Apparently, the post office attempted a delivery on Saturday, but no-one answered the door, so I had to wait in the agony if anticipation until this morning to go pick up the parcel. As I suspected, it was the Janet Arnold books! The box looked like it had been kicked repeatedly and dropped down a long flight of stairs, but the books are fine. They are now patiently awaiting their owners in my trunk. (OK, so one is on my desk here at work. :P) I snuck a peek, and it is soooo tasty! :) I'm trying to not let it distract me until lunch... Or maybe my morning break...

If you ordered one, I'll have them at the Stock Pavilion or at Boar's Head. :)

Patterns of Fashion 4: The cut and construction of linen shirts, smocks, neckwear, headwear and accessories for men and women c. 1540 - 1660: 4

I'll be placing an order in the next few days. Let me know if you want in to save on shipping... It is usually 30 pounds but it is on sale at amazon.co.uk for 15 pounds - even after shipping, that is the cheapest I have found. I think it will be about $35 after tax, shipping, et al and we should have them by Boar's Head.

Nom nom nom... Tasty linen...

This weekend was Jararvellir's 35th Anniversary and May Day Event and it was a most joyful celebration.

On Friday, I came home from work later than usual thanks to the previously mentioned issues at work, so I was already a bit behind. Unfortunately, this meant I skipped out of set-up because I would not have arrived before the bulk of the work was done. Luckily, I had given the banners to damej on Wednesday and I been pretty efficient all week long, so I was in reasonably good shape with the rest of my projects. I quickly did the last bit of cleaning, some detail work on my new garb, final court-tweaks, grocery shopping for the postrevel and last-minute packing. It was a busy evening, but ego_id_non_feci kept me company, so the evening flew. An interesting commentary on my life - when it became clear that I was not going to find my favorite linen chemise without an intensive search, I whipped out a new one. :P Granted, it was less finished than I generally would consider acceptable, but noone was going to check whether I hand-finished the seams when all the sewn bits were hidden by the doublet. Shhh... my little secret - I still use a machine - even on the visible bits - when I'm in a hurry. ;)

Saturday morning started quite early - I'm not a morning person and never will be - but the drive down to Stoughton was pleasant. corvusjoyous, T, teffan, and a few other folks helped me haul things in and set up with all speed. (Thanks also to the houseguests who brought me my forgotten shoes and necklace later in the morning.) With teffan's further help, I stuffed myself into my new birthday dress and properly started the day.




As was usual for a Jara event, I had many commitments throughout the day, but I did get to attend several classes, including both by Bob Charron/Duke Conn. I also got to visit with our visitors from afar - hbevert, Heinrich, and frausensei- and many folks we do not see nearly often enough these days. As a special treat, ALL of Northshield's Baronage was in attendance - not just a representative from each Barony - ALL of the Baronage. There was a multitude of jokes about drawing up charters in the absence of the Crown. Sadly, it did not occur to me to request a family picture until some of my cousins had already left.

Court was a splendid delight. Their Majesties had granted me the power to bestow Awards of Arms and I was most pleased to be the one to recognize jinglymushroom and lostvirtue. In particular, it was a lot of fun to "get" Mushroom. We set it up so that she thought I was going to torture her brother, ilaifire (which we got into the deal as well, but that was incidental) and ensured she was in court and unable to hide when her presence was requested. I had specially commissioned a scroll to be done by CW, one of my favorite scribes, with the wording translated into Russian and read into court by rezansky. As part of the day's activities, several Baronial Championships were held - relativelylucid is the new Arts and Sciences Champion, Robert the Stout will serve as Armored Champion, and Hroswitha as the Rapier Champion - I had considered both the entrant's performance on their respective field of endeavor and, in the spirit of the event's theme of trying something new, whether they participated in other activities as well, particularly during the One Kingdom hour. The Baronage of Northshield each came forward with lovely gifts for the Barony of Jararvellir - everything from largess to food and drink to knowledge in the form of paying the honorarium for the guest speaker. A few old scrolls were also delivered, I ran through the Baronial business, and there were a few more items of amusement/abuse, in particular of a particular Jara Duke with a dislike for combat archery. ;) A good and most satisfying Court. Sometimes I truly love my job.

After court we had the May Pole dance to kick off the Dance Ball. While I had received many recommendations to makeilaifire the new May Queen, I decided that would look like favoritism, no matter how much it amused me, and so I had ego_id_non_feci brought out of the kitchen and announced as the new May Queen. She was stunning in her new blue Italian and the floral wreath suited her well.

Just before feast, the Jara choir performed and provided a very emotional performance - Owen's Evensong always stirs the melancholy in my soul but the Jara fight song (in Latin and English) always amuses and delights me. Feast was GOOD and there was plenty to eat of all. As is my habit, I tried just a tiny little nibble of everything and a bit more of my favorites and still left the feast stuffed and happy that I had changed out of the corset beforehand. After gathering my things and doing some basic clean-up, I headed home to open up for the postrevel. Before long, the living room was full of rowdy goodness. I was exhausted, however, and so nodded off for a bit... Happily, this meant that I was reinvigorated later in the evening and even hit the Inferno for about an hour.

This morning, I got up early and headed back to site for clean up. I was by no means the first one there, but I endeavored to be helpful nonetheless. damej and I got breakfast while waiting for the site steward to return and inspect our cleanup work. Once back in Madison I crashed hard. (I'm not entirely certain I ought to have been driving those last few miles :P) I think I am in love with ego_id_non_feci - while I was comatose, she reset the guest room and washed the party dishes. There were not too many this time, but it still was a godsend. The afternoon was spent in goodbyes and preliminary clean-up, then Jara's General Meeting. After a dinner with kumakun and fencingkitty, some birdie crazy time, and some email catch-up, I am ready for a shower, then bed. The rest of the clean up will have to wait until tomorrow. It is now time to end a lovely weekend - thank you to everyone who came and made this a special event for the Barony!

The latter half of this past week passed in a blur!

Thursday, I went to ego_id_non_feci's class again. The theme for class this day was plants and how they eat, drink, and grow. Unfortunately, they were indeed little monsters - for some reason they were very keyed up and more interested in talking and torturing one another than on my previous visits. (I, in part, blame myself - there were no explosions this time. ;P) However, it was fortuitous since there was a lot of touchy-feely hands on sorts of things to play with and eat and many of the "experiments" were things that were to be observed in the classroom over the coming days or weeks. So, even if learning was minimal that day, they hopefully will get the intended exposure as the flowers and peas complete their experiments. Thursday evening I worked on finishing the machine-sewing parts of my projects for the weekend as well as working on my own garb for the 35th Anniversary. This time, I got the bitty chemise sewn without impaling myself... but I did wait to sew until there were other people home. Sadly, the doublet I was working on was not so successful and I am hoping arebekah will be able to help me straighten out the pattern tomorrow.

Friday, I did a half day at work and then went home to catch a ride with gflower and Cerian up to Bardic Madness. Other than some small amount of fog, the ride went smoothly and pleasantly. Once we got to site, however, it began to rain and HAIL with considerable force. Yipes! All that white on the ground? Hail. The snow came later...





I was selfishly glad that we were inside and prayed for the safety of those still on the road. The evening passes happily with lots of singing and storytelling. I am much more of a patron of the Bardic Arts than a performer, but I appreciated the soundtrack as I sewed and baked.

Yes, I went to Bardic to bake! I always request to be the patron for "Authenticity's Delight" and so I like to have a very nice, period token for the participants of that challenge. This year I decided I would make bread, so I have been working on a recipe for bread that only makes use of ingredients I know to have been available in Pictish Scotland. My one cheat is using prepackaged yeast as I do not have an authentic starter and am not too convinced about trying to make one from scratch. (If I ever go to Scotland and have the chance to pick up some local wild yeast, maybe...) I even did my best to do it right in the other details - I changed out of my modern clothes and into my garb (including headcovering and apron - valkyr8 would have been proud), used my feast gear/baking kit instead of measuring cups, and left it to rise in a Finnr bowl. I had to use a modern oven, though, since the school would have frowned on my making a fire in the parking lot. ;P For the bread itself, I used spelt for the wheat and flax seed oil for the fat, so it is super healthy and has a rich, nutty flavor. On the other hand, it was also a little expensive and difficult - I was using a stone ground spelt which is naturally lower in gluten than regular bread, so it took some playing to make the bread more edible than high-fiber lumps. The final results I was getting at home were light and soft and super tasty. Sadly, site was pretty chilly, so the bread did not rise quite as much as I would have liked and my tokens were a bit heavier than intended. It still was very tasty however, and even moreso when topped with the tasty cloudberry jam (a period Scottish fruit!) that Constanza was so kind as to bring to me from IKEA.

On Saturday proper, the event was just marvelous! The night before we had slept in a gym that was freezing and apparently had a poltergeist, but once we got up and moving, all was well. The Fyts were wonderful, the schedule ran on time, everyone arrived safely, and much fun was had by all. His Majesty was there and seemed to have a splendid time himself - watching the Fyts and participating in at least two of the classes. He even performed in the Triads Challenge, so that was extra keen. I only had four entrants in Authenticity's Delight, and while that was lower than usual, it is often an underpopulated Challenge. (Because period stuff is too scary, dontchaknow! :P Silly people.) However, this meant that there were extras to be shared with people interested in dorky bread and there were enough curious folk that it was all eaten up by the end of the Fyt, even though it was just after lunch.

After the Fyts, there was a meeting of the Northshield College of Bards. I decided to stick around and eavesdrop and somehow got voted onto the Council. :P Yes, another job, but a small one... And my very first suggestion to the Council was instantly unanimously approved, so I feel pretty good about it. Feast was lovely and tasty... and I performed a canzone I wrote! (Eeep!) An idea for the Royal Challenge had occurred to me the night before, so I ran with it. (I don't know why Court-type speaking doesn't phase me a whit, but performance does... brain weasels attack again...) Anyway, I certainly was not the best, but I received wonderful positive feedback from a person whose Bardic opinion I highly value, so I'll call it a success. Once of mine own (and a past Jararvellir Bardic Champion) was chosen to be the Bardic Champion, however, so greatest congratulations to Jose. The night ended with a nice, but dry, Bardic Circle. I certainly understand and appreciate the difficulty of finding a site, but it always seems wrong to have a dry or indoor circle. Bardic endeavors are best pursued out of doors, around a fire, with some good Scotch to hand. Granted, the snow would have put a bit of a damper on it... we just would have needed a bigger fire and more Scotch!

Over the course of the weekend, I had a spectacular sewing output: hand finishing a tiny chemise, handsewing a bitty hat, an apron, a bag, a headscarf, and two adult hats, weaving all the cord for the above projects, weaving a rope, and hand turning a veil for ysolt. Sadly, none of that includes time on the ride home, as a nasty migraine meant I slept most of the long ride home. I am fond of the new apron (which when combined with the headcovering, my garb and a bowl full of dough made someone remark that I looked just like an illumination walking down the hall), but my favorite project for the week was a little dress and chemise for Niamh.



I made it to hopefully fit soon, but include extra seams to be easily let out as the baby grows and some sections that lace to allow for even more growing room. Thanks to bebe_lily (and her mommy) for being the model!




The dress itself (but not the odd construction or the generic chemise) was based off the baby's outfit in Holbein's The Artist's Family:

While in Boston, I absolutely fell in love with a portrait in the Isabella Stuart Gardner Gallery. We had seen any number of really beautiful items, but this one simple blew me away. I stopped dead and stared at it, I lusted after the gown and cursed that the museum did not allow photography. Once we got the to gift shop, I further cursed that there was not a single good picture of the painting in any of the guidebooks or postcards. Tragedy!

They did, however, have pictures of one of my other favorite pieces of the collection, Juana of Austria with a young girl by Sofonisba Anguissola.



I had seen Sofonisba's work before and had been interested to learn more about her.

I got a little derailed reading A Perfect Red and Moda a Firenze, but before long had several books on Sofonisba from the library. Ironically, reading Moda and Red first were helpful, as they helped me understand and appreciate some of the details in Sofonisba's work and understand the general time and place where she grew up.

Sofonisba was born in Cremona around 1532. As the daughter of a nobleman, being allowed to be educated as and work as a professional painter were somewhat unusual. However, she was quite talented, so these studies paid off and she was able to study under Campi, Gatti, and even (to some small extent) Michaelangelo. She came to specialize in detailed, intimate portraits, including self portraits and many of her immediate family.


The Chess Game (Check out those dresses! See why I love her?)

The new icon (see above) is also of Sofonisba, in one of my favorite of her self-portraits. I really am tempted to make her outfit... Also, I recently discovered that my hair is finally long enough to wear in such a style again (braided, then looped up around the top of the head). Happiness. :)

In 1559, Sofonisba was invited to come to Spain to be one of the court painters. There she befriended the newly arrived queen, Elizabeth of Valois and eventually the Infantas Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela.


Portrait of Queen Elizabeth by Sofonisba


Portrait of the Infantas by Sofonisba

Sadly, the Queen died young. Sofonisba stayed in the Spanish Court for some time, as painter and governess to the girls, but eventually the King of Spain arranged a marriage for her to a son of the Prince of Paterno. She was 38 or so at the time of this first marriage, quite old for a first time bride! While it seemed to be a reasonably happy marriage, she outlived him to marry again (at the age of 47!) to Orazio, who was to be the love of her life. They settled together back in Italy where, against all the odds, she happily painted and lived with her husband for nearly another fifty years.

Toward the end of her life (1623), she was visited by the young artist Van Dyke, who drew and painted her on several occasions and took notes on her recommendations for said works. Having recently been in contact with the Archduchess of Austria, he could have been bringing her letters and greetings on his visit as well, but that information is not actually recorded anywhere. Sofonisba died in 1625, aged 93 years.


Self portrait from 1610, about 80 years old

On the 100th anniversary of her birth, her husband placed an her tomb a commemorative stone that reads, in part:

"To Sofonisba, my wife...who is recorded among the illustrious women of the world, outstanding in portraying the images of man... Orazio Lomellino, in sorrow for the loss of his great love, in 1632, dedicated this little tribute to such a great woman."





Oh, and the name of that Archduchess of Austria? Isabella Clara Eugenia, the little Infanta Sofonisba knew as a child and the beautiful lady whose portrait so enchanted me at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Gallery in Boston.



Isabella Clara Eugenia, Archduchess of Austria (1566-1633), c.1598
Frans Pourbus II
Oil on canvas, 134.9 x 98.2 cm 
© Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

My thanks to the wonderful folks at the museum who were so kind as to send me a *huge* scan of the beautiful portrait, so that I may study it in greater detail.

So ... another dress diary for you!

So, Stardust was fun, Beowulf will hurt my soul by its very existance, whether or not I go see it, and there is a new Elizabeth movie that I believe will more than make up for it.

http://movies.aol.com//movie/elizabeth-the-golden-age/23641/video/trailer-no-1/1943170

Greetings all!

As promised, here is the dress diary!

Sunday, January 7, 2007, 10:30PM

After seeing Josceline, Robert, and Leona to near completion on their projects, it was time to start my own gown. I decided to do a Henrician gown with a decorative frontpiece and using simple side lacing. I cut out the bodice, outer skirt, and waistband of my dress. The bodice pattern had been done a few weeks previously with Leona's help, the other pieces were simple measured rectangles.







Monday, January 8, 2007

Cutting continues. Each bodice piece was cut in triplicate - lining, bodice, and linen-cotton interlayer. I cut the underskirt and decorative front panels by measurement, not from a pattern piece. The decorative front panel also got a supportive interlayer. The brocade was a bit too short, so a strip of black velveteen was used at the bottom to complete the length.



The brocade had been one of my first hand projects in the SCA and is embellished with pearls, garnets, onxy and glass beads. When I finished beading the piece, I was to nervious to cut it. By the time I was a confident seamstress, I was no longer interested in late period garb. :P Now, a decade later, I'm finally getting around to using it.







Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Because I clearly had too much time on my hands, I decided to bead the decorative front panel further and added dozens of tiny black and white glass beads as well as additional pearls and onyx beads.





Once the beading was completed, the bodice was constructed and the decorative frontpiece applied, the raw edges covered with beaded trim (another ages old OCD project).







Wednesday, January 10, 2007

I took the bodice to fighter's practice to complete the stay stitching around the seams and to apply the lacing rings down one side.

Back at home at the end of the night, the underskirt was constructed and finished with a simple drawstring top. The overskirt was pleated into the waistband.







Thursday, January 11, 2007

Quick break from the dress project - I cut and sewed several 12th night gifts and the special "gift" for Leif.

Returning to the dress - beaded trim was applied around the front and hem of the outerskirt and along the join of the black velvet and brocade on the underskirt. The black velvet was hand hemmed. There is no machine sewing visible on the finished gown, it either being hand finished or covered in hand-applied trim.





Then I patterned the undersleeves and oversleeves.





The undersleeves are brocade lined in cotton and the oversleeves are two layers of cotton velveteen. The over sleeves were finished and then whip stitched to the bodice. The undersleeves tie and/or pin to the dress. The oversleeves were held back with cute quatrefoil pins from the Fettered Cock.







Friday, January 12, 2007

I was up way too late and went to work Friday tired, but done. Friday was entirely consumes with work, packing, and travel. I settled for using an existing chemise, but I should make one out of linen and with a more narrow body and longer sleeves to get better poofiness.







Saturday, January 13, 2007
Last but not least - the Reveal! I added several gold, pearl, and/or garnet rings, pearls in my hair (six, of course), a garnet cross, and the fan I fortuitously won in the raffle.



And a group picture, including all the folks that I assisted and/or instigated in this grand 12th Night project. (Michael also got a doublet, but is not pictured since due to several mixups, he was not wearing it for court.)



Yeah! Spiffy garb!

So... I am beginning my Twelfth Night gown, which at this point looks like it will include the piece of brocade that I beaded almost a decade ago as one of my first handprojects. As a poor student newbie, I spent a ton of money and time sewing the gemstones to this metallic brocade and then, when it was completed, was afraid to cut it! By the time I was a confident seamstress, I was no longer interested in a late period gown. :P Now that I've been seduced again by the glitter and swish of late period foolishness, I'm mustering up the courage to give it a go. As part of the project, I'll also probably be using up the miles of beaded trim I have produced over the years as part of my OCD. Even before putting one stitch in on the gown, I think this project already has 100+ hours logged in it! Wish me luck and protection from sewing greeblies!