical modern tent!
Them: Lots of people in the SCA have period tents. They never go camping in Jasper.
Me: Oh come on, are you telling me these friends of yours never go for a family holiday to the mountains or the beach?
Them (with eyes rolling): Moh-thur! SCA camping is their idea of a family holiday!
Me (shrugging shoulders): I don't get it….

Now I've been playing The Game for almost fifteen years, and I get it! It feels like the only time we get away it's to another SCA event. Always fun (and often a lot of work) but after so many years I need to remind myself that it is possible to have a different kind of vacation.

And so we went to visit friends in University Place (south of Seattle) for Easter. It's about a 14-hour drive (not counting stops) under ideal conditions, but usually the border crossing and the traffic congestion on the I-5 add at least another hour. Two days driving out there, three full days of visiting, and two days driving back -- it was hectic, but oh so worthwhile!

Around Hope we began to see real signs of spring -- lush green grass, budding branches, small wildflowers -- and as we drove farther we marvelled at the abundant greenery and the colourful flowers. Time spent with friends was delightful. Clamming was a new experience for me, very enjoyable in spite of the rain. Along the road we saw elk, mountain sheep, black-tailed deer and even a cougar and a bear. We came back spiritually refreshed (and physically tired due to the long hours of driving and a nasty cold bug) with enough happy memories to keep us going until spring arrives here too!

During this vacation my only link to SCA activities was my bag full of sewing stuff. Dirk did all the driving so I had time to work on some projects: eyelets and buttonholes on an underdress for me, and hats for selling and giving away.

We went from this….

To this!

We enjoyed the flowers

And we went walking in the rain

I taught the kids to play MineCraft

We caught razor clams

And then we has to clean them…. all…. 

We went to church on Easter morning (yes, those are identical triplets)

And we lounged in the front yard, in the sunshine

Happy hats, traveling through the mountains. Now they need lining and fur.

Browsing Through the "Maastricht Hours"

I had planned to do lots of sewing this week.

Then a friend asked me about images of coifs, and in my search I came across a link to an early I fourteenth-century book of hours (British Library Stowe MS 17). One quick peek….. and now I can't leave it alone. There are so many delightful images, such lovely clothing details, so many questions begging for more research.

I'm especially interested in the outerwear portrayed in this manuscript. I can see myself trying to copy some of these styles. But first I have to work my way through that backlog of sewing….

It's a vicious circle -- but it's my problem and I love it!

F98r  Good image of braies, and nice detail of fur cloak lining (note the tails)

F64v  Love the way this lady hikes up her skirt and shows off her boots

F98v  I've made a surcote similar to this one: arms stay warm when you pull them inside

F97r  He may not know much about riding but he wears a fine circular lined cape

F100v  A rough game -- the fellow in red is bleeding and tore his tunic in several places

F106r   I want to make a surcote like the one this lady is wearing

F109r  Some more surcotes, this time worn by monkeys -- or demons?

104v  One of many images of musicians and dancers

F59r  Such a cute couple, and a nice back view of the short semi-detached sleeves

Seeing Red

After my brisk sales at Winter War I have to "replace my stock". I have a bit of time before the next time I merchant at an event, but then the events are spaced very close together: three in June, one at the end of July and possibly one at the beginning of September. I have to do a lot of sewing!

Did I mention I have quite a pile of fabric to process? It'll be good to clean out some of those shelves and drawers and boxes and totes…. and the piles on the floor, on the cart and on the cutting table. Some days I go into a cutting frenzy. Other days I sit at the serger (trying hard to hold back bad pun about "serging ahead"). And then there are days when I do a lot of trimming and hemming.

I'm trying to average at least one finished garment per day. If I can keep that up I should have plenty of stock for June.

What I sew depends on the fabric I find in my stash and on the colour of thread on my serger. For the past week it's been RED. Red dresses, red tunics, red surcotes. Anything in the red range, from hot pink to rust to old rose. Still there's more thread on those cones, and rather than rethreading the machine with different-colorer thread I keep digging for more reddish fabric…. now excavating down to the red-purple layer. Only another day or two and then I can switch over to black, or grey, or tan.

Here are some finished items. There are more red clothes -- unfinished -- in the other room across the hall