It was brought to everyone's attention yesterday that there is a page missing from the Pennsic site book for this year.  Certain events are STILL happening, and the list of those can be seen below.  These include the A&S Display and also the annual and amazing Clan Blue Feather Ball and Fashion Cotillion.

Fortunately, the A&S Display still has a full page dedicated to the event, it just will not be in the printed schedule (it is, however, still listed in The Thing).  

​Another item that sadly got missed is the Clan Blue Feather Ball & Fashion Cotillion.  The Facebook event page for it can be found here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1352843131538865/www.facebook.com/events/1352843131538865/

From the event description: The annual Clan Blue Feather Ball & Fashion Cotillion will be held at Pennsic XLVIII on Tuesday night, August 6, at 9:00 p.m. in the Great Hall (immediately after Aethelmearc court). As always, the theme is, "You don't have to wear your best garb, but wear the garb that makes you look your best!" Music, dancing, revelry, prizes, food and drink for everyone to enjoy at this open and family-friendly event!

Do you want an excuse to dress your best or simply to enjoy an incredible evening?  I highly recommend checking out this event if you have a chance.

Below is the list thus far (I will continue to up date it here as well).  Each item is clickable for the full post!

As part of my Pennsic Improvements posts (found here - https://www.facebook.com/awanderingelf/ ) I talked today about coolers and how to keep them colder (and how to know when it is time to swap them out for a new one).  I figured that post was worth a re-share here as well.

​Yesterday I brought up one of my new favorite boozy beverages, and today I am going to talk about my test over time to keep the ice cold for my Pennsic cocktails.  I will note that you can actually do Pennsic without a cooler at all (assuming you do not have medications you need to keep at a certain temperature), and some people do indeed do this.  Duke Cariadoc has an article about doing Pennsic without a cooler here that some folks might be interested in: http://daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Articles/Camping%20without%20a%20cooler.html
 
Personally, the only food I take to War is a few snacks for land grab.  After that, my cooler is for ice only, and maybe a re-used water bottle full of leftover coffee or tea for a cold beverage at a later point.  Mostly I am just keeping ice for drinks, and possibly a small container of fresh fruit purchased at the Coopers store.  My camp has a meal plan, and I love to eat in the market, and I certainly am not going to Pennsic to cook so one of the ways I have pared down the things I take with me is to cut out the food items (that often were going to waste).
 
I am, however, very picky about coolers, and doubly so if food is going to be stored in them.  Coolers are not immortal.  They have a lifespan, and often the cheapest coolers have a very short one.  The easiest way to tell if your cooler is on the outs is to open the lid.  If it lifts with no resistance at all, it is no longer air-tight and, therefore, it is no longer doing it’s job.  You will go through much more ice at this point and it is time to consider purchasing a new one.  (Do not worry though, that old cooler can be used to store your dry goods now, because old coolers are a fantastic way to keep bugs out of your food and rain off of it!)
 
For the past decade, I have used Coleman Xtreme coolers and really do like them.  They last longer than some others I have had and tend to keep things cold for a decent amount of time.  I have, however, been researching newer high-end coolers for almost two years now, because I am due for a new cooler and because I also want a smaller one as I really just need it for ice.  After reading many reviews, I decided that I wanted to try a Grizzly cooler, with which my wonderful mother recently surprised me.  I honestly cannot wait to test it out this year (and will definitely post my thoughts after the fact)!
 
Even if you are not ready for an upgrade just yet, I do have some tips for helping to make the best use of your current cooler.

Each year I repost two of my older articles that have tips for surviving Pennsic and also for enjoying it.  Last year I included a compilation of my summer wardrobe tips as well.  All three of these will be linked below.

New for this year is a running list on my Facebook Page, with (almost) daily tips based on things I have learned over the years that make my best two weeks of the year even better.  I would love for anyone interested to come join the conversation!

https://www.facebook.com/awanderingelf/
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My Pennsic Prep List:  http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/pennsic-prep-and-my-list-for-newcomers

Tips for Enjoying your First (or Tenth) Pennsic:  http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/tips-for-enjoying-your-first-or-tenth-pennsic

Summer Wardrobe: http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/summer-wardrobe

#PennsicImprovements

Below is a missive from the coordinator for the Pennsic Fiber Arts Pavilion:

One of the joys for many people, as they anticipate Pennsic and their annual pilgrimage, is the knowledge that they can locate any activity there, from fighting to dancing to classes on every topic imaginable. As fiber artisans, we noticed that the fiber arts lacked a home at Pennsic. Fiber classes are scattered all over the schedule, often fill quickly to overflowing, and students leave with no place to come back together and work with each other to practice their new skills. We were missing a single place where fiber people could find each other and work together on a variety of possible fiber crafts.

To fill this need, we have created a Pavilion devoted to the Fiber Arts, and available for the duration of Pennsic. Their Majesties of Atlantia have graciously created an Artisans Easement within Their Royal Encampment, where artisans are able to erect pavilions for specific Arts, and practice their crafts together every day. We have taken advantage of this location, and made it our home.

Join us in Atlantian Royal Encampment in Block N40, two blocks down from the North Gate along the Long Way toward the Parking hill. Come meet other fiber artisans, take a class, teach a class, or just bring your fiber toys over and relax with like-minded folk for a morning or afternoon. We also have fiber toys available in the pavilion, if you'd like to get acquainted with new equipment before you invest. This pavilion can be whatever you want to make it.

If you want to join the discussion before Pennsic, go to Facebook and search for the "Pennsic Fiber Arts Pavilion" group. Ask to join, and you can see what we are doing this year. We look forward to meeting you at the Pennsic Fiber Arts Pavilion. Come join us there!
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I love head coverings for my Viking Age kit.  I have an entire box of different things I have made or that I have purchased to test out to see how they fare in use.  I particularly love to buy pre-made scarves (via Etsy, Amazon, Ebay or other vendors) and cut them down into veils or caps and work with them.  This can be an affordable source of fine wool cloth especially.

So today I came across diamond twill wool/silk scarves on Amazon.  I just ordered one, so the weight might be more than I usually use for veils, but I think it would still work for caps or other items and the best part?  These are diamond twill! 

I will post and additional review once I get mine in the mail!  ETA - I just got mine and it is absolutely lovely.  It is very fine and soft and very slightly sheer. 
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This topic frequently comes up amongst both my fibre arts and my SCA/Viking Age friends.  People often ask me what the history is, and my research in this area is very limited, but I absolutely need to share Anne Marie Decker's (Magistra Sigrid Briansdotter in the SCA) work, and new blog, on the topic.  https://nalbound.com/

I got a chance to look at the pages and pages and pages of inspirational research she had last summer (and am honored that she let me geek out over it).  She spoke earlier this year about naalbinding at a conference at the Centre for Textile for Research in Copehagen (she has a link to her session on her blog).  I highly recommend taking a look at her new page if this art interests you!

Today a received an email from a woman named Beth that assists with a children's library reading group.  She said they have covered a viking story in their readings and now the children are very interested to learn more about the history of the Norse people.  To help learn how they dressed, they have researched things here on my site.  This absolutely delights me!

Beth also told me that one of the young ladies in the group, named Audrey, has been researching on her own and came across some information on viking age teeth and health she wanted to get the information she found shared as well and I am happy to do that for her:  ​https://smilesincluded.com/viking-teeth-and-health/

I also had a strong interest in history (and historic dress) when I was growing up so I am happy to give a shout out to these kids who are eager to learn as well!

Last month I talked about basic supplies you need to get started working with glass.  (The post can be found here .) I mentioned that I would also share my preferences for the glass itself soon, so here is my opinion filled post on the topic!

When starting out with making beads, most people use what is called "soft glass".  This category includes soda-lime glass (the most common) and also lead glass.  "Hard glass" is borosilicate glass (Pyrex glass used to be made from borosilicate).  Soft glass melts at lower temperatures, making it ideal for those working on a hothead torch (it is also less costly than boro).

When looking at glass suppliers, you will see glass within the Soft Glass category is often noted with a COE number.  COE stands for Coefficient of Expansion, is a way of noting how something changes in size with a change of temperature.  This is important because you need to make sure that the glasses you are using together will be compatible and the first thing to check is that the COE matches (note, COE alone does not promise that your glass will play well together, some colors just don't want to be friends with others and there is still going to be trial and error involved and it will definitely help to chat with more experienced lampworkers when issues arise).  The higher the COE, the "softer" the glass is.

I pretty much only use 104 COE.  There are several manufacturers and a very wide range of colors in this category.  I do have some 96 COE frit (crushed glass that is used to decorate glass goods) because in small doses it will work with 104, and I bought a few rods of Bullseye (90 COE) because they had colors I needed to test out.  I am being careful to keep those rods of glass away from my batches of 104 because mixing the two will most likely result in cracked beads.

With all of that in mind, here are some of the major brands of glass:

Effetre (Moretti): This Italian glass has been around since the Renaissance.  I would say 75% of my glass stash at this time is Effetre.  It melts easily on my torch, comes in a wealth of colors, and many shops have regular sales on this one which lets me keep my favorite colors in stock.  They have all of the basic colors needed for historic beads as well.  My favorite vendors for this brand are Mountain Glass, Howaco, Wale Apparatus, and Frantz.  

A couple of personal opinions I want to note here about Effetre (your experiences might well differ, and I encourage you to play around as much as possible, with as many colors and brands as possible):

• The white is a clean clear white, even if heated a lot.  (Devardi's white smudges up and looks dirty very easily.)
• If you are buying clear for encasing, pay the little bit extra and just go with the Super Clear.  It goes on more smoothly and is less prone to looking dirty when over worked.
• My Go-To colors are:  Super Clear, White, Black, Cobalt transparent, Pea Green Opaque, Grass Green Transparents, Lapis Opaques, Ivory, Lemon Yellows 
• Keep in mind that Black glass is technically a transparent, so you will not find that if you have a filter set to show you only opaque colors.
• Intense Black is a very, very pricey black that can do some very cool webbing effects on certain colors.  I would not choose this one for working basic black beads just due to the price (and for the chance that it will web).
• Teals, some greens and some blues have copper in their chemistry.  These can very easily reduce on hothead torch and you will get opaque red-brown patches in the glass. Be careful to work these gently and far out in the flame (and do not over work).  The cobalt/lapis range of blues and the Grass Green transparents are more forgiving.
• Turquoise and teal glasses can have beautiful effects when used in conjunction with ivory.
• If you are looking for reds/browns/yellows and cannot find them under Effetre Pastels (pastel = opaque), that is because they are often listed as "special" colors.
• Many of the reds will darken the more you work them, and even if they are careful, they can still get darker when they are annealed.  Do tests with this color so that you know what you are likely to get in the end.

A few other random bits of information:

• Glass color can vary from batch to batch, so do not be surprised if you get a redder red or a lighter blue when making a repeat purchase of a color.
• Most of the glass supply companies have regular sales!  I HIGHLY encourage you to sign up for their newsletters so that you can plan your purchases around the better sales.  
• Turquoise glass, in every brand I have tried, hates to be encased.  (I always end up with cracked beads. lol)
• Brilliant pinks and purples are going to be the most pricey glasses out there.  Definitely look for sales on these items.  You can also use tricks like making a base bead in white (or another color) and encasing it with your pricey glass to use as little of it as possible.
• If you need a certain color and your favorite vendor is out, I recommend browsing the selection at other sites because occasional someone will even still have out-of-production colors!
• There are other brands of glass beyond those I have listed above.  I have not had enough experience with them to yet form an opinion but I highly recommend that you get samples of anything that interests you and test them out!

As far as vendors go, Mountain Glass is by far my favorite.  The guys there are fantastic at helping you find what you need and letting you know immediately if something is out of stock.  They also ship very, very quickly.  They have soft glass sales every month, as well as a weekly special.  They are located in North Carolina, but are preparing to open a West Coast facility this year as well. If you are looking to upgrade a kiln or torch, I very much recommend talking to them, because they will be more than happy to help you figure out what you need (without trying to sell something you don't need).  I happily give them my business whenever possible.  

Howaco has the best non-sale prices on Effetre that I have found anywhere.  Her prices are extremely good at all times.  Another bonus of this vendor is that you can buy a single rod of glass so that you can test a color before ordering more.  Note that this is a smaller shop, so that it can take a little more time for her to process and ship your order (especially if you are ordering a ton of single rods, as each has to be labeled before being packaged up).

Devardi is my staple for inexpensive tools and certain colors of glass (as well as bundles of cheap glass for dabbling).  They also have excellent customer service and very quick shipping.

For whatever reason, when I was scanning through images of Viking Age beads on Unimus.no, I fell in love with this little yellow stripey one from Kaupang.  Honestly, I do not much even care for the color yellow, but this bead fascinates me
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I was pleasantly surprised when going back over the Birka material (below left, grave 56) that I found the same style of bead depicted there as well, and again in the finds from Møre og Romsdal (below right).

Now I am looking carefully at everything in hopes of finding yet more of these!

And yes, I will be finishing my post on glass sources this week.  I also barely got to work on beads this last weekend because I was busy installing better ventilation in my workspace.  Breathing is important ;-)