22 May 2013 | 
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Blocks
I was trying to play with my new flash. Well, new to me. Well, borrowed indefinitely. My cousin lent me an awesome on camera flash that will bounce off of walls and ceilings, which means that I get crisp pictures without the flatness of the actual on-camera flash. My subject was being remarkably uncooperative, though, and refusing to look at me.
Run for your life!
I thought for a while there that I had lost my knitting mojo. After those socks that I didn’t enjoy knitting, I didn’t want to see them ever again. Or anything. But when I started poking around for a pretty shawl pattern, I got excited again. I gave myself a week off from doing A&S related stuff, and cast on the Swallowtail shawl. You know, the one that was so popular a couple years ago. These pictures are the result of two days knitting. My mojo’s back!
Oh and the title? The yarn was named for Rose Tyler, and the shawl is named for the first like the Doctor says to her. “Hello, Rose Tyler. Run for your life!”
Queen’s Champion, May 2013
I’m getting better. I actually brought my camera this time. I’m trying to get better about actually taking pictures. Especially because my Mother’s Day present was a new 16 gig memory card for my camera. I’m heading out to a Scribal Symposium in June, and I wanted to make sure I had enough space for three days worth of pictures. Anyway, yeah, I took some pictures. Of friends:
And of Nick and I (recognize the apron?):
And us and the Bebe. I love how urchin-like she looks in this picture:
Some of our friends:
The babies even played nicely together:
The big kids didn’t hurt each other too badly:
There was jousting. The Knight of Flowers (any George RR Martin fans out there?) took the field:
I think most of the kids had this expression on their faces when I tried taking pictures:
Feast was delicious:
Even though my husband is incapable of making a serious face for the camera.
Tell you what, though. His doublet looked damn fine.
Calligraph all the things!
I’ve been trying to do as much calligraphy and illumination as I can. One of the really awesome things about tournaments is that most of them require you to submit a letter of intent, stating that you want to fight. It’s a chance to shmooze the Royalty and to show off your (or your friend’s) talents. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am that friend. I did a letter for my friend Marie:
One for my friend René (I’m particularly proud of that initial ‘W’):
One for Nick (I still think that the shading looks a little chalky):
And a last minute one for my friend Dena:
Oh, and I made the scroll for one of the awards for the Arts and Sciences competition (the one I didn’t win):
Celtic Snake Cup Cover
As promised, here’s the other cup cover I’ve been working on. It wasn’t for the largess competition, so I wanted to post it separately. I had a cup cover that I was using, and two of the Queens (well the Queen and a former Queen) started play- fighting over it. So I gave it to one of them, and promised to make another for the ‘loser,’ too. And since then, I’ve tried to make pretty cup covers for all the Queens that have come. So this is the most recent. Her colors are gold, purple, and green, and her persona is something Celtic. Ish.
Early and Late period Cup covers
So, I’ve been a little silent lately. It wasn’t on purpose, I’ve just been working on a lot of stuff lately, and it’s sometimes hard for me to balance the things I like to do (this blog) and the things I’ve committed to doing (the things I’m going to be posting about this week). It’s not you, it’s me. Or rather, my non-existant time-management skills.
We had a big to-do this weekend. It was an SCA event called Queen’s champion. The rapier fighters (guys who fight with light metal swords, all Princess Bride style, instead of big rattan swords, in roughly the style of Braveheart) get together and compete to be the one who fights for the Queen’s honor during her reign. There’s a King’s champion, too, but they’re the rattan fighters, and don’t feature in this story. Usually, all that happens at a QC event is the fighting, but this time, they held an Arts and Sciences competition as well. The items that were put in would then be donated to the basket of gifts that the Royals hand out as largess during their reign.
I made two embroidered cup covers. Although they’re not strictly period, they’re a nice visual touch that can conceal a soda can, and keep bugs and leaves out of one’s drink. I made one early period, based on Anglo-Saxon brooches.
The other one is a later period design, with an Tudor Rose and an Ansteorran star, and the shading created by the use of blackwork fill patterns. I think they came out nicely. I’ve got one more cup cover, a ton of calligraphy, and pictures of the actual event coming up this week. And then, hopefully, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled blogging.
Passimenterie
Handmade trims for Nick’s fighting and court doublets.
And thread-covered buttons for the latter. Now to have it all done by Queen’s, on May eleventh. Why do I do this to myself?
Dolly.
I finally made a dress for Bebe’s (as yet unnamed) doll. I had a scrap of linen that had a border embroidery pattern and it suited this perfectly. I hand stitched the hems and did a buttonhole stitched key-hole neckline. I didn’t want to mess around with a facing that small.
I ended up taking the dress in a bit at the waist (she was swimming in it), and I made a braided belt to go with it. I also added more strands or yarn at the hairline, and stitched down the hair along the scalp a little bit, so it lays better for the braids. She’s totally adorable now.
