My new blog post: http://bit.ly/11SqKD

Change of time?

I have been VERY frustrated with my sewing and pattern making for Elizabethan garb. I also am annoyed that I started to be a voice herald after setting my persona in the time of corsets. They don't go the best together, especially not with asthma. Most Elizabethan garb takes lots of pieces, and takes some stretching to get into your garb unless you have someone to help you. Also doing morning cry and having to give yourself 30+ minutes to just dress yourself... Can you say 6 am sucks? And trust me, the "help" isn't up yet.

So, I have been thinking of making some earlier garb, cause let's face it, you can't go much later then 1560-70 in the SCA. I know I want to stay english and keep a time that is reasonable with my name. I love my name and I don't want to change it. So I was thinking of trying some early to late middle 1400s (Still researching what goes where). I have made a kirtle from that time period (my lite blue one for those that have seen it) that worked ok, but I had the support issue and learned from that one that I should tear to cut twill weave fabric. The lacings like to twist and not go up and down.

I really like the look of the garb. The court head gear with be hard to make, but I think easier. I know the "working" head gear is nice and easy to make, keeps my head and ears warm and fairly dry in wonderful An Tir/Pac NW weather. There are less curving seams that I have to deal with. Mostly straight and gussets.

Maybe later I will change back. But right now, I am too stressed out to keep working on the later garb. I need a break and something I can move in and not have to worry about how I can breath.

And for those wondering, yes, Mike/Will likes the men's garb that will go with mine. He likes the idea.

Here is a link to a collection of pictures to the look I will be going too.
http://ping.fm/xk6Qj

Crown for the 21 century? UPDATE

Yes, I can post pictures through Ping.FM which should give a link so that everyone can see it. I will do a testing to see.

Crown for the 21 century?

What I am about to say, may make the purest of SCA purest cry. But being someone who would have loved it if someone had thought of this earlier...

I am going to September Crown this weekend. Now I am a herald, but I think I will be taking my job to a level most would think isn't period, but still fitting. How many times have you been not able to go to a crown event because of money, illness or what not but have been chomping at the bit to find out who the hell won! Well, I think this will help. I will be bringing my phone to the event and I am able from one text to send a message to Twitter, Facebook and Live Journal. Cell phone coverage at this site isn't too bad so as soon as the final round is known, I will send out a note as to who is in the final rounds. When we know who won, I will send that post out too. I will then leave my phone on in my bag as I walk around doing town cry business, and once I hit a place where I have coverage, it will send. This worked at An Tir/West war and that had horrible coverage. I am also going to see about getting pics taken on my phone and how to post them to a Twitter site so that all can see them. No promise there, but I will try. On Twitter I am Adesinacat if you would like to follow me. Also, I have set up a group for An Tir Twitters if you would like to join . For everyone else that doesn't want to get onto any social networks (I understand, I was that way for a long time too), you can just check here on my blog. I have embedded my twitter feed on to my blog page. Look on the left hand edge. Sadly, all the posts get kinda mushed, but just start at the top and work your way down. If nothing has happened by 2 pm, I will post a FYI post. Can you tell I have been one of the people sitting at my computer trying to figure out what happened?

The pic of the "winning" garb

Not sure how to make it smaller, but if you click on it will take you to the photobucket site.

So much has happened.

So in the past 2 moths, I have entered my first A&S (Arts and Science) competition with my bag, started my new job as Town Crier, got my AoA (Award of Arms*) and... Read on for that one. ;-)

I wasn't able to finnish the bag, so I just submitted the "patch" appliquéd to one piece of what will be the outer part of the bag. I was told I did well for my first time in this kind of competition, but what really got me was my documentation was very poor. If you haven't noticed already (the few that read this, lol), I am not a big writer. English was always my weakest subject. I have to say that I am very frustrated that even though I can give a great verbal presentation, and make great looking things keeping to period materials and construction, a very large part of the score is on the written. Now if I can get over my procrastination, and work on getting more of my process on here, I may be able to get the score up more. I don't see this as a bad thing. This is something that I know I can do. I have done this kind of writing before. It is just harder for me then for most, and I am so out of practice. I think the last time I did this kind of writing was my Sophomore and Junior year of High School, and let's just say it was more then 5 years ago. lol

My first day on the job was great! Except for the fact that I got to site with my voice already wanting to go and losing it before I was able do my first morning cry. THAT made me mad! I learned a lot about how to do my job. Like doing the first cry will give you a good idea of how many voice you will need to do the whole site in less then 30 minutes. This site took me about 35 minutes. Oi! It was well worth it. I was called up to received my AoA! Almost as soon as I got there, I started to cry. It was great! I was told by Her Majesty that I do a job she would never want to do. His Majesty said that what they also loved was that the people who wrote the letters for me said that not only do I do the job tirelessly, but also with joy, which is something they love more and want to see in everyone that serves. The bad thing about this, the tears killed the last little bit of voice I had left. It was DEAD! Oh well. As a friend put it, I am no longer peasant trash. lol. Now for my husband, William Mor, maker of great boxes and hard worker and last to leave a site so that he knows those we are camping with and others near by don't need any more help and I am writing Their Majesties again so he can get his AoA!

At July Coronation, I entered the Tourney Garb Competition. As the email asking for contests said "“Tourney Garb” means garb which is appropriate for your persona and which is durable and practical enough to withstand being worn at an S.C.A. camping event in An Tir. The costume entered can be for your regular persona or for any alternate persona you choose. The only person who can enter the costume is the person who made the costume. You can enter a costume you made for someone else, and have that person model the costume, but the maker must be the actual entrant. The costume is always judged “on the body” (not on a hanger). It doesn’t have to be on your body, but it does have to be on someone’s body." I entered the red kirtle and just that since I wasn't able to get the rest done. I didn't win the intermediate catagoire, I got my own!

Constance Wyatt- Best use of period materials! 1560-1570 English working class. She got an entire late period English working class outfit for herself out of less than 3 yards of linen! I believe she was also the only one to have written documentation, which isn’t mandatory but is certainly appreciated! Congratulations!

And that documentation was not much better then I had for the bag. For me, this was great! My first time putting my garb out there and even though the fit needed work, I was reward for me researching and finding out what what used in period. I was so jazzed and I am still buzzing over it.

*Notes: 1) Award of Arms - the lowest level of armigerous rank awarded by the Crown generally to those who have become recognized integrated participants in the Society. The Crown of An Tir has granted Principality Coronets the privilege of bestowing AA's to subjects of Their Principalities in the name of the Crown. Those who have achieved an Award level rank are given the title of Lord or Lady.

And this is why I hate Showtime's The Tudors

When I heard that this show was coming out in Spring 2007 via a Yahoo tudor costuming site, I was very excited about it. Then, I saw the costumes. If you are looking for some TV/movies that show tudor era clothing, don't go to this show. This show comes no where close to what men, women, common and royal wore during the early to mid 1500's in England. The story I have to say, I have liked for the first 2 seasons that I have watch after release on to DVD, despite me cussing at the TV every time I saw something completely modern on one of ladies heads ("WTF is on her head!?!?!?"). I am not sure how off they are on the story, but for the most part of what I know, and I am still learning, they are pretty close and well enough.

Then, today, my husband asked if maybe The Tudors had the show on Hulu or such site. No, they didn't. But they did have was a link to season 3, episode 7 with a snapshot being of Anne of Cleves. O...M...G!!!! WTH is Anne wearing?!?!?!? Is THAT suppose to be 1530-40s German dress? That looks more Russian than German. Knowing I would feel sick to watch it, I did anyways wondering if I would get a better look. I wanted to puke! I may not have any interest in making some German garb (my persona is English, not German and there wasn't a lot of interaction with the two), but that doesn't mean I haven't looked at it to see what it looked like and if nothing else, have seen the portrait of this fine lady.

Then, in the clip, Henry introduces his 2 daughters. The Princess Mary, and The Princess Elizabeth? No. When Henry declared that his marriages to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn were null and void, he also took that title away from the girls, saying that that they should only be Lady Mary and Lady Elizabeth. Now I may be wrong on this last point, but I am very sure on it.

Now, will I never watch the show again? No, but will not stop yelling at the TV when I see this crap that is suppose to be Tudor dress. And that is why I hate the show. Not because they tell history wrong, but because people who are wanting to make good tudor garb are going to look at this show and think this stuff is ok, and that is just WRONG!!!

Hi. My name is Constance, and I am addicted to fiber arts.

I know, I know. That sounds really bad. But after this, you may have to agree with me.

Fall 2002: I taught my self to knit. Main reason was that I have issue with acrylic, what most low end sweaters are made out of. Got some books and magazines (didn't have really good internet back then), and some yarn and needles, and made my first scarf. I still have it, but it is lost in storage. I also got bit by the spinning bug, but with no teacher and not knowing anything about drop spindle, I didn't try. Made another scarf for my hubby, but for some reason, didn't start any other projects. May have been the cost of yarn.

Spring 2002: Mom sees that I have taken up knitting and has to teach me crochet. I started a hat that I didn't finish, but I did finish a bag for my husbands white tallit and kippah. Haven't finished any other projects

I think by that fall, I had give up on both. Forget what craft I picked up next, if any. I know I started to scrapbook just after my daughter was born in spring 2005, but sadly, I only kept with it for just over a year. Mainly because of space and because I started to really play World of Warcraft (WoW). 

Fall 2006: Just a few month before, a friend from WoW told us about this thing called the SCA and this event called 12th Night... would we like to go and finally meet face-to-face after chatting in game and over VoIP for about 2 years. Since we liked the idea of finally meeting, and my husband and I meet in our college theater department, with the first production we got to work on was Shakespeare's 12th Night. I started to work on a persona. For some crazy reason, miss "I have never really sewed before" me decided to go with 1530s england. You know, big sleeve tudors! Well I taught myself to sew by reading up online and getting a few books. Got some help from others, but mostly, I read. ALOT! Been sewing ever since, and really have been proud of most of my stuff, although some of the items have and will be scarped to make other things. Oh, and I made my own patterns.

At my first event, a small day event in Shire of Coeur du Val, in Corvallis, OR, I saw someone working with a lucet. I got one shortly after that and have also been working with it ever since to make cording for garb. 

Since then I have picked up, embroidery (mainly canvaswork, but also some regular stuff also) fingerloope braiding. I have also tried to my hand at, but for one reason or another I didn't keep it up, brocade card weaving, spinning, needle lace, and I think something else. 

About 2 weeks ago, my mom went to a knitters guild event here in Portland. She got me a lesson and set up for learning to spin yarn. I was told I was a "natural". Great. I another fiber art. And this one is really hard to put down after you start. I spinned for several hours for about 3 days. The night of the 3rd, I stopped when I felt something not good in my left hand. The next day, I felt something like carpel tunnel. Haven't done any since. I do want to pick it back up since the one thing I would love to work with for lucet and fingerloope braiding is linen and sink yarn, and I just can't fine any in a good weight for those too (think crochet thread).

I am not sure what fiber art will be next. I have thought to take knitting up again, but with so many other projects, I just can't bring myself to yet. I know my mom has it out for me to start knitting again. Fighting her off to not start is hard. And it isn't so much that I don't want to start, it is more that I have a list of projects that I want to work on longer then my arm. Maybe when I get closer to the end of that list, I will start. But who know what will be added before then....

And next of the list is more a sub-art: Blackwork. God help me and my bank account.

This is a test to see if I can use ping.fm to update twitter, and
facebook (maybe my blog too.