Slow Day

It was a pretty slow day. We had to do our Tax today. It only took about 15 mins. If I'm lucky I might get $150 back. We had lunch at Adams Mums' place. Then got back and did some sewing. I finished off the last of the Warwick motifs. They have come out pretty well. I will make them up tomorrow. I will post a picture of the finished items.

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Sydney Aquarium

We went to the Sydney Aquarium today. We got the train down, less hassle not having to worry about parking etc. So we got the 6.30am train. Got to Sydney about 9am. Then the light rail to Darling Harbour. There was a small line but only a few minutes wait. The exhibits were great. The platypi were so cute. The seals were good. We saw this huge Tasmanian crab. The lobsters were scared of it. We had lunch and then walked around the shops for a while. Then a frappachino at Starbucks. We got back to the station and were able to jump straight on a train. Got home about 6pm. A fair bit of travelling but a fairly relaxed day. No pictures yet.

To make this sewing related, I did manage to get a bit of needlework done on the train.

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Sweetbag Design

It was a slow start to the day. I didn't really get motivated until tonight. I have designed both sides of the sweetbag. I've gone for a floral theme. The designs have been put on tracing paper and are ready to be ironed onto the linen. I will probably do that on Wednesday as we are going to the Sydney Aquarium tomorrow and I have to dig the linen out and I don't feel like doing that now. Too hot. I will post image when they are on the frame.

I also finished tracing the designs from the Warwick shirt and I've put them on linen. I will be taking them with me to do on the train tomorrow. Might get half of them donw if I'm lucky. I want to get a few done so I can give them to the Baroness on Saturday at Spring War in case she wants some to give out.

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Progress

I put in about 3 hours on the Viking coat. I did two rows around the full edge of the coat. I love working with thick thread, things go sooo much faster!! I was having major crises trying to work out what colour to do it in. I was planning green originally, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted yellow. I've bought three colours of yellow and every time, once I got them out of the shop, the colours didn't go. It really does pay to be able to check colours in natural light!!

Melanie - can you let me know which pattern you wanted to use?? There is no problem with you using them. It's just if you tell me which ones you want, I can send you the patterns.

Linn - I know! Not the best shoes, but at least they are leather!

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More on the Viking Coat

Sharon has asked about the Viking Coat I am making. It took about 4 hours to sew it up. I am using a standard rectangle based construction technique. This is the style I use to make my various tunics (including the Anglo-Saxon one below). To make this coat, all I have done is have an opening down the front. This technique was used for nearly a 1000 years all over Europe and the Middle East (where the basic technique is still in use). The beauty of this construction technique is that you only need a couple of measurements to make it up. Also, you can use the same pattern for any number of designs. This one is in wool, and is a Viking style over caftan. However, if I was to make this style in a patterned silk or cotton, it would be perfect for a Persian coat.

If you look closely, you can see a faint blue line around the front seam, running around the bottom hem. I am going to embroider this. I will be using a variation of the pattern I used on the Anglo-Saxon tunic. This is from a Viking find and is in fact, believed to have been influenced by the Anglo-Saxon culture. Since I plan on wearing this with the Anlgo-Saxon tunic, it should be a good match. I had intended on doing it in green, but I think I will do it in yellow. I will be using DMC tapestry wool, so hopefully the work should go quickly. The coat only has one fastening, just below the neck line, where you see the neckling just kick in. I am hoping to talk to one of the members of my Barony, who makes Viking and Dark Ages jewellery. I am going to get a trefoil brooch to hold it closed.

BTW, I've added a picture of Adams' finished tunic below in the relevant post.

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Anglo-Saxon Tunic Complete

I have now finished the Anglo-Saxon tunic. The only thing that I may add, will be a border at the hem of the tunic, with the same scrolling design, but directly onto the fabric, rather than onto a strip. So a total of 60 hours on the embroidery, about 6 hours for the hand sewing of the tunic.

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Embroidery on Anglo-Saxon Cuffs Finished!!

It's 12.05 am and I just finished the embroidery on my Anglo-Saxon cuffs. So tomorrow I can press and put onto the tunic and it will be finished! Yay!!

The picture doesn't show the colours very well but gives an idea of the size.

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Viking Coat and Quick Service

I spent most of yesterday working on my Viking coat. It is basically done ie it's wearable. I just have to make the lining, but I could wear the coat if I had to. I am thinking of doing embroidery down the front opening. If I do, I am using way thicker wool this time. The neckline was easier to do than I thought.

I ordered the wool yesterday afternoon and it arrived in the post today. I am very impressed with the very quick service from the shop. Luckily, they are right next door to the Post Office. I stayed up late last night and finished one of the two lines of embroidery. Just a few more hours to go and it will be finished. Might try and get it done tonight. That will get a major project out of the way.

We went shopping today and had lunch with Adam's parents. We ran into so many people it wasn't funny. I bought another pair of Colorado shoes today and a Colorado handbag. I am quickly becoming a walking Colorado advert!

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Good News

I had a quick hunt around the house and managed to find one skein of the wool I needed. I know, I should have done that BEFORE I went shopping and did a big dummy spit. Hey, who said I had to be consistant!

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This is Why I Shop On The Internet

So I jump on the ferry to go to the craft shop to pick up the last skein of thread I need to finish my Anglo-Saxon cuffs. I get to the shop and of course, of all the colours they have, they are out of one colour, the one I need. I suspect that when I bought the half a dozen skeins about two months ago, I must have bought them out. So for two months, they have been out of this colour. Perhaps it might have been a good idea to restock?? So when I ask when they will be back in stock, she says next week. So I assume that the salesperson will be ordering this in specifically cause I asked about it. I ask again, wouldn't it have been better to order BEFORE someone needed it in a hurry?

Now I know someone is going to say, but they probably need a minimum order etc etc. Yes, that does happen, but I get the feeling she was going to re-order this specifically cause I pointed out that they didn't have any. Now, if they actually kept an eye on their stock levels and ordered more efficiently it wouldn't be a problem.

So now, I have just ordered the needed skeins from a shop on the Internet and paid for Express Post. So with a bit of luck I should have it by the end of the week. However, since this isn't an online only shop, it may take a bit longer than that.

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Don't You Hate It When...

You think you are nearly finished a project, then you realise there is more than you thought to do and then you run out of materials? I thought I was on the home stretch of the Anglo-Saxon cuffs, only another couple of hours to go. But there was more on the frame than I thought, so at least another 12 hours of sewing and I just ran out of wool yarn. So I am finishing off what I can with the leftovers and I will be heading to the craft shop first thing tomorrow morning to buy the needed supplies. I needed to go to the shop anyway, so good excuse.

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Adam's Tunic is Finished

I spent yesterday afternoon making a tunic for Adam. Standard St Louis rectangular construction tunic. It's a nice light bone coloured linen with brown linen keyhole neckline and cuffs. Took about 6 hours. But I made sure all the seams were finished off. So its totally machine washable and should last a very long time. Pictures if I can get Adam to model it!

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Dyeing Done

I've dyed the 5 metres of wool for my coat. I used two packets of terracotta dye. Because it's wool, it doesn't take the dye as well as cotton. So the colour is a bit light, too orange, but I can live with it. I managed to get to Spotlight where they had alot of stuff on sale. I ended up buying 50 m of fabric, 10 m each of 5 colours. It was only $1 m so it was worth stocking up. It was homespun, so I will probably use it for linings (I am using a light khaki to line the coat). The rest I will probably use to make for Hospitaller.

So tomorrow I start sewing in earnest. First cab off the rank will be the coat.

I've done another few hours on the cuffs. I hope to get them finished tonight. If so, then tomorrow night, it will be finishing off the tunic.

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First Day of Holidays

Today is the first day of two weeks of holidays. We're not going away, just bumming around the house with a few days trips planned and maybe the movies. I have just started to dye three metres of wool upolstery fabric a nice terracotta colour. I plan on making a Viking/Rus coat. The weather is starting to warm as Spring takes hold, but our Barony has one more big event for the year, Spring War. This is a camping event, so I will still need some warm clothes.

On the embroidery front, I've done another six hours on the Anglo-Saxon cuffs. They should be finished by mid next week. The tunic will then be finished. Unless I decided to do the decoration around the hem. I think I will do this, but it won't be finished in time for Spring War.

Other projects I hope to get done are:

• Design, put pattern on fabric and frame up my Elizabethan sweetbag.
• Design and make up pattern for blackwork sleeves.
• Design, sew and make up three pairs of gloves for Kingdom A and S competition.
• Make up tunic for Adam for Spring War.

So, there should be plenty of progress reports and pics over the next couple of weeks, depending on how things go.

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Warwick Shirt Motif

I decided to embroider one of the motifs from the Warwick Shirt and make it up into a scent pouch and send it to the very helpful lady at the Museum. It is approx 2" square. Here it is, it took about an hour to do:

I am getting very tempted to make this shirt. However, a couple of things are holding me back. I figure there is about 150 hours of stitching. Not that big a turnoff. But the other thing is, I don't like to copy directly from an existing item, I like to use it as an inspiration and adapt it to my needs. But I really like the design of this shirt, maybe I could add in additional motifs? Also, I am tossing up whether I should do it in the original red or go for black, partly for practical reasons, the red silk thread I use bleeds and the black doesn't.

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Kaisermantel of Otto IV

Some images of the 12th C mantle, on purple silk twill (probably Byzantine) and goldwork (probably English):

• Kaisermantel of Otto IV
• Flat
• Embroidery detail on front edge
• More detail
• More detail
• Detail of Lion

Thanks to Katherine for posting to the 12th C clothing email list. And check out the lions, those guys are cute!!

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Spot Motifs Details

Well, good news on the research front. I got the materials back from the musuem relating to the late Elizabethan/early Jacobean shirt they have on their website. The very kind lady at the musuem sent me the catalogue entry and its has sooo much info, its great. Lots of details about materials and construction and also, life size drawings of the motifs used. Now, this doesn't sound much, but when you are trying to be authentic, there are very limited sources. Most people when doing shirts either do counted work, for which there are many patterns or motifs, for which there is mainly Shorleyker...until now. This shirt and the info supplied by the musuem give a whole new set of period patterns for people to use. So now, one of the first things I need to do on my upcoming holidays, is to write a handout based on the catalogue info and make that available for people to use. Very cool. Might even expand it in to a Cocktrice article on extant shirts.

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Officers Meeting and Anglo-Saxon Cuffs

Our Barony officers meeting was on today, so we had to be there by noon. Surprisingly, the majority of people showed up and on time (no small feat for the SCA). It actuallly went pretty quickly and we got alot of things discussed. I'm the new Arts and Sciences officer, so since not much has been happening with A & S, I've got to pretty much start from scratch. So I have to come up with a timetable for running competitions, categories for competitions and prizes. I am thinking bi-monthly comps plus some sort of A & S comp at every tourney. Any suggestions welcome!

I have done about 6 hours on my Anglo-Saxon cuffs so far. That makes them about 1/4 finished. So they seem to be going alot faster than the collar. I think its just cause its on a smaller frame and I can only see a bit at a time! Progress pics below.

The two cuffs, one in outline, the other filled in.

Detail of the split stitch filling.

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Of Housework and Sewing

Adam is away playing computers today. I spent the day doing lots of washing, who knew we had this many towels?? I managed to get most of the house work out of the way and I managed to sew most of the night. There was nothing on telly.

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Jakarta Bombing of Australian Embassy?

Just as a matter of interest, for those of the non-Australian persuasion, was there much coverage of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta (Indonesia)? Would be interesting to compare to Sept 11 commemorative coverage.

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'A Schole-House for the Needle' by Richard Shorleyker

I was just wondering if anyone has the reprint copy of this book? I have received some research material relating to the English embroidered shirt that I posted about a while back. The info says that the motifs on the shirt are from Shorleyker but I don't think they are. I have a copy of the V and A version of Shorleyker but not the 1632 edition that has been reprinted with additional patterns. What I need is information about the spot motifs (ie not the lace patterns). Can anyone help me?

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Sweetbags

Some sweetbags:

• Red Satin Sweetbag, 17th C
• Sweetbag, 16th C
  

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Pearl and Goldwork - Extant Examples

Some more nice extant examples held in German collections:

• Chasuble, 12th C Byzantine
• Bishops Vestment, 15th C German
• Chasuble, 15th C German
• Rational, 14th C German
• Chasuble, 13th C Italian
• Cope of St Thomas a Beckett, 12th English
• Chasuble, 15th C Italian
• Cope and Dalmatic, 15th C Flemish (article with more images)
  

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Cuffs

I got the Anglo-Saxon cuffs underway last night. I traced the pattern onto the tracing paper with the transfer pencil. Then ironed that onto the wool. Then I put lacing reinforcement down the edges and lashed it to the scroll frame I am using. Good thing about the cuffs is that they are narrow, so I can use a pretty small frame for it, which means I can carry it around more than I could the collar. I've brought it to work so I might get a start on it at lunchtime.

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German Extant Embroidery

Some more extant examples of Medieval German embroidery:

• Chasuble, 12th C - Located in Vienna (same set as below)
  
• Chasuble, 12th C - Located in Lavantal (same set as above)
• Cross on Chasuble, 14th C
• Doublet, 16th C
• Pluviale, 13th C
  
• Reliquary, 14th C
• Reliquary, 14th C
• Antependium, 14th C
• Fragment, 15th C
• Altar, 16th C
• Mitre, 14th C
• Mitre, 12th C
• Malterer Hanging, 14th C
• Casket, 14th C
  

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Masters Device Finished

Well, only took another two hours but the Masters Device is now finished. A reminder that the finished embroidery is 1 1/2" by 2".

Onto the next project, which at this stage is likely to be the cuffs for my Anglo-Saxon overdress. Just have to transfer the pattern to the fabric and dress the frame. That should be easily done tonight.

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Cleaning and Sewing

Usual Sunday of cleaning and house work followed by some sewing in the afternoon. I pulled out my Anglo-Saxon collar. I bit the bullet and got the iron nice and hot and steam pressed the stuffing out of it. It flattened the puckers out quite effectively. So I kept going. I marked the shape, cut it out and tacked down the inner and outer edges. These were then pressed. I then cut the slit in the front of the neckline. I was planning on turning a tiny seam and then sewing that down, but once I cut it, with the fray stop down each edge, it wasn't fraying, so I decided to just over sew the edge. This worked really well. Then I sewed down the inner and outer turned seams. Pulled out the taking. It worked perfectly. I need to clean the cat fur off the dress and then I will take a proper photo. Only problem is that now I have no excuse not to do the cuffs!

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Lochac Guilds Ascension Day

I spent until late last night trying to get the Masters Device finished for this morning. I couldn't do it. This is it at 14 hrs work.

Well, early start this morning. I was up at 5am for the trip to Sydney. I managed to get a lift with a couple of other people so I managed to avoid having to get the train. Got to their house early and we left on time (I mention this because anyone who is familiar with the SCA will know that this is a miraculous event!). The trip was smooth and the people knew where they were going, so we didn't get lost.

We arrived a bit late but not too bad. The Guilds Ascension Day is basically where all the Guilds (Cooks, Scribes, Broiderers, Dance, Rapier etc) get together, have classes and just hang out. I stayed mainly with the Worshipful Company of Broiderers and I conducted a slide show of pre-16th Century embroidery. I'd found the slides in the library at work. We knew most of the works but did find a couple of piece that we had never seen or heard of before, so that was fun.

We had a bit of delay starting back home, but got away eventually, and they dropped me home which saved me waiting for the ferry. Was home by 8.30pm. A long, but enjoyable day.

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More Masters' Device

Spent another three hours on the Masters Device last night. I really wanted it done for Saturday but I think I am going to be a couple of hours shy of getting it done. I wish I'd just worked on it one more night, ah well.

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The Scientific Method Man and the Voynich Manuscript

Gordon Rugg cracked the 400-year-old mystery of the Voynich manuscript. Next up: everything from Alzheimer's to the origins of the universe.

The article looks at the way in which many scientific studies, may not be so scientific at all and how as academics get more expertise, they get less knowledge. As someone who works with academics every day, its a very interesting article and one that agrees with a few things that I have thought over the years.

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HEARTH Archive

The HEARTH Project is a core electronic collection of books and journals in Home Economics and related disciplines. Titles published between 1850 and 1950 were selected and ranked by teams of scholars for their great historical importance.

There are some interesting historical articles in there as well as practical information if you are just learning to sew.

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