As I have mentioned previously, there will be no further print editions of Haberci due to cost and time involved.  Please do make use of the fantastic University system to schedule your own custom list of classes here:
http://thing.pennsicuniversity.org/

The hafla list (as I have it) is posted below.  Note that things are always subject to change and there will be many more impromptu events (as well as smaller, private events) that will be going on during the course of Pennsic.  In addition to this list, there will be a board at Kafe Merhaba where one can find a listing of haflas (or add more if you make a last minute decision to host a get-together). 

I hope everyone has a fantastic Pennsic!!

If you prefer to download the document, you can do so here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dontskj1im1491p/Haberci2014.pdf

This blogger's post is definitely worth a share here.  She attended her first SCA event (reluctantly) with her children and had an amazing time.  Some people come to the SCA believing that they will have a grand time because they have sought out this experience, others come because a friend, significant other or family member draws them in and have less positive expectations.  An atmosphere of joy, kindness and learning can give both types of individual a time that they will not soon forget (and hopefully will encourage them to return).

http://www.chicagonow.com/mama-bunny-pip/2014/07/the-society-for-creative-anachronism-i-went-to-an-sca-event-it-was-as-dorky-as-i-thought-it-would-be-and-i-loved-it/#image/8

One of the best places to get inspiration for SCA projects is at SCA events.  Even events with no classes will have artisans sitting around casually spinning, sewing, knitting or working on whatever their portable craft of choice is.  And I have yet to attend an event where I did not see at least one piece of garb that drew my eye. 

Most artisans are more than happy to discuss their work, their process, their research.  Events also often offer competitions or displays where you can check out a completed piece or a work-in-progress and typically view the documentation along with the work. 

One of the most artistically inspiring things I have come across in the SCA is the A&S Display at Pennsic (to be held this year, on Sunday, August 3, from 1-6pm in the new Great Hall).  For those unfamiliar with this display, it is a gathering of artisans from across the Known World showing off some truly incredible projects.  It is absolutely worth checking out!  to whet your appetite for this year's display, below is a gallery of some of the wonderful pieces I have seen over the years!

Paladin's Pantry is an absolutely amazing opportunity for the attendees of Pennsic to give back to the local communities each year.  The way it works is quite simple, at the end of War you can donate your unused, non-perishable food items to families in need.  Last year, the organizers of this noble charity gathered over a ton of food to help support seventy families!

Want to help out?  They have made this unbelievably simple.  Just take your leftover goods to the collection points at Lusty Wench Tavern (E17), House Sable Maul Encampment (on Count Jehan's Bounty), Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands encampment (Serengeti), or Chirurgeon’s Point.  Don't have time to drop off the items yourself?  Call 304-283-5640 and you can schedule a time for someone to come collect the items from you.  Yes, it really is that easy!

In the past year, this program was expanded to the Lilies War and hopefully will be added to Gulf Wars in the future.  Further, the will this year also be collecting things such as unneeded tents and sleeping bags to be donated to the homeless. 

If you need more information about the program itself, you can contact Lord Morien MacBain (Stephen Vandevander) at 304-283-5640 or svandevander@gmail.com.

Article from last year's Independent can be found here: 
http://www.pennsicindependent.com/Pantry

Paladin's Pantry Official Announcement for Pennsic 43:

Have you ever found yourself with more to pack at the end of Pennsic then you did when you set out from home, only to find that your vehicle seems to have shrunk? Is your kitchen area full of boxes of cereal, pasta, jars of peanut butter, and jugs of bottled water you can't remember buying?

Never fear! The annual Paladin's Pantry Food Drive is here to help by conveying your camp's extra food and drink to a local food banks.  Just drop any unopened foodstuffs or beverages (no alcohol, please) at one of our handy collection points: Lusty Wench Tavern (E17), House Sable Maul Encampment (on Count Jehan's Bounty), Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands encampment (Serengeti), or Chirurgeon’s point or call or text to 304-283-5640 to schedule a pick up, and one of our faithful minions will come by your camp to collect your much-appreciated largesse!

In addition, this year the program will be collecting used tents, sleeping bags, cots, and rain gear, (especially those in child sizes), which will serve no one in a dumpster, to benefit the homeless.

Exercise your charity, lighten your load, and help members of the community that has made us so welcome over the years!

Please direct any questions or requests for donation pick-ups to Morien MacBain (Stephen Vandevander) at 304-283-5640.

Initially I was not going to include this breed of sheep in my survey because it is not typically listed being among Northern European Short-Tailed Sheep breeds, due to its having a longer, muscular tail.  (Ryder, Sheep & Man, 1983)  However, a more recent “Featured Research” article in Science Daily speaks of a new study which proves a strong genetic link between the Herdwick of Britain and flocks in Scandinavia and Iceland (giving credence to the tales that they were brought to England by the Vikings). (Bowles, Carson, Issac.)

Ryder has suggested that an examination of Norse wools from Scottish sites show a predominantly hairy fleece type that is different than the native Soay (and also different than the wools found at Roman sites) and believes that this provides a further link between the Herdwick and the sheep brought to the area by the Vikings.

Coupling this research and the fact that I have managed to obtain a sample of Herdwick wool, I have opted to include the breed among my other descriptions here.

Their lambs are born solid black, with the face and ears whitening by their first year.  After that, the fleece changes to a dark brown and eventually, over years, fades to gray or even white.  (Ekarius and Robson, 225)  Rams are horned and ewes are naturally polled.

Herdwicks have a dual coat, much like that of other primitive breeds (and is described by Ryder as having a Hairy fleece type).  The outer coat is comprised of guard hairs, kemp and heterotype hairs.  Heterotype hairs, upon close inspection, appear to be a hybrid between the guard hairs and the wool with tips looking like the root end looking like the latter.  This special type of fiber actually changes properties during the year to be more warm and insulating in the winter and more like hair to repel water in the summer.  (Ekarius and Robson, 267; Piggot and Thirsk, 369; Burns)  Additionally, the heterotype hairs are also present in some other members of the North European Short-tailed group of sheep, giving the Herdwick another connection to those breeds.  (Ryder, Sheep & Man, 192)

The heavy outer coat is coarse, often suited for use in carpet weaving.  And the while the undercoat is fine in comparison (and purportedly good for spinning to knit for sweaters), the sample I had had the staple length of both coats was so similar that it was hard to separate the types of fiber.  (Unlike dual coated breeds such as the Spaelsau or Icelandic where the hairy coat is quite long compared to the soft under wool, making it easy to grasp the tips and pull the fleece types apart.)  Beyond that, even the undercoat, in my samples, was more coarse than I would even care to use for an outergarment, though I can certainly see the appeal of the nice tweedy shades that it would produce.

Fiber Info

(Are you wondering where I get some of my rare wool samples?  I have friends in Norway who have provided some but most of them I get from The Fibre Mine on Etsy!  Please check out her shop at some point, the selection is amazing!)

Resources:

Burns, Marca.  “The development of the fleece and follicle population in Herdwick Sheep.”  The Journal of Agricultural Science, Volume 44, Issue 4.  Cambridge University Press, 1954.

Dianna Bowles, Amanda Carson, Peter Isaac. “Genetic Distinctiveness of the Herdwick Sheep Breed and Two Other Locally Adapted Hill Breeds of the UK.” PLoS ONE, 2014.

Dohner, Janet Vorwald.  The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds.  Yale University Press, 2001.

Dýrmundsson, Ólafur and Niznikowski, Roman.  “North European short-tailed breeds of sheep : a review,” 59th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production.  2008

Ekarius, Carol and Robson, Deborah. The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn.  Storey Publishing, LLC, 2011.

Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association: http://www.herdwick-sheep.com/

The Herdy Company Blog.  http://www.herdy.co.uk

Piggot, Stuart and Thirsk, Joan.  The Agrarian History of England and Wales: Volume 1, Prehistory to AD 1042.  Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Ryder, M. L. “Medieval Sheep and Wool Types.” Agricultural Review, Vol. 32, No. 1, 1984.

Ryder, M. L. Sheep & Man.  Gerald Duckworth & Co., 1983.

Ryder, M. L. “Changes in the fleece of sheep following domestication (with a note on the coat of cattle”.

Ryder, M. L. "A Survey of European Primitive Breeds of Sheep," Annales de Génétique et de Sélection Animale. 13, no. 4: 381−418, 1981.

Ryder, Michael L.. "The History of Sheep Breeds in Britain." The Agricultural History Review, 12, no. 1: 1−12, 65-82. 1964.

Visit Cumbria.  http://www.visitcumbria.com/herdwick-sheep/

Wrightson, John.  Sheep: Breeds and Management.  Vinton Publishing, 1898.