SCA: Gulf Wars 2025

So, Gulf Wars was awesome, but I came home and got sick for a week, so this post is a bit delayed…

I just spent nearly a week in the woods in Mississippi. We bugged out a day early to avoid some rather serious storms that were headed that way, and arrived home yesterday afternoon. I’m overwhelmed and tired, but I had an amazing time. 

First, the spoils of war: 

I purchased a new pair of shoes for myself, to replace (a) the old pair of Viking turnshoes that I’ve been kicking around in for like seven years and which are falling apart; and (b) the new shoes I ordered last year which are too tight even after a year and hurt my feet. These new black ones are perfect! 

I also bought three spools of silk weaving thread. I was going to order them anyway when I got home from war, but the merchant was right there on site where I could see the thread in person and chat with her about it. Yay! 

The last thing wasn’t a purchase, but a gift: a beautiful Viking knife with a red leather sheath, given to me by my friends at the Moonlight Madness event in merchants’ row. It’s soooo pretty, I love it so much. 

Activities-wise, I did ALL THE THINGS.  I took classes, saw shows, went to parties, and FINALLY visited the Early Period Life encampment which I’d always meant to do.  I even fed a horse cookie to a horse and petted her fur - which, if you know how long I’ve been afraid of horses, you know that’s a HUGE deal for me. 

All in all, I think the best part of Gulf War was that I stretched myself out and had a great time doing it. I pushed my own boundaries, left my comfort zone to try new things, and it felt good to do. I’m proud of myself. 

I even learned how to naalbind, finally. I’ve been trying to get the hang of it for years and I never could do it, but now I can at least start myself off and make chains. I’m hoping with some YouTube videos I can now teach myself to start off in the round, so that I can make some hats and mittens. 

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So what’s next? Oh boy, just all the things. I have two events to prepare for, another dress to make by hand, a whole bunch of weaving to get done, a broken loom to repair/rebuild (again!), and I’m helping a friend with a woodworking project he’s doing for A&S. Updates soon! 

SCA: Male Viking Tunic Replacement

 I finally made myself a new tunic to go with my male Norse outfit. The last one had seen better days: it started out life as a dress, which I altered, dyed, and finally cut off to make into a tunic. Then it got dyed again, and I switched out the trim on it twice, and I don’t even know how many repairs to this thing I had done. This is what it looked like in November: 

I decided I hated the woven trim, and I was in the process of measuring for new trim when I discovered that the back right shoulder seam had blown out - and the seam allowances inside were utterly shredded, so it wouldn’t be an easy repair. When I found two more destroyed seams in it, I decided to scrap the whole tunic and just replace it. It was time. 

Here is the new one: 

Simpler, and a better color, I think. The tunic is linen, the woven trim is cotton. I seamed this together on the machine, and then felled all the seam allowances and did the finishing/hemming by hand. I cut the side gores much narrower than the ones on the old tunic - they were wider because it used to be a dress - and it hangs better now that there’s not too much fabric. 

While I love the trim I wove for this tunic (Ladoga 2b), I’m not wild about the way the neckline came out. It’s…I don’t know, I just don’t like it much. Maybe it just needs jewelry. 

But all in all, I like the new tunic, I LOVE the color, and I like the fact that my male outfit is complete again -  I can wear it to Gulf Wars next month. Woohoo!  

Now to make myself a new serk…

SCA: Laurels’ Prize Tourney

This weekend was Laurels’ Prize Tourney. It is not a tournament, nor is there any prize - that’s just what it’s called. What it is is a chance to show off your work and sit down with laurels and with other artisans who are interested in the same things and talk about it together. It’s a huge geek fest, and the time I went several years ago was SO much fun. 

This weekend’s event was no different. I met so many new people, and had so much fun talking about stuff I love to do, and about so much more. I learned new things, found new rabbit-holes to head down when I get some free time, and a new appreciation for where I’m at in my work and how far I have yet to go. 

I brought what I’m calling my “Vikings Are Still Cool” display - a little bit of some of the things I do which are Norse-garb-related.  I brought my red hand-sewn dress from Candlemas, the Oseberg loom that I built last year, a whole bunch of tablet weaving stuff, some of the Hedeby bags I love to make, some other sewing items, and some of the jewelry and glass beads that I’ve made. 

Some friends and I drove up together and rented an AirBNB for the weekend, rather than paying for a more expensive hotel room to share.  It was a great little house - I’d never been to an AirBNB before, so it was a new experience for me. 

What’s Next? 

The next SCA event for me is going to be Gulf Wars in March - a weeklong war between two kingdoms, hosted by a third kingdom and attended by several. 

Before then I’ve got to make myself a new serk and a new male tunic; and I’ve got to get started on my A&S project for Bjornsborg in April, as well. And I’ve taken on a weaving commission that I hope to have done in a couple of weeks, too. 

I also have a new regency dress that I’m hoping to get done somewhere in there - it’s high time I had a black mourning gown, I think. 

Lots of things! More on all that soon. 

SCA: Candlemas 2025

 Bryn Gwlad’s Candlemas was yesterday. It was lots of fun - my back and my legs were hurting pretty much all day, so mostly I stayed sitting; but I took a really cool cooking class, watched the costume contest (which was hilarious and really fun), and I got to catch up with so many people I hadn’t seen in forever, which was awesome  

You know what else is awesome? I won the arts & sciences championship with my red and white Norse outfit! I’m SO stoked! This is my first real competition win (I’ve won a couple of largesse competitions before, but never a “real” one).  I completely forgot to take a picture of my display at the event, but here it is on my sewing table at home, all laid out the way I did it at Candlemas. 

Here’s my scroll and medallion - they’re both super cool. I need to get a frame for the scroll, as none of the spare frames I have are big enough for it (and it’s real parchment, so I don’t want to trim it down). 

I got a lot of great feedback from the judges, the baron and baroness, and from friends, on both my outfit and my documentation.  I’m proud of my work, and I can’t WAIT to get started on my next project! 

Today I’m washing all the laundry from the event; and I’m getting ready to start seriously prepping for next weekend, which is LPT.  I have all the pieces together, I just need to do a test run of my display at home, and start packing everything up for next weekend. 

After that…I’d been planning on entering the A&S at Bjornsborg in April - but now I’m seriously considering going to Gulf Wars in March, as well. I’m not sure if I will, it’s a BIG undertaking, but maybe. Lots to prepare for! 

Happy New Year!

I know, I’m late, it’s the thirteenth already. I’ve been busy as heck the last few weeks getting ready for Bryn Gwlad’s Candlemas (February 1st) and Ansteorra’s Laurel’s Prize Tourney (Feb. 8th).  

Candlemas is BG’s big event of the year - everybody puts on the dog and brings their best to the various championships that are held during the day. There’s a marvelous feast in the evening, and an Italian Renaissance ball. It’s really something to see. For my part, I’ve been working on an A&S entry for the event (the red hand-sewn Norse dress I posted about a couple of weeks ago). 

Laurel’s Prize Tourney is not a tournament, nor is there a prize awarded for anything. What it is is a big A&S gathering where you can display your works - a project, a body of work, something you want advice on, whatever you want - and have the opportunity to talk to the laurels and to other like-minded people about your work.  You basically sit at a table, show off your works, and geek out about history with people with similar interests - and it’s SO FUN. I’ve been once before and I had a blast. 

This year LPT is in Oklahoma, so a bunch of us are trekking up there together for the weekend (it’s a one-day event) - picture a minivan stuffed with craft projects and history nerds on a 5-hour road trip, LOL. It’s going to be great. 

So I’ve been getting ready for that, too.  I’ll have more about both events as they get closer, and hopefully some pictures of my various displays afterwards, too. For right now, I’ve got work to do: 

I’m 

• Finishing up some small sewing projects 
• Weaving two projects (three?) 
• Making glass beads
• Organizing and planning my display(s)
• Writing and organizing documentation 
• Planning A&S shenanigans with a friend who is also doing both of these events with me 

And for some reason I’m also crocheting a sweater in my down time, because I guess I didn’t have enough going on at once. AAAAA!! 

Ok, back soon. 

SCA: Some Roman Updates

We have a Roman-themed event coming up in April, so sort of in the background behind all the other stuff I’m working on right now*, I’ve been making some slight alterations to my Roman outfit, which I posted about in April. 

I got a booklet of Greco-Roman themed tablet weaving patterns from Etsy a while back, and used one of the patterns in it create this trim for my blue linen chiton: 

I ordered some new white handkerchief-weight linen and made it into a new palla - four yards long, nearly two yards wide. I hemmed the edges by hand and then embroidered this little toothy gold edge design all the way around it. 

I also made a new blue sash to wrap around the whole thing, as the dark gray just wasn’t working for me (it was kind of boring).  The blue is much better. 

I also ordered these adorable little wire fibulas, which I’m using to close my brown linen peplos (made for my Iron Age outfit in June, but I’ve since had to scavenge the blue apron for use in another project, and the under dress ripped and wasn’t reparable, so all I have is left of the IA outfit is this brown peplos, which will be pressed into service as a Roman peplos in April).  

Now. Is tablet weaving period for Ancient Rome? No. Is edge embroidery? Who knows? Both mimic the look of whatever trim they DID use, though, and it’s fine. I like chasing period accuracy in my Norse wear, but since this is a one-off event, I’m just going for “looks good” and not necessarily 100% accurate. I’m fine with it, and I love the way the outfit looks. 

*Meanwhile, I’ve got February to prepare for: both Candlemas (A&S) and Laurel’s Prize Tourney, a week apart.  LPT is not a tournament, and there’s no prize - it’s a display-only event whose entire focus is to be able to sit down with the laurels and talk shop like a bunch of geeks, and it’s SO FUN. I can’t wait to go - but I have a LOT of work to get done for both events in the next four weeks. Wish me luck! 

SCA: The Hand-Sewn Viking Project, Part II: Red Apron Dress

 I decided to make myself a hand-sewn Norse “apron dress” to go with the white serk I made by hand back in August. There was a whole grand plan there in the beginning; but I kind of made the serk and then dropped the idea for a while. I don’t know why it’s red -  99% of my SCA wardrobe is in shades of blue, but for some reason I just needed a red one this time. I never wear red..?

Anyway, the fabric is linen, and all the weaving and decorative bits are in 8/2 cotton weaving thread. Aside from the material choices, this dress is as close to period as I can get it with my current knowledge, from the patterning to the stitches used to the decoration. 

Tablet woven trim 
and a red and yellow “Hedeby braid” over the seams

The Hedeby braid - diagram and close up photo of it in situ 

The Hedeby dress fragment - the braid is positioned over the seam on the left side of the piece 

I used a backstitch for the seams, finished the seam allowances with a whip stitch, and used the herringbone “Osenstitch” (Inga Hagg’s term) for the hem

A silk ribbon folded over the top edge of the dress, with tablet woven trim based on the Oseberg “narrow band” design

I made the dress ankle length this time, to see how a longer dress feels to wear - I like it much better than the calf-length apron dresses I normally make; I feel like it’s much more flattering. I also made the straps and loops verrrrry thin this time, just because I like a thinner strap. The whole project took me a little over a week to make, about 28 hours total, I think. 

I’m super pleased with the way this came out, and I plan to wear it at Candlemas in February. That’s a long time to wait! 

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Meanwhile, I have some A&S stuff to get cracking on for the new year, and I have another hand-sewn dress in the planning and scheming stages. More soon! 

SCA: BAM Shenanigans & Updating my Roman Outfit

War of the Rams ended up being a total bust for me. I hurt my back on the first day, and was basically stuck in a chair at camp the entire weekend - I didn’t get to go anywhere or do any of the activities, or even see people I’d been looking forward to seeing. I was pretty bummed about that. I didn’t even get any pictures. 

However, I did wear a blue jean  “cowboy viking” outfit on Friday that I made as a joke, and got a bunch of good laughs out of it. I don’t have a pic of me in it, but here it is on my mannequin: 

Isn’t that ridiculous? I wore it with cowboy boots and a red bandana over my hair. There were several double-takes, and a few people busted out laughing when they saw me, hehe. Silliness. 

I also bought this gorgeous new mug for myself while I was there. It’s a hand made and hand painted pottery in a loosely Greco-Roman design, and one of a kind - I couldn’t pass it up! 

Speaking of Roman, I found out that the Bjornsborg spring event this coming year will be Roman-themed, hooray! I love wearing Roman, and the weather then should be perfect for it.  I decided to upgrade my kit a bit this month, starting with a new sash to tie around my body (it's blue; the old one was dark gray and I didn’t like the way it went with the light blue chiton). 

This week I treated myself to a pdf booklet of Greek- and Roman- inspired tablet weaving patterns from Etsy (some traditional “Greek key” designs, and some patterns inspired by the geometric designs in floor mosaics and frescoes), and I made up this one in blue and white cotton: 

Once it was done, I sewed it onto the top edges of my linen chiton, to dress it up some. (Decorative trim on these things IS period,  but tablet weaving itself is NOT…but I’m not worried about that, I’m not going for exacting historical accuracy with my Roman, I just want something approximate and *pretty* to bang around in at the event).  

That’s all for now.  At the moment I’m working on two pieces: a new palla for my Roman outfit, and a hand-sewn Norse smokkr for an event in January. More on that soon!