The FFF that keeps on FFFing

 Fabric, Fiber, and Fighting (and sometimes Fencing and Feasting) is an event that I've held very close to my heart since I first joined Nithgaard in 2005.  With our dwindling population, we were lucky to have ACG step up to the plate and start hosting it for us a handful of years ago.  This year I was able to go just as an observer and had the absolute time of my life, nerding out with dear friends.

I took a couple of classes, the first one being by my friends Ethne, Fede, and Elena about hand sewing, and the second one about inkle weaving. I jumped through a couple of others (like how to make a loom out of a random branch!) but mostly sat back and wove and cackled my ass off.

 

 

Never being one to shy away from a challenge, I strung up this 40 card pattern with the smallest silk I had with me that was leftover from an old weaving project.  I realized after a couple of passes that I somehow had the pattern inside-out thanks to Mahin staring at it and Phiala doing her card-flip-fu (and Marian just cheering me on from behind her knitting).  Ultimately I decided I hated the color combination, but appreciated the challenge.  It's sitting in the corner of my sewing room behind the other two looms.  The last of them being bought at this event and being strung up as soon as I got home.  But that will be its own post.

One day I'll remember to take pictures when it is all done.

 

Luckily other people got pictures of the spread at the vigil.  I made peach bourbon thumbprints from a jam a friend had given me which I think worked very well, but I should have smushed the balls down farther to get more jam in them.  The Andes mint chocolate cookies were phenomenal! Especially straight out of the oven, extra gooey.  Snickerdoodles were from a kit, but still worth it.  Espresso buttons, because of course.  And some peanutbutter chocolate chip balls in the sewing kit. So, so many cookies. I'm kinda sad now I didn't take any home.  I can transcribe the recipes later from the cookbook if anybody wants them.

Cheese, also, is my love language, and I got several goudas in Sint Maarten on my cruise.  Garlic, green pesto, red pesto, black pepper, red pepper, limoncello, and coffee.  So freaking good.

I also pickled eggs like the madwoman I am.  I started pickling six of the recipes before I left, but had to make the soy brined ones the week before so that they didn't disintegrate.  I was in such a fugue state last week that I didn't realize I was hardboiling two dozen instead of just one, needing the second dozen eggs for all the cookies >.> So back to the store I went.  Caleb sent me this recipe for hard boiled egg chocolate chip cookies last week that I definitely need to try some day! 

Next, I made a banner (imagine it with scowling eyes and solid yellow fleur de lis).  I made a point of bringing my sewing machine so that I could hem it once I'd gotten the stand from Patrick, so of course I packed the wrong pedal.  Technically I packed exactly the pedal I was intending to pack, but grabbed the wrong machine instead.  In the end, Steph and AJ came in clutch and helped me baste it on to the pole.

My biggest source of anxiety was adding the pleated collar to the partlet (and then beading it, but that was the easy part).  I started to pleat on the boat but was doing the folds too small and had to redo them once I was stateside again.  I think it took me about ten hours to do the two or so yards?  I used my hair straightener with great success last Sunday.  It then took about two hours to roll the hem, and maybe an hour to tack it on on both sides of the pleats.  There was a very lovely laurel chain that I started to add, but it was too busy and we removed it Friday night.  Last change was to barely wet the inside blade of the pleats so they wouldn't be so scratchy up against the neck.

Was it my best work? Not really, but I completed all of the tasks at hand and nobody will criticize my work as strongly as I do.  I wasn't expecting to have my mother stay at my house for three days after our cruise, crucial time I had originally scheduled for crafting all of this.  Alas.  In the end, I am happy with what I was able to achieve, and that I didn't have a breakdown until Sunday at 2am was also a great accomplishment.

Every Vigil Needs Eggs

And this time I think it was only 10 dozen? I learned that the easiest way to combat my ADD is to take pictures as I cook so I can go back and write up recipes, eventually.  So here are the eggs I pickled for Fede for four weeks.  Those with links were inspired by the previous vigil batch.

 

Soy, Beet, Curry, Honey, Beer, Franks, and Chili Garlic

 

For all of the recipes, put 13 hardboiled eggs into a quart sized mason jar, a couple of table spoons of seasonings, and ~ 1 cup of liquid which is half vinegar, half water (or juice or beer). Let sit for four weeks, flipping the jar upsidedown every few days and shaking so that the flavors don't settle.

1) Beer eggs

• Pumpkin Spice
• Everything Bagel Seasoning
• Evil Santa holiday Porter
• Apple Cider Vinegar
  

2) Roman Honey Anise eggs

• Honey
• Minced garlic
• Mustard seeds
• Anise
• ACV
• Water
  

3) Beet eggs

• Can of beets - mince solids, keep juice for water content
• Red pepper flakes
• Ground cinnamon
• Black pepper
• Salt
• ACV
• Water
  

4) Curry eggs

• Curry powder
• Minced garlic
• Mustard powder
• Ground ginger
• Tumeric
• ACV
• Water
  

 

5) Frank's eggs

• Frank's hotsauce
• Everything Bagel Seasoning
• ACV
• Water
   

6) Spicy Chili Crisp eggs

• Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp (measure with your heart (or whatever is left at the bottom of the jar))
• ACV
• Water

 

7) Soy eggs - these were only left for one week, since the salt brine likes to disintegrate the proteins in the egg

• Everything Bagel Seasoning
• Red pepper flakes
• Soy sauce
• ACV
• Sesame oil
  

New blog who dis

I'm not going to say that my life started to fall apart as I was trying to leave Pennsic in 2019, but it definitely has taken extraordinary amounts of turns since then.

• I moved four consecutive summers from 2020-2023 and had two major job changes.
• Since I haven't had space to sew, I've been weaving belts and doing virtual jobs:  Kingdom Exchequer Deputy for NMR and Zoom coordinator
• I've been participating in events again, including some in EK! 
• I was Water 2 at Pennsic XL and Water 1 at Pennsic L (and I'm keeping it for LI)

According to my downloads folder, I decided back in July of 2022 (right after my last post) to split my blog so that I could keep a more intricate record of my SCA-ness.  It has taken me those eighteen months to trust that I didn't completely mess up the process.  I'm still a bit on the fence, since I think half of the pictures aren't here and I'll have to reattach them.  But hey, here's a post!  And I will hopefully remember to go back and clean up the old posts I didn't delete and give format to the blog itself.

Projects I have done that should be reported:

• Minoan dress
  
• Greek belt
• Viking belts
• Viking dress 
• alcoholsssess
  
• partlet and banner
  
• cookie recipes
• egg recipes
• unearth details about my Aztec feast from... eight years ago? Ten?
  

But the most important kick in the pants has come from my best friend Fede di Fiore getting inducted into the Order of the Laurel on Saturday and encouraging me to stop slacking!  Some of these projects have been for fun, some have been Proofs of Concepts, and some I really should just write research papers about. 

So stay tuned, there's more to come.

Scribal Roundup

 I have made a handful of scrolls over the years, and apparently never recorded them in my blog.  Let's see how many I can hunt down!

20190713 Bog 3 Day: Baron Cormacc mac Gilla Brigde was summoned to attend Their Majesties. His Majesty spoke of the joy His Excellency exhibits in his fighting, and of the dedication he has shown, and of his prowess as a result. His Majesty further revealed that there were others who felt this deserving of recognition, whereupon, He called for the Noble Order of the Gage to join Him. With their affirmation, His Excellency was presented with a medallion made by Lord Snorri skyti Bjarnarson, and added to their number. Scroll by Lady Magdalena Txoperena de Guerra, calligraphed by THLady Shirin al-Sussiyya, on a text by THLord Arias Beltran del Valle.

20190927 Harvest Raids: The base art was created by multiple scribes at the Retreat.  I added the diner details and calligraphy.

After that, Their Majesties called for Guy of Heronter, words having reached their ears of his prowess at both fencing and service, he was Awarded Arms from their hands, with a gorgeous scroll from Lady Magdelena Txoperena.

20200328 12th Night: Sycamore, I did the concept and art and seem to be missing a second scroll.

Lady Allison Motherwell - Sycamore - Scroll by Lady Magdalena

Lord Hunda-dorir called the Pintsman - Sycamore - Scroll by Lady Magdalena with words by Master Po

2020711 Dani's Fleur.  Sarah did the art and I did the calligraphy and badges. I am very happy with how this turned out!

Lady Fede di Fiore was then called into Their Majesties’ Court. Before all witnesses here assembled, Their Majesties inducted Lady Fede into the Order of the Fleur d’Æthelmearc for her outstanding and continuing work in tailoring garments, clothing and teaching the art of the seamstress. Scroll Border limning by Lady Serena Milani, Scrivened and Medallions painted by Lady Magdalena Txoperena, Parchment prepared by Lady Niccola Beese, upon a text by Don Jehan le Blanc.

 

20210710 Bog 3 Day Iron Scribe competition.  Four hours from theme to "finish".  Not my best work, but I enjoyed the challenge, and really want to do this correctly one day.

20210925 Harvest Raids, again: Lady Magdelena Txoperena was invited into the Court and she begged the boon of being granted Æthelmearc Citizenship as work had once again called her out of Æthelmearc into the East. Their Majesties eagerly replied that They and Their Heirs would gladly assist her in her application for Citizenship. However while They had her in Court, Their Majesties presented her with the Æthelmearc Award of Excellence for her invaluable service to Æthelmearc during the time of the plague as Kingdom Deputy Webminister for Zoom and online classes.

20220521 Promissory note made for Elena's Fleur. I helped make the parchment at the last Pennsic, Cas helped me find inspiration, and I did everything else.  And then I got COVID and couldn't give it out at War Practice in person.

Next, Their Majesties gave leave to The Honorable Lady Vika Viborgskaya to recognize those who taught classes during the event. However, it was noted that one who taught many of the classes had not come forward to collect a token. Thus, Their Majestied compelled Baroness Elena de la Palma to present herself before Them. Remarking on the number of lessons Her Excellency had taught at War Practice and many other events, Their Majesties sought the input of others who had a similarly high opinion of her: The Order of the Fleur D'Æthelmearc. Upon their confirmed acclaim, They inducted her into their company. Promissory scroll #1 by The Honorable Lady Rachel Daliceaux; Promissory scroll #2 by Lady Magdalena Txoperena de Guerra upon research by The Honorable Lord Cassiano da Castello.

20220528 Keystone given out at Melee Madness, all (except words) by me.

Their Majesties next required the attendance of Lady Abby Rose. By virtue of the fact that Lady Abby had also been recognized by both Baron Stefano and Baroness Fiona's court and by Baron Nicolo and Baroness Magge's court, They were reassured in Their decision to bestow upon her further accolades. Thus they named her a Companion of the Order of the Keystone, in testament whereof, Mistress Ríoghnach ní Rose (aka Mom) provided her own medallion. Scroll by Lady Magdalena Txoperena.

20220709 AOA, words by Nicolo dei Gaetani, Baron of Endless Hills, helped by Astrid to transliterate to Younger Futhark, all ink by me.

20220804 Battle scribing invitations for the Royal Party at Pennsic

Summer's End and Shoot in the Wildwood/Seven Pearls

The past two weekends have been quite eventful. At Summer's End I was able to help out with my friend Abigail's (Gail Kellogg) vigil, guarding the food from cross-contamination.  I made a fantastic marzipan with her recipe:

• 2 cups almond flour 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water 
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten (frothy) 
• 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom or rose water 
• Confectioner’s sugar, as needed (about 1.5 cups) 

Bring the sugar & water to a rolling boil, add the almond flour, stirring quickly on low heat, turn egg whites into the pan while hot. Keep stirring 1-2 minutes, add rose water (or other flavoring), stir to combine and turn hot marzipan out onto sugar dusted surface. Knead with a spatula to start, then your hands, adding more confectioner's sugar as necessary until smooth like play dough. Shape by hand or cut into cubes. It will keep in the fridge 2 weeks.

On top of this, I retained a few shifts, I got Peer pressured into soliciting a Pelican (I was going to do it at dinner, anyway), and I helped serve feast.  For as much as I love cooking and eating, serving is by far my favorite role at feast, since it lets me bounce from table to table and socialize with everybody.  And get them drunk.

This past weekend at Seven Pearls/Wildwood I also had a blast retaining and serving feast.  The kitchen left some amenities to be desired, which made the feast appearing to go off without a hitch even more impressive! 

Sunday was a fantastic experience.  I was allowed to attach myself to a team from the Hael for Cast Iron Chef and loved the challenge.  We were given three and a half hours to cook a five course feast for 6-8 judges.  Our great archer Simmonetta got us a 6" cube of venison roast and two 1" thick boneless porkchops. Dagonall the Fool, the team leader, got us the rest of the ingredients from the pantry at the beginning of the challenge.  After that, I spent three hours buried in a 10x15 foot fire pit running a three ring stove.

1) Ricotta with honey, lavender, and fresh figs.

• Mix together, serve with flatbread.

2) Breaded pork chops with chopped apples, onion, and celery.

• Bread the chops and sear with vegetable oil on a hot pan.
• Mix chopped plants and steam as long as possible to achieve an "apple sauce" substitute.

3) Venison stew with pears and root vegetables

• Sear roast, stick with garlic slivers.
• Stew with chopped pears and multicolored carrots.
• Add 2 long pepper cones, 6 cubeb beads, and salt as needed.

4) Armored turnips

• Slice and steam one large turnip as long as possible to get soft.
• Incorporate 4 oz cheddar, garnish with another 4 oz.

5) Indian rice pudding

• Boil 1lb of rice until cooked.
• Add 1 qt butter milk, 2c sugar, 1tbsp lavender, 1 tbsp cinnamon, and clove.

The competition was well fought!  We scored 42/60 points, with first and second place getting 43.6 and 43.  One of the other two tables got a score in the 20s and I don't remember the fifth table, but I'm very happy with how competitive it was.  Everything I tasted was delicious!

Later in court, Barron Ixac of Delftwood designated our venison as the Barron's Choice.  This made me very happy because a) he "doesn't eat red meat" and it still won him over, and 2) I've never cooked venison and I didn't fuck it up!

The last great thing to happen to me was that Elska gave me her Bead Of Inspiration.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this past half year in the SCA and I really hope I can keep going with the same strength once the semester kicks in.

Oh, and I got a proto-ge friendship bracelet that I singed in the fire >.> At least it was cotton?

Tablet Woven Garters

I lost the original picture, so this is the reject from the inkle that I didn't like.

Holy crap was this a labor of love!

Weaving isn't a difficult task.  Yes, it takes some practice to get even tension and packing, but all in all, if you are doing a basic striped pattern, you can crank it out in a couple of days.  So I did, twice.

It took me a few weeks to find all of my materials.  I ordered 60/2 silk from https://www.redfishdyeworks.com/ in three colors and took a week to ball it all up.  I then strung it up on my inkle loom with poker cards, only two strands per card.  I made two and a half garters on this setup and hated every minute of it.  The string had no agency, so unless it was very tightly warped, the card corners would get caught in them and tangle up.  This chewed up the cards pretty bad and stretched out the packing, really messing up the design.

I managed to borrow some wooden cards and a weighted loom at Pennsic and then managed to crank them out a lot faster, and with an even packing.  The problems I had here were that I didn't take into account the warp shrinkage and adding waste to the setup.  So it didn't take me too long to do the actual weaving, but I did take three times as long to add some waste warp and everything else that deals with reorganizing and untwisting the warps.

In the end, the garters came out nice.  I attached them to some buckles I'd picked up at War Practice and they did their job.  But they were a bit on the short side after cutting them off.  Maybe some day I'll make a third attempt >.>