The Sisterhood Takes Ann Arbor

The Sisterhood: Felice, Philip, Katherine, Colette,
Crespine, Gianna, and Ginevra in Ann Arbor, MI.

In early November, Master Philip notified Ginevra and I that there would be gathering of the Philipian Sisterhood in Ann Arbor, MI for the elevation of our Sister Katherine Hatton VonRahm. The web of subterfuge involved was fairly epic, to keep Katharine in the dark, thinking she was going to see a movie, but in fact was going to be elevated by Her Majesty Kateryn. Ginevra contributed Katharine's laurel wreath coronet, which brought a tear to her eye. Congratulations, Mistress Katherine!

Adventures in Block Printing

I grew up in a fairly rural part of Arizona, but in spite of this we had a pretty amazing and witty art teacher. One of the areas of study covered in 7th or 8th grade was lithography, specifically linoleum carving and block printing. I remember enjoying the class and being ever so proud of my carved unicorn, a homage to my love of The Last Unicorn and (I'm sure) Legend.

Fast-forward a couple of years to the early months of 2016 when I decide that I need to remake the curtains for the canopy bed my Lord and I use at Pennsic. The most economical fabric I found was plain lawn for a ridiculously low price, so I purchased 30 yards and made plans to jazz it up with fabric printing. (I'm fairly sure the idea initially spawned after reading an article somewhere on the internet about painted fabrics or perusing the eternal productivity killer known as Pinterest.)

As usual, money talks, so my orders of linoleum blocks, Speedball inks, brayers, carving tools, and most importantly fabric arrived. What I didn't order, but arrived nevertheless, were massive amounts of work related projects and travel, the local event Northern Oaken War Maneuvers for which I am an event steward, and then Pennsic projects more important than decoration. Needless to say, I overbooked my time and couldn't get to any of this. (On the upside, I did get to take a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to look at extant examples of printed fabrics, but that's another post entirely!)

If you're going to choose
heraldry,  be sure to select
complex lines of division...

Through the rest of spring and summer, I watched a barony member named Dulcia (Wylde) post pictures of her own explorations in block printing and lived vicariously through it. After War, she was kind enough to teach a class at our local baronial meeting, allowing people to make and take any number of ink and fabric combinations. (Block printing, block carving, stamping, or stencils.)

I decided to give it a go and thankfully found out it's just like riding a bike! There was a small piece of carving material available, so I grabbed that and quickly drew out a rough cut of my heraldry on a lozenge. (Because why do anything easy?)  After a few negative-positive space fumbles, I carved this lovely little stamp. Not perfect, but not bad for 25+ years out of practice.

If you are interested in learning more about block printing, there is a fabulous Facebook group shepherded by Countess Brigit of Mercia. She is a powerhouse researcher who taught several classes at Pennsic this year and quite the trend setter and inspiration.

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/PrintedTextiles/

Pennsic War 45 Class I Took

Looking back on last year, it was the first time that I focused on attending classes other than dance at Pennsic University. It was a bit of a blur and I could barely remember all the classes that I took, so I promised myself this year I would actually take some notes.

Here's the run down:

1. Beginning Netting - This was the first class that I attended this year. (Yay!) I arrived at the class fairly on time and that clearly wasn't early enough. I was able to audit part of the course, but I was sitting outside the classroom and the teacher was demonstrating primarily to the people in the front of the class, but even they were having difficulty because she had her back turned to everyone. Maybe one or two people could have seen it and they were on the absolute sides of the classroom. I ended up leaving the class to grab some coffee because I would have a better chance of learning to net by watching a video. My constructive criticism here would to be enforce the class size and demonstrate with your back away from the audience, not to the audience. It was nearly impossible to see or hear anything going on.
2. Theories on Garments Found at Pskov - The class was co-taught by Mistress Blitha of Wolfhou and Lady Alfdis Thorsdottir. I really enjoyed the class and discussions, but was most impressed by the recreated examples of the extant finds used as visual aids. The documentation was well presented. Should they teach again, I recommend it!
3. Wet Felting: Viking Style - I have wanted to get my hands dirty, er clean..., with wet felting for a couple of years, but I had been unable to get in early enough to take it. I happened to catch Lítil-Grevinne Ísgerðr Gulkárr (of The Practical Viking fame) early in the morning and she was kind enough to take advance payment for an afternoon class. She was exceptionally accommodating to the over 30 students that wanted to take her class (original limit 15) and I walked away with a cute little felted pouch. I can see wanting to do this on my own in the future, despite how time consuming it is.
4. Graph Paper is Your Friend - A friendly mother-daughter team teaching their first class at Pennsic. I would recommend this class for someone starting out or a more experienced tailor interested in learning fabric conservation techniques.
5. Homeless Monks - The Mendicant Revolution - The class wasn't on my original schedule, but it turned out to be quite an enjoyable discussion with some historical favorites, such as Saint Francis of Assisi and and his friend Saint Dominic de Guzman. I enjoyed the brush with medieval history and religion for a time period I'm not overly familiar with.
6. How to Build a Yurt on a Budget - A very practical and detailed approach on how to build yurts, as the title says. I was relieved to work this in to my schedule fairly early at War because I figured it would be busy, and it was! The teacher was experienced and the hand out was great.
7. 16th Century Western Erotica - A class for adults, this was a frank and insightful class on the history of pornography in medieval times, focusing on I Modi or The Sixteen Pleasures by Raimondi and Aretino in the 1520's. I would recommend this class to anyone, but especially anyone whose persona focuses after that time so you have something to gossip about. 
8. The History of Prostitution - Taught by the same teacher as 16th Century Western Erotica, the class delved into history of prostitution through the ages and the legal and often financial ramifications of trying to moderate it. I was especially interested in how it was viewed in Roman culture and the interactions between the profession and the church. I highly recommend taking this class if you have a Roman or Italian since it would be common to know about them and how to either dress or NOT dress like a professional.
9. Whose Partner and I Anyway? - I technically attended this class... because I taught it. A collection of easy English Country Dances including Rufty Tufty, Hearts Ease, and Cuckolds all in a Row.
10. History of Block Printing & Printed Textiles - An excellent introduction to the history of block printing on textiles. It gives a great and plausible reasons for painted fabrics throughout time. The teacher was exceptionally passionate about the subject which was really contagious.
11. Medieval Gardening - An excellent overview of medieval gardening practices including seed sharing resources. I would highly recommend attending it if you're into dabbling.
12. A Hat for Every Head - The class covered head coverings throughout many time periods and reasons why they were worn, from cleanliness to holiness. Having the correct head coverings can really make or break your garb.
13. Live Like a Viking to Dress Like a Viking - A passionate teacher interested in the how and why clothing was worn, what was practical to wear, and how not to dress like you're going to your own funeral for every day task. (See also: Wet Felting)
14. Viking Penannular Brooches - This was a hands-on class that walked the students through making brooches. I wish I had better pictures of the forms we used for shaping the malleable metals, but M. loves the brooch I made.
15. Look Like You Stepped Out of a Manuscript - This class outlined how the teacher was building her wardrobe and persona based on a particular manuscript. Tips and tricks for finding similar themes and colors throughout the book (so the person is likely the same one), focusing on the layers of clothing and items to come up with a cohesive look.
16. Matthew Paris and the Volcano - This class wasn't on my original schedule, but the squirrel effect (Hey, that looks interesting!) I went and it ended up being one of the most interesting and insightful classes I took and couldn't stop talking about. I'd wax poetic, but I recommend reading the East Kingom Gazette article and seeing for yourself.
17. The Landsknechten - A historical overview of the history and people behind the Landsknechten and how this shaped their fashion choices.
18. An 11th-Century Byzantine Noblewoman's Closet - If you haven't taken a class from Anna Dokeianina Syrakousina (Anna's Rome), you're missing out. She's an subject matter on all things Byzantine. In this class, she was discussing her master's thesis works on the house records and will of a Byzantine woman named Kale. The class was fast paced, but mesmerizing. If you haven't downloaded a copy of her works (on Etsy, I believe), I would recommend it as an excellent means of research and just plain reading.
19. Drawn Work Handkerchief Make-and-Take - A lovely make and take class by Mistress Genoveva von Lubeck. It provided the ground work for future projects, should I ever have the time (and glasses) for such delicate work.
20. Diet and Nutrition in Early British Populations - I'm not precisely sure what I thought when I first sat down in the class, but I was quickly mesmerized for an hour with this teacher's in depth analysis based in hard, scientific facts, about what a particular population ate in a given region. I spent a good portion of the rest of War talking about different scientific ways to identify diseases by their ravages on your bones.
21. Period Patterns: 16th-Century Tailoring Books -  A historic look at different tailoring manuals from the past. Primarily focused on manuals from Spain, but delved into German tailoring as well as other regional manuals. Tips and techniques how to understand units of measure and how they translate to modern patterning. e.g. What's a barra and how long is it? 33 modern inches, etc. I would recommend this class for anyone looking to use historic patterns for construction and for those wishing to expand their understanding of fabric utilization and thrift.
22. Periodness of the Pennsic Homes - The class had good bones, but was more focused on a few set examples of period homes and less on good attempts for mobile domiciles at Pennsic.
23. Twelve Plants through the Ages - A highly educated and researched view on the historic uses and references to twelve plants focused on for the course of this lecture and cross referenced with known modern uses. The teacher was a professional with a background in botany. I would recommend this class for anyone interested in the history of medicinal plants or medieval medicine. The instructor advised that the twelve plants would differ each year. Bonus! 
24. Medicine, Physick, and Surgery - The class was a deep dive into different medieval medical tools, techniques, and beliefs. 
25. Viking Age Textile Tools - My notes on this class are incomplete, but it was a general survey of different textile tools used to create garments from about 800-1100 AD based on findings from the Osaberg ship. 
26. 16th-C Working Class Women's Garb Across Europe - The class could have easily been triple the single hour that was elected for and was a good primer for how, across the 16th century, construction for working class women was very uniform with regional changes. Construction methods very similar
27. Braies and Chausses for the Practical Reenactor - A lovely practical look into period braies and chausses - how they were worn, examples from manuscripts indicating the braies were far less constructed and far more practical than modern aesthetics and construction would lead us to believe. I enjoyed the perspective of having the teacher being a man wearing the garments so we could see the practicality of it. Also a historic look into references where soldiers being requisitioned with squares of material to act as socks. Fascinating!
28. Constructing a Florentine Sottana for Beginners - With permissions of Margo Anderson, the pattern maker a recently released Italian pattern booklet, the teacher of this class went over the construction of the dress with tips and tricks. Overall, a very good class with a lot of attention to detail.

It's a surprise to see just how many classes I took laid out in an ordered list! Also in knowing that the number would have been much higher if I hadn't wilted in the insufferable heat and humidity is impressive. Pennsic University is amazing, people. If you haven't taken advantage of it before, make sure you in the future!

Order of the Dragon's Heart

Midrealm Great Court, Pennsic War

On August 11, I was recognized as a member of the Order of the Dragon's Heart, a Middle Kingdom Award defined as:  given to those who have performed services on behalf of the Middle Kingdom above and beyond service normally expected of subjects of the Crown.

For all of you scheming to get me to attend the world's hottest and most humid court ever: I was going to go anyway. :|

For all those who wrote me in, thank you.

I am humbled.

Thank you to Baroness Soffya von Kulp for the lovely scroll. If you aren't familiar, her miniature work is amazing and I'm so happy to have this piece of art!

Proclaim to all that We, Cameron and Amalie are mindful of the time, labor, and love that Gianna Vettori hath freely given. Her tireless service fuels her barony and kingdom, she can continually be seen behind the scenes to ensure that the society is a better place for all. She truly has the heart of a dragon, and we are minded to create her a companion of our most noble Order of the Dragon's Heart.

Pennsic 45 Classes

The beginning of the year brought some pretty large changes and projects on the home and work front, so much that I missed the deadline for class submissions for Pennsic! After I returned from the UK, I submitted one class in the event that Pennsic U needed a spot filled in the dance tent. I was contacted by the Dean of the School of European Dance to wiggle my single class in. \o/ Thanks! :)

• 8/4 @ 10:00 AM - Whose Partner Am I Anyway?

Edit: While the class was lightly attended, thanks to the three students, especially Hakon Hrafnsson for being a repeat customer. [For those that don't know him, Lord Hakon is an exceptionally talented dance master, musician, webminister in the Shire of Rivenvale, and mean bocce player.]

Order of the Pelican - April 2016

The Order of the Pelican is a patent of arms level award given by the crown in recognition of dedicated service. Members of this order are known most commonly by the badge blazoned: (Tinctureless) A pelican in its piety or (Fieldless) A cap of maintenance gules trimmed ermine.

• Direct Link: The British Library
• Title: The Gorleston Psalter
• Origin: 1320-1604, English (Suffolk)

This scroll was created on pergamenata with Windsor-Newton gouache and Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay Black India ink. Illumination by Gianna Vettori. Calligraphy by Ginevra Boscoli. The text reads as follows:

Draw near and hear the words of the rightful sovereigns of the Midrealm, Tsar Nikolai and Tsarina Serena. In consideration of the noble virtues and distinguished service, alike in courtesy and honor as in patience and toil, of our faithful subject Sarah of the Erie Sea do create her a companion of the Order of the Pelican, to be in all places numbered a peer of Our realm. Done this 2nd day of April, Anno Societatis 50 in our Marche of the Unicorn.

Finished work.

Inspiration piece.

A Learning Experience

In the official scroll post, I mentioned I had mixed feelings about the scroll. Rather than letting it slip to the way side, let's take a closer look at what went wrong and, believe it or not, what went right.

I love the calligraphy in the original. It is closer to the inspiration fencing manual. Always check your sentence structure before you put ink to paper. The original switches from Their to Our. It's subtle, but it drove me crazy. When I was done with the scroll and putting things away, I was trying to be cute/thorough and put a period in gold at the end of "...Nikolai & Tsarina Serena" and somehow managed to stick it one line above. I had to try to cover my coppery-gold ink blot and it really bothered me. I pulled the original OKC text from the Middle Kingdom Scribes Handbook, but it felt stilted and I was having trouble getting a good sentence structure feel using Hear or Heed the words.

The calligraphy is alright, but I grabbed the wrong nib and had to commit after "Jao"... I changed the color of the two men's fencing outfits. The original was too Blue vs. Green which is sensitive in this region. I increased the size of the Cavendish Knot which I feel fills the space a little better. I added the ground (grass) which was in the original fencing manual. It was something which I felt was lacking in the original iteration of the scroll and am glad I put in the second. It proves an anchor and a bit of closure. I went back to my scroll assignment and pulled the reason for the scroll ("joyful expertise on the rapier field") and used that to personalize the scroll.

(Exhibit A) The original Cavendish Knot.

(Exhibit B) The final Cavendish Knot.

There is a lot more nit picking back and forth between the two scrolls in my opinion, but the recipient was pleased with the scroll they received and the ink is dry, so to speak. This was definitely a learning experience. I'm glad I had built in a little extra off time around the event to allow for a total remake of the scroll.

Order of the Cavendish Knot - February 2016

The Order of the Cavendish Knot is an award given by the crown for those who have excelled in the rapier arts. The recipients are known by the badge blazoned: Four Cavendish knots conjoined in cross vert. This award is similar in rank to the: Award of the Dragon's Tooth and Orders of the Dragon's Barb, White Chamfron and Red Company, and is also armigerous.

• Direct Link: Liber de Arte Gladatoria Dimicandi
• Title: Liber De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi
• Author: Filippo di Vadi di Pisa
• Origin: Italy, 1480's

The Order of the Cavendish Knot was created on pergamenata with Windsor-Newton gouache and Speedball calligraphy inks using a few different nibs. The text reads as follows:

Hear the words of the sovereigns of the Midrealm, Tsar Nikolai and Tsarina Serena. It is their wish to recognize their loyal subject Jao Veludo Alfonso d'Albuquerque for his joyful expertise on the rapier field and for the teaching of others. They commend him and are pleased to make him a member of their Order of the Cavendish Knot with all rights and responsibilities attendant upon this rank and the right to bear the badge: Four Cavendish Knots conjoined in cross vert. Done by their hands this 27th day of February Anno Societatis 50 at the Regular Event in their Barony of the Cleftlands.

Author's Note: I have mixed feelings about this scroll. I was very happy with the assignment, particularly because it was an honor to create the scroll for a fellow I may have asked to marshal the Regular Event. ;) That said, the learning experience here is... proof your work before you finish your work. There are two complete versions of this scroll, one that will see the light of day, another that has a few glaring grammar errors. I'm actually a little embarrassed that I didn't catch it a lot earlier than writing out the printed heralds copy for the back of the scroll. Know your limits and which balls to juggle while you're juggling. (And don't necessarily ask for a fourth, fifth, or sixth to add to the mix.)

Finished work.

Inspiration piece.

Inspiration piece.

The final product is a combination of these two pages from the Book on the Art of Fighting and Swords (in English). I took the illuminated H and inverted it for spacing reasons, then added the two fencers and the Cavendish Knot at the bottom. I leveled out the blades they may be used as a signature guide for Their Majesties.

The Sisterhood Takes Twelfth Night

Zsof, Felice, Colette, Philip, Crespine
Gianna, Ginevra, and Katherine.

In early January, Ginevra and I were contacted by Master Philip for some tom foolery -- the elevation of Crespine to the Order of the Pelican. Namely, we were contacted to create the elevation scroll. Due to work, I was unable to contribute and Ginevra had free time so she designed and executed the scroll worthy of a peerage. (Really, go look at it. It's amazing!)

One aspect I think we all loved was the subterfuge. Crespine was in attendance to beg a boon for her student, Genoveva von Lübeck to join the Order of the Laurel. We let her believe Philip had notified us of this, so that explained why we were at the event. Ha ha! On the flip side, Genoveva was in on Crespine's elevation to Pelican and created a gorgeous cut work apron. So overall, a successful bait and switch! Well played, Master Philip. Well played.

Brown Wool Campi Dress

In late July, I decided I would like another Pennsic Project (TM) in the form of a lovely brown wool dress. I utilized the spare laced front patterned and quilted pieces not used with my red linen Campi-inspired dress and covered it with wool. The skirt consists of three roughly 48H by 58W rectangles of fabric, sewn selvage edges together vertically and hemmed.

Obviously, this didn't get done during Pennsic because I decided to take All The Classes and time during daylight hours was sparse. I picked up the project again in September to demonstrate hand sewing at a demo, then again for actual project completion slash deadline for January 9th's Twelfth Night in Pentamere for Mistress Crespine's covert addition to the Order of the Pelican.

Portrait of a Young Woman
Sandro Botticelli

When I initially pulled the dress fabric from storage, I was looking to give a nod to Sandro Botticelli's Portrait of a Young Woman (right). I had most of the bodice constructed and the finishing work done when I started musing on how exactly to do the ladder lacing. I wanted to try something other than rings on the inside which can cause puckering of the fabric, so I spoke with another seamstress who recommended sewing grosgrain or twill ribbon on the inside to form the ladder then lacing the ladder with ribbon or cording.

A fantastic idea if I hadn't already tacked down every piece of lining on the bodice! Due to the now time crunch, I decided to machine sew 5/8" cotton twill tape and use cotton lucet cord instead of ribbon. The side effect of not thinking this through all the way? I had to now place some trim on the front of the dress to cover the sewing machine thread runs.

Fortunately, I do enjoy hoarding trim I rarely use, so I pulled out a festive Calontir Trim in taupe, brown, red, and green and covered the sewing machine sins. It looked a bit plain, so I added trim down in more of a Campi style. Since my original idea was totally kiboshed, I chose to try my hand at unsupervised cartridge pleating.

Overall... I'd call this dress a success. It's not what I started out trying to make, but after six months of on and off thinking about it, it works quite well. One clever thing I've noticed is the friction of the lucet cord vs. the texture of the cotton twill ribbon means I do not have to tie off when I'm done lacing. It will hold true most of the day. Bonus!

Adding trim.

Cartridge pleats!