Tournament and MOD Elevation

To follow up an emotion packed day, my good friend was being elevated to the Order of Defense the following day. I usually can't manage two events in two days, and I was extremely sore and sorry for myself, but I wouldn't have missed this ceremony for anything. I wore his colours and my fabulous new caul created by the generous and talented Mistress Fionna Goodburne MacNicol of the Midrealm. I have stories to tell about the garb created for this occasion too, but they will have to wait for another day!

I look like I have my eyes shut from smiling but I was having *real* trouble keeping them open!

Pelican Elevation and Vigil

 I haven't posted in almost a month because I have been frantically sewing for my elevation to the SCA Order of the Pelican. I'm delighted to report that the elevation took place on Saturday 29 June, and I actually had new clothes to wear, if not the clothing that I had originally planned!

My vigil had been planned for during the day prior to the feast. A tournament had been planned, but the day before a severe weather warning was issued which meant the tourney was cancelled. Luckily my friends stepped in at the last minute and generously offered their home as a venue. Thank you to Sorcha, Federyc, Linet, Margueritte, Nicolette, Melodia, Steffan, Sharyn and Kate for the venue, foods and all the help and support. The vigil was much smaller than planned due to the last minute change of venue, but did mean that it had more of a party feel and that certainly helped calm my nerves.

Trying out a selfie-stick at the vigil

Sparkly gingerbread biscuits

I had a really nice time at the vigil, and got to relax with friends for a bit before the feast. The time went too fast, and soon we were all departing to get to the feast venue.

The venue was beautifully decorated, and many people that I had not seen for years came to the feast. We were celebrating a Baronial changeover, so it was great to see many guests including past Barons and Baronesses and past Princesses and Princes. The only downside was that I hardly got a chance to chat with anyone because I was organising things, and I also had no appetite due to nerves. Innilgard is renowned for it's feasts and brewing, so this really was a pity.

One of the tables at the feast

The ceremony itself was written for me by talented local herald, previous Landed Baroness of Innilgard and friend, Baroness Annys. She and Lord Gabriel acted as heralds during the ceremony, and friends who are members of the five Peerage Orders spoke words that were very touching and truly humbling. I was honoured to be elevated by a Crown that I truly respect and who endeavour to live out the knightly virtues in their mundane lives as well as their SCA lives. I have never felt so supported and valued by so many people; it was overwhelming and wonderful.

Me cloaked in the Lochac Pelicans' cloak made by the Lochac Worshipful Company of Broderers
Image credit: S. Greig

My friends and banner bearers who helped me so much in the lead up to the event

Being welcomed to the Order by the Crown

Standing with the members of the Order of the Pelican

My heartfelt thanks to everyone near and far who helped, offered support and advice and just sent nice wishes. Thank you!

Cabochon Necklace Made From Re-purposed Bracelets

As you would know by now, I love quick projects with a lot of impact. And creating jewellery certainly ticks those boxes!

I bought some cabochon bracelets very cheaply at an end of season sale a few years ago, and recently decided to make them into a necklace. 

I had to find some small silver jump rings that I had in the stash, to match the ones that the bracelets came with. Locating the jump rings was the hardest part of the project.

I re-connected the cabochon settings to form a necklace, and added one of the easy-to-do-up clasps that my friend recommended for me, as I have so many issues with my hands.

The colour of the stones varies from wine to purple, depending on the light. I am very pleased with how this quick project turned out, and I think it will go well with sixteenth century Italian and English clothing styles that I wear.

Pelican Embroidery Kits For Elevation Garb

I am very lucky in my SCA group; everyone generally gets on well, and I feel very supported in my roles and activities. I wanted to recognise my group in my upcoming Elevation, but of course couldn't fit everyone into the procession for the ceremony. So I decided to create a motif that people could embroider that could be sewn on to my clothing.

Deciding on a design that would look nice as well as not be too complex was difficult. Some people have extensive embroidery experience, and for others this would be their first attempt at embroidery.

I sketched several designs, but after consulting with my family, picked this one:

I taped the design to the window, and drew it up on cotton broadcloth in pencil many times. I left quite a lot of space around the design because I guessed that a lot of people wouldn't have very small hoops or frames. I then ironed some interfacing onto the back of each design to help keep the tension even and add some stability. 

Next, I wrote up some instructions and added pictures and links. I asked people to use three strands of black DMC floss and to use split stitch.

Then I had to cut all the floss and make up the kits and put them into little bags. This whole project took a surprisingly long time.

I took the kits to my local training for people to take home. Within two days I had the first kits back!

It has been gratifying to see people who have never embroidered before having a go. I am getting quite a pile.

Now I need to make the garb to sew them to!

Necklaces of Glass Beads

I recently made these glass bead necklaces in heraldic colours as a gift for a friend. They are strung on tiger tail and have easy-to-use clasps.

A Gift of Beautiful Silks and Bobbins

I recently received this lovely gift from a friend. I love embroidering with silk and wool on linen, but I usually can't afford those materials, so this was a great surprise. I especially love the beautiful bobbins. They are from Elisabet's Handspun. I'm having a lot of fun deciding which projects to use them on.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mums, Step-Mums, Foster Mums, and Fur Mums - and to those for whom this day can be fraught with painful emotions.

Tie-on Sleeves in Plum Cotton Fabric

You may remember that an ongoing project is the creation of a suite of tie-on sleeves to complement my Italian style gowns. The other day I was bed-ridden and I was trying to work on sewing down the inside of the seams on one of the pairs.

The sleeves are cut out and zigzag stitch put along the cut edges. Then the side seam is machine sewn (or hand-sewn if I have the time and manual dexterity, which I usually don't).

Th idea with the inside seam is to press or finger-press the seam open and flat on the inside and sew it down with tiny invisible stitches so that it doesn't bunch or twist with wear.

I'll admit that I was struggling with the project, so I was pretty satisfied when I was done.

  I put the project down to admire my achievement........ and looked closer.....
Yep, those are two right sleeves!
Of course, I noticed this after the seams had been machined and then hand sewed flat. (Eyeroll.)

Lamb-vegetable Device for the Baronial Heraldic Banner

My SCA Barony has a series of banners that display the devices of members with registered arms in chronological order. Over the years I have made a lot of devices for people who can't sew or who don't have the time.

Some of the banners on display at a feast in 2018

I started this device last year; it is one of a pair intended as temporary place holders until the member has time to finish the more complex versions intended for the banner.

I wanted to experiment with texture on this device as the colour scheme is quite simple. I attached the felt plant and coronet shapes with small stitches. The coronet has a cord couched over it for edging and details. The lamb-vegetable plant is embroidered with chain, split and speckling stitches in a variety of white threads. The larger lambs have cream beads added for eyes.

  I added a piece of felt on the back to make the piece stronger.

I'm quite pleased with the finished piece.

Medieval Faire Demo 2019

I have been busy lately, but not as productive as I would have liked as I have been battling some strange symptoms as well as fatigue.
A highlight of my fortnight was spending some time with my SCA group at the Gumeracha Medieval Faire. I couldn't spend as much time there as I would have liked, but I did get to talk to a lot of visitors about the SCA and the arts and crafts that we do. This always leaves me feeling exhausted, but motivated because it is a nice reminder of some of the aspects of the SCA that I love.

Some of the heavy fighters on the field

Sections of the A&S display with items made by our members

These sorts of public demos always seem to generate a special sort of camaraderie that I really appreciate too. I also get to see what some of the other re-creation groups are doing and wearing, and I come home inspired to start new projects and improve my kit.

While the re-enactors usually don't get to see very much of the Faire (as a visitor would), we are lucky that the SCA  tent is on the banks of the creek where the jousting horses and heavy horses stay, so we have a beautiful view. And a lot of the other 'entertainers' pop around to say hello.

Invitation to Join the Order of the Pelican

I have some good news to share.

I was recently touched and honoured to be invited to join the SCA Order of the Pelican.

I have accepted, and my vigil and elevation will occur at the Innilgard Baronial Divestiture and Investiture in late June.

At a recent event, Their Majesties asked me to take a photo of their Royal Household. I was focused on preparing for a good shot when they surprised me by asking me to be in one of the photos. (I am not a member of the Royal Household.)

As we were posing, His Majesty turned and made the announcement and invitation. I was more shocked than I think I have ever been!

I owe a debt of thanks to my friends who had my cameras and were there to take photos for me. (Looking at the images, I realise that the 'Royal Household' actually are members of the Order, but at the time I was trying to fit everyone in the frame rather than looking at faces.)

My friends continued to help me later in the day by taking more event photos, as my hands were shaking too much to take any that were not blurry!

I also owe a debt of thanks to the Peers that inspire me to try to do better, and be better, in my SCA and mundane life. I know many who actively try to live the chivalric virtues, and this is truly inspiring.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter dear readers!

Embroidered Heraldic Patch for the Archery Championship Cloak

Recently I finished an embroidered heraldic badge for a friend.

Last year I made a woolen cloak as the regalia for my Barony's archery champion.

A friend of mine won the Championship and I offered to embroider his device for the cloak, as he doesn't embroider. The patch is just a small version of his heraldry, embroidered as a slip on a calico base and then added to the cloak.

I actually had two attempts at this because I was really unhappy with the first one.
I traced the design onto the calico with pencil and then I used a small piece of iron-on interfacing on the back as a stabiliser. I have found that this helps to stop the base fabric warping and puckering. I used a small hoop for this project.

This is the second attempt. I did something a little different, and used some small chain stitches as well as the split stitch that I usually use for these badges.

The flosses are cotton and also cashmere. The cashmere is the central stitching behind the tree. It is fairly delicate floss compared to the cotton, so we will see how it stands up to wear and tear.

One of those days....

Preparations for Rowany Festival

Well, I've just gotten over one infection and now I have another one!
Everything is a bit hectic in my local re-enactment community, with a lot of my group going interstate for the big SCA Rowany Festival. I'm not going (due to health issues,) but I have preparations to make as I will be sending items along. While everyone is away, I am hoping to get some sewing done for myself. I am busily making plans while trying to rest up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH2C7V-abnY&fbclid=IwAR1bUxqnpuu7C2Q6r2NF4gX6z0jxUlhdWuy3mztxnV5vV14WyHWU49fPO1c