pewter casting

There is a reason why I call this blog meandering - today I learned a new skill, totally unrelated to spinning. My friend Ignacia is teaching me pewter casting. I've barely scratched the surface (no pun intended) of all there is to learn, but I think I made some good progress tonight. I am making little wool comb tokens.

First I carved a circle, then I scratched the design into the soapstone. Everything has to be done in reverse. Each time it looked to me like I had carved the figure deep enough, we made a test. By my fourth try I was happy with the image. At the next class I will carve the sprew (I don't know how to spell it), and pour some tokens. I can't wait!

spinning flax

I've decided it is time to start tackling one of my goals for 2013 - learning to spin flax. I've started with tow, which was given to me by someone who was giving up spinning. I have about a 200 gram ball of it. The fibers are fairly short - about 8 centimeters. I am using a modern 40 gram disk spindle. I decided I should start with something very easy to spin with, rather than a medieval style spindle, so that I wouldn't have to pay attention to too many things at once. Even so, I have dropped the spindle several times when I haven't noticed it back-spinning. But I am making progress - slowly. While it is not particularly difficult, I cannot take my eye off the "roving" if I want a consistent thread diameter. It is S-spun at 9-10 wraps per centimeter. That  might be a good gauge for weaving a basket cover.

It's a very different spinning experience from spinning wool or other animal fibers. It will take getting used to.

making progress

Just about the only thing I have been working on for the past month is my embroidery project. I am closer to done than not done at this point. Here is how it looks today:

This is what I have learned about the Bayeux stitch so far:

• It is much quicker to execute than I had expected.
• You need to be careful to make sure to lay down enough threads across the ground. They shouldn't overlap, but they should definitely be touching. This becomes especially important once the couching threads are added.
• Do not pull the couching threads too tight. If the long threads are too tight, it pulls the ground away from the edges. If the attaching stitches are too tight it creates gaps in the ground threads.
• The couching threads can be manipulated a little bit to make the ground threads evenly spaced.

Getting the right coverage and tension takes some practice. The king's tunic is better than the queen's. Mistress Briony suggested weaving in an extra thread if there are spots with poor coverage. I will probably need to do that in a couple of spots, but when I added the fold lines on top of the couching it took care of most of the thin spots. Overall, I'm happy with how it is turning out. 

War of the Roses

War of the Roses is the biggest event our Barony puts on. There is something for everyone - fighting, fencing,   dancing, thrown weapons, archery, arts and sciences, shopping, singing around the campfires, and just hanging out with friends from near and far. This year, the weather put a damper on things. Literally. Needless to say, attendance was down. It had started raining on Wednesday. By the time we arrived on site on Friday morning, the ground was a soggy mess. I stood on the spot where we usually camp, umbrella in hand as the steady rain came down, and we decided not to pitch the tent. Luckily, we live close enough that day tripping was an option. We could not just go home because Richard was in charge of gate, and I was in charge of family activities for the weekend. The day went on and the rain came down harder and the wind picked up. And the weather only went downhill from there (is that possible?). Tents got flooded, the mud got deeper, and the temperature dropped.  Several people went home with hypothermia. Tents blew away, and the mud got deeper. For some reason most of us persevered. All activities were squeezed into the barn. Somehow we made it work. The archers (diehards that they are) shot in the rain. The rain stopped enough by Sunday afternoon that there was finally an opportunity for people to try thrown weapons. Of course today, Monday, the sun is shining and the temperature is rising. Just in time to take everything down and go home.

Saturday was the day that I stepped down as Baronial Arts and Sciences Champion. I had set a challenge for people to look at the science side of their art. There were 4 amazing entries. So much work had gone into each one. The new champion is Branwen Stargazer, who researched 13th century astronomy, from the perspective of her persona. It was fascinating, and I can't wait to see how she incorporates her new knowledge into her game.

It was a busy court for me. Besides reporting on children's activities and the A&S competition, I was awarded the Order of the Pine, which is our Baronial service award. I was completely taken by surprise. I enjoy helping out - it keeps the game fun - but I don't feel like I do more than other people. I am very grateful for the honor. I was given a beautiful scroll, designed by two talented members of my household, Elizabeth and Kenneth, and the words were written by the Baron himself.

The last thing I did before stepping down as A&S Champion was to set a challenge for our talented bards - to come back to next year's Roses with a song or story about this year's event. I can't wait to hear the results. Hopefully as we relax on a dry evening around a warm campfire.

a new project

I have started to work on a project to create an embroidered pillow as a gift from Queen Kiena to the royalty of the Midrealm. Actually, I started about a month ago, spinning the embroidery thread. Because the Mid royalty have early period personas, I decided to model my design after the Bayeux Tapestry. So far, I have finished the dogs. This is the first time I have used this stitch technique. I like it.

I have to be finished before we leave for Pennsic in July. I'd better get back to stitching!

Kalamazoo

We are back from the Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo. It was fantastic! If you ever have an opportunity to go - go! No matter what you are interested in, there is someone else with the same interest. I had a chance to not only learn more about textiles, but to learn about many other things as well.

I attended a wonderful session about Viking winter camps in England, and a couple of sessions about early medieval castles. I learned about the symbolism of birds in illuminated manuscripts, and ceramic tiles as a form of social identity in the 15th century. One of my favorite sessions was about the similarities between some styles of illuminated manuscripts and modern graphic novels.

And then there were the textile sessions. I met Ingvild, from Norway. She presented a paper about 3 graves with significant textile finds, including the related tools. I am looking forward to corresponding with her over the coming months. Eva gave a paper about the marketing of silk in early modern Denmark. My paper on spindle whorls seemed to be well received. There were about 50 people in our session.

The second textile session was great fun. La Belle Companie, a reenactment group from near Washington D.C., explained the evolution of armor during the Hundred Years War, by dressing 4 knights in different armor styles. That filled the auditorium. That session was followed by the textile exhibition. It was packed with interested people. I spun wool and explained drop spinning and my experiment, non-stop for 2 hours. There was also knitting, weaving, costuming and quilting, as well as the knights in the hall.

The second day's textile sessions included papers about the re-use of Egyptian silk; the proportions of tunic artifacts; 14th century padded doublets; the wardrobes of 16th century ladies in waiting; and a 13th century Paris shopping list. Thomas, from Vienna gave an interesting presentation about silk as a metaphor; and Gail Own-Crocker talked about the symbolism of Guy's clothing in the Bayeux Tapestry.

The days went by so fast. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a little less rain and a little more warmth.

Medieval Studies

It is hard to believe that in just over a week I'll be on a plane on my way to the International Congress for Medieval Studies, in Kalamazoo. I've been working very hard on my presentation. Last night I got feedback from Robin Netherton,who organizes the textile sessions. She says I am in good shape, and has asked that I begin with a short demonstration of spinning. That will be easy! There are going to be so many interesting papers, on textiles and everything else; I can't wait!