Pink Leader's Pontifications

Foods and Feasts 2009

2009-11-30T02:38:59Z

Had a grand time at Jamestown this Thursday and Friday.

Thursday I worked at the Devon Oven with Maryon the staff. She made the bread dough and I fired the oven with Isaac's help, and we all talked to visitors. Sadly I got the oven too hot so the bread was a little extra crispy on the outside and a bit gooey on the inside. I think if we had made smaller loaves, like the pea bread biscuits, then they might have been okay, or if we did a pie or something, but alas we got slightly burnt bread instead. sigh.

Friday I got to work in the big Barracks/4-Bay with staff member Elisabeth and some other company. Again I had Isaac's help at the fire, also with preparing the herbs for the Herb Cheese tart. Paul was excellent at minding the rabbit on the spit and keeping our fire going. We also did a Turkish Dish of Meat, finished baking the Pork and Apple pie from Thursday, roasted some tasty ribs, and I tried Sandy's pie crust technique to prepare a dough ball in the afternoon the staff could use on Saturday with the extra cheese I brought and left.

I only snapped a few pics, but got some nice ones.
A cobweb found on the laundry station:

Laura with her wonderful Governor's House display:

The adorable Griffith's:

Tom helps with our Hog Friday:

My arms and hands are finally recovering from the work at Jamestown. From rolling out Sandy's pre-made pie crust from Mousehole, to opening the lids on the iron kettles, to making another crust in the afternoon for use on Saturday, the arms and hands were really stiff and sore. Thankfully Alan drove us home and I could nap the whole way.

History is fun

2009-11-25T21:07:14Z

For the next three days we are headed down to Williamsburg to volunteer at Jamestown Settlement for their Foods and Feasts event. We'll definitely be there Thursday and Friday, but Saturday is up in the air. Thankfully the weather report is dry and positive.

Then on December 10th we are headed up to Plimoth for the Jacket's Grand Reveal. The invitations are gorgeous, I gasped when I first opened the envelope from the mail, and I can't wait for the party. It will be nice to see some of the hard workers again, in addition to the Vega showgirl sparkly glory that is the jacket. No flash photography is allowed, but I'll see if I can get permission and my camera to take some pictures, and maybe even a short video of the jacket in motion.

I also finally got more tokens for fundraising. I'm sorry I missed some folks at Holiday Faire for sales. If you want a cast bird or butterfly for the holidays, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thank you to everyone who have been so supportive already.

easier?

2009-11-25T19:43:39Z

Sometimes you gotta wonder at new technology making our lives "easier." Really, it is just the adaptation to the new piece. The iPhone has made my world a ton easier in many ways since getting it. But moving over to my new laptop has proven a bit of a pain.

Download iTunes, sync phone, can't sync apps as will overwrite the ones on my phone with nothing. Bug Alan. He remembers you have to authorize the new computer to sync with iPhone. Authorize. Still having problem with apps. Ah, apps won't come off phone onto PC, you have to re-download them to the new machine (free of charge, but still!) and then go from there. I couldn't find a quick button that let me go into my purchase history to redownload just those apps. argh!

Okay, I finally get my iPhone working with the new machine okay, so I go to transfer my old files to the new machine. No problem. Go to import bookmarks. Argh! I know I exported those bookmarks, where is that file?!?! Dammit. Give up and eat soup.

Not to mention the insane Windows Update install stall that occurred overnight after purchase that locked it up for what seemed like a day. blech. And I think it was doing another update last night that locked me out showing there was power but nothing loaded to the screen. Windows 7 was supposed to be easier. Need to look into some settings and maybe un-automate some stuff. Wait, was that set to automatically update at 7pm? What a stupid time, I need to change that. sigh.

Easier? Not yet, but hopefully soon.

At least it has been distracting me from embroidering/sewing, which I'm not sure is a good thing anymore... At least the laundry is done.

PS: the Moroccan meatball and squash soup was very good, and we have leftovers. yum! All thanks to Chris, our non-Frances long term guest.

Although Ladybug was very distressed and confused at the prolonged activity in the kitchen. What is he doing and what are those smells?!?

34

2009-11-23T04:05:16Z

I've decided that Sunday birthdays are the best.

I got to take Friday off work to give myself a three day weekend and indulged myself in; sleeping in, a massage, shoe shopping and new made-in-America kicks for dog walking, a late lunch reading by myself, a nap, and then Indian food for dinner.

Saturday was more sleeping in, a liesurely trip to Holiday Faire for fun visiting, early birthday wishes, and a little shopping. After getting home and walking the pup we settled into the basement to introduce Chris (a high school friend and our second longterm guest while he finds a place to live in the area) to the wonder that is Firefly.

Today was the best for my actual birthday. I slept in very late and Alan brought me breakfast in bed, cold Diet Coke, mango sausages and eggs with Gouda. Then I got to check FB and pet the dog while he cleaned up the kitchen. :) We went out shopping to ultimately get me a new laptop (pink Viao!) look at other fun electronics, get noms for the pup and coffee for himself. I managed a quick nap before we took off to the Snuggery at the Old Brogue to see Iona with Beth Patterson in concert, which was awesome. The bangers and mash were tasty, the Irish Whisky cake with Jameson's ice cream is almost worth the drive alone, but the music was great fun too.

And the evening has been topped off with a visit from the Morgensterns who also brought apple pie and oatmeal cookie dough. Fresh warm pie with ice cream then fresh warm cookies and then fun conversation makes for an evening of win.

And now I think it is time for bed. Must remember to turn back on the alarm for tomorrow.
(I just wish said new laptop would come back from the Windows Update it thinks it is doing. Sigh.)

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

I <3 Theo

2009-11-16T20:53:48Z

Looking forward to my massage with Wendy OTMH on Friday.

Home

2009-11-14T16:23:11Z

Last night I took a break from the embroidery to relax into the heating pad for a bit and then attack the mail-avanche in the foyer. Paperwork purged I went to bed with a flexeril and slept for 9 hours, finally waking up to a pup desperate for a walk. We've now had our 1.5 mile mosey and sniff and she's all crashed out on the living room floor.
I should make the guest bed, spend some time cleaning the sewing room, and head out to yoga, but the snoozing Ladybug has powerful sleep vibes.
I hope folks are having dry fun at the tourney today.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

decisions...

2009-11-13T17:59:38Z

When I woke this morning all I could think of is that I need to figure out some stretches or yoga specifically to counteract the head/neck/shoulder stiffness created from my embroidery. I already do weekly chiropractor visits for maintenance, but when working with the frame while sitting on the couch watching TV I'd need an adjustment each night before bed. I'm obviously addicted to this project, so I need to look into ways to make the going easier for the remaining 1000 hours or so this will likely take. (okay, I hope I speed up some over time, but that's a conservative estimate.)

So I've been thinking of Google searches to run. Stitcher's stretches? Yoga for Needlework? A quick search brought up this link for How Yoga Helps Stitchers, which deserves a closer look, but not much else. It is the hunching over of the back, but then the drawing back of the shoulders to hold the frame up that is a battle. We even joked at the Plimoth jacket stitching sessions that we needed mandatory yoga/stretch breaks because it was so easy to get engrossed and forget to pause and stretch.

And then I check my email and see this in my inbox from Blue Heron Wellness, the place I go for acupuncture:

Yoga for Shoulder & Neck Pain with Debbie Jensen

Join Debbie to explore the shoulder and neck - development an understanding of the anatomy and learn how to use yoga to resolve, reduce, and prevent pain in shoulder, neck, upper back and head. Let Debbie's clear, knowledgable approach empower you to control of your body!

Saturday, Nov.14, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Boy, doesn't that sound like just the thing? It's like seeing the Grail shaped beacon.

But, I was planning to make an appearance at the Tournament of the Lily on Saturday. And then I see the cold rain at my window. But it should be mostly dry by then. And still likely muddy. It's not like I've made anything special for the event, nor was I planning to attend feast. Alan's committed to going for the rapier portion, but that means he'd be on another separate field from the pomp, etc.

View Poll: Yoga-Lily

Carol Hannah Like

2009-11-11T21:58:35Z

Since Gordana is out and not showing at Bryant Park, I think I'm left pulling for Carol Hannah for the win. Here's my look back at her designs.

Some interesting ideas, cute dress without the belly band and jacket, and a pretty neat dress with terrible styling.

gorgeous with awesome textures, good ideas with terrible color, and a classic Matrix costume.

Classic, lovely, sophisticated and surprisingly understated for satin, sequins and feathers.

Palm Beach perfection, cute LBD with trimming twists, and a lovely if monochromatic gown.

I can definitely see her style and taste progression through the season. It is also easy to see how she went with some of these ideas and used them and refined them in her Bryant Park Collection, both her color palate and her draping, twisting, braiding, trimming aesthetic. I think I like it above the other two collections, and she seems sweet and genuine, so I'm pulling for her to win.

what priorities?

2009-11-11T21:25:03Z

This is randomly my calendar image for November.

With luck the jacket will become a small tourist attraction. ;)

I really need to visit the chiropractor tonight. My back between my shoulders is all locked up, and has been for a few days. My arms are also a little sore, and my hands are a tad stiff. I should have taken a break from embroidering last night, but I just couldn't. I wanted to finish the bee-butt, and then it was too easy to move on to the head, eyes, antennae and legs. I still need to do her wings for her to be complete. I should take a break tonight and do laundry and relax, but I probably won't. It is like a drug, but I need to pace myself for the long-term addiction. Anyway, this was the progress on my embroidered nightcap as of Monday night.

I've mapped out the colors for many of the motifs, mostly the main flowers and some of the main bugs, but not all. Most of the bugs will be on a whim as I come to them. but I want to be sure to balance the colors correctly, not too much yellow near gold or red near redde. I should have enough of the colors of both GST and Soie Perlee in stock, but I'll likely need more of the gold passing for the vines and rose centers. If I was smart I would have measured how much went how far when I did the test pomegranate, but I didn't. Opps.

I spent some of the weekend cleaning the house, mainly the floors and putting some piles away, because it was really time. Sadly my sewing room, mail pile and project bench are still in danger of an avalanche, which I should also probably tend to tonight. At least make a path through the sewing room so I can make a canvas bag to use to cover the nightcap on frame when not actively being embroidered. That should help it stay clean and white longer. Of course my serger is still not functional. I meant to run errands on Sunday to get new walking shoes and tend to the foot pedal/serger function problem at Joann's but I took Ladybug to the doggie park instead. grr. (aw, look at the waggedly tail!)
So, what should the priorities be? Embroidery? Cleaning? Laundry? New Shoes? I need to tend to them all, but the embroidery is the most enjoyable and lazy-like on the list.

Gordana Love

2009-11-06T22:02:23Z

gorgeous, lovely, nice textile creation but terrible overall look (I blame Nicolas)

LOVE, nice details and shape, nicely done

Nice enough, beautiful, and horrible but she admitted to being sick

gorgeous, has potential in the skirt and idea, and ethereal

Project Runway Season 6

2009-11-06T21:14:34Z

Poor Francis got to sit through last night's episode of Project Runway with me hurumphing and snorting with derision the entire episode. Being the polite person she is, she put up with it well. Alan knows better and usually flees to the basement or goes to bed instead of watching Project Runway with me.

The designers get to go to the Getty for inspiration! For only half an hour?!?!?!? WTF?!? That must violate some Geneva convention or something. Appalled I was. But then I finished up the episode in a resigned and yet apoplectic rage.

Perhaps my opinion has been colored by reading TLo, but these are a few of the ways they strayed for this transitional season from Bravo to Lifetime:

The Move to LA. It's given more access to celebrity judges, but that has led to some seriously inconsistent judging. We've been sorely lacking in Nina and Kors screen-time and consistency. And obviously all the sunshine is not good for poor Tim Gunn's complexion.
Mood LA: I think I heard that Mood had to set-up a sub-set shop in LA just for this season. I could be wrong, but if so, then that would explain all the lots of money for fabrics and no time for execution. It would make a reasonable bargain for Mood to justify the set-up of a shop to require the designers a bigger budget and the "spend it all!" comments. But then it seems that then they had to insist on these silly time constraints since they weren't doing budget constraints. But then that leaves less time for creativity, and more of a rush/hack job done by some of the designers.That could also possibly explain the preponderance of the black/brown/gray color palate if Mood was more limited than in NYC.
Lame challenges: Again, this could be an off-shoot of the Mood bargain, and the LA setting, but the challenges didn't seem to be terribly interesting. Red carpet dress, maternity dress, beach/surf wear, dress for models, newspaper dress, movie costume, blue(?!), wedding dress overhaul, stage-wear for Xtina, locale inspiration, companion piece, and inspiration again. What happened to the trash/unconventional materials/clothes off your back, tight budgets, redesign a uniform, etc. TLo actually did an entry asking for folks input on what would be good challenges or old challenges to rehash. Tons of suggestions just sitting out there for the producers. Time did state in an interview that there were some legal challenges so they were changing things up as they went, but that doesn't mean they were all tapped out of good ideas.
The Real World-esque overblown drama, or lack there of. "He's so cute!" There weren't any hook-ups. Please. In fact, perhaps it is a reality of the exposure to reality shows that contestants now know they are so watched and therefore remain more guarded from the get-go. Maybe reality TV will be on the way out, but I guess we'll see. But the promos promising DRAMA fell very short. TNT knows drama, LJ knows drama, Lifetime knows only Not-Without-My-Tape-Measure sap drama. sigh.

They had some great contestants that were obviously technically proficient but preferred more details on their designs that were impossible to execute well given the time constraints. I've stayed watching despite the mass bailing of many fans who now just check the blogs and skip the TV airing. I've even enjoyed the new Models of the Runway episodes to get a better feel for the models used. In fact I think I've liked it more than the PR episode beforehand. sigh.

So last night, as they kicked off two designers to narrow it down to the final three, it was painful. I was half afraid they'd keep Christopher since they seemed to respond well to his look, very similar to what he did in the movie costume challenge, but luckily they dissed his stiff skirt. I thought it was a pretty decent entry considering the many missteps he's made recently and I was kinda impressed if not overly so. But the kicking off of Gordana for doing the most beautiful and faithful to the challenge dress was insanity. She's had some serious stumbles along the way herself, but she's recovered amazingly well.

Irina, Carol Hannah and Althea have all been praised in the competition, but I'm just not a fan of Irina's taste, and very much not a fan of Althea's aesthetic (the girls need support! fit them!). If anything Carol Hannah has become my favorite in Gordana's absence, and she does do prettier stuff, and thinks things through well.

So I finally succumb and took a look at the final collections presented anonymously a long time ago.
Irina's Collection, Carol Hannah's Collection, and Althea's Collection yawn...
I'm so tired of skinny black pants/leggings. I'm so tired of neutrals only. I don't need neons (dear god) but the dearth of colors made CH's blue, gold and purple more striking than perhaps they should have been.

I'll watch the finale, never fail, because I'm a sucker, but I'm certainly not excited for it like I was for Leanne and Korto's last season so long ago. So now I look forward to Season 7 of PR (said to already be in the can) with a bit of trepidation. It can't be worse than this season, could it? But if I start watching, I know I won't be able to stop... Sigh. I'll jump off that bridge when I come to it.

Even more Jacket Project news!

2009-11-04T20:55:08Z

First, if you haven't been following the blog, there is a photo reveal of the current progress. So excited I fangirl squeed in my office. The hand woven silk lining is gorgeous, and you get peeks at the sleeve ends and collar.

Must plan a trip to drag Alan to visit his mom around 12/10. Nothing on my calendar at the moment.

Also, Helmut let me know he'd have more birdies to me at the Tournament of the Lily. Oh, the cute widdle birdies! (okay, he might kill me for that...) Those who have already piped up, I'll try to track you down/save you one. Anyone else?

Which ultimately means a little more in the bank for the display/exhibit/preservation of the jacket!

So excited I'm shaking with glee.
Or, I'm having heart palpitations and need to sit down.
Or just go home and work on my own embroidery...

Not quite a bulleted list for Halloween

2009-11-03T22:12:51Z

I've consumed 64 oz of water today, with only one potty break. Throat is dry.

I spent most of Saturday carving pumpkins, tidying the front room, and napping. Sadly I was lazy with the costume- wearing a white tunic, white veil and pale make-up to be a ghost. attack_laurel was much cuter in her pink eyelet dress and black lace jacket. Enjoyed the company for answering the door for the trickle of Trick-or-Treaters.

I dressed Ladybug as a Marine for the evening. Or rather, I put the dog back in her Lil' Devil shirt for a few hours. Devildog? Get it? Ladybug was surprisingly well-behaved with the ToTrs. After the first few, she sat still and was content for someone to pet her to keep her from rushing the door. Good Bug!

Sunday was more cleaning, lounging and embroidering. And napping. I finished my latest little embroidery nibble. Glad I drew it out for a test, because I'm certain after just the drawing that I didn't want to do 4 of these. But the one was fun.

Didn't sleep well on Sunday night. I'll blame too much candy/sugar. Actually it turned out my back was bugging me. I spent Monday night on the heating pad, lacing up my next embroidery project to the fabulous Spanish Peacock slate frame.

Also, our guest rooms will be full now through the holidays. We've got Orlando in the green room for the next 5 months, and an old friend from high school will be in the blue room from 11/14 until he finds an apartment on this coast. I need to warn Blue about that since it is kinda her room.

More Jacket Project news

2009-10-30T17:56:39Z

First of all, I'd like to thank both my wonderful pewter-crafters, ccunning and davew1775 , for making the amazing butterfly and bird tokens. Thanks to their works, my pushy nature, and your generosity we've raised $875 that has gone directly towards the Embroidered Jacket Project at Plimoth Plantation. It's sadly only a drop in their proverbial bucket, but will go towards helping finalize and display the project with the respect it is due. Funds will also go towards proper care and storage once Faith's display time is over.

The question does beg though, who out there still wants either a bird, butterfly or both? I've only got 4 butterflies left in stock, but I know enough pushing will get more created, especially if I annoy my metal workers enough. Leave me a comment to let me know what you want/need.

I was also please as punch to see that the Embroiderer's Story blog has also put out the Roll Call list of participants. There are 81 stitchers, 21 lacers, a host of volunteers who applied just spangles (like our own Captain Oe), and even a list of other artisans including the blacksmith, the weaver, the thread manufacturers, V&A curator, etc. Left off the list are the amazing support staff who provided food (especially in the beginning) and other volunteer coordination. I am humbled and honored to be on the list and have been a part of the project, and you can bet I'll keep spreading the word, and visit it when finally on display more than once.

There are also more geeky posts on the FFT technique and some of the resulting numbers.

Jacket project update

2009-10-27T21:13:00Z

Okay, the embroiderer's story blog has gotten nice and geeky for those scientists and math nerds out there. If you are familiar with the Fast Fourier Transforms technique, you can read about how it is being used to take some of the subjectivity out of identifying different hands in current and extant embroideries. Tricia takes it to the engineers at the University of Michigan's 40th anniversary of the Electron Microbeam and Analysis Laboratory Symposium.
http://thistle-threads.com.mytempweb.com/blog/index.php/2009/10/talking-to-the-engineers/

More geeking out and presentation of samples in this entry:
http://thistle-threads.com.mytempweb.com/blog/index.php/2009/10/geeking-out/

Very exciting to see the data gathered over the project being analyzed. :)

Mousehole 1589

2009-10-27T20:53:36Z

Elizabeth shows knitting tips

I only took a few pictures at Mousehole on Saturday (as I work very hard to keep the camera as hidden as possible) but did capture a few moments such as knitting instruction, Jimmy teaching the newest recruit, and all the ducks in a row.

It was a lovely event, despite the inclement weather. Since it was at least warm whilst it was rainy, we soldiered on and some of the gentlemen even fought some training bouts in the lighter showers. The company was lovely as we took shelter under the two big shades, giving time for nice civilian pursuits such as embroidery, knitting, wood carving, and hand sewing. The food as always was extremely yummy, and I even have some of the left-over tarts in the fridge. Alas there was no left-over duck, because it was tasty and devoured.

We were late to the clean-up on Sunday luxuriating in sleeping in and pancakes and bacon from brunch back at Mike and Kirsten's. The tents were still drying when we belatedly arrived so it wasn't too late, but I did have to carefully pack two pieces of canvas to allow for air flow for final drying in the trucks. Alan then went directly home, and I zipped over to Richmond for Catherine Grace and Ansel's house warming/anniversary party before heading home to rescue the Ladybug from boarding. The party was small but fun, with more amazingly tasty food. The house is gorgeous! I totally want Isaac's room, and have serious envy of CG's sewing room. Loved the GST shrine. I've been carrying mine with me too much to make a nice display of it.

Anyway, great weekend, amazing friends, and yummy food.

Stryker Jr.

2009-10-23T03:26:23Z

So today I wore the closest thing to orange in my closet to welcome Baby Stryker to the world. Yay Team Stryker! 10/22, 6:14am, 8lbs 12 oz, 22 inches long...

And Ladybug has a message for the Stryker pets:

"Welcome to Aunt and Uncle-hood cats and dogs. Remember that the little human boy is part of the pack now too, so be vigilant on his behalf. And keep your toys away from him."

Oh, and by the way Baby Stryker, sorry about the mess. Hopefully we'll have this planet a bit more cleaned up when you're old enough to notice.

Gorgeous Fashion

2009-10-22T19:20:03Z

Tom and Lorenzo (TLo) of Project Rungay fame have a completely addictive blog if you like fashion, Project Runway, Mad Men, Glee, and a few other Bravo or style shows. They also highlight some neat spreads in fashion magazines, and this one from London based Dazed & Confused Nov. 2009 is breathtaking.
http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/2009/10/dazed-confused.html

The stylist took contemporary fashions right from the runways of McQueen, D&G, Galliano, Westwood, and Watanabe and merged them together with a 16th and 17th century aesthetic, some nice backgrounds and interesting props and out popped wow.

gorgeous!

Race for the Cure, MD 2009

2009-10-19T03:18:08Z

So, first I must say that this past week I've been sick as a dog. woof woof. No, it's not H1N1 or the seasonal flu (no persistent high fever, dry hacking cough or body aches), but some respiratory infection affecting my lungs, sinuses, and even ears. I even got a "Man, you look awful!" comment from coworkers on Friday. Certainly not feeling my best
But this Sunday morning was the 5K walk/race for the Cure for Komen MD. Thanks to my many wonderful supporters I raised $1000, which has me pretty surprised and very grateful. So I was torn between being committed to the walk and not wanting to kill myself in the rainy and windy cold weather forecast for the walk. Our instigator Tara brought up the idea of doing the walk in the Columbia Mall instead, which would satisfy the 5K portion of the walk and leave out both the wonderful large group solidarity and the nasty weather. After weighing our options, we decided this was the best path for us.

I am sorry to my contributors and hope they won't mind, but this morning instead of heading to Hunt Valley we headed to the Mall at Columbia and did 5 laps around the mall, with very little window shopping along the way. I found a free pedometer app for the iPhone that counted a lap as .75 of a mile, thus we did ~3.75 miles with taking the stairs (for a change of view) to change floors twice during the walk. We wore our shirts, kept to a good pace, and even saw another set of ladies in their walk shirts doing the same thing. We talked about friends, about cancer being the number one killer in dogs now, treatments, options, and quality of life. It was not what I was hoping for, but it was wonderful just the same doing good with amazing friends. I even remembered to grab my red, gold and black arm band for Courtney from Pennsic to wear in her honor.

Posing by a nice window display

My faithful walking partners.

I do hope to do it again next year depending on the schedule, and will hope for both better health and better weather.

Happiness?

2009-10-16T00:04:19Z

If happiness is a warm puppy, then I should be in the height of bliss.

Personally I'll settle for content, and I'm sure she'd like more noms and noggin rubs. The rain outside makes the fire within all the more welcome.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

KWCS

2009-10-14T19:45:33Z

I had a great time at KWCS in Philly this weekend, due entirely to wonderful friends and interesting classes.

Friday night was a fun dinner and hanging out with Drea and Calli, and the food was delicious. The applewood smoked ham calzone was super yummy.

Saturday I skipped the first class I had on my schedule, but I was moving slow and taking my time. oh well. It allowed me time to chat and visit with folks before settling in for a day of learning.

I really enjoyed the Pleated and Embroidered 16th cent Shirts class. I can see why others might have complaints, but considering the information covered, I thought it was an excellent intro class to the evolution of some shirt construction and basic into to pleatwork embroidery without going into too much mind-boggling technical detail.

I also loved the unintentional companion classes of the Ins and Outs of Extant Garments by Drea Leed, and Working with a Mundane Textile Collection. They showed great examples of extant pieces, some of the problems of recreating exactly from those pieces due to different postures now vs. then, some of the cool details found when taking a close look, what materials to prepare when you have the option to look at extant pieces from a museum collection (pencil, paper, gloves, calipers, markers, scale, etc.) There was also a bit of the lifting of the veil on the state of museum collections, problems with cataloging, the reasons to be as specific as possible in your questions, etc. Both had different foci, but were wonderful classes.

Alas I skipped the V-neck gown class, which I heard was insanely crowded, to sprang geek with Kyle from the East and look at his various attempts to recreate the pink and green argyle garters from the MFA, both playing with scale and patterning. He's on a good path and has an appointment to view them, which I know he'll adore. So cool!

Then I went shopping and got so distracted that I was a tad late to teaching my own class. Oops! Luckily I wasn't too late and since it was the last hour of the day I could go over the hour allottment. I hated that I felt like a monkey on crack when teaching and bouncing all over the place on the details, but did try to cover as much as possible. I wish I had more focus, but there were wonderful folks who asked great questions that let me fill in the blanks that I had skipped over. I was also grateful for the interest in butterfly token sales and that most of my handouts when away. I now only have 4 more butterfly tokens, and another decent donation I need to send up to Plimoth. Whoo!

Saturday night was enjoyable hanging out with the Spanish Peacocks with James and Calli fetching dinner back to the hotel, fun partying with amazing ladies who I rarely get quality time with, not enough sangria, various states of undress, and good times. We stayed up far too late, but had such fun that it was completely worth it. Alas I didn't join in on some of the puppy-piling as I had a slight tickle in my throat I didn't want to share. This turned out to be a very good idea as I've now been home sick and slow for the past 3 days. Bleargh.

Sunday I took the Frauenrock class, which had a lot of great information in it, and loved the aha moments of the hat portion of the hours. Whooo! I then spent the rest of the time hanging out and chatting with folks, and got so distracted chatting and comparing notes with Drea L. that I ended up skipping the Wappenrock class. Rats! Ah well, I hope for the notes to help me out when I get to that stage.

Kit and I took off around 5pm as things wound down, and I blathered to her the whole way home about the different classes I took, what value I got out of them, etc. She had the bright idea of calling Jim and Sandy as we were within 20 minutes of their place when we started thinking food. Though they had eaten, there were leftovers for us and we had a wonderful few hours stopping and visiting with them and chatting. Dinner and fun companionship is far better than the travel plaza we hit on the way up. We even got some beagle love. Made it home around 9pm to crash all too soon.

I realized that some of this pedagogy and putting together of classes for a coherent teachable moment from work has rubbed off on me. I did some mental comparing of classes and where things could be improved, what went right, what gave a good feel and what was a tad off-putting. I need to analyze any future classes I do from this point of view as it seemed some were more enjoyable and exciting than others and most of that has to do with delivery rather than interest in the subject.

Must think further on this, but for now another nap on the comfy couch of doom.

UofA #76

2009-10-05T02:14:43Z

At this 76th session of the University of Atlantia, in the fair Shire of Cathanar, we recognize the contribution of one whose exceptional dedication has been key in maintaining and expanding the University system of the Kingdom. A dedicated teacher and student across the wide spectrum of arts, this gentleman has given freely of his time and energy to serve the University of Atlantia in body and spirit. With fulsome thanks, the Honorary degree of Doctor of Arts of the University of Atlantia is awarded to Master Eldred Aelfwald on October 3rd, Anno Societatis 44.

Attested to and conferred by
Genevieve d'Aquitaine, Chancellor
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So this Chancellor gig isn't all bad. ;) University this weekend was lots of fun. Though the session was small, we happy few had a good time. Muchos Gracias for my many wonderful instructors, and eager students.

Of course making the trip ten times more enjoyable was Jimmy and Kit's fine company. Whether it was our driver keeping us laughing and entertained during the road time, helping me with the load of stuff, my faithful registrar keeping everything on an even keel such that I could kick her away from the table to take some of the rapier classes, and making sure I was up and on site in time. Early risers that they are, they even let me sleep in this morning a bit. Big thanks go to the Cunnings for the fine dinner choice and amazing company for Saturday evenings activities. I even got to meet the cute and energetic Yap Yap.

Good weekend. Perhaps I'll read a bit in bed before crashing out. Although it almost seems a shame to disturb the snoozing pup and snoring husband just to drag them upstairs. :)

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Dreaming

2009-09-30T20:25:43Z

So, looking for a bit of inspiration and also looking forward to next Fall and the Jacket Study Tour, here are some links for some of the items on the agenda.

V&A item number T.228-1994, also known as the Laton Jacket. http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O11095

V&A item number 1359-1900, the jacket that provided the embroidery pattern. http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O15345

The description mentions a third jacket, so I wonder which of these jackets that may be:

T.4-1935 1620’s embroidered jacket: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O110094 -unlikely since it is all black with speckle stitches for shading
T.259-1926 1620-1640 jacket part: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O115757 -unlikely since it is just a portion, but easier to see the back
173-1869 1600-1625 embroidered jacket: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O115772 -unlikely since it is on a silk ground instead of linen
T.70-2004 1630-40 embroidered jacket: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O101730 -unlikely since it is monochrome and a different aesthetic.
T.106:1 to 4-2003 1600-1620 jacket parts: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O86509 -this one would be cool to see in its pieces and fits the right category.
919-1873 1600-1625 jacket: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O80226 -I'd love to see this one, but wonder if the loose fit will rule it out.
Obviously I'd love to see T.124-1938 1630s embroidered jacket: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O110107 and T.843-1974 1630-39 embroidered w/wool jacket: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O115768 but guess the monochrome and wool embroidery will rule them out as well.

http://www.goldenthreads.co.uk/ Golden Threads in the UK is the company that applies the gilt to the Gilt Sylke Twist threads for Access Commodities. I'm assuming this is manufacturer for the behind the scenes tour.

Embroidered Jacket in the Manchester City Galleries- 1610-1620, Accession Number: 2001.131, entirely in grapevines

The Museum of Costume in Bath, with two embroidered jackets, and their Stuart glove collection, though I can only find some of the gloves online. But Elizabethan Costume site says it has these shirts/shifts as well as a lovely jacket with ribbon closures on the front. Regardless of what they have online or not, it certainly looks like a drool-worthy experience.

Royal School of Embroidery in Hampton Court, to see a modern embroidery workshop, and view the large workroom and their collection of textiles as well.

http://www.embroiderersguild.com/collection/index.php Embroiderer's Guild in the UK, owners of the similar patterned panel from the same workshop as the V&A jacket the embroidery pattern was taken from.

This exercise makes me really appreciate those museums like the MFA, V&A, LACMA, etc. who do put massive amounts of their collections online. Also, a part of me likes a full day at the V&A, and a part of me thinks, only a day?

Chivalry or Courtesy

2009-09-30T03:16:29Z

What is the key to a most chivalrous prize that is given? How do we define the different behaviors we witness, and what is worth emulating? There seems to be some confusion amongst both fighters and spectators, so I'm curious how you define these...

View Poll: Chivalrous

academe

2009-09-29T19:59:08Z

Okay, so I've really been trying to think of something to post, but University has been taking up my brainspace.

Oh look, a topic.

The next session of University of Atlantia is this weekend down near Greenville, NC. You can pre-reg online through Thursday, and then on-site starting at 9am. I just hope that my one nightmare of showing up to University without the box of stuff doesn't come true. I mean, shouting "Ding a ling!" isn't as effective as ringing the bell. I've also already had two instructors cancel on me due to health reasons, but I hope that's all. (Update: Argh, a 3rd instructor had to bail. *pout*)

~
I also had to work on Saturday at the Undergraduate Fall Faculty Meeting. We were intending to have a booth where faculty could play with some of the new conferencing features and then register for the training session. No one wanted to play, but we did get quite a few registered for training. The training is required for all faculty who want to teach online or hybrid classes in the Spring. Sensing a target of opportunity, I picked up a stack of our half-flyers, with the URL to sign up for training on it, and went to talk to the folks waiting in the buffet line for lunch. Then I went to the tables in the ballroom to get a few more. Yet more proselytizing, just about a different cause than Plimoth, or Jamestown, or Komen for the Cure, or etc.

Then I spent the rest of the weekend kinda sloth like. I Costco'd, napped, walked the dog, and ordered a pizza for the rest of Saturday. Then on Sunday I slept in, made brunch, read a bunch of Sunshine, even read some Sunshine while basking in the sunshine on the patio (note: I'm a slow reader), napped, walked the dog what I thought was 3 miles but ended up being 2.8, fetched carry-out for dinner, and then made some blueberry muffins. Alas, no cleaning, embroidery, sewing, or even running errands so I can have a working serger foot pedal. Ah well.