It seems that so many people make the assumption (myself included long ago) that Dark Age textiles would have been coarse, rough fabrics in a limited range of dull, earthy colors.

I remember being amazed when I started seeing dyed yarn displays at Pennsic where people were experimenting with period dyes and showing the hundreds of color and shade possibilities that one could achieve in period (and so many of them are bright and beautiful)!

In more recent years I was again amazed as I started reading archeological reports that detailed the thread count in extant textiles.  Some of the fabrics they had were unbelievably fine.  The Viborg shirt, for example, was woven from a linen that is the equivalent to a 20/1 linen today and had a thread count of 55 threads per inch in the warp and 30 in weft.  The linen in the photo above is what is currently on my loom and that has - in the lower portion - 8/1 yarn in both the warp and weft and in the upper half has 8/1 warp and 12/1 weft.  One sample of linen from Kneep was 70X40 and a linen described as "low-grade" from the Viking burial at Adwick-le-Street was still aprox. 32X22.  While I would consider that last a bit rustic (and I say that kindly, as I love the texture and feel of heavier linen), the rest are far from what I would consider coarse.

As for wool, the yarn in the wool dress that I hand sewed is a twill that is approx 25 threads per inch in both the warp and weft, yet one of the twills from the Oseberg ship (below right is an extreme close-up) had an average of 32 threads per inch in one system and 46 in the other.  Another sample from the same site in a diamond twill was twice as fine as that.  The wool for my dress is a Shetland Wool from Fabric Mart, and I in no way consider it coarse.  The twill texture is actually very subtle (you can see that better in the sample from their website below my dress photo). 

And what is the point of all this?  Nothing more than a reminder that if your are portraying an upper class member the Viking society, you do not need to try to find the most "rustic" fabric you can for your impression.

(And yes, pink IS period!)

Want to get a sneak peak at the classes being offered at War this year?  Follow the link below to the classes that are already approved and schedule!

http://thing.pennsicuniversity.org/calendars

I taught my Middle Eastern garb classes for the first time in a number of years yesterday.  I had a great time and the group of women gathered for the classes were positively lovely.  I am especially thrilled to hear that some were inspired to start sewing because of the class!

My class is actually in two parts.  The first is a sort of overview of what type of Middle and Near Eastern garb you see in the SCA and it includes tips on how to take some pieces from your own garb closet and make them more period.  I will be teaching this class at Pennsic (Wednesday of War Week at 10am).

The second part of the class isn't really one I can teach at War, because it requires more time and things like cutting tables and sewing machines.  But, in it I go into more detail about coats and construction and I help get people fitted for the garments. 

The documents for both classes are below (and have been updated on Scribd as well, in the event you had previously pulled them from that source).  If anyone opts to try to make a coat and needs help along the way, I can be reached at [email protected] !  :-)

Hours are listed on the link below.  It might make coming in a bit difficult for a few folks, but it will definitely be a good thing for those who volunteer their own vacation time to welcome the rest of us Home!

http://www.cooperslake.com/prereg

Registration for the display is now OPEN! (The photo is of one of the most impressive pieces I have ever seen on display... it is completely embroidered and each segment shows SCA Kingdoms, people and events in a very hi

http://pennsicwp.org/registration/as-displays/

So many SCAdian projects all in one weekend!  In addition to gathering my books to take to the Middle Easter garb class I am teaching next weekend, I got to work on a variety of projects. 

The first thing I started the prep-work to dye with Weld.  Friday night I soaked my wool and prepared the alum mordant.  The yarn and wool was added to that solution and allowed to sit over night.  (To the left you can see some roving and my Icelandic handspun soaking in the water.)

The roving is pure white but the yarn is actually a natural heathered wool, a pale tan shade.  I am choosing to work with some natural colors, rather than just white because I have never seen anyone's experiments dyeing over naturally colored wool. I added the white roving to the bath as well so I can see the pure resulting color.

Saturday morning I poured the dye from the jar into the pot, added some more water and then put the plant material into a nylon stocking to steep a bit longer while I simmered the pot.  After an hour I let the pot cool a bit and then  I added both the yarn, the roving and a small bit of undyed yarn from Renaissance Dyeing to the bath.  You can see how dark the dye became (yes those are bits of plant material that escaped and were still floating in the water).

I was not getting the rich color that I had hoped for, so I let the wool steep in the brew for about 6 hours before removing to dry.  The resulting color is very pretty (and Easter egg yellow) but very, very pale.

I finished the weekend with a lovely class by Marija of Sylvan Glen about Russian and Slavic garb.  Can I just say that I would love to have a set of temple rings???  It was a nice time with fun people, great food and some very lovely books to drool over.

After that I headed home to work a bit on some new garb for my BF, including this linen tunic with some handwoven (not by me) fabric being used as trim.

From a post to the AEthelmearc list:The Known World Arts & Sciences Display Sunday, July 28th, in the Great Hall, 11 am to 4 pm This is the 17th annual display of the talents & knowledge of the Known World’s Artisans and Craftspeople.
NEW this year is an area for the Performing Arts.  The main Performing Arts Stage will be available from 1pm to 5pm. Performers of ANY type of performing arts may sign up in 10 minute segments – a group for a 15 minute segment, and if there is time, for more than 1 rotation.  Tables will be available in the Performing Arts Tent to display any documentation (optional) from performers throughout the afternoon. 

This is not meant to be a competition, and it is not always finished items.  Some are works in progress, and some are just representations of what someone knows and does.   We have had people discussing how they researched and put on a feast, or something far too large to bring to Pennsic.   Often, you will see something you might want to start investigating, or find someone who has more knowledge in a field you are already interested in.  Other people are exhibiting to find people who know more than they do, and to make contacts in a given field.

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.  It lets me print out nice large signs for everyone, and assign table space to the different Kingdoms.   If you have any special requirements of space, please contact me.

• Space is divided by Kingdom, thus allowing the Royalty, Peers, and Populace to see the efforts of their Craftspeople more easily.  
• Set-up begins at 10 am, and we end at 4 pm.  Everyone must have their objects/displays out by 4:30 pm., when I hope you will help me take down all the tables and return the Great Hall to its empty state.
• Only tables will be provided, although some are picnic tables. Please bring your own chair, displays (even tables).
• There is a limit of 8 sq ft a person (not per item), which works out to 4 ft width, and 2 ft deep.
• You are not required to be there, and if all you can do is a part of the day, we still thank you for sharing your knowledge. However, please have someone to watch your items when you cannot be there.  We cannot watch all the items, and cannot take responsibility for them.  

This past year there was a request from the Scribes of AEthelmearc posted to the Kingdom List.  It read as follows:

Recommending others for awards is an important facet of our Society (and not just because bored scribes might cause havoc!).  How many times have you seen someone working their butt off at every event and wondered why they do not have their Millrind (an AEthelmearc award of high merit for service)?  What about that person in your Barony who takes time each week to help newcomers make their first garb? 

There have been many times during conversations with friends and acquaintances about someone with striking talent or commitment and often the discussion turns to musings of why so-and-so is not yet a member of a certain order.

The answer has several elements to it and I will disregard, at this time, that politics can and do sometimes come into play here.  (One can only do so much about interpersonal workings or quabbles, so I am not going to go into my thoughts on that particular matter - it is life, it happens, lol). I guess, really, it is also a very period practice if one wanted to be technical about it.

Often someone will be given an award because they are known by the right people, and are at the right events to be noticed and recognized.  (Note, I am not saying that one has to curry favor, it is merely a fact that if one is more visible, than and order is more likely to take note of their work, skills or service.)  Even then, someone can fly under the radar and be missed by those who have the ability to grant those awards.

Kingdom level awards are given by the King and Queen and typically, for the higher orders, they poll or consult members of an order about individuals that are brought to their attention.  Remember though, Royals are busy people, and do not have time to meet or see every member of the populace, and even those who do impress them may not be known enough to them to make them a consideration for an award.

So if you have ever wondered why a friend or a teacher or other member of the SCA does not have the accolades they deserve, consider writing a recommendation for that individual.  Yes, anyone can do this!  Has someone gone to great lengths to help you out?  Let the Kingdom know!  Has someone constantly produced tasty feasts?  Let others know about it!  Who always fights fearlessly on the field of battle, but rarely makes it to a tournament (where it is easier to recognize one's prowess)?  Write a letter to make it known!  If you truly think someone is deserving, it is up to you to make sure that the folks higher up know about them.  Sometimes it will happen on its own, but often even the best among us can still be overlooked.

If you are unsure of someone's current awards, most Kingdoms have an Order of Precedence listing online.  You can often look up an individual (by their SCA name) and find out what awards they have already received. 

Be thoughtful though, when making recommendations to the Crown.  A person does not deserve an award for just showing up (or for being your bestie).

It also surprises me to discover that there are long time members of the SCA who have never before written a letter of recommendation.  In many kingdoms it is very simple, and there is often an online form that can be filled out.  Links are below for the various Kingdoms so that the next time you wonder why so-and-so isn't a Pelican, you can make sure that your voice on the matter is heard.

• Æthelmearc - http://www.aethelmearc.org/onlineaward/
• Ansteorra (will take you to an external link) - http://www.ansteorra.org/forms/award.php
  
• An Tir - http://www.antir.sca.org/recommendations.php
• Artemisia - http://www.artemisia.sca.org/order-of-precedence/award-recommendation/
• Atenveldt - http://www.atenveldt.org/People/AwardRecommendations
• Atlantia - http://award.atlantia.sca.org/
• Caid - http://royals.sca-caid.org/awards/recs.php

• Calontir - http://awardrec.calontir.org/
• Drachenwald - http://op.drachenwald.sca.org/recommendation.html
• Ealdormere - http://www.ealdormere.ca/index.php/award-recomendatins
• East - http://accessibleek.eastkingdom.org/RecommendAward.html
• Gleann Abhann (I can find no form for this Kingdom, but their Awards page is as follows) - http://www.kingdomofgleannabhann.org/awards/awards.html
• Lochac - http://royal.lochac.sca.org/recommendation/

• Meridies - http://www.meridies.org/olawards/
• Middle - http://www.midrealm.org/op/recommend/login.php?from=/op/recommend/
• Northshield (you have to sign in as a member of the populace, perhaps if you are out-of-Kingdom you would direct your recommendation directly to the crown via email) - http://www.northshield.org/orderofprecedence/Recommendation.aspx?Officers/Herald
• Outlands - http://www.outlands.org/Default.aspx?tabid=683
• Trimaris - http://www.trimaris.org/recommend
• West - http://heralds.westkingdom.org/AwardRecommend.htm

Here you can see the linen with the header row in ugly cotton.  My weaving width for this piece is only 8 inches as I am just playing with it.  I do, however, have further experimentation plans for the handwoven sample.

Even after weaving just a few picks, my selvages (and a few random other threads) started getting woogly (yes, that is a technical term!).  I actually unwove the entire thing and retied the warp to the apron rod and I still had issues with a few of the strands.  And the most bizarre thing is that it was not always the same threads acting up.  It was nothing so great that it was preventing me from weaving it decently, but I was worried about what it would look like after several inches so I opted to make some homemade sizing by boiling flaxseeds.