Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Trying times indeed...

Seems the only thing that has progressed is the pain in my right wrist lol!  Since before Barons War I have had a little cyst on my wrist bone.  It was annoying and only mildly painful.  Well since Barons War it has gotten exponentially worse.  It has now moved into the tendons & I can not flex my wrist, make a fist, lift anything heavier than a pencil and can't do any of my upper body workouts.  Even running hurts if I don't wear a brace (because I just let my hands kind of go slack as I run). 

Thus, my Knight has benched me.  I can't pick up my spear until I can get the cyst removed.  So hopefully this week or next I will go in & they will do a tiny incision and remove it.  At least thats the best outcome I can have.  Worst case is there's something else wrong! 

So I have not gotten anything cut out yet.  But, I am hopeful to get things cut out this weekend so that I can start handsewing soon.  I figure cutting will be the worst after surgery so if I get it all cut out now, I can sew at my own pace.  And until I go under the knife I will wear my brace like a good little girl & just sew since I can't fight! 

Here's to hoping I can get away with this plan...

Rogue

Thursday, July 14, 2011

For Morgan

This is the Chocolate Silk (or it may be satin, not sure how to tell) that I was talking about.  Its pretty heavy...but if you need some just let me know!  Its 45' wide & I have roughly 13 yards so plenty for your project & my bellydance skirt =)



Rogue

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Wool Cloak...

After talking to Ralf about the style of cloak an 11th Cent. Norman would wear, my rectangular idea was not going to work.  It needs to be a circle cloak.  However I only have a 2 yards/60"wide piece of wool (along with the wool for the trim) to use for the cloak.  Therefore I thought my budget was going to get blown on more wool.  However, thanks to Duke Konrad von Krixen...I now have another option!  http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/bockclok.html shows how to use a smaller cut of fabric for a semi-circular cloak.  So, this Saturday I am heading over to Ralf & Kassandra's to help them make garb for Leo since they are bringing him to Baron's War to camp (we aren't allowed to camp without him anymore declared the littlest Norman!) so we are going to test out the pattern and see how it works out.  If all goes well I will be using the blue on the left as the trim around the entire cloak & the black woven wool for the body of my cloak.  It will pin at the shoulder with a pennanular brooch which I may or may not try and create since I already have one.




So at least the cloak has been decided on...hopefully =)

Saturday, July 9, 2011

More than I ever expected to know about Linen Thread...


Well this is what $35 worth of Linen thread looks like lol.  I went ahead and matched ALL of my stash of linen fabric so that when the time comes I can reorder the correct colors online.  Turns out DMC has a line of Linen thread but you can only get it in 12-packs online.  There are a total of 24 colors in that line of floss.  I have found that Londonderry Linen Thread, the 80/3 thickness is just about perfect and there are some pretty good guides online with fairly true to color photos.  So I at least have more options now when I want completely period materials.  I also seem to remember a merchant at Uprising that carried a lot of linen thread as well and next year I will be sure to take my swatches with me! 

On a side note - today I found probably THE most amazing deal ever.  At this strange little damaged freight store called NPS Market Square here in SLC they get odd lots of stuff.  Today, they had 2 Deacon's Robes and they were $20.99 each.  I purchased one after getting confirmation that it would absolutely work as a Byzantine Dalmatica with some major beading hehe and so I was quite happy.  Then I came home, found out that just ONE of these bad boys is $550.00 to have made then you add in the Normandy trim at $30/yard, of which the whole thing is trimmed in it...turns out I got a $700 outfit for one hell of a deal.  So...I did what any good bargain hunter does...I went back and got the other one!  I figure it fits in my period, my personae and doesn't look bad on.  I already have linen that matches it perfectly so why not get it as a future project.  And if Magnus or I should ever end up winning Crown...I have our stepping up garb >;p


So it was a full day of good shopping karma indeed =)

Rogue

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Prep Work almost done!!!

Having never done ANYTHING like this before I was really not sure how to actually get started.  I kept wanting to just jump in and start sewing but alas, wasn't sure on which linen I was going to use for what piece and of course there's the whole "thread issue".  So, having been given some very wise advice from some very wise Laurels I have gotten my documentation together first. 

At least I think its the documentation I need lol.  I stated in my entry that I would be doing Italian Norman but alas after some research diving, Normans IN Italy would still be wearing what Normans elsewhere would have worn.  They loathed Byzantine clothing and even after Robert wore a Dalmatica to his Coronation as Duke, they STILL thought it horrible.  Some even revolted based on that alone!  But I digress...

So, I have found several patterns that I will be using and I will basically be following the guidelines that Hastings re-enactors are required to follow to even be allowed on the field.  Its a great place to start as they are pretty picky about what you can & can't do.  On top of that I have found a great resource in Marc Carlson's site http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/bockhome.html and this should give me everything I need!

Now, the "Thread Issue".  You would THINK that Salt Lake is a thriving Artisan Metropolis...yet how is it that we don't have a single place that sells Linen Thread!  One would hope the weavers, knitters & seamstresses here would call for it yet the only place that I can seem to find it is The Needlepoint Joint in Ogden!  So driving an hour each way just to get thread is going to be a chore.  However, Saturday I made a lunch date up there so now I have an excuse lol!  Needless to say I will be taking swatches of ALL my linen and buying at least one spool of what I need for each color I have.  Then I can call & reorder whatever I need later, but at least I will know it matches!

I had planned to start cutting on Saturday but that may hold out until sometime next week.  I don't want to cut something out and NOT be able to find thread to match the linen.  As far as I can tell contrasting colors on at least the under pieces was not common.  I will be doing some decorative stitching on the shirt possibly, and I know I will do some trim work for the kirtle and over tunic but the braies & hose were pretty plain evidently. 

If anyone has seen any documentation on embossing, decorating or even embroidering the leather garters, let me know.  I would love to do something a little more detailed for them.

Thanks for Reading!

Rogue