Short-notice German garb

For an event in mid-January, I am hoping to make a German costume to celebrate the elevation of the new Baron & Baroness of Montengarde….

On October 29, 2016 the King and Queen of (SCA) Avacal announced the heirs to the thrones of the Baron and Baroness of Montengarde (mundanely Calgary, Alberta, Canada – where I live). The heirs both have later-period German personas. After the elevation of Caterina the following weekend (November 5) where many of her friends and acquaintances made later-period Italian costumes to accompany Caterina in her procession, the future Baroness asked if we would consider making slight adjustments to our Italian garb to make it more German for the event where they would be invested as Baron & Baroness.

That event…. is in mid-January.

Judges needed!

A&S display at Avacal Sergeant Trials

As some of you living in Calgary or the SCA Kingdom of Avacal know, I’m hosting the competition to find my replacement as Montengarde’s Arts & Science champion at Twelfth Night, on January 21, 2017.

With that… I’m looking for judges!

Information about the competition (format, rubric, judging forms, etc) can be found here. You will note that the format is collaborative and supportive; I’m hoping that all of the judges can help competitors strive towards their best, can encourage amazing arts & sciences, and assist student judges (if applicable) to learn more about the process and participate to the level of their comfort.

Why to enter an A&S competition..

… challenge, or tournament

Photos of the Laurel’s New Works display

As you might know, I’m hosting a few SCA A&S (Arts & Science competitions) this year, and one of the questions/concerns I’ve heard from people is “Why should I enter?” (often followed by a silent: “…if I don’t think I can win?”)

I’m in NO way an expert on this… I’m still pretty new to the SCA, and haven’t travelled outside of Avacal to see how things are done elsewhere. Still, I’ve been to, judged, and competed in a few competitions, and have some suggestions and things to think about…and this is my soapbox! 😉

Winning is cool

Yeah, It’s cool to win anything. Let’s get that out of the way right away. It’s cool to do your thing, have other people say your thing is awesome, and win an award or title or prize for how good you did your thing…

…but there’s more to it than that.

2017 Costuming challenges – themes announced

On December 5th, 2016 the creator of the Historical Sew Monthly announced the themes for the 2017 challenges. I’m feeling very inspired by this next set of challenges, and in this article will brainstorm some of my ideas.

2017 costuming challenges

January: Firsts & Lasts – Create either the first item in a new ensemble, or one last piece to put the final fillip on an outfit.

November Naalbinding

November’s naalbound hat (and me being super-goofy)

Quick post today – just to show off the new naalbound hat I made, finished off in November.

It’s purchased 100% wool yarn, a dark grey heather made of Icelandic Lopi yarn. (The wool I brought back a year earlier from my trip to Iceland!) This is the alafosslopi.