E-17 at Pennsic, during the off season. Still feels like home. For those who do not know, I have a very sick cat. My baby has been battling a chronic infection for a year and diabetes for 2 months. We have had some very touch and go moments, and some very sweet ones where he is very much himself. We are doing everything we can for him, but I do not know what the summer will bring. He is wonderful, beautiful and amazing and only 8 years old. I do not even know how to begin to handle this.
So what that means is I am taking care of him, like crazy. And showering him with love. I will be staying put in MD for a couple of weeks to give him a break from travel (and to keep him close to the specialist we are working with). That means I might be day tripping a couple of nearby Atlantia events (possibly Dun Carraig this weekend and Highland River Melees next weekend). I am hoping to day trip to an AEthelmearc event (the Lake Augusta Renaissance Festival) in late June if all is going well.
My BF is the most amazing guy on the planet as he let me slip away for a day and night to AEthelmearc War Practice while he did insulin duty for the cat. It was really a needed respite, and I had an amazing time despite my short stay there and the very rainy conditions. I met quite a few of AEthelmearc's wonderful artisans, got to play with a kick wheel (a spinning implement) and totally got to geek out for hours at the A&S display. Court was lovely as it saw a friend's elevation to the Order of Defense and the rest of the time was spent in the company of some really incredible women who likely have no idea how fantastic it was for my spirit to share the evening with them.
To occupy my mind (because I need to keep busy or I will lose it completely), I am plodding along on projects. I have some little things going on (such as making wooden bobbins based on period finds of bone Viking bobbins) and some really interesting weaving things. The most exciting thing was last week when I wove a sample of a fine Z/S twill. Archaeological records often talk about Z/S fabrics (which were less common, but still present, during the Viking Age) but I have never really seen one that is woven in the manner they were in period. Those I have seen were either plied yarns, or had a warp and weft of different types of fiber (such as silk/linen) or were very coarse handspun (where you lose the effect of the weave in the texture of the fiber). Some of the samples I am weaving are fairly fine singles (sett at 30epi), so I took some of the commercially spun warp yarn and used a drop spindle to spin it in the reverse (S) direction. I then blocked that and used it as weft for the sample. Now I at last understand the difference in Z/Z and Z/S. In the photo below the Z/S is on the top of the sample and Z/Z is below it. Very different and it really makes me want to weave some of the Roman Era spin-patterned houndstooth fabric now!
So what that means is I am taking care of him, like crazy. And showering him with love. I will be staying put in MD for a couple of weeks to give him a break from travel (and to keep him close to the specialist we are working with). That means I might be day tripping a couple of nearby Atlantia events (possibly Dun Carraig this weekend and Highland River Melees next weekend). I am hoping to day trip to an AEthelmearc event (the Lake Augusta Renaissance Festival) in late June if all is going well.
My BF is the most amazing guy on the planet as he let me slip away for a day and night to AEthelmearc War Practice while he did insulin duty for the cat. It was really a needed respite, and I had an amazing time despite my short stay there and the very rainy conditions. I met quite a few of AEthelmearc's wonderful artisans, got to play with a kick wheel (a spinning implement) and totally got to geek out for hours at the A&S display. Court was lovely as it saw a friend's elevation to the Order of Defense and the rest of the time was spent in the company of some really incredible women who likely have no idea how fantastic it was for my spirit to share the evening with them.
To occupy my mind (because I need to keep busy or I will lose it completely), I am plodding along on projects. I have some little things going on (such as making wooden bobbins based on period finds of bone Viking bobbins) and some really interesting weaving things. The most exciting thing was last week when I wove a sample of a fine Z/S twill. Archaeological records often talk about Z/S fabrics (which were less common, but still present, during the Viking Age) but I have never really seen one that is woven in the manner they were in period. Those I have seen were either plied yarns, or had a warp and weft of different types of fiber (such as silk/linen) or were very coarse handspun (where you lose the effect of the weave in the texture of the fiber). Some of the samples I am weaving are fairly fine singles (sett at 30epi), so I took some of the commercially spun warp yarn and used a drop spindle to spin it in the reverse (S) direction. I then blocked that and used it as weft for the sample. Now I at last understand the difference in Z/Z and Z/S. In the photo below the Z/S is on the top of the sample and Z/Z is below it. Very different and it really makes me want to weave some of the Roman Era spin-patterned houndstooth fabric now!
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