Greet's Middle Ages

Future event plans - visiting Trimaris

Right, the usual apologies for being quiet - it's trendy to blame Facebook, who am I to be different.

AND MY CAMERA HAS DIED.  SHUTTER BUTTON KAPUT.  INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING.  (I will limp along with my phone-cam until I can get a replacement.)

But since good things keep happening with my friends, I feel obligated to share and help as I can:

Major squee for Madhavi, my Indian-persona-ed pal in Trimaris.  Madhavi is one of the considerable forces behind the SCA-India Yahoo list, and she's also an AMAZING cook (which in the SCA, frequently translates to "feastcrat", or person who coordinates, researches, shops for, and does the bulk of the cooking for 80-200 people at a multi-course meal, usually on some theme).

For the fabulous occasion of Trimaris' 25th Anniversary, she is presenting an Indian-themed feast.  (See her wonderful website about it here.)  Since I have a secondary Rajput persona, I thought - "Ooh, I want to help serve that."  And bring textiles.  And finally finish off my getup - because although wearing all that borrowed jewelry was fun, it really wasn't Quite Right.  (There should be many more pearls.  And black tassels.)  

Not to mention that the Viking and I lovelovelove Indian food, Labor Day weekend is long enough to get down to Ocala, it's also the Coronation of friends of mine from Tally (I'm SO EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS), it's right after my birthday (so clearly I should get what I want, right?), and I can see my mother, who plays in Trimaris.

AND.  Her Highness Princess Grainne is Anglo-Saxon, she of the warp-weighted loom project that I helped a bit with last year, so of course we need warm-weather clothes for that.  I've been promising the Viking a long Saxon tunic, and have lovely orangey herringbone linen twill for him, and I've warped my loom with more diamond twill, though it's going to have some interesting blue and gold striping.

I'm also in the weeds regarding sewing for potters - I owe two various things, which I'd like to finish before Pennsic.

Did I mention I'm jobhunting?  

Need someone to charm clients, research solutions,keep up with filing/bookkeeping, progress long-term projects, compose communications,and keep an ear to the ground?  I need work that will help me direct my business degree – let’s help each other!

Sable Sword cloak patterns

As part of my job as Special Projects Deputy to the Costumer's Guild of Meridies, I've been trying to capture the projects that are being done.  Numerous people have been making Sable Sword cloaks, which are regalia for those individuals who have been named to the Order of the Sable Sword.   They are large hooded black cloaks, with a white center black panel, to show off the appliqued black sword at center spine, hilt up.

Maudey made up eight kits, and put assembly instructions in them, but if we ever want any more, I thought it'd be good to draw up patterns and take notes.  I used the last unassembled kit as an example.

Backs and sides here.

Download Sable Sword Pattern - Back and Side Back

Fronts and hoods here.

Download Sable Sword Pattern - Hood and Front

For those unfamiliar with grid reproduction: Each grid square is supposed to be enlarged to 1".  This means, for example, that the center back panel should be cut from a rectangle 55" tall and 21" wide.

(I've been forcing my new drafting/modeling program to do things it isn't really designed to do, but hey, we've got patterns that are reproducible now.  And I learned things.)

Materials list:

• Black wool, medium weight, for sword, and all panels except center back.
• White (natural white, not high-reflectance white) wool, medium weight, for center back panel.
• Black linen, for all lining pieces.

Lining pieces are identical to outer pieces.

I haven't redone the instruction sheet yet - that's coming.  When I get all this together, it'll go up on the CG web site.

GW 2009 Populace Badge Embroidery Project

I am helping HRM Gwendolen create embroidered tokens for Gulf Wars 2009.  This is a fairly large project and given the time constraints and the volume involved, I'm soliciting machine embroiderers' help.

 I've posted eleven embroidery machine files, in various formats, for public download at my blog here:

 http://szarka.typepad.com/sca/2009/02/downloads-for-machine-embroidery-meridies-populace-badge.html

 If you're interested in helping, please email me, so I can keep track of how I'm doing recruiting, and include a mailing address so I can get black fabric to you.

Thank you so much in advance.

 ~Greet

------------------UPDATE: Feb 17--------------

The tokens are to be sized approx. 4" x 24", with the device located at one end, so that the token can be tucked into the Typical Fighter's Belt.  I'm going to be backing/hemming/edging/otherwise finishing them, so give me at least 1/4" around the device to get that accomplished.

Black fabric: Linen/ linen blend preferred.  If you want to contribute fabric (which would be great!), try to fool me with your choice.

Thread: White.

---------------Link roundup---------------

Embroiderers found so far

Download the sewing machine files here

People helping to do machine embroidery - GW 2009

EMBROIDERERS

THL Juliana verch Hoell, Shire of Phoenix Glade (developed files in various formats)
Lady Ciar inghean ui Fhothaidh, Barony of the Southdowns
THL Catrin Skynith, Shire Brantestone
Cairistiona, Shire Brantestone
Mistress Wynalie Mareschall

Downloads for machine embroidery - Meridies Populace Badge

Various helpful people are interested in file downloads for the Meridian Populace Badge.

PLEASE NOTE:  I don't have an embroidery machine, nor do I have the software necessary to create these files.  I am, however, coordinating an effort to produce a WHOLE LOT of embroidered tokens with the Meridian Populace Badge...they will be white thread on black fabric, like this:

If you are interested in doing a bunch of these for the Crown's use at Gulf Wars, PLEASE EMAIL ME.

I got a pal (who does have the fancy machine and the fancy software) to create a bunch of standard file formats for you all to download and use.  I have no rights to these, just the space to publish.  Here they are:
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - CSD
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - DST
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - EXP
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - HUS
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - JEF
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - PCS
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - pes
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - SEW
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - SHV
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - VIP
Download MeridiesUseBadge3 - XXX

Thank you so much, Juliana, for everything you do to support me, the Shire of Phoenix Glade, and the Kingdom of Meridies.  I really appreciate it.

If anyone has any trouble with these, please let me know, and I will see what I can do as a cat wrangler to fix it...bearing in mind that I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Baby Jester Booties

All done.  Two pairs, two sizes.  For sale, $5 each pair.  Felted Alpaca.

Fleece Helms

HAVE:
Purchased fabric.

NEXT STEPS:
Enlarge pattern to head size.
Make one up.

Develop crown pattern.
Make one up.

Fundraiser Craft Ideas

These are the ideas I first listed with the beaded bookmarks.  I would like to explore all of these, to see which are the easiest for us to do, but also which sell best.  Please keep thinking of new ideas, as some of these will probably turn out to be Time Sinks.

Beaded bookmarks - 12 DONE.
Felt helms    
Embroidered games - Nine Men's Morris, Fox and Geese    
Flower wreaths    
Placemats with culinary images + recipes, suitable for framing - we discussed this idea in lieu of a cookbook, since cookbooks are SO much work for so little return, generally.  They could be a set of four, and we could do new ones each year and make them collectible.    
Macrame belts and jewelry    
Fimo-ed tokens: Refrigerator magnets?  Need some really good rubber stamps for this    
Fimo-ed glassware - this was really clever of Deb, I'm looking forward to seeing this idea further developed.

ADDITIONS (thanks Lavena and Corduane!) - 1/21/07
Dice games imprinted onto wood blocs similar to a cribbage board - Like "A Watery Grave Or Thee", where brave Viking players roll the dice to navigate storms, fierce monsters and icebergs, loot villages, and eventually return home safely.
Felt Flags to wave, or string up as pennants.

Beaded Bookmarks

The A&S crowd gathered at Seneschal Gabrielle's on Sunday night to get something together for a probable craft fair come April.  I had the idea to copy a beaded bookmark, that I received as a gift last Yuletide.

So here's the results.  We managed to get twelve done in five hours, leaving time for munching, gossiping, and laughing, of course. 

I think twelve is enough if we have several other sorts of things, like:

Felt helms
Embroidered games - Nine Men's Morris, Fox and Geese
Flower wreaths
Placemats with culinary images + recipes, suitable for framing - we discussed this idea in lieu of a cookbook, since cookbooks are SO much work for so little return, generally.  They could be a set of four, and we could do new ones each year and make them collectible.
Macrame belts and jewelry
Fimo-ed tokens: Refrigerator magnets?  Need some really good rubber stamps for this
Fimo-ed glassware - this was really clever of Deb, I'm looking forward to seeing this idea further developed.

Introducing Sir Lightbulb!

 

Visor down...

Visor up!

And his predecessor, Sir Salt Shaker (say that five times fast!)...

Visor down...

Visor up!  Unfortunately, Sir Salt Shaker's service was required at the table, so I had to seek a substitute.

(Today's GMA post was brought to you by Tape and the Letter S.)