A 22 hour sewing competition? Suuure, why not!

This weekend, Blackstone Raid XXXI was kind enough to indulge the AEthelmearc Clothier's Guild with their first event, Project Promenade. It was such a blast!

I was invited to join a group with Dvorianka Zoya Dragomirova, THL Agnella Iacopi, Lord Arne Burdenson, Baroness Anastasie DeLamoure, and Baron Salvadore de la Torres.  Zoya did an amazing job wrangling a bunch of strangers and coordinating us to recreate this grave find:

She ended up creating a lined silk hat with these amazing wire-woven-but-also-twisted bobbles that some day I'll need to figure out how to make!  Agnella made the two tunics and jumped on the second injection of chaos.  The silk scraps that she chose she was able to include in a very nice chest placard.  Anastasie and Arne also came in clutch on Saturday to help with finishing details, and Salvadore luceted the strap for the bag and his belt, in addition to making a wonderful model.  And lastly, I made pants!

The Haithabu pants I recreated were mostly based on the description from this blog post by Project Broad Axe and this chart I had to screencap from Viking History on YouTube (they claimed it was on their website, but the link was broken):

So, the main measurements I needed were bellybutton to top of crack (length of pieces 2+3), waist to ankle (height of piece 1), widest circumference between thighs and waist (length of 4), and circumference of calves (length of 5).  After that, some simple math so that 4 nests into 1 and you're solid. [Future Magda made another pair of pants and will explain these measurements in detail in the next post].

 

I spent 20 hours hand sewing, but I think it was very well worth it.  The colors, the fit, the drape, it all came together so nicely.  I loved getting to experience this competition, and I was blown away that we won, by one point!  It was a tough battle with very formidable opponents.  I'm hoping next year to be able to be a judge.  Or participate again, who knows :P

I find it hilarious that I even packed both of my emotional support sewing machines, plugged one in, and never used them.

 

 

Another Viking experiment

I told myself after Pennsic that I needed to start going to more events (or, you know, any) outside of AE, so I started with an immersive Viking event, Bloodfeud in the Danelaw.

First there was a linen underdress. There were measurements, there were plans, there were so many calculations, and I still managed to make it four inches too big in the shoulders.

::sigh::

It's just an underdress, I can put darts in the shoulders and nobody will know the better.

I used this knowledge to update the overdress pattern. Not great, not terrible. Very comfortable, at least.

The cool thing, though, was that I discovered this post the week before the event. A couple of years ago, my mother had given me a mink coat she didn't want anymore. I told her the only opportunity I would have to wear it would be to an SCA event. She was glad it would get used, regardless of the environment. It was perfect and cozy and the best Viking item I own. 

Ugh, Viking

I have wanted to get a decent Viking kit together for many, many years, and I just can never get it to be aesthetically pleasing. I am ruined by late period tailoring -___-

For starters, there is the coat I made October 2022 for Crown Tourney out of an army blanket and lined with linen.  Great in theory, less so in practice.  Somehow it still managed to not be warm enough and still let the wind through.

In December, I made a smocked apron dress (in the hotel the night before) for Hael Investiture.  Great party, not so great potato sack.

Later that month, I finished making a Hedby bag that I could "use for going to classes" and carry all of my notebooks and printouts.  It is functional, but it felt oversized in practice.  I might remake it, or not.  Again, it's functional.

Peer pressure cider

At AEthelmearc War Practice 2023, I was "gifted" a cider kit by the Brewer's Guild so that I could have something easy to make for Pennsic. Because of course I was moving for the fourth summer in a row (the weekend directly leading up to Pennsic). It was relatively simple to follow, and luckily fool proof. May 30th I bought a 7 gallon bucket, and June 3rd I threw it all together per the instructions. I skipped the flavor packet since I know many people that associate cherry with cough syrup.

It was only supposed to go for a month or so, but I didn't have the opportunity to get back to it until July 22nd, when I bottled two gallons of the cider and split the rest between two containers. The first I added mango nectar and the other a tropical guava concoction.

I gave it one more week before bottling the rest.  I used the tent ropes to keep the bottles from crashing around in the back of the truck.

Again, I was surprised with how well the ciders were received.  Nothing earth shattering, but the nectars were a good enhancement.

Peony water

 

 

In May, I watched a great video by Black Forager where she explained how to make rosewater on the stove.  This lined up with these gorgeous peonies flowering in front of my house and I just had to try it.

In a sauce pan, put a small bowl surrounded by your flower petals and some water.  Put a lid on top upsidedown filled with ice.  Turn the heat up enough to get a simmer and have the water barely begin to steam, collect on the iced lid, and drip into the bowl in the center.

This produces flower water in the bowl, and a flower tea in the pan.  Both are consumable and will have different profiles.  I brought both to AEthelmearc War Practice to the Brewer's Guild round table as a proof of concept.  The water worked significantly better than the tea, which was on the bitter side, but definitely needs a lot more work to get right.  I was gifted a cider kit for my troubles.

Cordial Stag Inn

I had a great time at Cordial Stag Inn last December. I threw two cordials together (coffee and blueberries) and had the opportunity to drag out all the remnants from the past several years.  Sometimes I am very confident that people are going to like what I made, and sometimes I am afraid I'm really phoning it in.  Things went well this time and I managed to get rid of the vast majority, so that's good. 

Bonus picture of me washing all of the corpses that came home from Pennsic.

Pennsic tamales

2016 / 2019 / 2022

I absolutely love making tamales at Pennsic.  Sometimes there is pre-planning, sometimes there is less so.  This year I had the bright idea to buy ingredients locally.  And failed.

 

But!  With some help form my friends, I was able to crowdsource a coffee can of bacon grease, some wonderful bougie nixtamal, Canadian chocolate jimmies, corn husks from the corner, and just enough peanut butter liberated from the poodle.  And because it is naturally gluten free, I got to share with even more friends!  A wonderful tradition that I am excited to continue for years to come.