Shire 12th Night was a very nice event. I had a wonderful time sitting and spinning and doing fiber stuff with lovely ladies, and even got to reconnect with a college professor. Yes, I even did some European dancing!
The image to the left is a book that was sitting at Troll when I arrived. It was beautiful and it was also edible. Yes, that book, pages and all was cake. Excellent, wonderful cake. It was the King Cake for the event, and the individual who found the bean hidden in the cake was the King or Queen of Misrule for the event.
The image to the left is a book that was sitting at Troll when I arrived. It was beautiful and it was also edible. Yes, that book, pages and all was cake. Excellent, wonderful cake. It was the King Cake for the event, and the individual who found the bean hidden in the cake was the King or Queen of Misrule for the event.
I was asked to do decorations for feast for the event, so I had Rosamund du Grasse assist me with cloving oranges and assembling centerpieces for all of the feast tables. Given that I have to split my time between AEthelmearc and Atlantia mundanely, I loved having the opportunity to help out with something for the Shire (given that I cannot attend the regular weekday meetings).
Feast itself was very nice, particularly the mushroom and leek tart and the apple dessert!
There was a competition for subtleties and all things sweet and I reworked my Sheker Burek (taking into account the advice I was given to improve my dough). The dessert was much improved and people ate them quickly and yes, I even got compliments on the dough itself! I "won" the competition because I was the only entrant and got a lovely gift basket with chocolates and gummy fish and also got a seat at High Table (and never sat there before so that was fun).
I had a conversation with someone about my comments regarding the sheeps tail fat that was in the period recipes. That is not easy to come by, and honestly, I am reluctant to use it in a dessert, even though it is supposedly more mild that the rest of the animal's fat. I might, however, try to use lard as a substitute in the pastry dough at some future point to see how that works out.
Feast itself was very nice, particularly the mushroom and leek tart and the apple dessert!
There was a competition for subtleties and all things sweet and I reworked my Sheker Burek (taking into account the advice I was given to improve my dough). The dessert was much improved and people ate them quickly and yes, I even got compliments on the dough itself! I "won" the competition because I was the only entrant and got a lovely gift basket with chocolates and gummy fish and also got a seat at High Table (and never sat there before so that was fun).
I had a conversation with someone about my comments regarding the sheeps tail fat that was in the period recipes. That is not easy to come by, and honestly, I am reluctant to use it in a dessert, even though it is supposedly more mild that the rest of the animal's fat. I might, however, try to use lard as a substitute in the pastry dough at some future point to see how that works out.
This event was a very nice reminder to me that events truly are what you make them. While Pennsic will eternally remain my favorite event, smaller events can be delightful as well. I talked with so many people and got to geek over so many topics. Everyone came with a smile and enjoyed the afternoon with friends and that is a great way to enjoy 12th Night.
I also, finally, got to really "play" with my Christmas gifts from my boyfriend! He gave me a number of extant Viking beads and a spindle whorl. The night before the event I was able to string the beads and after I got home from the event I was able to test out the spinning whorl.
I have to say that it somewhat blows my mind to know that I was spinning yarn with the same whorl someone used 1100 years ago to make their clothes. It is awe inspiring and I am very honored to have these treasures.
I have to say that it somewhat blows my mind to know that I was spinning yarn with the same whorl someone used 1100 years ago to make their clothes. It is awe inspiring and I am very honored to have these treasures.
 The brooch is an extant brooch from Gotland. The beads, except for the small amber beads I use as spacers are all Viking era beads. The large red ones are glass, the smaller orangeish ones are amber and there are three clear ones with large holes and a blue one (the blue and one of the clear I made into pendants as the blue is cracked and I worried it would slip off the string). There are also three tiny beads of solid gold on the strand that do not show well in the photo. |  Extant lead spindle whorl with a wooden shaft made by Mistress Rhiannon of Aethelmearc. The yarn on it is spun from Icelandic ram that I hand combed. |
The last project of my busy weekend was to wash the white Icelandic wool that I purchased for a specific experiment. Hopefully next weekend I will get to start the combing process so that I can complete this work before Pennsic.
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