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Trim done!

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(I don't know why that last post showed up twice.  Perhaps the exhibit is That Good.) (cheap pen for scale) So here's the other piece of tabletweaving I'm doing for HH Gwen's robes.  I like this stuff, even though it's INCREDIBLY SLOW when compared to other ways to embellish clothing.  And the silk is very fine, and now I understand why Maudey was interested in using No. 5 Japan thread rather than No. 7 – getting the thicker metal strand to bend precisely where you want it to is a bit tough. Thus the silver blips in the back not … Continue reading Trim done!

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Medieval Treasures at the High

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(For those unfamiliar with Atlanta, the High Museum is its major art museum.) Medieval and Renaissance Treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum September 13, 2008 – January 4, 2009 Skyway Level, Stent Family Wing This exhibition consists of 35 medieval and renaissance masterpieces from one of the world’s finest collections. This internationally traveling exhibition of rare treasures from The Victoria and Albert Museum presents works dating from 300 to 1600 AD, many of which have never before traveled to the U.S. Following the tour, the works will be returned to newly-restored galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Highlights … Continue reading Medieval Treasures at the High

Clothing and Equipment1 Comment

Camel Saddle Needs a Seat Cover

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I have this camel saddle sitting around useless…it needs a new leather top. I have no idea what sort of culture/time I'd want to research for a camel saddle. Indian?  (Pushkar Camel Festival) Googled "camel saddle 16th century".  That could be cool. Judging from similar new 'camel saddle stools/chairs' for sale, and the label in French on the bottom, maybe this is a Moroccan object.  That's okay, too…but now I need some motifs. Continue reading Camel Saddle Needs a Seat Cover

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Current events update: Gma, Gustav, and event schedule

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Hi all – Just a quickie to close some loops: My grandmother Myra died Aug 11.  She was 85, had metastasized cancer and had wanted to go since 1995, when my grandfather Pi died.  I'm doing okay – had a rough July and August, and just this week sort of turned a corner where the pain seems more distant. I'm not attending our local today/tomorrow because of her death – there's Stuff to move, and Labor Day weekend was the first good opportunity for everyone's schedules.  A bit frustrating, because, as all of you know, I'd be in the thick … Continue reading Current events update: Gma, Gustav, and event schedule

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Silk & silver tabletwoven trim

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Okay, so it's been ages.  Here's an excuse… And there's going to be more… These are reproductions of tablet-woven trim from Spies, Nancy. Ecclesiastical Pomp & Aristocratic Circumstance: A Thousand Years of Brocaded Tabletwoven Bands. How to weave brocade as well as the history of its heyday in Medieval times. More books here. The completed gray above is Page 163, "Based on the amice of Andreas Sunesson, Archbishop of Lund, 12th/13th century.  The black warp is for Page 182, "Band on a relic bag, 13th century."  All thread is silk, or silver 'jap' thread (real silver that will tarnish!).  Technique … Continue reading Silk & silver tabletwoven trim

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Never a good time…

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Glad to elicit all those green monsters…er, congratulatory thoughts. I’m praying to go to Daggers & Hemlock, honestly, which is my local event! (I should be through all this by Coronation, and I still have the same sort of time for handwork – the green girdle is finished on time, and I’ll finish unplying silk tonight, I hope.) See here, at the beginning of July I took my 85-yr-old grandma for a haircut.  She could walk just fine (with a steadying arm), carry on a loudish conversation for a long time, and was entirely the authoritative woman of high expectations, … Continue reading Never a good time…

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Home from RUM

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I went to RUM last weekend – that’s Royal University of Meridies, held in Pulaski, TN this year. The trip coincided with a championship swim meet trip of my husband’s, so we drove up together, I dropped him off in Nashville, and then went off to play with Maudey for the weekend. I stayed with her and her family in a house straight out of Brothers Grimm, and Friday Mistress Una joined us for a trip to Sir’s Fabrics.  In Fayetteville.  Linen for $2/yard!  Here’s my loot: A good deal of that is Not For Me.  All blue, purpley-blue, red, … Continue reading Home from RUM

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What to do with the Seven Deadly Sins…?

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 It is amazing what people think a teacher will use.  Here we have seven plaster plaques, illustrating in medievalesque fashion, incarnations of the traditional Seven Deadly Sins. My husband brought these home from his school – he’s not sure where they came from.  However, oddly, I really don’t want to live with them any longer.  Would anyone like them?  They’re all fitted with hardware for hanging on the wall.  Shoot me an email and we’ll work out delivery. Continue reading What to do with the Seven Deadly Sins…?

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Book Review – Magdalena and Balthasar

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Magdalena and Balthasar: An Intimate Portrait of Life in 16th Century Europe Revealed in the Letters of a Nuremberg Husband & Wife, and Illuminated by Steven Ozment, c. 1986 This entertaining little book is quite the peek into the private lives of a well-to-do merchant and his wife, who are routinely separated for periods of two months up to four, as Balthasar visits the Italian fairs from Germany. It’s more fit for the armchair historian – the sort of person who wonders if the “nasty, brutish and short” rumors are really true, given all the lovely depictions left behind in … Continue reading Book Review – Magdalena and Balthasar

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A&S summary: 2nd quarter 2008

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This quarter’s list isn’t as long as ones past, but hey, at least it exists.  In Spring 2008, I: Researched and constructed a Roman woman’s costume: Corinthian tunica, palla, and vittae Researched and began reproduction of 12thc brocaded tabletwoven bands Researched and tested tapestry-woven embellishment (clavi) for eventual Coptic tunic Attended Kingdom A&S; asked questions about stained-glass design and authority to approve; participated in Embroiderer’s Guild Salon Finished reading “Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings” Began reading “Magdalena and Balthesar: An Intimate Portrait of Life in 16thc Europe Revealed in the letters of a Nuremberg Husband and Wife” Commissioned … Continue reading A&S summary: 2nd quarter 2008