Gwenlliana Clutterbooke

Event Updates

2011-07-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here so I’m going to give brief highlights so far this year…
Winter’s End – February – A friend stepped down as the baronial champion and another stepped down as baronial herald. Constance received her Goutte de Sange.

Kingdom A&S - March – K and I drove up to Kingdom A&S early in the morning the day after a work conference I attended in Vegas. My niece really enjoyed the Bardic competition, especially the harp piece by the new Kingdom Bard. We ended up leaving before it was over on Sunday and took a leisurely trip back home. We stopped at Shipwreck Beads and I got some things for a new treasure necklace.

Mountain Edge Defenders – April – I encouraged K to enter the A&S defendrership and she won! This was a sad event overall though because a friend and member of the shire died three days earlier.

Faire in the Grove - This is Dragon’s Mist’s big demo for the year at McMennemins. I helped set up and then helped with the demo and just enjoyed myself. Ref cooked an egg on a spit which was interesting and a little mind-blowing.

Grand Thing – May – I day tripped this one as I had just moved and didn’t want a repeat of the Grand Muddy Thing again. One of my households roasted a pig again, they brined it this time though and it turned out really nicely. The monastery raid was a ton of fun to watch. I also got to spend a lot of time catching up with friends.

June Faire – June – Dragon’s Mist runs the modern gate at this event and the hosting branch pays us, so it’s a nice fund-raiser for us. It was also awesome. I had so much fun working at gate and telling people what we were about. The weather was perfect and the food was excellent.

July Coronation - last weekend – It rained the entire weekend and my tent is currently hung between two chairs on the balcony in an attempt to dry it out but it was a lot of fun. I got to meet some awesome new people, catch up with old friends, and found out a friend is in a new relationship and seems to be happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. The fact that I like his girlfriend is an added bonus.

We were camped not too far from the Bardic Circle and I got to listen to them as I fell asleep on Saturday which was very cool.

The meetings on Sunday were informative as always. Her Majesty likes things to run on time.
So, that’s my year so far at a glance. I’ll try to do a better job of updating this going forward…

12th Night & Plans for the Year

2011-02-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

K and I went to An Tir's 12th Night at the beginning of January and had a lot of fun. We got there Friday evening which was pretty low key. We got checked in, said hello to our friends and headed to the grocery store to get some groceries for the weekend so we didn't have to go out to eat for every meal.

Saturday morning I had heraldry meeting which went pretty good.

K and I went to Chili's for lunch. I hadn't been there in so long and I had kind of forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

Saturday afternoon was mostly spent in court. My friend Eulalia got a goutte which was exciting. Then I got called up in court. Their Majesties Tiernan & Miranda presented me with a Goutte de Sang! What does that mean? A goutte (as they are commonly called) is An Tir's grant level award for service. In some ways, it also opens the doors for me to do more service, which is exciting too. It also means that I get to display more stuff on my armorial achievement. I can now display my armory with a crest and a ribbon with the badge of the order hanging from it. One of these days I'll actually get it drawn up and I'll post it here.

We went for Chinese for dinner with our friends. That was fun but I think we may have overwhelmed the staff when all 12 of us showed up in garb.

After dinner we did toast, oath, and boast which is exactly what it sounds like. My oath was to get more involved in scribal, I'll get to that in a bit.

Sunday was meetings for me, financial meeting & corpora. I have to say I kind of enjoy those meetings. I realize that probably proves that I am crazy but I like knowing what is going on. It makes me happy.

I have a few plans/goals for the upcoming year.

First, as I said above, I want to get more involved in scribal. I started doing that a few years ago but I got sidetracked by other things. To that end I went through all my materials to figure out what I have and what I might need. I actually have quite a bit. I may need to get a couple of colors of paint but that's about it.

I also want to design an award charter this year. I'm think I'll start with a Dragon Scale charter. I even have an exemplar but I'm going to keep that a secret for now. :-)

I also need to do the org charts that Black Lion asked me to do. I think I might actually do two. One that is generic, with the titles only that can be posted on the webpage, and another that has the incumbents for Black Lion.

Fourth, I need to get my pouch finished. The embroidery is about 3/4 done. I need to research how to finish it a little more. I have a good idea on that but I need to do a little more research to collaborate what I've already figured out.

Finally, I want to work on learning the recorder and guitar a little more. I had a good start on that but kind of got off track during the holidays. I'd like to be confident enough with them by the time event season starts that I can take them to events without being embarrassed.

Pictures of A&S Entry

2010-12-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

My friend Eulalia posted some pictures of my brick stitch to her flickr account. They can be seen here.

Artsy Fartsy

2010-10-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

Artsy Fartsy was this weekend. It was a great, little event. Eulalia & Geoffrey really pulled it off.

The A&S defender competition was at the event. I entered my German Brickstitch purse as a work in progress. There were two other entries - home made wine & tablet weaving.

My presentation went really well. I was able to answer all of the judges questions without have to resort to "I don't know." At moot I found out that I won!! I was pretty suprised and it took a little while for it to sink in, but I'm pretty excited.

The documentation (with pictures replaced by links) can be seen here.

People have been asking for pictures so here they are:
The front:

A close up of one of the medalions:

The back:

Updates

2010-10-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

Embroidery
I have formally declared my intent to enter the Dragon's Mist A&S Defender tournament. That means there is no backing down now. :-) I will be entering a work in progress since there is no way I will be able to get it finished in a week and a half. I'm hoping the embroidery will be at least half done by then which I think is doable.

I've also been asked to display my needlebook in the A&S display. I'ld like to actually turn it into a needlebook before that point. The embroidery for my contest piece needs to be half done before I start on the needlebook though.

Persona
I'm most likely changing my persona to 14th century for a couple of reasons. First, most of the embroidery I'm drawn to is from 12-14th centuries with an awful lot of it coming from the 14th century. Also, I have a 16th century kirtle now and the 14th century and Viking garb just feels more "right," if that makes any sense. When I put on the 16th century stuff I feel like I'm just acting, when I put on the 14th century and Viking stuff I feel like me in a different time.

I've been reading more about the 14th century and a lot of the concerns I had have been eliminated. I've finding it very interesting and the religious is definately interesting.

As you can probably guess, I'll be wearing Norse grab too. I don't know if I will create an alternative persona at this point. We'll have to wait and see.

New Site

2010-09-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to build a website for quite a while and I've decided to use WordPress to do so. So, that means I have a new blog there too. For those of you reading this on blogger or a feed the new address is http://clutterbooke.wordpress.com/. However, I plan to mirror all posts at WordPress to blogger for a while anyway.

Thinking About Entering DM A&S Defenders

2010-07-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

My next project is going to be a brick stitch purse using the patterns found here and here. (The item the patterns is based off of can be found at the first link.) The Dragon's Mist A&S Defendership has been moved back to Artsy Fartsy in October so I am thinking about entering the purse but I have a few concerns.

First, I'm not drafting the pattern myself and that feels a little like cheating. I know that patten books for embroidery existed in period but, as far as I know, they didn't deal with brick stitch. The books I've seen have pictoral patterns for Assisi, needle lace, needlepoint, etc...not the geometric patterns generally seen in brick stitch.

Second, I'm planning to us some leftover 28 count Lugana (cotton/viscose blend) as the ground. In period they would have likely used a very high count (40+) linen as the ground. I can get linen but I want to use up some of the things I already have before I buy more fabric. Also, the highest count I can find is 36 and I'm not sure I want to strain my eyes that much.

Finally, I intend to make this a bit bigger than most extant embroidered bags I've seen. Most are sweet bags, alms bags, or reliquary bags and the largest I've seen is about 6 inches square. I plan to make mine about 8x9 to be more practical today.

Thoughts?

An Tir - West War

2010-07-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was An Tir - West War down in Gold Beach. I had more fun at this event than I've had at a camping event in a long time.

K and I left our parent's house pretty early on Friday and got to the site in the early afternoon. Once we found Duchy Blackhart we set up camp in the "mundane grotto." Being in the mundane grotto wasn't too bad though because it meant our tent was kind of out of the way which was nice for napping. Friday was pretty low key; once we finished setting up we just hung out and talked to people. His Grace is learning to play the mandolin and he played for us a bit. A bard stopped by later and played the bagpipes and sang to us. (Not at the same time of course.) Another friend, M, played the bodhran as well. It was really nice and I went to bed a little on the early side that night.

Saturday I watched the fighting in the morning and then hung out with Her Grace and some other friends. I met Master Conchobar Clarsair and talked to him about the harp a little bit. He said that since I already play the piano learning the harp shouldn't be too hard. He suggested Stoney End as a place to buy a harp kit since the kits are about half the price of a finished harp. He suggested the Anne model as a good place to start.

That night several of us stood outside the day shade and looked at the stars. It was such a gorgeous night. M showed me how to find Cassiopeia and Her Grace showed me how to find Sagittarius so now I know two more constellations. We also saw some pretty amazing shooting stars. Later we just hung out and talked and I discovered the joys of sheep skin blankets. I'm going to have to make a trip to Tandy Leather to pick up a couple.

Sunday morning I went to visit Eulalia, Ref, and crew at the period cooks area. (I had tried to stop by a couple times before but they were eating each time and I didn't want to interrupt.) The rest of the day was spent mostly hanging out. We did find out that there was going to be a roving court so we gathered up all the kids and went to the war field. We followed Their Majesties onto the field and M got a very well deserved AoA.

Since Sunday was the 4th of July, and the site owner didn't want fireworks on his property, the parents all brought glow sticks for the kids. They had a blast and it was hilarious to watch. When the kids went bed they left most of the glow sticks lying around the camp. His Grace started throwing them at K, M & I so, of course, we had to throw them back. It started a little war and only ended when we were laughing too hard to continue. It's hard to say who had the most fun with the glow sticks, the kids or the adults.

Later that night we saw the most awesome shooting star ever. It was huge and towards the end it split into about 5 pieces and the biggest one split again. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before and I hope I never forget it.

M also helped me with the guitar on Sunday. I was having a hard time with up strumming sounding right and it turns out I was holding my hand wrong. That kind of figures since that's what always got me playing the piano. I'm really excited about this though because I need some way to make music in my apartment.

Monday K & I packed up early so we could help everyone else but His Grace sent us home. We got lost a little because I was looking at the signs for 99 in Corvallis and failed to realize that it was for 99E instead of 99W. It's probably a good thing we got sent home if I was that tired.

All in all, it was a great event. It was really low key for me since I didn't work at all and didn't really feel obligated to do so. My only regret is that I didn't get to spend more time with Eulalia, Ref and crew. I meant to go back on Sunday but I never got that far. I did make several new friends and had a great time though.

AS50 list updates

2010-06-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Since it's been a while since I've posted anything of note I thought I would give an update on my AS 50 list. I'm not going to post the whole list again but it can be seen here.

Persona Development
5. Manor grounds - I'm currently working on this, I've checked out several books from the library and am working on the research. I have this crazy thought of drawing out the plans for the grounds.

Garb
22. Viking apron dress - this is done thanks to my sister

Event Gear
24. Period tent (look at Field of the Cloth of Gold) - this one is going to depend on whether or not I have a place to set it up to dry. - I'm definately rethinking this one. My sister and I are talking about getting a tent but I don't think I'm going to get one appropriate for a 16th century persona. The only style I can find in period depictions are round and they are just to much fabric and too expensive right now. Eulalia made a comment that helped me with this decisions. She said she didn't worry much about having a persona appropriate tent because her persona ould not have camped. I have to agree with that. In the event that Gwenlliana travelled very far she would have stayed with friends/aquantances or in an inn. Sleeping in a tent would have never occured to her so there really isn't a persona appropriate tent.

29. Chair cover for modern camp chair - I'm also rethinking this one. I'm not sure I want to cover a modern chair, I may just look for another wood one.

A&S
33. Learn to play alto recorder - I have the recorder and a book on how to play, I just need to spend more time practicing.

Other
50. Learn to marshal - I'm not sure about this one either. It seems like you should also fight if you're going to be a marshal. I may have to talk to some people who actually fight and get their opinion.

14th century meme

2010-06-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Prioress

You scored 18% Cardinal, 64% Monk, 56% Lady, and 35% Knight!

You are a moral person and are also highly intellectual. You like your solitude but are also kind and helpful to those around you. Guided by a belief in the goodness of mankind you will likely be christened a saint after your life is over.

You scored high as both the Lady and the Monk. You can try again to get a more precise description of either the Monk or the lady, or you can be happy that you're an individual.

Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy

Thoughts on Persona Change

2010-04-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about changing my persona for some time now. If I change it I will likely go Norse, though 13/14th century is also a possibility. To that end I created a pro & con table which you can see below. I'm still undecided but at lease I can see things a little clearer.

Pros
*Garb is easier to make
*Beads!!! - this only applies to Norse but I love the Norse treasure necklaces
*Garb is more comfortable
*Garb takes less fabric
*Tent is much easier to deal with than the round tent appropriate to my current persona - this is mostly for going Norse, I'm not sure what would be appropriate for 13/14th century
*Sources for persona research seem to be easier to find
*Religion isn't as confusing

Cons
*Time period isn't as interesting to me
*Name change - I really like my surname and it is only found in very late period
*Heraldry not appropriate for Norse - doesn't mean I can't be a herald but display become tricky
*The research I've done for my current persona would be irrelevant - I could still use it for an A&S project if I wanted to
*Need to redo persona story - this is actually the least of my worries since I was already rethinking the authenticity of my current persona story.

So, there it is, any thoughts?

The Tudor Housewife

2010-03-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading The Tudor Housewife by Alison Sim. While there is some good information it wasn't all I had hoped for. She doesn't give many dates at all which I found odd since 16th century England changed a great deal from the reign of Henry VII throught the reign of Elizabeth I.

Based on other reading I have done, most of the information seems to come from the latter part of the century. However, the book includes a good sized bibliography, some of which are primary sources, so I'll be looking for those now.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of info out there for England in the 1530's & 40's which is my primary interest. It seems like there is a lot for Medieval England & for Elizabethan England & later but not a lot for the transitional period between the two. I've considered changing my persona to make it easier to research and because the earlier garb is easier to make but I haven't found any period as interesting to me as I find Heinrican England.

Needlebook Embroidery Finished

2010-02-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

The embroidery on my needlebook is done. Things I learned:

1. I probably should have used more strands of floss. I think thta would have eliminated the annoying white spots.

2. Use a bigger frame - this is a constant problem I have with embroidery. I almost always underestimate the size of frame I will need.

3. German brick stitch goes really fast.

Now all I have to do is block it, turn it into a needlebook, and figure out what to do with it. I was planning to donate it to largess but I don't think it's good enough for that.

Recent Events

2010-01-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

I went to 12th Night in the Barony of Glymm Mere a few weeks ago and had a blast. My sister was going to come to but something came up at the last minute so I went by myself. I still had a great time though. When I got there they reduced the room rate by about $25 which was nice. I stayed at the Sands in Ocean Shores. I was a little concerned when I saw the building but the inside was nice. I was on the third floor and had a nice view of the ocean. It would have been nice to stay in the hotel the conference was in but the Sands was nice and when you decide to go to 12th night 4 weeks prior to the event you don't have a lot of choices.

Anyway, I got to Ocean Shores about 9:30 am on Sat. and did a quick change and headed to the herald's meeting. I didn't get back to my room until 2:30 Sun morning! After the meeting I went to the consult table and stayed there all day and had a great time. I got to talk to Juliana, Richenda, and Marya quite a bit about heraldry and KWHS and some other, random stuff. We ended up going to dinner about 8:00 that night with a bunch of other heralds and then we all went back to Juliana & Richenda's room. It was a ton of fun, and even though I totally missed court I don't feel deprived at all.

The next morning I had brunch with Richenda & Juliana, helped pack up the consult library and headed home. Oh, and several people said they thought I had the necessary skills to be Lion's Blood when it opens next time, which made me really happy.

Then, last week, Marya and I headed down to the Barony of Adiantum for their Midwinter Feast. Elizabeth Lion's Blood was being sworn in as a consort to the Baron. (A consort is the barony's service sergeant.) The feast was excellent and it was nice to see people I don't see that often. I really need to get out and play in other areas besides just the local shire. I always have a great time when I do.

More Needlebook Progress.

2009-12-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

The red on the needlebook is now done and I've started in on the yellow. No pictures of the yellow yet though. I was originally thinking this would be for largesse but there are some things I'm not happy about on it so I may have to figure out something else to do with it.

Anyway, here are the pictures.

Needlebook Progress

2009-11-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

The blue is finally done on my needlebook. Now on to the next color.

Fabric Decision

2009-09-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have been planning to make an apron dress out of what I thought was 2 yards of suit weight wool for colder events. I knew it would be a little light weight but figured at least it was wool so it should be somewhat warmer than my linen garb.

Well, I was going through my fabric looking for something else the other day and discovered that I actually have 2 7/8 yards of heavier wool. (I don't know what weight for sure, heavier than most commercial wool pants you find but lighter than my melton cloak.) So now I can't decide what to make. I obviously have enough to make an apron dress but I also have enough to at least make a short tunic dress sort of Anglo-Saxonish.

The tunic would keep my arms warmer but the problem is I don't want any garb from this point on to be any -ish, I'd like it to be right. I may not always dress in persona but I would like what I wear to be authentic to the time period. Any ideas?

50 things

2009-09-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

About a year and a half ago I came up with a list of 100 things to do before I die and posted it on my other blog. This week I decided to come up with 50 things I want to do in the SCA. These could be things I want to make, acquire, research, or do. I think I would like to complete the list by AS 50. So, here is the list sorted loosely into categories.

Persona Development
1. List of persona appropriate food
2. Go at least one event season eating only what my persona would have eaten (ex no animal products during lent)
3. House plans
4. Furnishings for house
5. Manor grounds
6. Household management - I recently heard of a book called _The Tudor Housewife_ that I'm trying to find, I would also like to find diaries of Tudor women.
7. Research calendar
8. Research local gov't authorities
9. What livestock I would have raised

Garb
10. Red kirtle
11. Brown dress
12. coif
13. Court Dress ala Princess Elizabeth
14. Farthingale
15. Corset
16. Shift
17. Petticoat
18. Black Partlet
19. White Partlet
20. Persona appropriate outwear/coat - this one is going to require more research too since I can't find images of Tudor women in any kind of coat or cloak. I can find them in the 15th century and during Elizabeth's reign but that's about it.
21. French Hood
22. Viking apron dress
23. Viking tunic

Event Gear
24. Period tent (look at Field of the Cloth of Gold) - this one is going to depend on whether or not I have a place to set it up to dry.
25. Cushion for chair
26. Persona appropriate eating utensils
27. Persona appropriate plate
28. Persona appropriate bowl
29. Chair cover for modern camp chair

A&S
30. Learn latice work embroidery - I don't think that's what it's called though.
31. Make period glass beads
32. Period style map
33. Learn to play alto recorder
34. Finish table carpet and enter it in A&S contest/display
35. Learn Opus Anglican
36. Create an award charter
37. Learn Klosterstitch
38. Voided work needlebook
39. Needlelace
40. Make a period cheesecake

Heraldry
41. Feast Banner (appliqued) - I was originally thinking I would do this in wool felt or felted wool but the only extant examples I can find are silk. I'm trying to decide if I'm crazy enough to try to applique silk or if I want to just go with wool.
42. Camping Banner (pained silk)
43. Hold Lion's Blood Office
44. DM Ceremonial Cover

Research
45. Owls in period - thoughts towards, types?, heraldry
46. Herbalism as would have been used by my persona
47. Tudor medicine
48. Travel in Tudor England

Other
49. Autocrat at least one event
50. Learn to marshal

New Project

2009-08-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

I'm officially tired of my carpet project. It takes too long to see any progress, one row takes about 20-30 minutes. So, I'm taking a break and working on smaller projects, namely needlebooks. Needlebooks aren't period, as far as I know, but they are usefull. Plus, since they are small, it's a great way to try a new technique. I'm using the pattern found here. I'm using Monaco fabric because it's what I had on hand and anchor floss in blue, white, and yellow.

Here's the progress so far. (They're a little blurry, sorry)

This is the whole thing. It's about 5x9 and the finished project wil be about 3 1/2 x 8. Ignore the double border on the top, I can't measure properly evidentially and marked of the wrong place but it's attached to the rest of it so I can't take it out.

This is a close up of what is done so far. The white bits will be filled in with white and yellow.

July Coronation

2009-07-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was July Coronation. It was also the weekend of my 15 year high school reunion and the company picnic. I chose to go to July Coronation for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that one of my friends was getting her Laurel.

Coronation was at Milo McIver park just outside of Clackamas - it was really nice to have it so close. Katie and I got there Friday evening and half my friends didn't recognize me until I put garb on.

During the heraldry meeting on Saturday morning we were told that we were all invited to progress in with Juliana as part of her household when she went up to receive her Laurel and that if we had tabards we should wear them.

The last court of King Vik and Queen Inga on Saturday is where almost everything happened. I'm going to try to go chronologically because I think that makes the most sense. First Lady Matilda was called up to receive her Goutte de Sang. She was shocked but it's very well deserved. She tends to do the little things everywhere and sneaks under the radar of most people.

Then we thought Juliana's elevation would be soon so we all put our tabards on and lined up. Then, my name was called. So, I had to untie the tabard and throw it at Katie so I could go up. There majesties bestowed an Award of Arms upon me and Her Majesty said some very nice things to me but I'm going to leave them out here. It was a little bit of a shock since I never expect these kinds of things. Couple of funny things that happened - as I was walking up to court I could see Tec, Meadbha, Constance and Marya bouncing and a couple of them were squealing. Then when I got back I was dog piled by half the College of Heralds. A couple of other people said some very nice things including the fact that at least one thought I already had an AoA.

An aside here from court - the AoA was given to me for service. Now I feel the need to do even more service. Is that normal or am I completely insane?

Ok, back to court. So, finally, Juliana's name is called. She was given the laurel medallion that was originally given to the first Laurel Principal herald. That was pretty awesome.

The last thing at that court that affected the College of Heralds is that Master Finngall was made a Herald Extraordinaire. He's only the 2nd or 3rd Herald Extraordinaire in the history of An Tir as far as I know.

In the first court of King Cedric and Queen Elizabeth, Constance found out she tied for first in the intermediate division of the costume contest.

All in all, July Coronation was a lot of fun. I may post more later, I'm still processing the event I think

My Grand Experiment at DMDT

2009-07-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

I slept really cold at most camping events last year so I decided to try something different. I went to Fred Meyers and got one of those silver safety blankets for $2. I put it on the bottom of the tent, then my blanket, the air mattress, and another blanket, then my sleeping bag. I'm happy to report that it worked quite well and I was warm the entire night. I'll have to wait and see what happens at a colder event, but I'm pretty happy for now.

Faire in the Grove & Another Office

2009-05-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

I went to Faire in the Grove on Saturday. It was a crazy wet and windy event. My parents came for a bit in the morning so now they have better idea of how I spend many of my summer weekends. They've never really thought it was strange though since my dad does mountain man stuff occassionally.

The wind picked up a bit in the afternoon and the modern pop-ups didn't fair all that well. I left the event for a bit and came pack just in time to see the pop-ups in the artisan pavilian buckle on themselves. Luckily they were caught in time and no one was hurt. That seemed to happen quite a bit to the modern pop-ups. The period pavilions and sun shades/rain flies seemed to pretty well though. Some of them got staked a bit better but nothing came down or tried to attack people that I saw.

At court I was baptised. For those that don't know what that means, I formally took the herald's oath as Dragon's Mist Pursuivant and had water dumped over my head. Meadbha made me a spiffy cup with the DM device on it. For those of you that missed it, it will happen all over again at July Coronation when I step up as Sinister Gauntlet. Hopefully I remember to take my glasses off next time so I can see through them. If I don't, somebody please remind me.

Speaking of Sinister Gauntlet, yes, I accepted another office. (Do you think helium hand might be contagious?) Anyway, it will be my responsibility to write letters to all who submit heraldry when Lion's Blood & Laurel make their decisions. It's not a huge deal - it only takes a couple of hours a month - but it needs to be done.

Maybe I can expand it to pester my friends who have names and armory ready to submit but haven't done so yet...I don't think any of them read this though so they may never hear that I am nagging...for their own good of course... Must end post before it dissolves into pointless rambling...

Garb Progress

2009-04-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

My sister was here this week and helped me with my kirtle bodice. (And by help I mean sewed most of it...) Anyway, we decided to go ahead and add a little boning because I looked flat as a pancake without it. I just need to add the skirt and I will be done.

I would add pictures but my stupid camera went walk-about without telling me and I can't find it.

Persona Thoughts, or How I Became Educated

2009-03-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

There is a misconception that women in the Middle Ages and Renaissance were uneducated. I haven't done a lot of research outside of my own area of interest but it isn't true for noble women in the first half of the 16th century. I would be willing to bet that daughters of wealthy merchants were educated as well but I have no proof. I have no idea about the education level of peasants, male or female.

Sir Thomas More was one of the greatest thinkers of his time and many of his ideas were way ahead of his time. He believed that women should receive a classical education and should learn to speak Latin, Greek, and French. He also believed that children, male and female, should be taught gently, which, to my understanding, was not the case in most schools at the time. He also had a small "school" at his house where his daughters, foster daughters, and occasionally, others studied.

So, how does this relate to my persona you ask? Well, I'm about to tell you.

My father was educated at Oxford where he met Thomas More. He agreed with many of More's ideas including the need to reform the church though he was not as religious as More. So, when I was young he sought tutors while in Gloucester and attended studies at the More household when in London. I was taught the from Homer, Plato, and other great classical scholars. I speak Latin, Greek, French, English and Welsh and can write in each language as well.

I have also been taught the things every woman needs to run a household. Embroidery, basic herbalism/medicine, management of a household and of an estate.

Goals for the future: I would like to have a better working knowledge of the classic ideas so I can get in the head of my persona a little better. I'm currently reading Sir Thomas More's Utopia. I probably wont make an attempt at learning all the languages but I may try to learn how to pronounce them better. I would also like to learn more about herbalism.

Lent and memeage.

2009-02-27T10:30:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted because I'm lazy and haven't worked on much lately. (See previous post.) It's lent though and, while I don't observe Lent modernly, Gwenlliana definitely would have. So, I'm trying to figure out if Lent was observed differently in the early reformation period. So far, I haven't had a lot of luck. I'm guessing there wasn't a lot of difference because King Henry was against most reforms that didn't involve him being the head of the church or getting money for the monasteries. In fact, he protected some of the churches by labelling them cathedrals. The monks also received a pension from the government even after the monasteries were dissolved.

And now, for your further enjoyment I found this:

You Are an Astrologer

You tend to be a fanciful, spiritual person with many interesting theories.
You are always trying to figure out how all the pieces of the world are connected.

You have a knack for predicting the future and reading people.
In modern times, you would make a good self help guru or a director of a non profit.

What's" Your Medieval Profession?

Event Season and Motivation

2009-02-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

I am so ready for event season!! I haven't done any of the projects planned but I want event season here now!!! It looks like my next event is going to be Mount Edge Defenders Tourney on Mar. 28 and it can't get here soon enough.

Speaking of projects, I have been very unmotivated lately. I look at the things I need to do, turn around and go play computer games. I have everything I need to make persona time appropriate clothing but just can't seem to motivate myself. I just pet the wool and linen and do something else. Anybody got an motivational tips? Maybe I should get rid of my other garb so I have to make the new stuff or go nekid!

Glass Bead Making

2009-02-01T10:04:00.000-08:00

I took a glass bead making class last week at Aquila Glass School. It's something I've wanted to do for quite a while and finally decided to just do it. It's harder than it looks but it's a lot of fun. I went back to the studio on Friday and made some more beads. I'm discovering that I'm quite adept at making egg shape beads but I'm trying to make round beads. I also find bead making to be somewhat meditative. I tend to have trouble getting my brain to stop going 1000 miles a minute but making beads forces me to concentrate. It's kind of a nice break.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my first beads.

12th Night

2009-01-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

An Tir 12th Night was on the weekend of Jan. 10. I didn't feel like spending $200 to stay in Eugene of all places, so, some friends and I drove down for the day. I had a great time. I spent most of the day at the consult table or at least in the room with the consult table. I had some really good consults but by the end of the day I felt like my brain was broken. I also got to talk to Aestel Herald who put my mind at ease a little about a letter I'm writing for Saint Gabriel.

I also spent some time talking to a friend about SCA politics, specifically, whether or not our shire should try to become a barony. I don't usually like talking politics because I dislike confrontation and it's such an emotional issue. So many people think if you believe something different than them you must be an idiot, especially with this particular issue. (Lest you think I'm exaggerating, someone was called selfish for voicing a different point of view on this topic.) However, this talk helped be sort some things out in my head, partially, because she seems to be able to distance herself emotionally from her opinions which helps. I never feel like my opinion is inconsequential even if it is different from hers. That is something I definitely appreciate.

I missed the first court but I did attend Coronation Court where my friend, Meadbha, took her oath as Argent Scroll Herald. She was so excited, I'm not sure she stopped grinning all night. When a herald is baptized they call the entire College of Heralds up in court. I happened to stand behind Tec who was bouncing up and down with joy. It was pretty great.

Last but definitely not least, I made some new friends and saw some old friends which is always great.

Persona Development

2008-12-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

Eulalia got me thinking last week with her post about cold weather. How exactly would Gwenlliana deal with the weather? She's a fairly wealthy landowner outside 1530-1550 (I couldn't choose just one decade) Gloucester. England would have been a bit colder then as I believe Europe was still dealing this the mini ice age. So, snow would not be unheard of. However, Gloucester is located on the river, not to far from the coast, so they may have been a little milder. It still would be cold though. So, what would she do? She would most likely stay inside because she would have others to take care of the grounds and livestock. She would have probably worked on some kind of handwork, read (the first half of the 16th century saw a surge of education for women thanks in part to Thomas Moore and his followers) or written letters. She may have worked on household books since she's a widow. Another question would be where she did this. Manors at the time were drafty, with dirt or wood floors covered by rushes. (Carpets were considered too expensive to walk on and were usually used to cover tables and cabinets.) She may have had glass windows, they were becoming more prevalent among the wealthy and were not usually left with the house if it was sold. I think she probably would have sat by the fire to stay warm.

That leads to another question, how would she get to yule service? The reformation was beginning during this time (and in fact, several major players were from Gloucestershire) but she would have still been required to go to church services for the holy days. I don't know the answer to this question, it looks like I need to do more research. If she had a chapel in her house it would have been mostly for show as she is not devout and already has doubts about the established church and the role of the priesthood within the church.

Last Business Meeting

2008-12-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

At the last Dragon's Mist business meeting I was elected shire herald. Granted, I was the only one who applied for the office, but whatever. I can now style myself "Gwenlliana Dragon's Mist" in heraldic circles. Woohoo!!!

Thoughts on Creativity

2008-12-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer, this post may ramble a bit because I'm trying to clarify my thinking.

One of the blogs I read had a post last week got me thinking about creativity in general again. Within the last few years I've had friends (in and out of the SCA) say they are not creative/artistic. That bothers me because I think we are all creative in our own ways.

Every little kid thinks they are the best artist in the world and most parent's reinforce this by putting pictures on the refrigerator, sending them to grandparents, etc... At some point though, the majority of kids start to think they can't draw. For some this leads to thinking they are not creative. I'm not sure how this change starts. I'm not sure if it's prompted by adults in their life, comparing their work to others, or a combination of factors. Either way, it's wrong.

At some point I think we confuse artistic with creativity. I think there are a lot of different types of creativity. Good cooks, sewers, artists, scholars, business people and even athletes are creative. Creativity is just the ability to look at things differently.

I hope that makes sense, I'm not sure it clarified anything in my head but it's a start anyway.

DM Yule

2008-12-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

Dragon's Mist Yule was last night. It's a pretty low key event and was a lot of fun. I took my standard bread and brie and everybody loved the cheese. Wish I could take credit for it. Eulalia was in charge of the main dish. She made roast beaf with 3 sauces, pepper, mustard, and garlic. (You can read more about the sauces on her blog.) I didn't try the pepper sauce but the mustard was good and the garlic was definately my favorite.

I received a Dragon Scale (DM's token of esteem) at the event. It's always nice to be recognized for what you do. I never expect it though. I do the things I do because they're fun, not for recognition. Yes, I would love to be a peer someday but I'm not going to stop doing things if it never happens. The only reason I would stop doing anything is if it stopped being fun.

You know you're a heraldry geek when...

2008-11-18T15:51:00.000-08:00

You're driving home from work and see a car with a black eagle with it's wings out on a yellow shield and think "Huh, I wonder why they have the arms of the Holy Roman Empire on their car?"

It's official. I'm a lost cause.

BTW, if you want to the the blazon it's "Or, an eagle displayed sable."

Twelfth Night

2008-11-14T23:16:00.000-08:00

I'm having trouble deciding if I'm going to Twelfth Night. Part of me REALLY wants too. A couple of kingdom offices will be changing hands friends will be stepping up and down. Also, I would love to see friends from distant parts of the kingdom. And...I'm a court junky, yes I admit it, I love watching court, I love the pageantry and the ceremony and 12th night is one huge court. Plus, due to devious friends, I'm developing a liking for medieval and renaissance foods. Since I don't cook, feast are the best place to indulge.

So, you ask, what's stopping me? Well, the hotel alone will cost $200 for the weekend and I'm just not sure I want to spend that much. On the other hand, I should be getting my 4th qtr bonus about the same time so I will have the $$.

Also, I'm not crazy about the garb I have and I'm not sure I will have time to make new garb before the event. I do have pretty wool though for my new Tudor commonwoman garb. Yeah.

Aaarrrrggggghhhh!!!

BTW, does anyone else think the font is too small or is it just because it's way past my bedtime?

Projects

2008-09-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

Since tourney season is pretty much over this year I think I may have more time to work on my projects. Most of the winter events are indoor events so I can take my projects without worrying about them getting dirty. The biggest threat to that plan is my tendency to wander around talking to everyone instead of working on my projects. So, here is my project list to finish before the 2009 tourney season.

1. Make complete set of early Tudor common woman garb using this pattern. I already have the pattern and the linen for the smock and cap. I also have some wool for the sleeves if I don't use it for something else first. I want to make the final kirtle and partlet from wool but I want to find some cheaper fabric to practice on. I have some corduroy that I am thinking might work if I use the wrong side out. I will do all the long seams by machine but I think I might finish it by hand.

2. Finish my table carpet and the documentation so I can enter it into a defenders tourney at some point.

3. Cover for the ceremonial notebook.

4. Silk banner - I've decided I want 2 banners, 1 that is painted silk for tournaments and an appliqued one for indoor events.

5. Veil to wear with my other garb. I've tried to make them before but they never look right after I cut them out. I've used several different sites and I must be interpreting them wrong. I think I may have get someone to show me how to cut it properly.

6. Get my badges submitted. I've already conflict checked them, I just need to do the paperwork.

Elizabethan

2008-09-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

more animals

September Crown & Acorn War recap

2008-09-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

I went to September Crown over Labor Day weekend in Washington. It was fun but very wet. It was held in the cascades and there was a small peak just outside of camp. Everytime a cloud got stuck on it we got dumped on. I ended up buying a hood so, now I don't have to make one.

My original intention was to try to learn some voice heraldry during the tournament but I didn't think there were enough heralds that any could be spared to teach me. So, I was a list runner for most of the tournament. That was fun too and definately needed. On another note, I think running lists might be fun so I may have to try that sometime.

I went to Acorn War this last weekend which was also fun. It is held down in the Salem area and the weather was beautiful. I camped with House Raventree headed by Peregrine and Gryffyd. Eulalia, Ann, Sebastian, Teceangl, Clair and Geysha also camped with them and they are just great people. They share my desire to be more authentic and we just have a great time. I also met some more quality people. Mistress Arlys taught me how to play 12 Man Morris and Fox & Geese. Like I said, it was a lot of fun.

Blue Tunic

2008-08-29T13:46:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I finally finished my blue tunic. I will try to get pictures of me wearing it this weekend.

I also finished the white undertunic and my cloak. Well, the cloak isn't exactly finished. I want to find some trim and replace the clasp.

Mottos

2008-08-15T14:01:00.001-07:00

I have a motto!!!

Well, to be honest I have two but I will probably use one more than the other. They are:

Semper discens - Always learning

Sapientia melior fortitudie - Wisdom is better than strength.

So, you ask, how did I choose them? I have been contemplating mottoes for a while now and after reading several articles I discovered that my persona would have used Latin (English was not the desired language among English nobility) and would have probably taken their motto from the Bible. "Semper discens" is from 2 Timothy 3:7 and "Sapientia melior fortitudine" is from Ecclesiastes 9:16.

"Semper discens" will probably be the one I use the most but it wasn't uncommon for people to use more than one.

Persona

2008-07-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

I ordered the Tudor common women pattern from reconstructing history to make some persona apprpriate garb. I am still going to need help because I haven't got a clue how to do pleats but it's a start.

I also named my persona's parents yesterday and wrote out a brief history of them. My father's name is Michael Clutterbuck/Clutterbooke and he is from Goucester. My mother is Angharad verch Morgan from Cardiff. Both of their families were loyal supporters of King Henry VII when he returned from exile and received rewards once he was crowned. It was an arranged marriage to cement family alliances but they grew fond of each other over time.

That's all I have so far. I haven't decided if they are still alive or not, I'm thinking probably not. I'm also thinking that I may be an only child and a widow as this would have given me more rights under the law of the time.

Thoughts and goal update

2008-06-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

So, I've been thinking about garb a lot lately. I've been planning to make some viking clothes because I thought they would be easier to make. I've been working on the under tunic and it's going ok, I forgot to finish the neck before I did the side seems though and that caused some problems. Anyway, the more I think about it the more I want clothes that are right for my persona. (Early 16th century English woman.) I'm trying to decide if 1. I can make it and 2. it will be comfortable in all kinds of weather.

On another note, I went to May Crown a few weeks ago. It was abominably hot (that's my main concern with early 16th century clothes) but there were showers on site which was a life saver. I drove down with some friends from my shire and we had a good trip. Another friend cooked for us which was awesome. I don't like cooking at home let a lone while camping. I don't even know what to say other than I had a great time and it reaffirmed my desire to try for a more authentic game.

My device

2008-05-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

So, I've been playing with my device to see how I want to display it. This is the first one I did:

I didn't like the black outline, I thought it was distracting, so, I did this one.

The online on it was too light, it was hard to tell that they were books. So, this is the final:

Of the three, this is the one I like best because you can still tell they are books but the outline isn't distracting.

I think there may be too many books though. According to the the SCA College of Arms Glossary of terms a semy field must have at least 5 of the charge. So, I can definately include fewer books which may make them more recognizable.

Turkey Work

2008-03-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

I decided I hate turkey work. It's ugly, messy, and it likes to knot up in the back. So, I'm going to get some wool and finish my carpet in tent stitch. That seems to be more documentable any way.

Dress and Needlework Progress

2008-03-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

I cut out a tunic today based on this website: http://snowplow.org/sarah/pers/SCA/tunics_stepbystep.pdf I am using cotton/poly broadcloth that I got for $1/yard. I'm not crazy about the fabric and I don't know if I will actually wear this tunic. It is mostly a practice piece before use more expensive fabric. I saw a beautiful, red linen/rayon blend at Joanns that I think I am going to use for the tunic for my Viking Garb.

I read a book about the embroideries of Hardwick Hall and it mentioned table carpets being made with turkey work. I was intrigued but couldn't find much information. So, I posted on the Authentic SCA group and one of the members recommended several books which I immediately reserved at the library. Anyway, I found more mention, got some canvas, and just secured it to the frame. This will be a small piece, no where near the size of an actual table rug, to see if I like the stitch and the way it looks.

One more project

2008-02-28T05:47:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot another project for this year. I want to make a banner of my arms. After going to Dragon's Mist's A&S I have decided I like the appliqued ones best but I am trying to find extant examples that would be appropriate for my persona. The English loved wool, since the produced a lot of it, but I think they also produced linen.

Either way, I need to find more examples from history before I start mine.

Projects for this year

2008-02-26T18:49:00.000-08:00

This year I want to do the following:

1. Make a hat, I have been convinced that one cannot be properly medieval without a hat.
2. Make a cloak
3. Make Viking Garb
4. Make a needle case
5. Prepare to enter a A&S competition.

Numbers 2 & 3, at least, require me to also learn to sew. :-)

Intro

2008-02-26T14:50:00.000-08:00

After 3 or 4 years of playing on the fringes of the SCA I have decided it is time to jump in. So, I am starting this blog to chronicle my journey.

First, who am I in the SCA? I am Gwenlliana Clutterbooke and my device is: Gules, semy of open books, Or. In normal English they are gold (or yellow) strewn books on a red field. I am an early 16th century woman on the border of England and Wales. That's all I know for sure so far.

In the SCA I am interested in history, illumination, heraldry, embroidery, weaving and a bunch of other a&s stuff. I keep finding more and more things to get excited about.

Finally, a few goals. I want to go to at least one crown tourney and coronation this year. I want to meet more people, I am a fairly shy person so this is hard for me sometimes but I am working on it. I also want to get more involved in scribal and heraldry activities.