Showing posts with label Pennsic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pennsic. Show all posts

Monday, December 31, 2012

Well, I've got ONE thing for my Pennsic trailor

You remember the interior fireplace from my plan? Well, I now have the glass-enclosed, liquid bio-ethanol fueled fire to go in it! I'll dress up the front to hide the stainless steel, of course, but I'm really happy to have the glass guards to help keep my skirts from sweeping into the fire.

Best birthday present ever. :)


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Back to work...

on the Pavillion!

Maybe it's the fall weather but I'm getting the itch to get back to work and finish my pavilion before the next SCA Camping season. It seems like forever since I worked on it but the break has been good for me. I thought my way through the quandry caused by finding the roof panels which I had misplaced.

I'd re-envisioned the sections I had at hand into a completely different style of pavillion (a Bell Wedge instead of round) and finished enough of the hand work on the rest of the pavillion that I really didn't want to go back...but I don't have too! I've been wanting to make detachable walls to convert one of the awnings into a bedroom and I think I can dismantle the extra roof to use for some of the parts of the bedroom walls.

Yippee! Now to implement the plan....

Friday, September 30, 2011

Better Late than Never

I have finally got some Pennsic pictures to post.

This is of me, all dressed up and ready for the Red and White Ball.




And this is my Boen.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

I'm exhausted, but HOME!

Pennsic was lovely. Pennsic was overwhelming. Pennsic was HOT!

Sleeping now, but later I will gush at you about how lovely my IRCC undergown looked at the red and white ball...

:)


Thursday, August 4, 2011

OK! Hi from Pennsic!

I'm here. It's hot. Oh so hot!

I finally made it out of camp (in a sudden burst of ambition) so I though I'd take a moment to tell you:

IMPORTANT THINGS I HAVE LEARNED SO FAR

1) Pre-Pennsic sewing should include making several outfits which keep you covered up but feel like you are nearly naked.

2) Then you can think about what *else* you could take off.

3) Yes, it is worth it to bring a shade pavilion/fly!

4) It turns out the earplugs aren't so much about sleeping through the drunken carousing, it's the trucks on the highway causing the real noise.

I'm off to take about 15 million classes. Having fun. Wish you were here!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

So, about that Pavillion...

It's past time that I admitted to you that I will not be able to complete it in time for Pennsic XL.

It's not just that the deadline is only a week away, or that I've had to prioritize our move to Indiana. The biggest problem is that while I was packing up the house for our move I discovered that I actually had completed a third section of roof panels...way back in the dark ages in California.

So now what do I do?

Since I actually have all 12 pieces I could revert to the original plan and make a round pavilion...or...
I could split the third section in half, connect each half to one of the sections of 4 pieces I was planning to use for my bells, and thus have a larger bell/larger tent overall...or...
I could come up with some really brilliant third option.

Sigh...

So right now I am stuck, and crazy busy. I'll get back to the pavilion after our move..

Friday, July 1, 2011

OMG! We're moving!

It's official, my sweetie has accepted a new job and we are moving to Indiana.

In two months.

And Pennsic falls right in the middle.

Eeep!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Hmmm...it's time to face facts!

Fact #1 - It's June. It's already JUNE! Since I need to have a working pavillion, I need to get my butt back in gear and finish the tent.

Fact #2 - I also need to finish quite a lot of stuff for the encampment, the folding table with its chains, the savonarola chairs, the chandeliers...

Fact #3 - Ditto the wardrobes for both Boen and I. Much needs to be done. So why oh why am I suddenly contemplating dong the lace for the collar and sleeves of my IRCC camicia in Punto en Aria? Really, WHY!

I'm starting to wander towards the conclusion that...

Fact(?) #4 - I might be crazy!

But oh the two inspiration patterns I found are *so* pretty...and all the local lace is dreck...and really, how much harder can it be than crochet?

(Such a silly, silly girl. Sad really.... (Walking away shaking head...) )

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

My Venetian Gondola

Ok, I was playing with this idea prior to my discovery of Sketchup 3-d, and I haven't had time to upgrade the illustrations, but since we have been discussing bow-tops or portable bender tent wagons on the Medieval Encampments list (yahoo groups) I thought I'd go ahead and post my gondola idea.

Clarence didn't like how open feeling it was, but I think it might be the perfect combination of a tent and a bed you don't have to fret about carting about or setting up. I may have to make one for weekend events...

Make of it what you may!

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B03dpx-ypMHfYTAyODg2YzgtM2I0OC00OTFmLTgxODUtOWMxNjZkYzA4YzMw&hl=en&authkey=CLujr7gM

Click or cut and paste the link above and it will take you to the PDF in googledocs.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

I finished the Butter Dress!

I've been re-working a kirtle I made several years ago into a dress I would actually be willing to wear in public. The kirtle was only good for an under-layer, if that, but I undid several of my earlier bad decisions (like removing a forepart panel made of entirely unsuitable material) made some better choices (adding banding in a complementary material was one of them) and I am now the proud owner of a casual lightweight gown I won't be mortified to be seen in.

That's four dresses and counting. Pennsic here I come!

I've been really busy, and I've got something to show for it!

I've prepped numerous bits of applique for the roof, stiched 27 of the 28 eyelets in a light cotton gown for Pennsic (the butter dress), I've learned two new embroidery stiches, and, oh, my shoes...my shoes are stunning! If you look at the 50 pairs of slippers page you'll see what I mean.

Pretty, Yes?

They say the best is the enemy of the good. But, in my experience, the good is not the enemy of the best. I can hardly wait to finish this pair and try for something even better!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

My Tudor Trailer

Last summer I learned about the existence of a free downloadable 3-d modeling program (google sketchup 3-d) and started working on a plan for my dream portable house for SCA Camping.

I decided to complete my pavilion instead--for a variety of practical reasons, including the fact that I could work on it thru the winter in our heated house instead of trying to work in the frozen garage--but I still LOVE my trailer plan so I am sharing it with you here.

Aurora's 7x14' Tudor Trailer (Plan/Visualization)

It will have both a queen size bed and an additional sleeping berth/daybed, a "working" fireplace (canisters of gel fuel only), an outdoor kitchen based on drawers which pull out from under the bed, and both a woodpile and stone water trough to cover the wheels.

I love-love-love it!

I based the shape on various other pop-up SCA trailers I have been studying on-line. The intricacy of detail is based on extant examples of historic housing, notably:

Staple Inn, Holburn, London, England














and

Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England














For those of you who are wondering about the trailer details just click on the picture to go to sketch-up where you can download it and wander about (it's a 3-d model, remember?) to your heart's content.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Wow. Actual content. I'm working on my Pavilion!

Lately I've been obsessively working on a pavilion. Make that a Pavilion!

In my fantasies it is all gloriously banded, appliqued and embroidered; it has mottoes and banners and a heraldic full inner liner based on our devices; it's fully furnished--in period appropriate furniture, of course--and makes quite a splash at events. (Ah, vanity, your name is Aurora...)

Of course, what I have right now is a rather large and heavy pile of chunks of fabric in various stages of construction. And pictures. I have pictures!

(Oh, and I also have very sore hands which are slowly forming pavilion-making-callouses, thank goodness!)

My doorway panels: In progress

Anyway, long, long ago in a land far, far away (2000-ish in Northern California) I started reading about the SCA on the internet and formed a desire to a) go to Pennsic, b) make a pavilion, and c) uphold my belief that the stripes and other decorations on period tents were more likely sewn than painted by doing just that. On to e-bay for canvas and I was shortly the proud owner of about 60 yards of flame retardant canvas in a lovely off-white and another chunk of canvas in a lovely blue-green and so I started work cutting 8 1/5' long oblongs of canvas into 2 triangles, attaching a band of the blue-green to the cut edge for support (thus making those colored stripes I saw on period illustrations) and assembling the triangles together.

Which worked just great until I tried to sew two of my assembled pairs of triangles together and discovered that my machine *really* didn't like trying to make 3 flat-felled seams in the same place. Hmmmm....

Now I know why people use semi-circles at the very tip.

Of course, I then decided that I wasn't sure what style/size of pavilion I wanted...or how I was going to make those roof panels work...and I've been carting around around a partially finished tent ever since!

****

This winter seems to be the year of the pavilion.

I've decided to convert the pieces I originally made for the roof of a circular single pole pavilion into the cone-shaped end pieces of a double belled wedge. the finished wedge is going to be about 10' tall so I'm going to have to add additional length to the original pieces. I still haven't figured out how I am going to do *that* so right now I'm working on the center section.

It will be a panel which is 11' high by 9' wide (finished dimensions) on each side. The bottom section of each side will have a 7' high by 6' wide doorway opening bordered by 7' high x1 1/5' wide panels. they will connect to an 1' high by 9, wide panel which forms the top of the doorway, which will connect to a 8' x 9' day shade flap and the remaining 3'high by 9' wide roof piece.

I hope that description makes sense, but it will all be clear in the photos as it starts coming together.

Which brings me to the pictures!

Inspired by many lovely examples of late-period ornamentation I am going for a highly-embellished pavilion. the pilasters on each side of the doorway seemed a natural place for such embellishment and accommodate the candelabrum form well. There will need to be four such panels so, naturally, I am making a panel for each of the four elements. You can see all four panels in their various stages of applique above.

I've finished stitching down the entire "fire" panel and am well on the way with "water" but, as you can see, the other two elements are still in the thinking stages. The fire panel took me a week (hand stitching) so if I can keep up the pace I could have all 4 attached by the end of February. Wish me luck!

I'm pretty sure that they will need additional embroidery to add detailing and make them look less modern. One thing at a time.

This is a detail of the Fire panel. you can see I still need to remove all the stay-stitching from the pieces