Thoughts of the Lady in the Tower

2004-07-24 - 8:22 p.m.

Sewing Updates

Amalia and Kaolin came over today to sew. They're both going to Pennsic, so they have DEADLINES, and need some technical assistance (plus Amalia admitted needing someone to say "You are sewing now!"). Me, I don't have anything PRESSING, so I mostly provided technical assistance.

Today, Kaolin learned to do a blind hem and button holes on a machine. She turned an old dress that had gotten stepped on and ripped into a Viking apron, and sewed the button holes on an underdress (I think it's for a cotehardie, but not sure) that have been waiting for months. Yay!

Amalia got probably 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through a Bocksten, with her hands doing all the work (so she would learn how to do it). Last week, I found a file I had saved from somewhere (that someone had typed in from a book; the book citation was there, but not where I got it from) on how to insert a gore/gusset into a slit without a pucker. We tried that and I was VERY pleased with how it turned out. Yay!

I got the first iteration of my new fencing jacket done, and made some samples to send with Amalia to fighter practice for the rapier marshal to punch test. Yeah, I sucked today. I had the blahs all day. But, as I pointed out, I don't have any deadlines, so it's okay. I was available to answer questions. Yeah, that's the ticket. ;-)

While I was waiting for them to get here, I posted pictures from last weekend's event on the Dun Carraig photo album: Storvik's Novice Tourney. There are two pictures of me in my new Viking (with the brooches and borrowed beads, which weren't in the last set: Three Friends and Three Ladies Walking. Unfortunately, the angle of the friends one is strange and made me look really fat. They say the camera adds 10 pounds, but I got nothing but compliments on that dress all day!

Oh, the thing hanging off my brooch in the friend's picture is the site token for the event. How cool that it was a Viking ship! (Well, the barony has a Viking flavor, so it's not totally unexpected, but I thought it was nifty).

Looking at the picture, I think my Jorvik cap is too long. The edges crinkled from getting pressed against my shoulders. Hmmm. Will have to think about that.

The ladies picture was funny. I still don't know who took it, but when I pulled up the file it was upside-down! Richard was helping me with the culls, and for some reason that one kept ending up in the background (still upside-down). Messed with our minds a bit.

I'm going to have to start taking the tripod to events it seems. Very few of the pictures that I didn't take came out. Richard says that the camera moves when you click the shutter, and I'm used to it. So, if I ever want pictures of me doing stuff, I'll have to come up with some way to have an unobtrusive tripod. Ideas?