I picked up a can of 'hammered finish' plastic spray paint to try and tame the orangeyness of the stakes.....first coat, so far so good. What is unknown at the moment is how well it will hold up! Usually the ground is soft enough to step on stakes to set them, I'm having a feeling it will last at least a season....or at least I hope so!
I’ve gathered some bits and pieces from my various projects and have put together a spread for the Prize Tourney at Uprising.
So far I’ve got:
I’m thinking of bringing a couple of other ‘WIP’/demo things; I’ve been (very) slowly working on a carved comb, and may bring my carving tools to continue on that for the duration. I’ll also be bringing my polychrome coif from about eleventybillion years ago. I may not be happy with some of the stitching decisions I made in the past, but I may as well pick it back up again and finish it off. I’m wiffling on whether to bring some button samples, but that seems so…….well, boring, even if I do think they’re the bees knees!
Can you tell I can’t sleep??
I’m starting to panic about getting ready for Uprising, but feel better after digging through boxes and setting out outfits. I’m kind of pleasantly surprised; I have plenty to wear without digging too far into the ‘embarrassed to wear’ pile, or use the new green gown, so I’m pretty excited. I went through and emptied enough tubs to (hopefully) carry all my crap.
Right now the only thing I’m missing that I’m really freaked out about is my pulled work coif. (there’s plenty of other stuff I would like to find….like…….where the heck did all my drawers and stockings go, really?!) I wore my coif at Southern Regional Collegium, then I took it off to show how I had done it, then……………?
I’m completely blanked on what happened to it after that. Grrr! I cannot keep that thing in my possession for more than one event, I swear!
I have a whole ton of stuff (garb, mundanes, bedclothes etc) to wash over the next couple of days, and yes, another shopping trip to stock up on batteries, baby wipes, hand sanitizer. (You know, the necessities for camping!)
I also need to clean out my car and get an oil change, pick up the trailer and start packing for reals.
It doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but since I got out of the camping groove a few years ago, it seems harder and harder to get it all done!
Bright orange stakes notwithstanding, the shade fly is now complete! I can’t say I’m 100% happy with it, but will suit my needs.
I had thought that making my own shade fly would make it less expensive, but what with all the bits and pieces I ended up purchasing, I spent nearly as much as a commercial shade fly, without all the extras. Oh well, it was a learning experience!
The back is facing due north, so is not very shady, as the moniker “shade fly” might suggest. The curtains I hope will come in handy as the sun moves across the sky, making shade where needed. I’ll also try to set up with the back facing west whenever possible so from noon on it should stay fairly shady on it’s own.
I’m hoping to pick up some plastic spray paint in black to tame some of the ‘orangeyness’ of the stakes, and I’m wiffling on whether I should get a length of dowel to make rope tensioners; but if it doesn’t end up happening, I’ll still survive.
I’ll be taking it to Uprising for a trial run to see how it does….wish me luck!
p.s. It's set up a bit wonky and I didn't straighten the poles....both things that will be fixed for a 'real' setup!
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| Child's Dress 1870. V&A Museum |
Sorry folks, it’s been a weird, weird weekend, interspersed with not feeling too swell….makes for a bad time for posting!
On a brighter note, I’ve been hand-sewing the hem of the red dress, and the hem is now done. (I never thought it would end…..I ended going around the hem four times in different spots to make sure the felt stayed where it ought to be.)
Some awesome new developments have come up RE: Barons War. Jaquelinne has offered up her black work strip for the red dress! It will either become the inside band of a partlet collar or the front band of a camacia – either way, I’m SO excited! You can see her work over here….go look!
Praksedys has offered up her skills to create lacing for the red dress, and that is quite a weight off my shoulders. She’s an amazing woman!
Also, my brother in law has agreed to arrange the dinner. He has been going above and beyond, and I am so excited what he comes up with, because right now we may need to invite the entire Kingdom to eat all the nommy dishes that he’s cooking up.
Dressed pheasant via “of food great and small”
I told him that I had wanted Cornish game hens and spinach & goat cheese salad, but he was free to add to that menu; and he has completely run with the whole “game bird” idea. (I *heart* wildfowl. Like, seriously.)
Peacock served at a feast via “History Undressed”
From what I hear, there is going to be a whole spread of game birds (game hens, quail, pheasant, potentially duck or goose), a couple of rabbits, and the crowning glory……….a roast peacock*. YES. I will have a peacock! Instead of stuffing the poor bird back into its skin after roasting**, I’m thinking of arranging clean tail feathers at the back, and gilding the bird. I need to do some more research on that, but that’s my initial plan.
Peacock served at a feast via “Larsdatter”
*For those totally grodied out by game bird and/or rabbit, there will be plenty of other (less weird) foodstuffs available. I’m not sure, but I may be taking reservations to the extent of finding out how many people would need/want meats other than fowl & coney.
**I’m not entirely sure it’s hygienic, even if the skin is cooked (which may actually destroy the feathers anyway)….birds tend to be kind of dirty little critters.
