A Period Tent

Well, I've finally done it! After much pondering (and changing my mind several times) I've ordered a "period" tent. Not authentic for my time period but my 14th-century merchant persona wouldn't have camped anyway. This is creative anachronism!

I was tempted to get something pretty like a Regent's pavilion with an eye-catching scalloped trim and a big fly. It would look so impressive with all the right accessories! It would have cost a bit but I could pay for it with the profits from garb sales.

Reality check: 1. How many years before I'm "too old" for tenting? 2. Can I set up a big tent all by myself? 3. How much space do I have for hauling and storing a tent (and all the pretty accessories)? 4. How will I dry it if it comes back wet from an event?

I settled for a small tent, a "mini" wall tent. Big enough for two cots, a table and some gear. Tall enough for me to stand upright in the centre. Small enough so I can drag it around and set it up by myself. Versatile enough so I can paint it, add a fly, attach various embellishments, combine it with other tents, etc. Cheap enough so I won't feel bad about disposing of it when I've had enough of camping.

Of course, now that the tent has been ordered I will hear from my friends that it's a flawed design, that I paid too much, that I should have chosen the medieval color option, etc.  Too late! Already I've wasted a couple of years mulling over the pros and cons of various tent designs and suppliers. The decision is made and now I can go on to planning the contents of the tent: carpet, blankets, cushions, lanterns, tote boxes.... I may have to go thrift store shopping again!

Playing With the Oven

We just came back from a wonderful weekend at the cabin. There was no one else on Merchants' Row so it was very peaceful and we got quite a bit of work done. And we relaxed: wandering around the site, reading a book, sitting back in the shade with a cool drink, planning future improvements, gazing at the night sky....

Looking east from the hill above "The Lost Vikings Estates".  I love these rolling hills!

Pepper roamed freely along the deserted Merchants' Row

Dirk spent a lot of time climbing up the ladder!


I spent a lot of my time stoking the fire in the newly-built oven beside our cabin. Kataryna built the oven (all by herself?) just before Quad War but  didn't get a chance to fire it up. Why right next to my cabin? Because it's so central and because I said I would help look after it.

I kept the fire going for about 48 hours. The ashes were just barely smoldering in the mornings but came to life again with a bit of coaxing. The two sticks are for pushing burning logs around.

Side and back view of the oven. The clay had a few cracks through which smoke escaped, but most of the structure held up well during this firing. More layers of clay will have to be added next year.

Time to see if this oven can actually be used for baking. I used the "arm test" to estimate temperature. Barely two seconds -- thats a hot oven! Should be good for biscuits....

Lacking the usual biscuit ingredients I did the best I could with commercial pancake mix. It took about 10 minutes to bake them. The back ones were definitely darker than the front ones. Turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking would result in more even browning, I suppose....

I broke open one biscuit to check for doneness, and I turned two over to check the bottom. Yes, some were dark brown underneath but still quite edible. The flavor was about what you would expect from something that was supposed to be a pancake....   Looking forward to more experiments with this oven next year!

Progress...

It's late (or early, depending on how you reckon time).
There has been some progress in the sewing room.
Five bags of fabric scraps off to the garbage. Really, how much "Well, it could be used as contrast color on a kid's tunic" do I need?
A big box of printed cotton scraps (No, I'm unlikely to take up quilting) and a bag of stretch velour pieces (I used to make garb out of that?) are ready to go to Goodwill.
A small pile of cotton fabric is waiting to be (re)washed before being made into neck coolers for next summer.

And I used some scraps of fabric to make a boy's tunic and a girl's overdress. More stock for my shop, unless the grandchildren claim them first.

Back to Work.... But Where to Start?

Quad War has come and gone. The left-over stock and all the teaching materials are back in my basement again (still in various boxes, waiting to be sorted).

The week of minding the grandchildren full-time has come and gone. I took a pile of fabric with me and succeeded in cutting out a lot patterns late in the evenings when the kids finally settled down. Now that's all ready to be sewed....

But wait -- my sewing room and my cutting room (spare bedroom/playroom for grandkids) were not cleaned up after that pre-Quad sewing marathon! There's fabric everywhere! And partially-finished projects! There's no room to work in that disaster area __ and the only way to make more room is to process some of that fabric.....

I need a Plan.
Hmmmm.... any one or some combination of the following options:
1. Play some more computer games while deciding where to start.
2. Blog about it. (Much more productive than computer games, right?) There's always the possibility that after sufficient self-ridicule I'll be motivated to deal with the sewing mess.
3. Make room by throwing out the never-to-be-finished projects. Could I actually do that?
4. Make room by sewing all the ready-to-sew and nearly-finished stuff. All those leaning stacks will keep me busy for a few weeks....
5. Sort through the boxes. Who knows what forgotten treasures may hide at the bottom....
6. Re-fold and re-stack the uncut fabric pieces. Maybe I'll remember what plans I had for them when I bought them....
7. Go sit outside, listen to the birds and the fountain, and work on a hand-sewing project while the weather is nice, and save the basement for a rainy day.

8. Go work on wine instead. There are several carboys to be racked and several new batches to be stirred up. Wouldn't want to run low on wine....
9. Go for a walk. It would help to clear my mind and add steps to my pedometer.
10. Chocolate?

That's the sewing room, west wall. Not much room to work on that table

And that's the south wall....

The east wall isn't much better but at least there are some finished items. Don't know what I was thinking, putting that trim on that tunic....

The corner behind the door, on the north wall. I know some people would be thrilled to have an 8'x11' sewing room but really it's not very big. That's why I have a cutting room across the hall.

I can't really use that table for cutting. It's covered and surrounded by boxes and bags that came back from Quad and from my stay with the grandkids.

A bit discouraging, but it's not all bad. Occasionally I finish an item which had been relegated to some dark closet. Like the red cloak. It was buried for seven or eight years while I contemplated how to deal with lining gone wrong.  (It's a full-circle cloak and it took up a lot of space.)  Finally I realized I just had to replace the lining. I finished it just before Quad.

Warm and woolly -- much too warm for a summer day.

With an unusual clasp that was a belt buckle in a previous life. "Is that period?" Probably not....

Still More Quad War....

*Big sigh* Alright then, let's see if I can get the rest of the Quad War pictures up and then I can go on to other things.... like hand-stitched linen stockings (yes, that's my next project).

Don't know why I've titled these posts "Quad War", really. I didn't get away from my cabin to see any fighting. Too busy with teaching, selling, cooking, cleaning and walking the dogs. And spending time with friends and family.... that's important!

By the third day of the event there wasn't much left in my shop

My other daughter stopped by before strolling down Merchants' Row. She camps a few minute' walk away from our cabin, down in the Myrgan Wood bush near the Lost Viking Estates

The dogs (Pepper the Schnauzer mix and Ani the Redbone coonhound) spent much of the event relaxing on our bed. It takes them a while to recover after a walk.... all that sniffing and pulling and barking is exhausting!

In the evenings we usually sat indoors with friends. (I made a fire in the fire pit a couple of times but no one gathered around....)  The cabin is really cozy when I light the oil lamps; unfortunately the camera flash spoils the effect.

The closest I came to the fighting was watching my son walk away with the wagon (to be used for transporting armour and weapons)

I walked outside just in time to watch one of my grandsons flying the kite he made!

There! That was much easier than last night. I guess I must be learning, slowly. Now I can go downstairs and start on those stockings. Or maybe I should do some clean-up first? My sewing room is still a disaster area after the pre-Quad sewing frenzy. I should take a picture....

More Quad War....

(Still learning how to manage this blog, grumble....mumble.... Pictures won't stay where I want them....)

The "back yard" behind our cabins is a well-used space. 

The back yard, with path to other cabins

A great place for relaxing with some home-made wine

The kids love to swing in the hammock

It's also a good place to hold the Newcomers' Breakfast

Under the sunshade I taught three classes on headwear

Grrrr!I want to add more pictures but they keep showing up in the wrong place. This is frustrating!

And then I look at the pictures above and the frustration melts away. I realize what a great weekend we had, and how fortunate I am to have such a space to play in!  Blog-shmog.... I can post more pictures tomorrow....

Quad War

Back from Quad War 2013!
It was a wonderful weekend with family and friends (and dogs, and customers, and classes....)

This event happens on a farm about three hours east from where we live. We have a small cabin (16'x20') on site, with an add-on kitchen. My daughter has a cabin next door. I sell a variety of garb; she specializes in cloaks while her husband sells hot and cold beverages and sweet treats. There are more cabins farther down Merchants' Row and the spaces between the cabins fill up with merchants' tents.

Coryn's Garb Shop

The add-on kitchen and path to the "back yard"

The Cloak/Coffee Shop next door

And part of Merchants' Row, which continues on the next road