If you are in AEthelmearc, northern Atlantia or the southern East Kingdom, I highly recommend that you check out the Siege of Glengary this September.  This fantastic event features equestrian, rapier, archery and heavy weapons.  In addition to those activities, there will be an A&S display/competition and a delightful feast.  It is also a great event for fall camping!

This year, in addition to the many wonderful choices mentioned above, the Shire of Sylvan Glen will also be hosting its first Fibre Solar!  The announcement is below, but know that if you are new to fibre arts, you can just show up and learn to spin with a drop spindle or spinning wheel.  There will also be wool to comb and likely a rigid heddle loom set up for those who want to test their hand at weaving.  Please come visit us :-)

"The Shire of Sylvan Glen would like to welcome all to participate in its first Fibre Solar at the Siege of Glengary! The gathering will be held from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 27th near the A&S display. All fiber artists are welcome to bring their projects (spinning, embroidery, weaving, knitting, etc.) and enjoy a pleasant time sharing their work, ideas and inspiration. If you are new to these arts, please come and see what we are working on! There will be helpful people practicing a variety of arts who are willing to answer questions and possibly help you get started on a new hobby. All skill levels are welcome to the Solar, so please visit and enjoy the afternoon in the company of fellow fiber lovers. If you have questions please feel free to email Lady Rosamund du Grass at [email protected]."

And the event link itself is:  http://www.siegeofglengary.org/

(The event is 1.5 hours from Baltimore, 1.25 from Silver Spring, MD and less than an hour from Reston, Va.)

I love linen.  Most of my garb is sewn from linen fabric.  I have experimented with weaving it.  I had tried to grow it (will attempt that again in a few years when I am living at the farm property full-time and can water plants during the dry months).  At last, this weekend, I tried to spin it.

The first few yards were rough, as it is indeed very different than spinning wool.  However, once I got a feel for a slippery fiber that does not tend to grab its neighbors (doing half of the work for me in the drafting process), it was spinning wonderfully.

Interestingly enough, I found that it seemed to spin most easily on my smaller, low whorl spindles.  Normally I prefer top whorl spindles with wide, light-weight whorls.  For this, so far, my favorite tool is this spindle with a Sami reindeer antler whorl purchased a couple of years ago from Feed The Ravens/Viking-U-Like.  The thread I am spinning is quite fine and I will attempt to ply it to be used as sewing thread.  Plying will also be an adventure as I have only ever plied with my spinning wheel, even if the singles yarn was produced on drop-spindles.  I will finally make myself learn to ply without the wheel.

And while dyeing is not my first love, I have also decided to experiment a bit with linen dying.  I know the fiber does not take to dye as well as wool, but I am determined to get something more than the palest shades out of dyed linen.

For this experiment, I took linen yarn and (after washing with synthropol) steeped it in a solution made from oak galls (that I have been collecting for a year) for 24 hours.  The linen went from white to a tawny shade, so I know that it will sadden the final color, but hopefully the final dye will take better over that.  Currently it is in the alum mordant, and tonight it will go into a dyebath of madder root.  In the photo below you can see the color obtained from the oak galls on both the linen yarn and a swatch of linen fabric.

The Philadelphia City Paper had an embedded reporter at the Pennsic War.  Her story is wonderful and really leaves me just feeling a bit homesick.

http://citypaper.net/article.php?Reports-from-a-medieval-war-20974

As I mentioned in my Pennsic recap, the photos from the A&S events would get their own entry.  Unfortunately, I do not have the names of most of these artisans to add to the photos, nor did I get images of every activity.  I do, however, find the dedication of SCA artisans to be both impressive and inspiring and displays like these are a wonderful way to engage with them, learn more and find w

This event is held each year at the Clanne Preachain encampment and it focuses on arts before the year 1000AD.  If you are a Viking or Celt (or anything else "early period") this is definitely the place for you. 

There are displays, demos and classes.  Last year I took a great class on early embroidery and this year I learned wire weaving.  They have a competition each year as well (with the winner this year being a set of early instruments that were very nicely crafted and well documented)! 

The highlight for me though, was Keely the Tinker and Æiric Ørvender doing a glass bead demo using a more period furnace rather than a hot head torch.  I was impressed to see glass melting over hardwood charcoal and she was kind enough to show me how twisted stringers are made in addition to beads.  They gave me a good bit of their time that day, which was awesome as beadmaking (and it's history) is very fascinating to me.  If you are in the market for beads, please check out their shop!  http://www.caravancreations.net/index.html

As always, Pennsic was wonderful!  Relaxing, energizing and inspiring all in one!  What more could one ask for in a vacation?

I no longer take a thousand photos during the event, but am going to share those that I did take here.  The wonderful A&S Display and the Clanne Preachain Early Period A&S event will get their own post later this week.

Because the food this year was off the hook...  And I did not even get photos of the Pennsic Beef, the slow smoked pork shoulders, bourbon chicken, BLTs or many of the other wonderful dishes we had!

Pennsic is my favorite place to shop!  This year the market yielded wonderful new accessories and items for me to work my own crafts.

As I previously mentioned, I will add my photos of the larger displays later, but there were also wonderful classes and new skills to be learned!  This opportunity to try out and learn new things is one of my favorite facets of Pennsic.

This year there were more in-camp awesome A&S discussions than ever.  Engaging over Viking costume, Ottoman costume, tablet weaving, Mongol/Persian coat styles, hand sewing and Lady Anne of Saffron Walden's awesome flax experiment (which she was kind enough to bring up to share with me and which will rate its own post later).  I have amazingly talented friends and I love in-depth discussion and sharing ideas!

I have to admit I do not even take many garb photos any more, but here are a few.

For the best parts of War I have no photos at all.  No documentation of the joy shared with friends, none of the laughter, no songs by the fire.  But it is all well, as I have fond memories of all of those and I am very looking forward to next year!