Category Archives: General

A&S Follow-up

I entered the championship for Calontir on 7/20/19 and I came in second. Here are my thoughts on my entries and the judging:

Italian head-covering: scored 25/30 and I was happy with that. One of the first comments was a question as to what style of footnotes I was using and I have no idea. Since this is not my area of expertise and not my culture of research, and I had difficulty even trying to find out where the portraits I was using for documentation were located. And I was primarily using portraits for documentation so I picked portraits that showed a similar head covering from Italy in the same time frame. They wanted more textile references and more process pictures, and comparisons to other headdresses from other areas and periods. Also to know how it was done in period and I can’t even begin to figure out if there is existing documentation for that. I can look at a thing and puzzle it out – I was vague on the overall puzzling.

Reliquary hood: scored 29/30 as I lost a point for “Post–period looking pin use” They really liked how my documentation was laid out as I broke it down into 15 parts – for such a small item there was really a lot going on with it and I broke it down into all of the major components. I based this piece on approximately eight extant objects which all had an analysis of the object online in Dutch. So the flaws in my project added to the authenticity of it. I liked this project and might do it again.

Treatment of a statue: scored 21.5/30 and I was told that if I had won then this item would have been disqualified. True – one of the three statues had been entered in a competition prior and it had not been fully carved at that point. I did not hide that fact – the judges could just have easily concentrated the judging on the other two statues if that was their objection. I did not talk about carving in my documentation and did not expect them to judge the carving because I was focused on the surface treatment. They liked the dog, they liked the sheep, they knocked points off in every category – including complexity which was baffling to me that I could get a 3/5 in that area. Overall it felt like the judge who took the lead on that team had a goal score she was trying to reach and the other two just let her. I immediately after judging knew I didn’t win. And while the rules state that your documentation and scores can be enhanced by your conversation with the judges, there didn’t seem to be any of that going on. Again – this is not my area of focus and even though I had lots of extant statues from the same region and time period, I’m a little agog about the scoring.

Part of the overall problem with the documentation standards is that they make NO allowances for how in-depth you want to get into a field of study, the ADA federal standards, or how much is actually known already in that art, time, and region. The fact that I know all those basics should be apparent based on the conversation and I shouldn’t have to put basics in the written documentation for an advanced level project. I don’t know how to fix that issue. I also don’t think the style of footnote or bibliography should be as big a factor as the books or sites that you’re citing. Especially when the end result of your labors is supposed to be the work of art – not the research you used to produce it. I expect those standards for a research paper – not for a physical item.

Not sure if I will do it again – would kind of like to do a project when I do the documentation as a photograph of the project work space once a week so you can see the progress, see the references I consult, see the materials I use. And see how long it actually takes to create the project itself! And I think I would like to make more critters for the shrine.

We Have A Studio!

About a year ago I was hoping to have the studio finished – so we’re only a few several months behind schedule. The great news is that it has turned out to be everything I wanted for the space.

So way back last summer I showed you a picture of the unfinished studio space and told you all about what I wanted: I wanted a place where I could host fabric and fiber based arts things with spaces to handle a bunch of different project types. I wanted a big cutting table (which hasn’t been constructed yet) and some tables and soft furniture. A sewing area, and a place for all the fabric and cashmere that I had accumulated would also be required.

This is the finished studio – a calm and peaceful atmosphere with some tables and the sectional and even the bead cabinet is here. It looks exactly like I envisioned it all those months ago and I get to debut it this week to the local crafters.

Happy Easter

I have always thought that Easter was the best holiday on the calendar and this one was especially special. I was doing my morning chicken duties when I noticed that my broody hen was not alone in her cubicle. She had two little chicklets under her.

I spent the day moving them to the floor of the coop and getting them situated with food and water and shelter from the rest of the chickens. About half way through that adventure I realized that today is the chickens’ 7 month birthday so that was pretty special as well.

As far as breeds go – I’m leaning toward the darker one being a silver-laced Wyandotte and the lighter one being an olive egger. I’ll have to see how they grow up but the lighter one came out of a blue egg so depending on the roo involved, it has a chance of being an olive egger. Since I only have two roos, it would be a 50/50 chance.


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Chickens!

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These are my surviving black-laced silver Wyandotte at 6 weeks. I originally had three but one was killed by a hawk and we have since fixed the small hole in the netting that the hawk used to access the chicken yard so hopefully there will be no future issues. Right from the start I called them my penguins so I have named them Emperor and Adélie as those are both penguin species and fitting names for what appear to be a roo and pullet.

The rest of my flock is represented in the pictures. I think at six weeks (Twoy is eight weeks now) that I have exactly two roosters – Emperor and General Tzo (who is an Easter Egger) – which means 15 girls! I have three BCM (Black Copper Marans) so one is pictured twice – Pretty sure Twoy is a girl and the little one, still unnamed, is a girl, the middle-sized one is almost the size of Twoy so it might be a rooster but I’m leaning toward not-a-boy.

Friendliest breed goes to Plymouth Rock – I have a head-sitter in that group that always feels a need to be on my head or shoulder. I’m trying to keep her on the shoulder because she’s already heavy enough to be a pain when she tries to get firm seating on the head. All of the rest of the chickens are mostly friendly – taking turns to get in close when I sit in the coop with them but the Plymouth Rocks are always the closest. The Columbian Wyandotte take a good second though.

 


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State of the Studio

A long time ago I held C&I at my house on Friday nights. Over the three or four years that I was doing it, pretty much everyone in the Barony attended at least once. About once a month we would get fishfry from the VFW hall down the street. I really enjoyed those evenings. And I miss them as well.

Eventually I moved and then there were no more C&I nights and I don’t think I even unpacked the majority of my C&I stuff. I didn’t really have space for it except in the basement and that became the sewing room. I didn’t (I’m being honest) play at the local level and I was getting deep into the silk flower research at that point which was a very solitary pursuit. Then I got married and I resumed playing again but I was still mainly focused on the flowers. Lack of space and no longer being centrally located really restricted my ability to host things. (And honestly, that group really had it covered before I got there.)

And then we moved again. I’ve tried to attend every business meeting and moot but fight practice isn’t really my thing. There are some other things locally but they don’t usually appeal to me or are inconvenient timewise. I also know me and I’m far more likely to attend something if I can host it.

I’m really looking forward to the studio getting completed. Hubby says by Labor Day! The downstairs is his domain (which I call the shop and is dedicated to woodworking) and the summer kitchen/garage. Upstairs is the studio – my giant sewing room. Giant is 1100 square feet dedicated to fabric based activities. I will have a 5×10 cutting table (counter height, lightly padded, and canvas covered) with a large light overhead and the ability to have the iron plugged in above so I can iron right from the table. I will have at least two sewing tables (I aspire to get a long-arm machine within a year) and two class tables. A television and the sectional sofa will also be up there and all the fabrics I have accumulated (like all that cashmere and the 100 plus yards of linen I haven’t used yet.)  I haven’t decided yet if the bead cabinet will get moved there (because I will still have a craft room in the house and it might be better at least for now to leave that in the craft room) but I’m pretty sure the silk stuff will get moved (it takes up less space than the beads but I usually use the silk in connection with the fabric and it’s what I most want to teach classes on.)

I think I want to make table coverings that are like fitted bedsheets – lightly padded but with a tight, no-slide fit to them. Or maybe make one fabric covered and the other one with a giant mapped-out cutting mat (the green ones that have all the grids and you can use a roller-cutter on them.) There will also be room to set up a quilt rack when I need to. I’m also thinking I might want a small beverage fridge up there. Even with all of that it feels like I’m missing something – what am I not planning for that I should have on the list? (All books will be in the actual library though there will be a shelf for the ones I really need to keep on hand in the sewing room.)

My hope is that by fall I can host open sewing/crafting/stitch ‘n bitch although I understand that the stairs are going to be a deterrent for some folks. I just hope not to many.


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All the Dress Details

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I spent the weekend cleaning up the house and packing/unpacking various bins of stuff. Here are all the dress details as one of the items in the repacking bin was the new German dress. As I was going through the pictures it occurred to me that, while the construction isn’t overly ‘period’ in nature, it is perfect for the theatre in that it literally takes a minute to get into or out of the dress! Lots of garb is extremely fussy and can take a good twenty minutes to get into but not this one. This is simplicity and if you have a swimsuit (or other clothes) on underneath you could easily make a backstage change in seconds. I didn’t design it that way though. I designed it to be easy because I can be very claustrophobic about my clothes and I didn’t want to have to ‘need’ to get out of it ‘now’ and have to cut it off myself. So here is a walk-through of getting into or out of this dress. Please forgive me my wrinkles.

 


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Side by Side

Looking at the two side-by-side (mind you that mine isn’t finished yet) and I can see that I got the sleeves wrong. They aren’t as full as they should be. That doesn’t bother me too much. What does bother me is that none of it looks balanced and there are ripples on the back that I didn’t see before I started sewing the waist to the top. I’m still trying to figure out how to finish it so that I can get in and out of it.

The main issue I’m having is that the wool is very stretchy and very light-weight. I’m fairly certain that without the belt I would be constantly trying to keep the top in place. I lined the top with linen which has very much helped with keeping the wool from getting all wonky but it isn’t stiff enough to give me a clear avenue for sewing closures. Both a plus and a minus is the fact that I cut the top out in one piece (no side seems)  which has made the sides just as stretchy as the back and made fitting easier but I sacrificed structure. Now that I have the pictures I can make some adjustments before actually sewing everything together.

I will also say that the belt I used has far to big of a buckle and I will know better next time – This one is firmly sewn into place so I can’t redo it but because I didn’t have the problem last time, I think about it being an issue this time.


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Dress Stuff

It involved a great deal of hand-sewing, in addition to the smocking, but I now have a very comfy over-dress (kirtle) for camping next week.


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Recovery from Failure

I had a very weird experience the other day. We went for a very long car ride and I took my new project with me – it was going well and when we arrived I took a picture of it and then set it up on the back window ledge so it would be out of the way. On our way home I took it off the ledge and was heartbroken to see that none of my chalk lines were there. I was baffled. Apparently the chalk was waxed and the wax melted in the sun and since it was velvet side up I can only assume that the chalk fell to the board.

So I spent hours last night debating what to do – I don’t have enough fabric in the right color to start over and I really didn’t have anything else in an acceptable color. So I went to work with a flashlight and my plastic grid and tried to fill-in the missing lines. I did not get it totally correct but it really doesn’t look too bad at this point. I will post a picture when it is complete as it is getting sewn onto a white smock so I can have just one underdress and one overdress. I reason that if the underdress is all sewn into one piece it will stay lined-up correctly. And I won’t die of heat stroke because it’s 17 layers of fabric goodness and I need to be able to wash it – in my standard fashion of throw-it-in-and-see-how-it-turns-out.

In other news – I ordered some fabrics from India and they have arrived. I can’t wait to try them out.