Coronation is Over

Well Coronation is over... except for the sorting out of accounts to send to Kingdom.

Baxton looked very flash... and so did I - But I don't have a photo of mine!!

It was so much fun!!! AD and I were run off our feet the whole time - very busy, but somehow we remained outwardly unstressed (which has been praised). The hall looked fantastic. The kings and Queens were gracious. I love Queen Asa - we got on very well. Lady Contarina gave heaps of praise about the quality of the pouches and napkins to me - without realising that I was the one who made them... that was nice!!

My family gave up coping after 24 hrs and I got Willie back on Sunday - once he realised that there were people he knew and better yet..kids he was fine. I think he will be fine at Canterbury Fair. He also had a wonderful time playing horses with Asa, feeding Draco olives (which were passed backwards to L.Katherine) and had AEdward watching out for orcs and giants.

I won the WCoB competition... that was so cool!!! I also had Willie's shirt graded by Rowan - Journeyman WOO HOO and she also said that if I fixed the one negative (figures too small) on my klosterstitch then that would be MASTER level!!!

All in all a very successful event with praise piled upon the Canton (us in particular!!) and the mainland Lochacian's all saying how wonderful the Crescent Isles are and more people should come over.

We have also had offers for Master Del to come over for a dance weekend, and Lady Contarina to come over for a sewing weekend! Lady Contarina has aslo persuaded Lady Katherine and I to put a bid in for Guid Assencion day(which we will do for 2008 - I think)

The best thing about crown events... all the new friends you make.

SIGH!! It's finished and it was great!!

Third Place!!

I came third place in the handsewing competition.... YAY FOR ME!!!

1st was Maggie - no surprise there
2nd was a lady who had a handmade kirtle with apparently stunning eyelet holes - can't compete with that!!

and 3rd was me!! with Willies yellow tunic - see entry - where have the months gone 9 March 06 for a pic of the young man in his tunic!!

I am thrilled, my first competition, and there were not 3 entries!!

Pavillion Update

At St Georges 2 weeks ago - our pavillion had some what of a trial by rain!!!

On the Sunday it rained off and on and on the first down pour... MY TENT LEAKED!!! After that it seemed to be OK... that is until Tueday morning.

We awoke to pelting rain and turned the torch toward the roof to see an absolutely sodden roof ready to start sieving at any moment - or so we thought. I hopped out of bed to find my self in ankle deep water... not good - so we furiously started packing everthing up on the beds - Thank goodness for the beds!!! and then rushed Willie over to the kitchen tent. AD and Stephen packed up the car but we left the very wet tent - which Linda and John kindly said we could leave all the tents until they dried out. To my surprise... despite the wet and the flood the rain only dripped slightly through the roof - so it was still more waterproof than I expected.

When we went back a few days later, I found we had the same inside mould problem as we had in summer. But I have had a good talk to Master Stephano - who knows these things and have a list of tasks to help our poor tent survive a bit longer....

a) wash it at a laudromat - my idea, not his!! need to get most of the mould out!!
b) sew on fatter valance - this is fine as I want to get some extra canvas to extend the walls as well. I thimk I will turn the old valance into "sleeves" for a rope and hook the walls on in future!
c) make a lining out of Calico - good idea, it will definately help with the indoor damp problem - and I can just was the calico lining in the home washing machine!! I will do the roof and walls seperatley and to tie on.I think the walls will eventually become hangings!!
d) Water proof with a 3/1 wax and terps solution - that's good but I need a whole lot of wax - I don't think this will happen before Coronation some how - but I will add it to my list of things to do.

I feel a bit flat even though I know my pavillion is a good one and was bound to need readjustments - how ever if I find myself with a spare 3 or 4 thousand.... I will buy a Panther Pavillion!!!!!!

I am very pleased to say that Baxton's beds were fantastic!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

Would you believe it.... My Husband forgot my Birthday!!!!!!!

To be fair he did get up yesterday and make me Eggs Benedict with Salmon yesterday - he couldn't really make it before work this morning. And he did buy me 10m of linen the other week - BUT this morning - nothing. Only after his breakfast, shower, putting the rubbish out, getting me to fix the seam in his work pants and sew his blackwork to the frame did he remember to say oh..Happy Birthday Honey!! - I may be 41 but I still like the day acknowledged!

ANY WAY we did have a good weekend - Willie and I went out with Mum on Saturday for brunch and I gave her the fugly bag I made

Cool ae!! The photo's are mostly of Willie with 1 of me and 1 of my brother - she loved it and insited on wearing clothes to match her bag.

AD finished the bed prototype yesterday - v.cool! and surprisingly very comfy. We are getting a thick piece of felt to put on top of the rope, but I think that is all we will need. The most expensive bit was the rope. I can't wait to use them at St Georges.

That's all for now... I am of to NOT do work but do some sewing for ME!!!

Pouches

I just realized that I never posted pics of the pouches I made for the King and Queen - now Duke Cornelius and Duchess Morwynna

SHHH Don't show them - I haven't sent them yet!!

Must do that this weekend!

Also here is the one I made for Baron Sir Inigo's birthday a while back.

where have the months gone

GOOD GRIEF!!!

my Last post was in January!!!
Where have the last 2 months gone.
We had a fantastic time at Leuwen Horst - it was very hot and sticky and I spent most of the time in my chemise and a surcoat. Willie raced around in his new tunic and nothing but his new tunic and looked very cute. We made the paper as we walked off with handfuls of carrot for the horses!!I am thinking of putting the tunic into the hand sewing comp for May Crown. I have finished Baxton's braies, but only in cotton. I am going to make some in Linen but that is way TOO expensive in Hamilton. But there is a shop in Otahuhu with 3.99 a metre Linen. We stopped there on our family day at the Auckland zoo and my lovely Husband bought me 10 metres for my birthday!! so he will eventually get his linen braies.
But not just yet...
things are getting very hectic with Coronation only 4 months away. Baxton is stressed and I have got too many projects to do.

I really want to make a new dress for Coronation, 15th Century venetian, just for a total change. I have had a really good look at the basic gathered kirtle and thought that once I have the bodice sorted, it will really be quite easy... most probably famous last words!! I had planned to make a basic green (for Cluain) gathered kirtle and bought the fabric for that in the January sales. THEN while I was at spotlight the other day I saw a nice yellow brocade for $5 a metre and decided that it would look nice as a fancy over the top gown. We'll see what happens.

Baxton wants a new Houplande for Coronation and we have been given a large amount of Green Velveteen, which should do the job and his Mum has an old brown fur coat in the wardrobe which I will raid for trim.

I have to finish Benedict's Banner, which is my next project to finish - after I have layed out the bodice and the convent stitch all ready to go.

and there is the convent stitch for the competition. I have the linen all drawn up with the design and ready to go. I have decided on a piece that depicts the values of the household du Glonn - Cammeraderie, Hospitality and Antiquity, I will put pics on my Kloster stitch page when it is ready. But now my issue is, I havn;t done embroidery with wool before, I am doing a test piece and am not at all sure of the results. It is too thick to do the fine detail that I want. I really want to just do it in cotton pearl - which would be easier and cheaper but not period and this IS after all a competition piece. I have asked the list for help, but I really am feeling quite desperate about it. It will all work out in the end and I will have something for the competition even if it is not finished.

Coronation itself is a huge project and as we suspected, some people are not doing the jobs they commited to, which leaves more for the rst of us to do. - It is still going to be great and I am sure that the hospitality of Cluain will shine through and surpass everything.

The other thing I am working on and will finish this weekend is a handbag for my mum's birthday. She has taken a real shine to those bags that looks like someone has thrown fabric and lace at. SO I emptied the scrap bag and have put this explosion together for her. I also had some transfer paper, which I printed photo's of my son and ironed them on to some lawn and have scattered those on to the bag as well.... she will LOVE it. It is her birthday next weekend and we are going out to lunch. I will post it when it is finished.

I will finish all these projects and we will survive hosting a Coronation and I am sure I will even survive living with the Steward, But I am going to really need a holiday in July - I think I will take my family for a winter beach holiday at Marakopa.

I have a Pavillion!!

I decided that my Family needed a pavillion to call their own in about May. There are increasingly more camping events or events where bunking with a small boy in a room of others is just not practical. When I found painters light canvas drop sheets 9"x12" for $20 each at Bejanim Moore (Product placement) I decided to start planning.

As you can see Willie got some new toys for his medieval fighters. But I did find out that 6 drop sheets would do the trick. I did a bit of research, and a lot of planning and changed the design slightly - to reduce the sewing required. I finally got the canvas cut after Christmas. I had been procrastinating as it was a VERY daunting project. I had hunted around on trade me for a cheap scout tent to try to avoid even having to do it... but no luck. NOW I had planned to be working on this a while and was going to document each step on my blog.... BUT I started sewing it on Friday morning and despite a lot of interuptions and breaks for family "FUN" I had finished the roof before bed time, I spent some time on Saturday sewing eyelets (rope eyelets... nifty Idea from an old scout tent). On Sunday we fiddled with ropes and poles and on Monday afternoon I finished the sides... so here it is!!

Not unlike the paper model I started with! I am going to paint a pattern around the edge of the roof- perfectly 14th century- and we still have to waterproof it ($59 from Trek and Travel) But to date it has cost a grand total of $278nz. The pole are mostly from an old scout tent and we will have to replace them in time but I have found some dowel at Daves emporium for $7.95 for the side poles and $13.95 for the centre poles which is about 1/2 the price of Bunnings, we think we will buy a couple a week until they are all replaced. I am going to write up my documentation as it may just come in handy some time... and others may be interested in it as well. Final floor dimetions are just under 3metres x 4 metres - not big but good for a camp, and I think it really looks the part to fit in with commercially made pavillions.
Baxton is going to make a box to store it in which will fit in the car and we can use as a table when camping. I dear say that it is not over as we will now want to gather other period stuff for inside... we have all ready discussed draperies!! - I think I will send my documentation to Cockatrice!!!