Travelling Time and Space

Aside from painting Kingdom writs and adding calligraphy one of my major pastimes is costuming. There is always 'something' I'm adding to my family's wardrobe, no matter whether it's for hubby, Finndragon who always appears to be growing out of his garb before events and myself. At Pennsic I wore my 14th century outfit and - don't tell the Master - enjoyed the looks of it greatly. Ever since that occasion I've dabble with the thought of making another one - simple understated 14thcentury elegance. Well, I did embark on that project sometime last winter and have been working on it ever since.

This 14th century ensemble consists of a slate-grey wool-silk blend front-laced cotte and a fitted madder-red surcotte. I keep alternating between these two pieces which keeps my interest and excitement strong although I must admit that lately that theory has been tested quite a bit. The surcotte, you must understand, is buttoned on the front. The -entire- front. -All- the way from the neck to the bottom hem. 49 buttons, to be exact, and 49 buttonholes *sigh* I managed to get 45 of 49 buttonholes stitched up by hand over the past two days and frankly, I've had it. Up to here and then some ... bleargh, button holes. The buttonholes for the sleeves and the lacing holes on the cotte are next ...

So, if sometime during the next week I start babbling and drooling and cackling like a maniac you will know that I lost my sanity (or whatever remained of it) to the buttonholes of the dress ...

Sheesh, I have been notoriously lax about updating this blog now, haven't I? One entry a month is really not acceptable, especially since I tend to complain when my favorite reads do not update regularly. Sooo ... without further ado, here's an entry (while Finndragon is munching his oatmeal for breakfast). We'll simply begin with the weekend past :o) Friday we went to Finndragon's school for the annual Valentine Dance. A madhouse, I tell you! Some 150 elementary-school-aged kids, loud music and punch make for a crazy mixture :o) Finndragon had dressed up all nice in a white shirt with tie to look just like Papa and had a blast. Hubby and I had a great time watching him and his school buddies investing a sign language of our own making since normal conversation was impossible. We left 5 minutes before closing with a puckered-out Finndragon who mourned having to leave his favorite girl friend behind - that older kid with the dark hair and cool sweater was sure to make a move once he turned his back ;o) Saturday morning we went to a birthday party in the park. It was lovely! The weather was balmy, the Moms and few Dads very nice and welcoming and Finn ran himself almost ragged with the other kids. Afterwards we met hubby at the Summer Camp Expo at the Fairgrounds and collected bunches of summer camp programs. Finndragon is -almost- old enough to attend a day-camp; a lot of programs allow kids 5 years and older. My two favorites are a swimming camp so Finndragon can learn to swim properly and of course the Mad Scientists Camp. -Awesome- concept, I tell you, and the presentations at the expo were equally fascinating for adults and kids. Sunday I hosted a Scribal Tea at my house. We had a great turn out even though 3 of the regulars could not be there due to various health issues (some of which seem to transfer through mystic powers of the mind since some of us have been suffering from cold symptoms ever since). We even managed to get stuff done! This month's scribal tea was slated to be a workshop to finish the competition scrolls needed for our Shire's event "Cutlasses & Corsairs"and I'm pleased to report that not only did we create 6 nifty prize scrolls but worked on a couple of Kingdom scrolls also. Yay Castlemere Scribes! Our potluck dinner was delicious and everyone left stuff, I'm sure :o) Next month I'm thinking about hosting a beginning illumination class as well as a beginning calligraphy class. There are a bunch of people new to the topic and I cannot answer all their questions properly during another, more advanced class or even a workshop, not to mention that some just don't feel comfortable asking questions when everybody seems to be so much more knowledgeable already. Anyways, Finn's off to school and I'm starving and ready for breakfast. Time to grab another cup of tea! Tata!

... have to scrape ice off of your windshield in the morning when you live in Florida ... *grumble-grumble*