I’m doing stuff! Really!

I have an almost mostly finished felt cloak almost done.

I have an mostly almost finished basic kirtle (using the pattern found here) – despite careful measuring, the sleeves are way too long and fabric fair pools around my ankles – I could shoot up 8 inches or so and still have to hem the damn thing.  Apparently, measuring yourself isn’t a very reliable plan.

At the library demo – Lady Ylaria managed to get me started on a basic Naalbinding stitch.  The ones in the book I got in Denmark were just too complicated.  I’ll give them another shot later.  Ihave a few rounds of… something … done.  I even managed to successfully stick two ends together.

Pictures you ask?  Maybe… one day.

*fanfare*

Dear Interweb,

I’m proud to introduce you to my latest SCA projects

The Barony of Rising Waters new web site:  http://baronyofrisingwaters.org/  Thanks to Lady Briend Molyneaux d’Shane Cashel for all the techie assistance and for hosting (hostessing?) the site on her server. Thanks also to Lord Tristan (the former Web Minister) for having a great site to copy and paste from.

Our Barony is hosting Fall Coronation for the Kingdom of Ealdormere. Visit the event web site here: http://fallcoronation2011.weebly.com/index.html
At this event not only will Count Quilliam be crowned King, he will also be knighted.
Wassail!

In other news…
My sewing machine has gone tits up, so even if I had time to be doing garb – garb would not be being done.*
Does anyone else find summers more stressful on the schedule than the winter?

*yeah yeah.. I know… they didn’t have sewing machines back then they woulda done it by hand. I invoke the “creative”, and “middle ages as the ought to have been” clauses.

Broccoli and Brake pads,
Lady Susannah

*blowing dust off*

I have not forgotten about this blog… I just haven’t done anything particularly SCAdian of late.

The Husband^TM is working with Wulfric of the Wood to build a period natural trumpet. Preliminary tests sounded good!

We gave my daughter a helm for her birthday and we gave her twin brother a set of throwing knives.

We purchased 6 more arrows as my son has exceptional aim and can hit the target stand 2 out of 2 shots. With luck like that we’d best be stocked up on arrows.

Our Barony lost two dear members in the past few months: R.I.P.

• Lady Fruachan (I’m sorry I don’t know if that was her full SCA name)
• Baron Tancred of Tanglewood.

I keep meaning to get back into stuff but the mundane intrudes constantly!

Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.
Sarah Williams
from "The Old Astronomer to His Pupil" in Best Loved Poems of the American People

I love this…
I put it here, there, and everywhere more for me than for you gentle readers.
Hopefully you enjoy it too.

Lady Mary had great weather!

This past Saturday was our Lady Mary Memorial Tourney.  We had a blast and great weather.

The Husband™ trumpeted the opening court fanfare and was thrilled to have recieved a token of appreciation from an attendee for doing so.

My parents enjoyed their day – My dad got to fire off some arrows and try his hand at throwing knives and axes.

My big news of the day was that at the afternoon court not only did Beatrix (aka BabyGirl™) recieved an Award of the Chalice’s Crystal, but I was awarded an Award of Arms. Officially a Lady! *still stoked*

signed,

Lady Susannah (of Rising Waters)

At least I’m good at something.

I’m really good at Procrastinating!

The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.

~Author Unknown

Actually I think it’s more of an overabundance of things to do. It’s hard to fit family, full-time work, chores, yoga, exercise, reading, knitting, gardening, sewing, writing, coursework, music lessons, and research all into 24 hours while maintaining any degree of sanity.

What inevitably happens is that I start but never finish. For instance, this weekend is Lady Mary – I had plans! (yes! I did!) I had planned to have a great deal of garb done by now. I was going to have enough garb so that the entire family would have enough stuff (and not look thrown together)

However, I have had to go raid the Gold Key stash, and have three four six unfinished projects lying around the house (mostly serving as sleeping cushions for The Cat™)

On the bright side I have managed to convince my parents to come and The Husband™ has convinced a friend to perhaps come along.

The Lady Mary Memorial Tourney

The Lady Mary Memorial Tourney is a signature event for our barony.  It is held in honour of the Mother (Lady Mary) of one of our founding members who let the original members meet at her house.

The Barony of Rising Waters invites you to attend the Lady Mary Memorial Tourney

My parents have always been interested in history – it was them that sparked my interest by when they took my siblings and I to all manner of history places.  We went to Upper Canada Village Old Fort Henry when we lived in Canada.  When we lived in the UK they took us to all the castles, manors, and museums they could get us to. They took us fossil hunting in the farmer’s field in the Downs at the end of our street, and we spent a summer vacation driving down the Rhine river stopping at every castle and historical spot on the way.

They’ve decided that their first SCA event will be this year’s Lady Mary.  I’ll either have to get my butt in gear and churn out oodles of garb, or hit up the Barony’s Gold Key loaner garb selection.

What’s that?  … Yeah, loaner garb – good plan!

Catechism for a Witch’s Child

When they ask to see your gods
your book of prayers
show them lines
drawn delicately with veins
on the underside of a bird’s wing
tell them you believe
in giant sycamores mottled
and stark against a winter sky
and in nights so frozen
stars crack open spilling
streams of molten ice to earth
and tell them how you drink
a holy wine of honeysuckle
on a warm spring day
and of the softness
of your mother who never taught you
death was life’s reward
but who believed in the earth
and the sun
and a million, million light years
of being

© 1986 J.L.Stanley

Name Research

Since I’m of the Gunn Clan, and since my SCA Persona is vaguely Scottish / Norse(ish),  I was doing some research trolling through the libraries of the world in search of “authentic” and period names for the second part of my SCA name.

Specifically, I was researching period names of the area of Scotland under Norse/ Gunn Clann control.

The first part of my SCA name is Susannah

• Close enough to my actual name that there is a chance I’ll actually respond to it when addressed
• Spellable & Pronouncable – if you’ve seen some of the SCA names and names of the norse/gaelic variety you’ll understand this.

Now I’m working on the second part of the name

I struck it rich!  Found and downloaded old (almost SCA-period themselves ) articles* from an old ‘private’ journal called Old-Lore Miscellany of Orkney Shetland Caithness and Sunderland (circa 1911) and Proceedings of the Antiquaries of Scotland (circa 1922)

Now I just gotta get up the gumption to actually sit down and read these.  They are a wee tad brain-numbingly boring dry.

*May all the Gods and Goddesses bless those visionaries who thunk it a good idea to put even the oldest articles online in PDF format.

An even bigger project…

The Stirling Castle Palace Project

An amazing project. I would love to see this.

I’m also quite glad our project scope is much smaller… although their budget would be fun – we could pay our plough pullers!