Genevieve's Journeys

Well, finished making - now for the washing and fulling part.

This is the flat cap I started at Raglan, in 2 ply jumper weight, which is quite fine. Hence it took an age.

The next one in the same yarn will be with 2 strands and bigger needles.

In this house, it's hard to photograph anything without a measure of cat butt appearing alongside...

A Glasgow City of science is doing a health hygiene project for kids, and wants knitted microbes.

They are totally totally beautiful and cheaper than the stuffed ones you buy commercially.

This is courtesy of the craziest knitting blog I've ever seen - really. The unicorn dog harness, the Star Wars tapestry in crosstitch and the knitted wireframe webdesign is just amazing.

I'm passing the microbes round my work colleagues, so to speak, to see if anyone else wants to knit up some health protection germs.

...still posting bits and pieces from the summer.

This Raglan included glass painting with acrylic paints, and I asked everyone to send me pics, because I wasn't much good at getting them, at the time.

Here are some of the results:

Viscountess Suzannah - her glass in front of her Sun and Chalice scroll


Lady Agnes, who modelled her ivy leaves on an example on site


Lady Agatha, who put us all to shame




Still waiting for a few folks' photos, but it was very satisfying project to do with folks.

ETA: Glasses by Dom Duarte goncalves for members of his household - he did 5 in all.

For HE Aryanhwy



For Lady Eleanor



For himself

On Saturday I got together with thorngrove, to learn the mysteries of the soapmaker.

I've been doing some reading linked to my current putter in medieval cosmetics, and soap falls into this category, albeit as a relatively late addition to the range of cosmetic products - and had mentioned I'd love to have a go. Luckily thorngrove proved, as always a terrific resource and teacher, as well as a fine hostess.

Soapmaking is essentially home chemistry, complete with goggles, face mask and gloves, to put caustic soda together with your choice of favourite fats, and then the smellies added at the last stage before pouring into moulds. 

With domestic servants on hand (in the form of crock pots, hand-held blender and digital thermometer) to make the fiddly bits easier, the whole process is way simpler than I ever expected, though it requires care and attention. If I had to guess at the temperature of the fats and the soda solution, and then stir the mix by hand for 'til trace', I might not be nearly as keen. Making medieval soap, from soda ash onward, would be just plain hard work.

The key step I learned was thorngrove's careful matching the temperatures of the two mixes (liquid fats and caustic soda solution).

The fat is slow to heat, but slow to lose its heat too. Adding soda to the water  for an alkali solution results in instant chemical heat - the solution goes from ambient temperature (11 deg C, sitting outside on the doorstep) to over 70 deg in the time the soda takes to dissolve.

But it's quick to lose its heat as well, so the remaining fiddly step was to get the slowly-warming fat and the quickly-cooling soda solution to the same temperature, then quickly mix them and whisk them with the blender.

I'll go back and re-read the instructions I've seen for making soap - but I didn't remember any mention of carefully matching temperatures of the two mixes, to give you the best chance of a smooth mix, and quick 'trace'.

We ended up trying out 4 different recipes for soap (one hot process, three cold process) most of which were left at her home to cure, while I took one batch home on the train...in a Pringles tin - the handy disposable mould! We'd planned five batches, but four proved a full day's work.

My sweetie, wonderfully, came out to the suburbs for the visit, and spent the afternoon ensconced on L's sofa, sipping wine (no visit is complete chez thorngrove without a bottle of red) and gorging on jewellery books from her excellent specialist library. 

I think we're all resolved to Do This More Often (tm). L has so many excellent tools, toys and materials, and all three of us want to make stuff (jewellery, mostly!); it's just a matter of picking the weekend to commit to it.

Thank you all for feedback on the perfumery and smellies stuff. I've dropped a note to Isis about her sources. Small world - she has a link to frualeydis, who is an active SCA person in Nordmark.

Baldwins definitely seems a good source for some specific items, tied with Pans Pantry.

So I'm compiling a list of items I want, and comparison shopping.

Sourcing civet and musk oils is still proving elusive. Found it in one pagan-ritual supplies shop sold in 2-drachm bottles for ritual use, but it seemed far too cheap to be a good product.

Researches so far:
http://www.baldwins.co.uk/ (no civet, some musk products, lots of other useful items)

Coronation this past weekend: brilliant. Reasonable travel (it's worth paying for real airlines, IMO, for non-stupid flight dep/arr times); wonderfully hospitable Finnish event staff looked after us; fed and watered and coffeed very well; successful ceremonies almost entirely as planned and pictured, in a beautiful lakeside setting.

The best pictures are on aryanhwy's FB pages, so far.

Lady Anne produced a beautiful kirtle (black linen with gold silk lower skirt), gown (black wool with red silk binding and red linen lining and a long train) and (with Edith's broidery) headdress for HRM to wear, matching Paul's early Henry VIII gown, doublet and hose. Together they look the part of early 16th c royals.

I can now see why the Finns are so attached to Cudgel wars, and enjoy the venue so much. It reminded me strongly of visting camps and cottages in Muskoka; mixed birch and fir woods, gravel roads, cottages perched on slopes overlooking a small lake with canoes at the dock, birdsong and crisp clean air. There were fewer bald spare boulders and evidence of roads blasted through solid rock of 'Canadian shield', so there may be more fertile farm-able soil in the area, but the memories of travelling to northern Ontario were strong.

However, I'd never visited a Canadian cottage with two saunas - one was modern electric ladies/mens/mixed facilities, the other was a small traditional wood-burning sauna. The latter requires half a day of fire stoking to warm and make ready but I can see the attraction; the woodsmoke atmosphere and the feel of the steam and heat is different from the electric sauna, and I was glad I tried both.

How I do wish saunas were common here! Warm baths are lovely but the all-enveloping sauna heat is wonderful. The Romans had it right from the outset.

I delighted in playing c&t one afternoon - sadly not long enough, but worth it for trying out a hand and a half sword in this form. goncalves and I both tried against Lord Mikkael, and both of us came away with biiig stuuupid grins on our faces, it was so much fun.  My next serious investment may be such a weapon. Lucky Cernac gets to go back in 3 weeks for Cudgel and play some more.

goncalves and Cernac triggered something of a diplomatic incident between Insulae Draconis and Arnimetsa, witnessed by too many from all sides to be hushed up. We may have to settle it by hitting each other with sticks in yet a third region, like Nordmark, much as our ancestors did by making war through Normandy and Bergundy. At least, that's what we hope.

The scriptorium had several attendees, and we reviewed my Romanesque alphabet, but we all seemed short of time - even with a four day event there was a lot to squeeze in. However, I did show one lady how to make a reservoir for a quill and she seemed very pleased at trying it out at home.

Once more, I was impressed by the depth of the artisan community in Arnimetsa particularly in the textile and clothing arts. Their standard is high, even for those new to the Society; it must be all those long winter nights that give them opportunity to sew, weave, broider and embellish to such good effect. Fru Johanna continues to develop her repetoire of narrow wares which is excellent, even persuing the art outside the Society.

I had only one serious attack on my wallet among the merchants; I was cornered by a 3m length of hemp fabric - something I haven't been able to find in London and thus hard to resist. The merchant (www.tippet.fi) said it came from a factory in Romania.

I learned a lot in conversation this weekend, about the Pelican order in Drachenwald.

Today is one long round of laundry, followed by errands. I'm away to my first homeland tomorrow, hopefully back in a couple of weeks.

Got a good start on the pouches this weekend, getting eyelets into two of four, and braiding cords for three, so I may actually be able to knock the current batch off the list.
Pouches are a perpetually-renewing project though - I've now made them in leather, fabric, and knitting. I suppose I could weave one from scratch for a change (NOT).

Also got the calligraphy done on the cards, but didn't get any illumination done.

Did have a happy evening surfing the BL site, finding nearly an entire alphabet of very do-able Romanesque intials.

There's a particular style, c. 1150-1225 ish, England and N. France on sacred books, that uses bold plain colours, some very beautiful arabesque flourishes, but very little 'finishing' (no outlining, no knotwork, no gold). The accompanying hand is late Carolingian, early Gothic-ish, well within my repetoire.  The sweet AoA I did last month is typical. This could become another 'workhorse' hand for scrolls for me.

I even found a scholarly text about this art style, focusing on MSS from 11th and 12th c Northumbria - a snip at £70 from Boydell and Brewer.

Does anyone else make bead and wire jewellery? I want to make small giftie rings, w/ 1-3 beads on them, in silver and gold-coloured wire.
I think I've figured out the basics, but if there are any instructables, videos, tutorials or tips around, I'd welcome them.

I've already hit up thorngrovefor advice...