It's about a year and a half since I posted on here. I decided to do the breadth portion of the Challenge. Under Embroidery, I said I'd make a bunch of Panaches for the Kingdom. I am still working on these while at events. However, I made two badges for Turnier des Herzwalds II, that used a variety of stitches. I am still working on my Cotehardie and Surcoat. Other projects took priority and this was put aside. But I've started the buttonholes. Then I need to finish the sleeves and I'll be finished. As for learning and performing "Were Every Thought an Eye" by John Dowland, that has been accomplished. Now I am attempting a harder song, "Belle Doette". I am also working on a 16th Century Italian dress. The underlying Pair of Bodies is pretty much finished. I just need to get some help patterning the main dress now.

Scroll blanks... :)

For my A&S50 challenge "Kingdom" I finished two AoA scroll blanks :)


My complete A&S50 challenge list :)

An update on the challenge

I've been very busy for quite some time so I've done very little on the challenge.

I've tried another dye recipe. Nothing written about it yet. But so far that makes 4 authentic dye recipes.
I've also sneakily started a corset making class in my shire so I think the sum of people I've so far have helped do something 16th century has reached 15 unless my count is off.

I've learned to bake a fantastic dessert pie but I've forgotten the homepage for the recipe. I'll add it if I relocate it. :) I have an idea for something to develop my persona challenge, hopefully I'll be able to work it though and get started.

/ Felicitas (Malin)

Taking up the challenge...

Greetings to all! Thank you very much, Racaire, for adding me. Well, I saw the A&S 50 Challenge about a year ago. I decided I would do it. My life has been under constant chaos, so I didn't get much done. But things are finally settling down a bit and I can get going. Because I distract easily and jump from project to project, I think "Breadth" is the safest challenge for me. This was I can satisfy my need to try everything. Right now I'm working on a few projects in different categories. I will take a page out of Racaire's book and use the outline format. It's quite handy. :-)

A. Embroidery
1. Panaches (split stitch) with feathers attached
B. Garb
1. Heraldic Cloak (Paused, due to lack of a registered heraldic badge)
2. 14th Century Cotehardie and Surcoat
C. Music
1. "Were Every Thought an Eye" by John Dowland 16th Century (learning for "A Later Period")

So there are 4 current projects. Once I move back to Vielburgen in the next couple weeks, I and my friend will be stalking Duke Garick. He's working on new Coronets for Knight's Crossing and we want to learn about jewelry making. We may also try some pewter casting. I am also waiting on some silk thread to embroider devices for Racaire's Drachenwald Wall Hanging. More shall come.

Himiltrude

Second Challenge

My husband, Conrad zer Rüben (y'all know him as Conrad von Stralnveld; he has just changed his SCA name preparatory to registering it) and I started a joint challenge in July. We are trying to learn to play 50 dance tunes together --not to memorize them, but to be prepared play them from sheet music for dancing at events.

We've broken it up into seven practice sets to help make sure that we don't forget to practice one of the ones we've learned for so long that we forget how to play it again. Here are our practice sets. The songs in each set are in no particular order except for the Branle suite in the first set and the Pavane/Galliard pair, and we change the order we play them in every time.

Set 1:

Branle Double
Branle Single
Branle Gay
Branle Burgogne
Black Nag
Belle Qui Pavane
Branles d'Ecosse

Set 2:

Pavane la Venicienne
Galliard (la Venicienne)
Heart's Ease
Hole in the Wall
Lorayne Alman
Petit Vriens
Branle Cassandra

Set 3:

Black Alman
Queen's Alman
Official Branle
Horses' Branle
Branle Pinagay
Branles de Poitou
New Alman

Set 4:

Joyoussance (an Arbeau Basse Danse)
Pease Branle
Rufty Tufty
Candlestick Branle
Branle des Sabots
Branle des Hermites
Madame Sosilia Alman

Set 5:

Branle de la Guerre
Branle Adrian
Branle Charlotte
Washerwoman's Branle
Danse de Cleve
Chestnut
Bittre Reue Pavane

Set 6:

Anello
Saltarello no. 1 (suitable for a Piva dance as well)
Spanish Pavane
Mercantia
Saltarello "La Regina"
Whatsoever ye Wille
Old Alman

Set 7:

Lebens disonys
Maltese Branle (the Arbeau one)
Prenes a Gard
Danse de la Haye
Spero
Aras
Branle de Montarde
Earl of Essex Measure

At least the last nine pieces we don't have workable arrangements for (we're still finding out whether the arrangements we have for other things are workable).

So far, we're working on the first three sets, of which we are almost ready to play eight or ten pieces. I play soprano recorder and Conrad plays alto, tenor, or bass recorder, depending on mood and the arrangement we have.

time for another update!

The latter part of July continued to be just as productive, and though August was mostly filled up by Pennsic I still had time to get a reasonable amount of C&I done. So here's scrolls #29 - #34:

burst of inspiration (and free time!)

June and July were productive months for me. It's been about 15 months since I've started my C&I depth challenge, and I'm now more than half-way there, so I definitely have to think about finding another challenge (or to spend more time on my persona/depth research!).

Anyway, here are scrolls #24 - #28:











The initial on Margarite's was not done by me; this was a scroll blank in Trinite's box, which when I saw I asked to have because I knew immediately what I could do to make something really spiff.

For docs and other info for each of these, see http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/candi/

time for another update!

Haven't done quite so many scrolls in the last few months as I've been finishing up my dissertation, but here is what I've done since my last post. This is numbers #18-#23 -- almost half-way there!


These two were taken from images from the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, which I obtained in March and have many pages marked that I want to copy!

This is one that I thought was OK when I finished it, but now every time I see a picture of it again, I find I really like the illumination on it, don't know why.

This was my first attempt at a secretary hand, and the wording is cribbed from some letters of Henry VII, since the recipient is someone whose persona works in service to Henry VII.

The initial here was my first attempt at shading. It turned out better than I thought it might!

And this one I'm half-way happy with, half-way unhappy with. I like the top; it's very reminiscent of my exemplar, and it was such fun to paint with such bright, bold, and contrasting colors. It felt like painting a circus. However, I'm not so happy with the borders and the bottom. Oh well.

The full docs (including exemplars) can be found via http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/candi/

Racaire's update :)

...and another two things for my wardrobe challenge finished :)

my updated A&S 50 list can be found > here <

1) A&S50 - Wardrobe (breadth)

1.1) my blue 12th century dress with gathered body part
A dress for Fiona’s Coronation ceremony (Midsummer Coronation 2008 - completely handsewn
1.2) a veil for the blue 12th century dress
light yellow - handsewn
1.3) underdress for my blue 12th century dress
natural color - sewn with the sewing machine
1.4) a male loan Tunic
sewn with the sewing machine
1.5) cap for Heavy Fighting
1.6) girdle book :)
1.7) a new Gugel / hood with dagging
in progress
*) Gambeson for Heavy Fighting
in progress
*) one pair of stockings (made from woolen fabric)
not started yet

2) A&S50 - Kingdom (breadth)

(or: “50 things for other SCA-members I won’t get paid for”
2.1-2.7) 7 Designs for Fionas coronation dress
silk thread - surface couching, some pearls added
2.8) Illumination for an AoA-Scroll
2.9-2.13) 5 Gifts for the Pennsic Queens Basket
Renaissance Dyeing wool thread - Klosterstich
2.14) “A Crafty Challenge” - n° 1 - a gift for Brooke
Klosterstich, Stem Stitch, needlemade lace: “Glattes geschlungenes Stäbchen” (Abb. 866, p. 604) & “Gewöhnlicher Tüllstich - Erster Spitzenstich” (Abb. 890, p. 611) - see chapter “Nadelspitzen” in the book “Encyklopaedie der weiblichen Handarbeiten von Thérèse de Dillmont”
2.15) "A Crafty Challenge" - n°2 - a gift for Lorelei
a "Girdle book"
*) Anya’s Laurel Cloak
in progress
*) a badge for our Heavy Fighting Marshall
not started yet
*) 2 Pelican Badges for Jaelle (for the hood sale for the kingdom)
not started yet

3+4+5) A&S50 - Stitches/Techniques (depth)

(3: Embroidery, 4: Sewing, 5: Needlemade Lace)

3.1) Embroidery - surface couching
embroidery technique - for Fiona’s coronation dress, for the roundels for Anya’s Laurel cloak, for the “gold” embroidery at my blue 12th century dress with gathered body part
3.2) Embroidery - Klosterstich
“self couching technique” - I use it for my wallhanging project
classes: Summer Coronation 2008 (Insulae Draconis)
3.3) Embroidery - Stem Stitch
I use it for the outlines of the Klosterstich areas
3.4) Embroidery - Satin Stitch
embroidery technique - for the roundels for Anya’s Laurel cloak (leaves)
3.5) Embroidery - ‘diapered‘ work
also a kind of couching technique in my opinion - used for the roundels for Anya’s Laurel cloak
3.6) Embroidery - Pearls…
some pearl embroidery for the neckline of the 12th century dress
3.7) Embroidery - chain stitch
...used for my new hood/Gugel with dagging

4.1) Sewing - running stitch
…used for sewing
4.2) Sewing - back stitch
I use the back stitch instead of the running stitch for the sewing technique like described in the book “The Development Of Costume” by Naomi Tarrant on page 15 - 3rd row, picture in the middle for my new 12th century dress - I feel much more secure and comfortable with the backstitch than with the running stitch, for the Gambeson
4.3) Sewing - blanket/buttonhole stitch
I sometimes use this stitch for decorative seams,...

5.1) Needlemade Lace - “Glattes geschlungenes Stäbchen”
Abb. 866, p. 604 - see chapter “Nadelspitzen” in the book “Encyklopaedie der weiblichen Handarbeiten von Thérèse de Dillmont” - used for Brooks “A Crafty Challenge” gift
5.2) Needlemade Lace - “Gewöhnlicher Tüllstich - Erster Spitzenstich”
Abb. 890, p. 611 - see chapter “Nadelspitzen” in the book “Encyklopaedie der weiblichen Handarbeiten von Thérèse de Dillmont” - used for Brooks “A Crafty Challenge” gift

#12-#17

Here's what I've been up to the last few months:

Awards of Arms

Lindquistringes

Further info (include original exemplars, transcriptions of the texts, and translations of the texts), can be found at http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/candi/.

new progress :)

...and again some new progress :)

Racaire's A&S 50 Challenge Update :)

1) A&S50 - Wardrobe (breadth)
1.1) my blue 12th century dress
A dress for Fiona's Coronation ceremony (Midsummer Coronation 2008 - completely handsewn :)
1.2) a veil for the blue 12th century dress
light yellow - handsewn
1.3) underdress for my blue 12th century dress
natural color - sewn with the sewing machine
1.4) a male loan Tunic
sewn with the sewing machine
*) Gambeson for Heavy Fighting :)
in progress
*) one pair of stockings (made from woolen fabric)
not started yet
*) a new hood :)
not started yet

2) A&S50 - Kingdom (breadth)
(or: "50 things for other SCA-members I won't get paid for" :)
2.1-2.7) 7 Designs for Fionas coronation dress
silk thread - surface couching, some pearls added (pics 1-6 / pic 7)
2.8) Illumination for an AoA-Scroll
(pics >here<)
2.9-2.13) 5 Gifts for the Pennsic Queens Basket
Renaissance Dyeing wool thread - Klosterstich (pics 1-3 / pic 4-5)
2.14) "A Crafty Challenge" - n° 1 - a gift for Brooke :)
Klosterstich, needlemade lace: "Glattes geschlungenes Stäbchen" (Abb. 866, p. 604) & "Gewöhnlicher Tüllstich - Erster Spitzenstich" (Abb. 890, p. 611) - see chapter "Nadelspitzen" in the book "Encyklopaedie der weiblichen Handarbeiten von Thérèse de Dillmont" (pics in progress)
*) Anya's Laurel Cloak
in progress
*) a badge for our Heavy Fighting Marshall
not started yet
*) 2 Pelican Badges for Jaelle (for the hood sale for the kingdom)
not started yet

3+4+5) A&S50 - Stitches/Techniques (depth)
(3: Embroidery, 4: Sewing, 5: Needlemade Lace)
3.1) Embroidery - surface couching
embroidery technique - for Fiona's coronation dress, for the roundels for Anya's Laurel cloak, for the "gold" embroidery at my blue 12th century dress with gathered body part
3.2) Embroidery - Klosterstich
"self couching technique" - I use it for my wallhanging project
classes: Summer Coronation 2008 (Insulae Draconis)
3.3) Embroidery - Stem Stitch
I use it for the outlines of the Klosterstich areas :)
3.4) Embroidery - 'diapered' work
also a kind of couching technique in my opinion - used for the roundels for Anya's Laurel cloak
3.5) Embroidery - Pearls...
some pearl embroidery for the neckline of the 12th century dress
4.1) Sewing - running stitch
...used for sewing :)
4.2) Sewing - back stitch
I use the back stitch instead of the running stitch for the sewing technique like described in the book "The Development Of Costume" by Naomi Tarrant on page 15 - 3rd row, picture in the middle for my new 12th century dress - I feel much more secure and comfortable with the backstitch than with the running stitch, for the Gambeson
5.1) Needlemade Lace - "Glattes geschlungenes Stäbchen"
Abb. 866, p. 604 - see chapter "Nadelspitzen" in the book "Encyklopaedie der weiblichen Handarbeiten von Thérèse de Dillmont" - used for Brooks "A Crafty Challenge" gift
5.2) Needlemade Lace - "Gewöhnlicher Tüllstich - Erster Spitzenstich"
Abb. 890, p. 611 - see chapter "Nadelspitzen" in the book "Encyklopaedie der weiblichen Handarbeiten von Thérèse de Dillmont" - used for Brooks "A Crafty Challenge" gift

starting with the easy ones

Since my C&I depth challenge has been going so well, I've decided to officially do the persona challenge, using the 20+ page worksheet in the main A&S50 yahoogroups files section. I've always had a relatively concrete idea of what my persona is, so when I looked the worksheet over briefly a few months ago, I was a bit startled how many questions I couldn't answer. Some of them are fairly complicated ones, like what coinage was used during my lifetime, but some of them were fairly straightforward -- I realized I'd never chosen my mother's name, or decided whether or not I had siblings.

So I'm going to start with the easy questions, and work from there.

What is your name? Aryanhwy merch Catmael
What does it mean? "Aryanhwy daughter of Catmael"
What year is it? 1040
When were you born? 1013
Are you considered a child, an adult, or elderly? I'm an adult.
What station or class are you of? Upper gentry.
Is this the same as the station or class you were born to? Yes.
Is it likely to change in the future? I don't think so. It might once I become significantly older and infirm.
Are you wealthy, poor? Adequately wealthy, but not terribly well-off.
Is this likely to change? No, (but see previous).
Who is your father? What is his name? Catmael, a minor Welsh lord.
Where was he born? Caermyrdin (modern Carmarthen).
Is he still living? If not, when did he die? If he died, how did that affect you? He is dead. He died shortly after I was married off.
What was/is his social position? Occupation? He was a minor lord.
Did your father help raise you? Not really.
What did you learn from him as a child? That I was expected to do my duty and marry well.
Is your mother still living? If not, when did she die? If she died, how did that affect you? She died when I was very young; I was primarily raised by nurses.
Did she raise you? Until she died, yes.
What did you learn from her as a child? I was too young to remember much other than the impression that well-bred young ladies did embroidery.
Are your parents married? They were when I was born.
Is their marriage happy? I was too young to know.
What did you learn from their marriage? Nothing.
Did you know your grandparents, and what were they like? I did not know any of my grandparents.
Are you still in contact with any of your family? Only my children.
Are/were you married? To whom? I was married to Briafael.
Are/were you happy in your marriage? I wasn't in love, but I was satisfied with the match that I was in.
What is his occupation? He was a minor lord (a younger son).
How does this affect you? It allowed me to maintain a reasonable social standing after his death.
Is this your first spouse? Yes.
Do you have children? Are they related to your current spouse? I have three children, a son Bran, and a twin son and daughter, Ysfael and Yslani. They were all children of Briafael.
Do they still reside with you? Yes.
How many generations of your family are you really aware of? I have a few stories of my father's parents.
Do you have a lover who is not your spouse? Have you ever had one? No.

That seems like a good start...

I'm going to have to pick another challenge!

When I first signed up for the A&S50 challenge, I was just getting started in calligraphy and illumination. I did the math and if I was to accomplish 50 scrolls by the deadline, I would have to do 8 per year for the next couple of years. That seemed awfully daunting, and I was sure it would be more than enough challenge for me!



That was before I found out just how much fun this was, and started pestering Lady Trinite for backlog assignments, and volunteering for more new assignments, and suddenly it's not even been a year and I've already got way more than 8. This weekend I had two given out in court and also handed over two backlogs. Rather than posting the whole images of them, I'll just post snippets; you can click on the image to get the full picture + discussion/documentation.



And since this makes #8, #9, #10, and #11, I think I'm going to have to find another challenge to do in addition to this one, 'cause I'm going to hit 50 way before the deadline.




-Aryanhwy

#6 and #7

Scroll number 6 in my C&I depth challenge was a Panache scroll for Thomas Flamanc de Kelsale, presented at Kingdom University two weekends ago. When I got the assignment from the signet I was extremely pleased, because it's always so much more fun to do a scroll for someone I know. You can read the full discussion of the text and design here.


Scroll number 7 is a backlog AoA. I wasn't able to find out much information about the recipient, so to come up with design inspiration I created a text and the searched http://www.hmml.org/Vivarium/hmml_collections.htm for all the illuminated "L"s they had, until I found one that I both liked and seemed like something I could manage. I'm quite happy with how this one turned out -- not only am I feeling a lot more comfortable with my whitework, this was my first time seriously trying to mix paints to get different colors. (OK, so this was just blue + white and carmine + white, but the result is much closer to the tones of the original than straight blue and carmine would've been.) You can read the full discussion here.

-Aryanhwy