Category: Miscellany

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Poem for the Estrella War

 

A horn sounds out, its tone is sweet and strong.
Upon the ear sustained note doth lay.
It calls to goodly folk, “Come now along
heed war-fields’ call to sing and dance and play!
Swift, beside the stags and coneys, run
unto the place where gryphons, dragons meet,
a-gathered with their cousins in the sun
in fine display of kinship all too fleet.”
See now a land enchanted does appear
where all shall share in battle and in art,
from shyest maid to boist’rous cavalier,
each noble soul displays a nobl’er heart.

The echo’s path we followed, so contrived.
Beneath Estrella’s sky are all revived.

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Jeaneleda’s Bardic Championship Rules

Instructions for the EK Bardic Championship, AS 46. In limerick for King Gregor.

 

Their Majesties each need a bard
To accomplish this should not be hard
We have set this day
For this noisy play
With the things you have writ on your card.

We now give the rules of the thing
You may recite, tell tales or sing
No punching or hitting
Nor swearing or spitting
Or we shall makes you compete into spring.

There may be a piece you abhor
Which you feel maketh your innards sore
If you’re rude lords and ladies
You’ll be sent straight to hades
Where its Neil diamond filk evermore.

The first round is period all
About each piece we’ll tell the hall
We need documentation
For each presentation
And it’s fine with us though if it’s small..

In the second round we shall favor
A piece the bard’s chosen for flavor
You’ve one six of an hour
To put us in your power
As your fine bardic skills we do savor.

Round three is their Majesties pick
To the things on your card they should stick
But if the crown wishes
That you sing and do dishes,
you’ll learn what makes your bold liege tick.

Ere we start, may we briefly advise,
The bard’s life is full of surprise
But we can already tell
You would do the job well
And to any challenge would rise.

The bard ought be on at all times
To amuse songs, stories, or rhymes
We must confess
That “your majesty, yes”
Is the very best of bardic lines.

And so as we exit our play
We wish all you well on this day
As you each compete
Before our crown sweet
Now enjoy it all well as you may!

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Glass Beakers Painted in the Venetian Style

I was a happy participant in the very first East Kingdom Artisanal Exchange, which was inspired by the Nobelesse Largesse project from Calontir.

Aldrevandini Beaker in the British Museum
Aldrevandini Beaker in the British Museum, 1330 Venice, the inspiration piece for the beakers.

The idea is that it’s sort of like a large scale, hand-made, medieval secret Santa project. Interested participants put their names in, write about their time period, persona, and things they like and in return are given the same information about another participant. Over a few months, a project is made, with a material cost of no more than $25.

I was pretty excited that I had been given the name of someone of whom I am very fond, in the Province just down the road. She’s Italian, her husband is a Crusader, and so they have time periods which aren’t the same. However I found glass designs that would span her persona period and his with relative ease, and would be a nice addition to feast gear.

Their designs are inspired by the Aldrevandini Beaker (and fragments of others like it).  That object is currently in the British Museum. It was made in Venice in about 1330. It is quite beautiful, and has three heraldic objects on it.

My versions each held the same floral leaf design, and the gold and red paint, but stylized English letters to say the names of each of the owners of the glasses, and each featured a single shield with their heraldry upon it.

My versions are below.

Two glass beakers painted in the Venetian style of the early 1300s. They bear the arms and names of Lady Maria Beatrice della Mare and her husband Lord Michael Acrensis.
Glass beakers - back view
Back view of two glass beakers painted in the Venetian style of the early 1300s. They bear the arms and names of Lady Maria Beatrice della Mare and her husband Lord Michael Acrensis.
glass beakers painted in the Venetian style of 1330
Another view of two glass beakers.

I used glass enamel paints for this project, painting them with a set of small brushes, and then allowing the pieces to air dry before baking them in an oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.The original glass is enamelled both inside and out, but I just enamelled on the exterior. These are also food-safe, and according to the paint manufacturer, able to be washed in a dishwasher on the top level. Handy!

There are two kinds of paint enamels. One is plastic-feeling, and gives the translucence that true glass has. It goops about more, and when dry probably looks more like glass. It’s not as hearty though, and needs to air dry, and then have an additional coat of acrylic clear enamel put on over it all. It looks pretty awesome, but it’s not durable.

The paint which is baked on has a quite thick consistency and it’s opaque. I wish I could have both the transparent quality and the glassine look of the first with the baking durability of the second. The original beakers seem to have elements of both – the white is opaque and solid and the transparent glass is enamelled (I believe) on the inside of the glass.

However, these turned out looking at least somewhat like their inspiration pieces, and I really hope that they are used often and well, with health and prosperity by Beatrice and Michael!

 

 

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Seven-Step Applique for Garments and Banners

Since it’s that time when people start having Pennsic Panic, and think “I need a heraldic surcote, or jupon, or apron dress, or something fancy…” I wrote up a short, somewhat disorganized tutorial on how to applique things onto other things.

Suffice to say that I’m not gifted with a needle (well, not one attached to a sewing machine at least) so trust me that if I can accomplish something with this, anyone can.

Decide what you want to do – a dress, a banner, a tabard, and if it’s a garment, complete the garment or at least the part of the garment you’re going to applique on. Don’t do the lining part yet, but you may baste it on to give light fabrics extra support. If you’re doing a banner, you will want to baste the lining on in advance, or your item will go all wonkedy-whumpus and sag in weird places.

 You will need:

Your applique fabric/s
A roll of iron-on adhesive with paper backing
A Sharpie-like marker
Your design printed to scale (I print the thing in tiles and tape them)
A wicked-hot iron
An ironing board / covered solid surface
Nice sharp scissors for cutting paper and cloth both (together and separately)

STEP  ONE

Assemble your materials.

Get fabric that matches that of your garment or item – you need to use the same fabric on the applique as the fabric it’s being sewn to (wool to wool, linen to linen, etc.)

Get iron-on stuff (the kind with two backings) at the craft store – like Heat n Bond; get it in the roll if you can – for big appliques. It’s usually with sewing notions and quilting stuff I think at the craft/sewing store. I like the heavier-weight stuff, it worked better for me.

STEP TWO

Lay out your to-scale drawing.

Lay out your bond paper over itand trace the design with sharpie markers, using the bond paper as tracing paper.  You can also trace with a light projector, or do it freehand if you’re gifted at that kind of thing.

Rough-cut out your traced design in the bond paper, giving yourself a good amount of space to cut it out accurately after – 1/2 inch at least around every line. You can be sloppier if you want to – you’re going to trim on the design line later anyway.

**Be sure you figure out what direction you want your item on your garment, and consider that before you set the glue paper. If you realize you need to reverse, turn the paper over and trace the design on the reverse.**

STEP THREE

Iron your applique fabric so that it’s smooth, as much as you can.

Remove the paper from one side of your cutout bond paper.

Lay the bond paper cutout on the fabric and pin it if you need to (if it’s really big).

Iron the adhesive paper to the applique fabric. Follow the directions on the bond paper package.

 STEP FOUR

Cut out the fabric now to your traced/drawn lines. Keep close to your drawn lines, and keep your cutting nice and tidy. This is what the applique will look like, unless you’re doing a lot of embroidery on the edge. For some things that will not be stitched, but only bonded this way, this is the final edge.

Let the piece cool.

STEP FIVE

Prepare the thing you’re appliqueing. You’ll want to be sure it’s ironed.

Remove the paper backing from your applique piece.

Carefully place the applique on the garment. Now is the time for any final trimming or adjusting.

Iron the applique onto your item.

Let it cool.

STEP SIX

There is no step number six.

STEP SEVEN

Add stitching or embellishing (paint, spangles, beads, etc) to your piece. Stitch around it in the way you like best – hand, by machine, etc.  Some people leave it without stitching, and you can, but stitching is often beautiful and helps secure it.

Finish sewing the item  / garment / complete sewing the lining or backing / etc.

Go out and look awesome.

* * *

NOTES –

  • You can also iron smaller pieces onto the main piece, if you wish. Realize that the addition of the bond does add another layer, so you’ll want a really beefy needle for hand-embroidery or embellishing.
  • You can use scrap fabric to a point – you just need to be sure you get bits to line up on the bond layer so they will look ok once ironed down. It’s prettier (though wasteful) to use a whole swath of fabric, and there’s something to be said about cutting out smaller pieces. You just have to be ready to assemble them on the item to be embellished. I strongly suggest numbering things like leaves that have similar size but go in some purposeful order.
  • You don’t *have* to use the same fabrics on same fabrics, but it looks nicer, I think.
  • I have been cautioned against using synthetic “felt” on things – try to get wool felt if you can. I understand that the synthetic felt pills, and pulls, and falls apart more quickly, and since you’re putting a lot of work into this anyway, it’s worth it to do it right at that point.
  • You can also go straight to the “cut the fabric” stage, and use a fabric glue, and then stitch it down. I think the paper-backed stuff is more fool-proof, though it’s extra steps and a little more expensive. The gigantic amount of bond does really help it stay on though, and it makes it firm enough that cutting is easier. The bond-sheet also keeps the fraying down on the edges you’ve cut.
  • Here’s a video about using iron-on adhesive.
    http://www.ehow.com/video_4945615_ironing-adhesive-paper-applique.html

 

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Truly A War of the Roses

Red the rose for passion, love, and beauty.
White the rose of honor, reverence, and truth.
Which rose to pluck from trembling stem?
Which rose shall I present my love?

This War of the Roses marks a special anniversary for me. It was the event when it was decided that I would take the field and bear a banner for King Lucan and Queen Jana for the East. (Also a time when I wondered what on earth I was getting myself into!) After time around the fire with unbelted champions who became my muses, it was the the time I began to wish to be a war bard for those who had lit a fire in my heart. To inspire with words and song, to share and increase the love of the field and the fighters upon it, to don the armor and bear the spear with those who would become my brothers and sisters – these were the seeds sown in my soul’s rich, spring soil.

And I did.

This Roses, one year later, was one of choices – to put on armor and hold spear on the field and fight (which I am not very good at) or join my friends in a bardic tournament on field’s edge on the theme of inspiration (which I’m much better at doing.)

At other times, I had a heart-war of wanting to be too many places at once, and having just so much me and just so much time. While I am always busy at events, and fluttering from here to there, this one was harder than most because the two places bring me very different kinds of joy. Red rose, white rose. I suppose my bright pink dress spoke well of my conflict – wanting both, feeling like I was neither.

In the end, I missed the bardic tournament due to the first two battle scenarios, and then missed the third due to war brothers and sisters who thought I was too red and not sweaty enough. (They were right.) Also, this battle I was not tenderly coddled by my brothers as tender bard-thing, taking the field for her King. I was a soldier of the Northern Army, with as much right to be beaten as anyone. Nobody would rescue me this time, though more sage warriors, knowing my skills, would make kindly suggestions like “Behind me would be a better place for you in this one.” But I knew that there would not be a gauntlet firmly pulling me back from danger. I would be bruised or not on my own merits. As it was, I killed some in the field battle, died some in the field battle, froze in immobile uselessness on the bridge as though I had never seen a spear at my arm before, and for it, earned no kills but two bruises. My helm was uncooperative, my gigantic spear nearly useless in my hands. My breathing labored. What on earth was I afraid of? I felt novice, and foolish, and frustrated and I wanted desperately to do my brothers and sisters better. I felt a poor war bard for a while — one with laryngitis of spirit, too tired and confused to raise her voice. (Later though, I was given great praise for taking the field and missing my singing, which had the irony of being greater inspiration to some than had I sung at all. Inspiration is a curious thing.)

That evening, all of the beauty of the chaos of joy surrounding the elevation of Aife to Mistress Aife, and the amazing bardic arranged by Master Toki for the occasion (for which I am touched and gladdened and humbled to have been a part), surrounded me. But my secret introvert was in full swing, and I both desperately wanted to stay and be a part of this amazing musical community, but also retreat to a quiet place, where I could avoid any attention. I realize that I do not like to be in the midst of things without a job to do. It is harder on me than one may think. Huge crowds – wonderful. Tiny groups – intimate and lovely. Inbetween – well nigh the stuff of nightmares, no matter how much I love the people around. I need a task to tend to in those, lest I go mad, or hide.

I was also torn – for as kind as Vestfell was, and as good as their hospitality, I also missed my friends at Pembridge terribly, and I see them all so seldom. I traveled back for forth across the road many times, often thinking I ought to just lay down in the middle of it as a personal compromise.

So amid the wanting to be everywhere and nowhere, and torn between the field and the fire – I found myself in a quandary of great magnitude about the path I would take in the year before me…and how to assess if the path was what I wanted it to be.

The path of the past year had been that of an Eastern Champion, a role I loved and took to heart. I did whatever my Kings asked of me – I was blessed that they asked often and much. (Though had they asked me to go sit below the trees and be silent, that also would have been my job!) This year, there is less direction and so the path is wide, with many splits in the road. I have some favors and obligations to do, but they are all my choice. And at some point, I will have to choose one thing over another thing, for there is just one me.

But how to choose with care! I do not want to be a showboat, or a buffoon, though I can merrily play up those aspects when I choose. Neither am I suited to be a war-goddess, though I can be a singing simple footsoldier. I want to perform in a circle, but not too often, for I wish others to stand in the light. I want to inspire, not FOR me but THROUGH me – and how to achieve that delicate balance is something that I am searching to learn. How to be the conduit – so that it comes from me, but it is not about me.

When I hear that the rules of the list are watched on a hard day to cheer, or that a morning drive is shortened by a song simply but lovingly recorded, or that the memory of a song sung in armor on a hot day helps hold the line, or that I have made a warrior stronger by his weeping – I feel that perhaps I can manage it.

But now, with the bruises of spear-kisses on my arms from the bridge battle a ready memory of fingers damp with stewed mutton from the Pembridge cooking fires, and the wondrous elevation of my truly talented, beautiful friend, I have cause to consider the path I am on, and the path before me.

How to choose where to turn when the path splits? Left or right? High or low? Smooth or rocky?

I realized that really, when it came to the choosing of the larger path to find my role in the Society it boiled down to simple questions:

“Do I do this thing for the glory of the Kingdom or do I do this for the glory of me?”

Which will be the beneficiary of my action? The answer may be that it is good for both. Or for one. Or for the other. It may be that it is an act for self, but it benefits the kingdom. It could be that it benefits the kingdom at the expense of oneself. And if it is an action that only benefits oneself, it may be perfectly fine, but one needs be honest about it.

But the important part is to have considered the answer, then choose the action.

And one which I pray that I may heed in all things, and be honest about at all times.

It is a good lesson after a good war.

The white when pricked doth bloom with red
In time red’s beauty fades to white
Both fall snow-like to the ground
Their time known but to God above.