MMM Pics

I finally figured out the best way to get Lil Miss to sit still long enough to get her picture taken was to have her sit on my lap.  It was so hellishly hot, I finally gave in and took of my sleeves for a short while.  I promise, I wore them for most of the day!  (As a side-note, my sister came up with a cunning plan to keep my sleeves on properly – the trick is to twist the loops before buttoning.  Amazing!)

My nephew was so insistent on having his picture taken while roaring and screaming around – way too much energy! 

The trick to get him to pose properly is to get him to sit with his sister!

Here are a couple “in action” shots of Lil Miss in her kirtle.  She was twirling and spinning and dancing around so much, it was hard to get a good shot!

At the end of the day, there was a “torchlight” boffer tourney for the kids – with glow light necklaces taped to the swords, shields and helmets.  Michael was so excited!

I didn’t get any pictures of the red surcote, as she wore it last night (and apparently she wouldn’t take it off last night to go to bed!), and I didn’t remember to grab any pictures of the “owen incess” (roman princess) dress. 

Kiddie Garb Accomplished!

I finally finished with the dress for my little niece. It's certainly a cold-weather/night time outfit, as it is all wool and very snuggly. I don't have any pictures of her wearing it quite yet, but here is the finished project:

2 outfits down, one to go!

Sis finished both the surcoat and roman outfits. I'm done with the kirtle, and just need to finish up the sleeves and cape. Lil Miss will be well dressed for the event!

"Incess Dess" (princess dress)

The easiest way to get my niece to wear anything is to tell her it's a princess dress!

My sister and her whole family are going to the event this weekend, but my little niece has nothing to wear! So sis and I raided our collective stashes to come up with some quick and easy outfits.

We cut out everything, and have nearly finished a sideless surcoat out of scrap red velvet.

I'm currently working on eyelets for a Kirtle (cape and sleeves) and hopefully will have it done tomorrow early AM.

Sis is finishing up all the underthings, and a quick Roman, so hopefully by the end of the day, Lil Miss will be completely dressed for a full weekend!

Totally Creepy, or Cute as a Button??

aaaaand, I made a .gif!

How do i make a gif

Another informative posty post

This website, "Old and Interesting" is a font of information!

"Antique household equipment, furnishings, utensils - housekeeping as part of social history. Domestic life, household management - how people organised their homes and did the daily chores. Yesterday's everyday objects are today's antiques or museum pieces, and we may view them with nostalgia or curiosity about past ways of life. Old & Interesting takes a look at how these everyday things were actually used, how people managed their home life - and more."

Bijbel van Anjou

OMG, have you been over here?  (Be sure to click through all the pages and use the zoom in/out buttons)

Moar extant stockings!!!

 

Fabulous new pictures of stockings from the tomb of Tyco Brahe.

ACC Accessories: Muff

 

“Venetian Women of Mature Age, and Dismesse”Vecellio, Cesare, Margaret F. Rosenthal, and Ann Rosalind Jones. The Clothing of the Renaissance World Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas. London: Thames & Hudson, 2008. Print.  (pg. 136)

Muff detail:

“…muff of fine fur lined with silk, velvet or some other fabric for the winter…”

 

“Winter Clothing of Venetian Noblewomen and Other Wealthy Women In Our Time”Vecellio, Cesare, Margaret F. Rosenthal, and Ann Rosalind Jones. The Clothing of the Renaissance World Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas. London: Thames & Hudson, 2008. Print. (pg. 130)

Muff detail:

“At that time of the year they also wear a muff lined with fur, which protects their hands against the cold.  These furs are marten or sable, and the muff is of black velvet or some other silk fabric, fastened shut with buttons of oriental crystal or gold.”

~

I decided on a gold patterned brocade as the outer shell, as gold is fairly neutral and would match multiple outfits.

As I am not fortunate enough to have either marten or sable in my stash (and no, I’m not going to disassemble one of my precious zibies to obtain it!), I’m finally going to use my plucked and shaved beaver pelt*!  I’ve had this fur in my stash for about umpteen million years, and have always been terrified to cut into it, but now is the time!

This fur is the most soft and plushy thing I’ve ever felt in my life, it’s delicious!

The pelt is roughly 13” x 15” in the middle, with various hangy parts that if needed, can potentially be pieced for a larger finished fur.

I need to double-check my stash, but I do not believe I have any gold or crystal buttons or beads that would be large enough for buttons, so I most likely will be substituting thread-wrapped buttons for the closures.

Both muffs pictured below have a relatively thick border around the edges – I have yet to determine what exactly I’m going to do about that. 

I’m also wondering if I want to do some couching on the brocade to give it a bit more oomph – I guess it’s time to sit down for realsies and figure out exactly what I’m going to do!

 

 

*Say that phrase until you giggle!

I have an addiction to rose-flavoured sweets….

……and it is imperative that I try out this recipe! And even more awesomely, apparently it’s adapted from a recipe in '”The Accomplisht Cook” by Robert May (1660)

Rose Cream*

1/2 liter double cream

3 tablespoons rose water

2 tablespoons caster sugar

5 leaves gelatin

Directions:

1. Soak the leaves of gelatin for 5 minutes, then squeeze out and dissolve in rosewater in a cup, placed in a pan of boiling water.

2. Gently heat a quarter of the cream, dissolve the sugar and then stir in the gelatin.

3. When it has dissolved, remove from the heat and add the rest of the cream.

4. Pour into a wetted mould and chill until it sets.

5. Tip from the mould and decorate with petals or fruit.

~

I found this recipe when I went searching for something comparable to these delicious little guys:

I haven’t found anything yet, but really all it is, is chocolate-dipped rose fondant, so really, it shouldn’t be all that hard!

And while searching for a picture online for the Beech’s Rose Creams, I found out that there was such a thing as Violet Creams. (!!!)

I want to try these so bad…..Yum!

* I didn’t look too hard, but there are a few different recipes that call for cream & rose in some sort of boiled pottage pudding, the first more of a custardy pudding, and the second more of a gelatiny pudding. (Which is the one I would assume the modern interpretations above is taken from) I would actually like to try both of them at some point!

A boil’d Pudding.

Beat the yolks of three eggs, with rose-water, and half a pint of cream, warm it with a piece of butter as big as a walnut, and when it is melted mix the eggs and that together, and season it with nutmeg, sugar, and salt; then put in as much bread as will make it as thick as batter, and lay on as much flour as will lie on a shilling, then take a double cloth, wet it, and flour it, tie it fast, and put it in the pot; when it is boil’d, serve it up in a dish with butter, verjuice, and sugar. (pg.177)

To make other white Jelly.

Boil two capons being cleansed, the fat and lungs taken out, truss them and soak them well in clean water three of four hours; then boil them in a pipkin, or pot of two gallons or less, put to them a gallon or five quarts of white wine, scum them, and boil them to a jelly, next strain the broth from the grounds and blow off the fat clean; then take a quart of sweet cream, a quart of the jelly broth, a pound and half of refined sugar, and a quarter of a pint of rose water, mingle them all together, and give them a warm on the fire with half an ounce of fine searsed ginger; then set it a cooling, dish it, or cast it in lemon or orange-peels, or in any fashion of the other jellies, in moulds or glasses, or turn it into colours; for sick folks in place of cream use stamped almonds. (pg. 206)