Adventures in Living!

I (sorta) wish I was going to Pennsic...

This is mostly for my readers and friends who are familiar with the SCA...

There will be an auction held on August 7th, in the Atlantian Royal encampment at Pennsic. This is a private auction to benefit Duke Valharic and assist with the many medical expenses from Duchess Arielle's long struggle with breast cancer. There will be many beautiful items on auction, all from an amazingly talented HUGE group of people all around the world. I have donated two sets of lampworked beads to the auction to honor Arielle's memory and help Duke Valharic.

This set is a cobalt blue, Roman period in style and construction. Twelve beads with 3/32" bead holes.

And, because Arielle LOVED pink so much, and was also known in the SCA as Arielle the Golden, I am donating this smaller set of beads, "Pink Duchess":

They are so much more sparkly in person. This photo just doesn't do them justice. I think Arielle would have liked them. They also were made on 3/32" mandrels.

I hope that people who are going to Pennsic will attend the auction and maybe even bid on something wonderful. I know we all want to help out in some way. Hopefully, these beads will find a good home.

Remembering

I wish I was among the people who knew Courtney* well, the ones who are even now gathering to celebrate her and comfort each other. I was lucky enough to know her a little, and to have spent some time talking with her, mostly in the context of the SCA. What I am most proud of is the fact that she liked my work enough to ask me to make some things for her the last time she was Queen. She and Valharic, being Roman in personae for their reign, wanted some glass rings to give as tokens during the reign.

I still remember the night she came to me personally and asked if I would make them for her. It was the end of a horrendously LONG, COLD, occasionally miserable, day at the event of their Coronation in April, 2007. I was just barely pregnant with Noah, and had Wren at the event with us. We had roles in the event, so leaving wasn't really an option, and we had paid for feast, so we stayed and juggled Wren during the dinner. By the end of feast, I was exhausted, worried about how cold Wren had been during the day, and skeptical about cabin-camping with an 18 month old. As the tables were being cleared for dancing, Arielle came to me in the crowd and asked about my rings. She asked if it would be possible for me to make them as Queen's tokens for their reign. Of course, I agreed. I was so honored. I still am. She was incredibly gracious, taking the time to thank me personally at every opportunity, and wrote me a couple of thank you notes that I really need to make sure I still have. I think I made over fifty rings during the six or so months they were on Atlantia's throne.

I wasn't able to make it to their de-coronation event, being hugely pregnant by the September date. I learned later that day that I had been honored in absentia with an Undine Award by Arielle for my service in making her rings. I was floored.  And I was sorry I hadn't gone to the event. Because I didn't go to the event, I wasn't able to receive the medallion that is given with this award, a rondel with a golden 'A' on a blue field.

I wish I had that medallion now.

*Her 'real' name is Courtney, but her SCA persona name was Duchess Arielle the Golden, hence the reason I refer to her as Arielle in the text above.

Ketchup and Further Thoughts....

Ok, not ketchup....just catch-up...

Let's see....to start with, we're not going to Sapphire Joust this year. This will be the first one I've missed in nine years, but there is nothing fun about taking two rambunctious and highly curious little ones to an event right now. I'd rather entertain them while wearing shorts, and let them play in the pool with access to air conditioning. We've discovered that Noah, at least, did not benefit from my olive skin genes.

I could only imagine how many times I would be grabbing one or both of them off the listfield right before someone needs to yell "HOLD!!".

I'll miss all of you guys, but there wouldn't be any hanging out anyway, more like fragmented conversations while I run after either or both of the kids. Have fun for me, and somebody drink a beer or three in our honor.

Next....I finally finished the two large custom orders, and managed, kiln issues notwithstanding, to get them done and delivered early! Woo!

The daisies, for a parent of a child at a local school:

And the boats, for another school-related thing:

I'm starting my local market season this Saturday, with a market at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. It's a brand new market in Richmond, and already it is popular. I hope it really takes off and I do well there. I won't be doing my previous market, the South of the James market,  and that's a shame. I loved that market, and this year it is wildly busy, but due to communication breakdowns, I wasn't able to be a vendor. I was angry, but I am over it now. I think the new market will be popular, it's in a nice section of town, and it's also a community outreach project of the church's, so that's a good enough reason for me to support it. Plus, the vendors have some really nice things! Come see me, if you're local.

And check out my A Hot Piece of Glass page on Facebook!

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And now for the further thoughts.....

I posted a little while ago about thinking about going back to school.  I realize that I always feel this dichotomy in my life, between art and a 'real career'. In one incarnation, I imagine myself in a high-powered, high-paying, very important career, administrating or managing some crucial organization, being the Director of Something Really Important, or the Chief of Whatever We Need. But when I think about it, there's nothing, except the thought, that really appeals to me about having a job where full-time equals more than 50 hours a week, where I might be expected to (gasp!) wear a suit and heels, where I'd have to use words like 'accountability', 'productivity', 'contribution to the bottom line', and 'revenue-based'. 

I never really was the corporate type.

In the other incarnation, I find myself dreaming about daily work involving creating, helping people to create, and teaching some of my many skills. An art therapist, or art teacher, or even using art therapy and speech therapy combined. And then there's this idea I have that doesn't necessarily require I go back to school. I don't want to share the idea yet, because it isn't fully formed, but it does have to do with art, and with people.

I'll tell ya later.

drinkin' a beer and....

It's Friday, the Tour de Central Virginia is done for another week, and I am drinking a Blue Moon. Could life get any better? I'm sure it could, but hey, I aim low these days.

We're not going to University, nor to Ymir. I'm not feeling the SCA love right now, not for any particular reason, but I'm just not. I guess I am overfull with general life stuff lately, plus work is royally kicking my ass, AND I am awaiting the letter from VCU about my acceptance (or lack of acceptance) to their doctoral program.

Genevieve and Guiliana and I had a successful Venetian bodice fitting/drafting last Sunday, so I am hoping to wear a gown that resembles this in time for Kingdom Arts and Sciences next month:

It will be green, though and not red, as there was just not the budget for the silk I wanted right this minute, AND I have a perfectly serviceable old Elizabethan gown that really needs rescuing from it's lack of authenticity.

I'm trying to work on that, some tops for Kira (of the belled-sleeve hippie-like tunic variety), and my glass items in this next month. Too. Much. Stuff. (never enough time)

It'll get done, though. The Venetian bodice is really not a difficult one, and the glass projects are actually of the very small variety. I just have to fire the kiln, and allow myself enough leeway to remake as necessary, in case of kiln failures. I can write the documentation for the pieces in a couple of hours of quiet time, so it should be fine.

So, I've been thinking lately....it seems to me that my interpersonal skills are maybe not that great. Not that I have done or said anything truly asinine of late (that I know of), but I'm beginning to think I'm just not that good of a friend. Travis is so good at maintaining friendships. I am not, I fear. I like people, wish I could spend more time, do more things with friends, but somehow, I just...don't. Truth to tell, I hate the telephone. I despise calling 'just to chat' with someone, because I always feel awkward and stupid. And I always feel like I am disrupting someone else's routine, or calling at an inconvenient time or something. Maybe that's just in my own head.

I guess I'm somewhat of a loner, actually. Maybe. I've been told that I am difficult to know, that I don't really let people get to know me, but I'm not sure how that could be. I feel like most of the time I wear everything right on my face, that it's impossible to not know, and that all I freaking do is talk about myself. And here I am, writing to the world about my life and my issues and my general boring bullshit. Man, do I even want to go out on a limb and post this??

I think I should maybe drink more beer. And eat something, too, to soak up the beer. It should be a great weekend, though, even if the weather is teh suck with all the rain and lack of snowfall and all. Have a good one.

Interbaronial Twelfth Night

Yesterday we made the trip down to Suffolk for Interbaronial Twelfth Night, held by the Barony of Marinus this year. The site was really pretty, right on the water, and the hall was attractive, if a bit smaller than I anticipated. Wren in particular loved the moose head:
She kept pointing up at it and saying, "Da? Dis? Dis?"

The weather was particularly spectacular -- over 70 degrees and blue sky as far as you could see. It was windy, of course, but that made it fun to be outside since the wind wasn't really cold.
There was an Artisan's Row demonstration, where I did not display or demonstrate anything -- I left it up to Iseulte, who did a smashing job with glass paints. Balynar tried the cordials:
There was a hazlenut cordial that was really outstanding.

Wrangling the baby, I did not get around to the displays at all, really, although I did sneak a peek at some nice garments and embroidery. Wren spent a good bit of time outside, running around in the sunshine.
I discovered my favorite green linen cotehardie does not quite fit anymore (well, not the way it should -- I felt like a damn sausage all day!), and the linen, while forgiving, only 'gives' so far before it's just plain tight.
Wren also spent most of the day trying to remove my padded roll headdress and veil. When she finally ripped the whole thing off my head, including the net coif and the clips holding all in place, I gave up, let my hair down all the way, and put on a mantle and hood. At least that covered up the buttons that periodically popped open at the bustline of my gown. Iseulte and I did get some time to sit and chat in the afternoon:
I did also get to talk with Guiliana about mom stuff, and garb, and my latest glass project which I am taking forever to get done. I haven't seen her in a while, and it was nice to reconnect. I also got to see Syr Arradd, who is trying to convince me to put my armor back on and go fight heavy again. I'd like to, I keep talking about doing it, but I can't figure out how to wrangle my kids and my gear at practices. Maybe one of these days. I don't know.
Thankfully, baronial court was short, and we could then head off to find some dinner. Japanese steakhouse was the final choice and it was expensive but incredibly yummy. Wren was completely exhausted, but at least marginally entertained by the fire and the noise. She ate steak and chicken and some carrots from my chopsticks. By the middle of dinner, I was feeling crummy and was really getting tired. The drive home was uneventful and Wren went to bed without complaining.

I enjoyed the event, but the SCA doesn't feel like it used to. I guess it's because I have a very small child, and events are more about getting into garb and then wrangling the baby all day, then eating dinner somehow and going home. If  I'm lucky, I chat with some folks, and get around to see a few things. If Balynar is involved with the fighting, it's harder to pass Wren to him for a break. I can't really complain; I have it waaay better than some folks I know in the parenting-duties arena. Now that Wren is older, it's easier and more difficult at events. She is walking, which means I don't have to carry her all the time, or have a pack'n play or seat available for her to rest in, BUT I have to run after her a lot more. She's not as demanding in terms of naps and eating, so we don't have to pack a lot of extra special food and supplies, BUT I do have to keep her entertained, and when she gets really tired, she can be an armful.
I don't bring handcrafts to events anymore -- no knitting or spinning or weaving -- because I need my hands free. Sometimes I just don't have a lot of fun, or the fun to work ratio is really low. I know it will get better, but I just don't feel like going to events much these days because of it.
Our next outing is for Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival, also in Marinus, at the beginning of March. I may try to ask my mom to keep Wren for the day so I can go kid-free. KASF is a fairly important event for me, and I'm  planning a display and projects, so it would be nice not to have Wren. I suppose Wren could stay home with Balynar, but I like going to events with him.  I'll figure something out.
Anyway, sinus funk persists. I am going to make some tea and pretend to be interested in something productive today. One last cute picture of Wren at the event....

a Friday quickie

Here are some photos of the fabric bowl I made this week.
I love this Valentine's Day fabric which I bought as a fat quarter.

And here is the side view. Note the uneven bowl rim, but that was because I wasn't careful enough in my trimming and binding the edge. Next one will be much better!

It was really fun to put together....now I am working on a prototype of a Chinese food box to make a purse out of. Should be interesting.
Additionally, I got a wild hair and made this, a tote bag from the top half of a pair of thrift store jeans. Lined with cotton and a WIDE piece of cotton web for a handle:
Kind of funky, and definitely different. I saved the denim legs, as I plan to use them as sleeves and denim bits and pieces in a jacket I am making next. I bought a nice jean jacket pattern and plan to mix blue denim and red brocade into a jacket. I'll post pix of that project as I go....once I get going on it.

Tomorrow is Interbaronial Twelfth Night. I am planning to attend, wear one of my gowns in my closet (alas, no Venetian or any Italian gowns!), and enjoy myself. I am doing no glass, no demo-ing and no A&S displaying or competing. Should be fun. I'll post pix.
Have a great weekend, all!

An SCA Meme and other stuff

I snagged this from attack-laurel . She wrote it.  It's mostly SCA related, so may be boring for those not of the medieval persuasion.

1.  What is your SCA name? (You don't have to write the full name, just your first name if you want.)   It's Leofwynne le glasyer, which is a man's name, I found out later, after the heralds at Pennsic told me it was perfectly fine for a woman. It didn't pass Laurel, though, because of the spelling. I'll get around to futzing with it one of these days. BTW, it's pronounced LEFF-win, or Leff-WIN-a.

2.  What is your home kingdom?  Atlantia

3.  Have you ever lived in another kingdom?  If so, where? Yes, I lived in both Trimaris and Aethelmarc, but neither as an SCA member.

4.  Do you remember your first SCA event?  When/what was it? Yep, it was Caer Mear's Kingdom Twelfth Night held at the Scottish Rite temple in RIchmond. I think that was January 2000.

5.  Do you have any awards?  (You don't have to list them if you don't want)  Yes, I have a few. Go here .

6.  Do you list them after your name in communications like e-mail? Uh, no. I thought about it when I got my Pearl, but it felt....weird. Sometimes I use the THL (The Honorable Lady) that comes with my Pearl, but not always. I have mundane credentials I write after my name in my Real Life, so I have enough alphabet soup on a daily basis.

7.  Do you have a device?  Yes, per pale, sable and vert, on a lozenge argent, a chess knight sable. Basically, black on one half, green on the other, a white diamond in the middle with a black  knight chess piece on the diamond.

8.  Do you use it?  On what? Balynar has a favor with it that he wears on his knight's belt, and I am in the process of making a banner for myself out of heavy polyester for use in our pavilion. I know poly is not period, but it holds up really well, and banner-making is not as much fun as I'd hoped.

9.  Are you on all the kingdom/society lists available to you, or do you avoid them? I'm on one kingdom list (which I unsub from when it gets into too much drama), and I'm on one kingdom order list.

 10.  Do you keep your Pennsic/Estrella/Gulf Wars/etc. site tokens? Yep! I don't make them into jewelery, though. Just keep them for memories.

11.  Do you keep the favours you've been given by royalty/friends/SOs, etc.? Do You wear them all? I have most all the favors and tokens given to me. I will wear one or two, on occasion. I still wear a thistle pin that Duchess Padraigin gave me years ago when she was first a Princess.

12.  Do you call your friends by their SCA names even when you're not at an event? Actually, yes. Some people just ARE their SCA name to me, so if I call you by your SCA name outside of the SCA and it bugs you, please let me know.

13.  Do you go out to dinner in garb after an event? I've done it, mostly when I first started, but now I think it's a dorky thing to do.

14.  Do you have all kinds of garb, or do you generally stick to one period? I love garb from a lot of periods, but I have mostly been wearing 12th-14th century gowns. They're easy to wear, flattering to me, and comfortable when pregnant, toting kids, or extremely hot. I do plan on making myself a Venetian gown one of these days, though. And maybe another Elizabethan.

15.  How many interests do you have within the SCA?  What's your favourite? Well, I blame the SCA for my ADcraftD. I started with dancing, waaay back in 1999, and then I got a look at the clothes, thus starting my foray into costuming. THEN I discovered other fiber arts: spinning, weaving, knitting...and THEN came my ultimate downfall -- GLASS. Within that, I started with stained/painted/leaded glass and moved on to flameworking and glass fusing. It's a slippery slope. There are plenty of other things I am interested in, but I don't have enough time to explore them all.

16.  Do you have an SCA-oriented web site (to show off projects, keep dress diaries, etc.)?   Just this site. I mean to put up another site of just my work, but so far, only my Typepad blog.

17.  Do  you maintain a hairstyle that is more period style than modern?  How about any other part of your appearance? No, I tend to keep my hair long for ease of styling at events, but nothing else really.

18.  Do you tell "No $###, there I was" stories?  (Admit it.)  Do any of them involve well-known SCA people? Sure! Although comparatively speaking, I have not been in the SCA long, and so do not have quite the repertoire of stories as, say, my husband  and my king  do.

19.  Authenticity is Fun.  Yes or no?  Why? Yes. It's fun to try to get as close to the "way it was done in period" as possible, and to be creative in coming up with ways to cover/hide/alter the appearance of so many modern items. I will say, however, that I am no Authenticity Nazi, and while I try very hard to be as unobtrusive as possible, sometimes I fail. Like when I take my infant to an event. It's difficult to cover everything, so I try to keep my mundane baby gear at least as out of sight as possible. No, I don't really have time to make a cute castle cover for my pack'n play. And Wren will likely NOT give up her pacifier all day at an event. I just try to have large cuts of fabric I can hide stuff with.

20.  Is there one modern thing at events that really bugs you? Bag chairs out in the open bug me. Sunglasses in court, soda cans, fast food wrappers....I really hate coming upon a pavilion that contains many fighters and there is a random scattering of plastic water bottle detritus all over the pavilion. Get a mug.
Oh yeah, I hate seeing people who are not new wearing jeans and sneakers under a tunic.

Bonus Question!  21.  Everyone has a shameful garb/accessory mistake hidden somewhere in their past.  What's yours?  (We're all friends here, we promise not to laugh.  Much.) Some of my mistakes are still in my closet. Nothing's TOO bad, but there are definitely some bodice-based gowns that I would not wear again, and at least one "cotehardie" with princess seams.

Thanks, Isobel! That was fun!

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In other news, I completed a few sewing projects. My favorite thus far has to be the fabric bowl I made from this McCall's pattern:

I need to add a bit of trim to the edge of the one I made, so I'll post a pic as soon as I can. It's cute, and I want to make more.

I think I feel more balanced when I spend time being creative every day. Aside from this writing, I haven't done a creative thing this evening, and I was hoping for some time to plan my next sewing project, but I think I may miss that tonight in favor of sleep. I did notice I ate a whole lot less yesterday evening (and wasn't hungry), and I spent several hours between 2:30pm and 11:00pm in my sewing room. I also felt more relaxed. I'm not big on public declarations of resolutions, but one of mine is to reconnect with my creative self on a daily basis as a way to center and ground myself. I need that. Dance used to fill it without my even thinking about it, but now, I think I can find a similar centering in sewing/working with the materials of my various arts.

I know I had more to say earlier, but now I just need to go to bed. I'll write more tomorrow.

***UPDATE*** I remembered what it was I was going to say....I got my scores back from the Miller Analogies Test I took in December.....it's for grad school entrance....

I scored a 474 out of a possible 600. It's a scaled score, and the percentiles were 99 for both my intended major and for the test-taking group at large.

Ninety-nine percent of all the test-takers scored lower than I did. I'm pretty proud, and I think I did well.

We'll be at Interbaronial Twelfth Night this Saturday. I guess I should make Wren a gown!

and so it goes

Well, looks like no Twelfth Night for us again this year. I had thought the event was the first weekend of January, like it usually seems to be, but instead it is on January 13th. Wren is having ear surgery on January 12th and there's no way I could plan to go to an out of town event the next day. Blah. We might do Interbaronial 12th Night on the 6th, I don't know yet.

At least now I don't have to try to pound out a new gown this week.

Medieval things feel like they are at a standstill. I can spend a bit more time working on my latest project, but missing the Kingdom 12th Night means I also miss the chance to display the work in the Tempore Atlantia competition that is apropos to the time period of the objects I am making. Autumn Crown Tourney 2007 will be the next time the period will be correct, although I may be able to wrangle it for Spring Coronation. We'll see.

Thus far, my SCA year is shaping up this way:

January 2007:     possibly Interbaronial 12th Night

February:    Tourney of Ymir on 2/10 is likely out.  I'd like to do Tournament of Love and Beauty on 2/24 since I have never been to it, and we don't event much in NoVA.

March:    Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival, definitely (barring any familial issues, illnesses or other unfoeseen circumstances).

April:      so far, nothing

May:     Sapphire Joust, of course

June and July:    is usually light....doubt we'll do Highland River

August:      hmmm....Pennsic....I really want to go this year. It's still a maybe, though.

September, October, November:     the usual suspects....Coronation, University and Crown Tourney, all dependent upon their locations.

Well, it looks more like a "what we're NOT doing in 2007" list, but there you go. Traveling and long-range planning can be difficult with an infant, especially one who has morphed into a toddler.

I need new garb. She needs new garb. I'm sure Balynar needs new garb. I'd better get my sewing mojo on.

And that's where I am going right now....baby's in bed, Kira's not home, Travis is busy outside....time for some Mommy-time in the sewing room!

Year-End Review

January 2006: 2005 was a fantastic year -- I got to tell Travis I was pregnant, and we got to add a wonderful new family member a few weeks ago.

February 2006: Ok, so I couldn't resist trying on some work clothes this morning....seems that I am fitting into two of my eight pairs of pants.

March 2006: Two of my projects for Kingdom A&S Fest have broken.

April 2006: It's been an especially trying and challenging and frustrating day, so instead of whining some more about all that, I will write about my weekend and Coronation.

May 2006: I'm at work, taking a break from the mountain of documentation I am trying to catch up on.

June 2006: Sapphire was terrific. See earlier post for why it was so terrific.

July 2006: Let's take stock of this week, shall we?

August 2006: Ok, I have the No-Pennsic blues. :(

September 2006: Maybe an out-of-town event what just what I needed.....

October 2006: I haven't updated in a while.

November 2006: I had been considering taking a break from writing in this blog.

December 2006: Wow, having seen pinkleader's blog today and the terrific pictures of her cute new 'do, I really REALLY want to get a haircut.

an event

Maybe an out-of-town event what just what I needed.....

We went to Coronation. As is usual for me, I was AT Coronation, but didn't actually SEE the Coronation. Sigh. That makes....six?....Coronations I have actually been physically present at, but have not seen the actual act of the crowns being placed on the heads.  I'm a Coronation albatross!

Anyway. The Compagnia dei Maestri del Vetro had planned a Big Glass Thing, since we had the run of an entire small building at the event site. It was really cool -- five of us were there, which made for about five lampworking torches, a small kiln, and a flat glass setup. It was unbelievably hot in the building once we all got to flaming and running the kiln, but we were able to show off a lot of interesting glasswork to the populace. Wren was there, as well, safely ensconced in her pack 'n play near my workspace.
I didn't get to make as many beads, nor work on my next rpoject nearly as much as I wanted to, but I did get to teach the Baroness of Black Diamond how to make a bead. I also got some things prepped for my next glass (ad)venture. Hopefully, my plan is a good one.

Iseulte had her stained and painted glass, and was showing people how to cut glass.

Mistress Caitlin worked her magic as well, and also gave me two rods of a beautiful aqua blue that I had admired.

It was hot at the event, and baby-wrangling all day long was hard. I did put my new heraldic panel in the Tempore Atlantia competition, and got some nice feedback. My lamp wasn't working, so I couldn't illuminate the piece from behind, but it was nice anyway.

I did get some nice comments.

What with the baby wrangling, I didn't get to take as many pix as I usually do, but here is the only one I managed to snag of Elspet becoming a Laurel.

The day was fun, and I was looking forward to getting home and going to bed, but then people started to ask us if we would stay the night. We had planned to go home after Court and dinner out, but....we decided to stay, after a Wal-Mart run for supplies. Wren needed food and diapers and formula, and I needed a toothbrush, among other things. There was space in the cabin with friends, and Travis got to go out and run around with his friends. Iseulte and I baby-wrangled until Wren finally passed out in my arms while being rocked on the prch of the cabin. I think the cool breeze and the sound of the rain helped.

We came home the next morning, and I still feel like I need about 12 hours of sleep. Today I plan to get out of the house without the baby, at least for a little while.

My brain is full of ideas now, things I want to make and do, and so maybe I just needed to get my sorry butt to an event and have a good time and remind myself about the fun stuff there is in the SCA.

Crown Tourney is coming up. Maybe I will ask my mom to come and help me at the event with Wren. I have to start making plans for the household's field presence, we only have two months....at least two, maybe three people need garb, and the easy-up needs a cover to be respectable enough on the tourney field...and we want to have some hospitality and of course banners.....I guess I'd better get on that.