*WHEW*

Well, I'm back from my very first Gulf Wars!  It was EPIC.  I didn't get to any of the classes I wanted to attend, didn't get to watch the horses, or the dogs, or the jousting - but I danced a bunch, walked with my baroness in the opening ceremonies procession, single-handedly won the shopping war point for Ansteorra (lol), met a ton of cool folks, had a blast at camp and at some parties, and took a LOT of pictures.

I'll put up a link to a full album this week (as soon as I get all the pics sorted and edited properly), but for starters, here are a few of my favorites:

Vasilii in his baronial war company
tabbard and his Russian stuff - and a new hat! 

me in my new blue linen, at the opening ceremonies

Azaleas everywhere in Mississippi! 

the site was *gorgeous*

as was the entire state of Louisiana.  I seriously wish I lived here. 

More later, when I get alllllllll the war laundry and unpacking done!


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*omg*

True to form, I f*d up and forgot to ask someone to take pics of Vasilii and I in our court gear (green opashen, blue velvet transitional gown), after realizing that my camera's battery was dead.  FAIL.

I do, however have this picture:

That would be Vasilii and I getting our AOAs together...at the event which marks our 1-year anniversary in the SCA, from a K&Q whom we both absolutely adore and admire!

If pics of either one of us in our outfits surface online today from the event, I'll share them here.



*

I found one!  Isn't he hot?  Nom nom.

Meanwhile, bardic was awesome, although I displayed without competing because I'd forgotten my spoken piece...except I found it later in the afternoon in my music folder. D'oh!  Guess it just wasn't meant to be.  The Candlemas Candle Dance performance went swimmingly, feast was amazing, I got my arms registered, I had tons of fun sitting gate in the morning, I made new friends, I dance my ass off in the evening before court, and I got to entourage for the B&B during court for the first time, which was really neat.  And then, you know...AOA.

Squee!!   :o) 

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Тада!

The opashen is finished!  And it looks fabulous with a  Far Side t-shirt and camo shorts, don't you think?  LOL.



Yay, yay, yay.  It fits wonderfully, and came out exactly as I'd planned, and Vasilii loves it.  The front edge still needs to be pressed flat, but it's done!


This is definitely court-only or outdoor-cold-weather clothing. It was 80º today. In January.  

Opasheni were worn with the arms through the sleeve-slits, as shown above, usually when the garment was buttoned up; or just draped over the shoulders like this second picture. \


I should have taken a picture of him walking around in it, with all that fabric catching a breeze and rippling out all around him.  Very Darth Vader-y.  :)

oooh, shiny. 

Olive-green microfiber "wool", a metallic jacquard fabric trim, gold flat braid, black gimp bars on the front, and Russian double eagle crest buttons.

Opashen [---------------------------90%------]

The opashen for Vasilii is almost done!

This is where it stood as of Saturday.  It's actually completely finished now, except for the collar, which I'll do tonight.  Yay!

And, just because I forgot to post it before, here's a shot of the hand-stitched lacing eyelets on the front of that green linen gown.  26 of them, oy!  It looks and works great, though. Love it love it.

Ха!

Take THAT, opashen sleeves!

I kept putting the trim around the slits inside-out.  Derp. 

The body of the thing is now sewn together, the hem is leveled, and the sleeve slits are trimmed have the first layer of trim on.

Whew!  Stupid sleeve slits. I swear. A lot.

That black and gold trim  is going to go around the bottom of the sleeves, and the hem of the coat, too, but first:  THE COLLAR.

**DRAMATIC DANGER MUSIC**

Actually, everything from here on out is cake.  Cake, and a lot of hand-stitching, once I get to the final bits, but, that's a story for another day.  

Meanwhile, it took me an hour and a half tonight to get those slits done and the body sewn together.  So I'm going to bed.  

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Более Россия вещи (More Russian Stuff)

With my outfit for Candlemas halfway finished, it's time to start working on Vasilii's as well.

You remember Vasillii...

We're slowly but surely cranking out more stuff for him for the upcoming war in the spring.  We're both going to need plenty of clothing for the week-long event.  He's up to here with shirts, and we're getting there on pants.

This red shuba, though, is his *only* court wear!   That's no good at all.

Radzivill Chronicle - 15th Century, via Sofya la Rus' website 

So, we're working on an opashen, which is a long (calf- or ankle-length) coat.  It buttons up the front, and the sleeves are nearly as long as the coat itself, and slit in the front so you can put your arms through the slits.  Opasheni were also worn without the arms in the sleeves at all, sort of like a cloak.

via Anglesey's online photo gallery

Here's a picture of one in the SCA, worn by then-king Vladimir of Atlantia...which I find utterly hilarious, considering how much he and Vasilii resemble each other.  I really hope they meet at war in the Spring, and that I'm there to see it.  "Hey!! You can't be the big blonde Russian,  *I'm* the big blonde Russian!"   And then the universe would implode. LOL.







Vasilii's opashen is going to be a soft, olive green "wool"  (it's actually a somewhat loose and fuzzy microfiber, which looks and feels like wool, but without the price, the itchiness (I'm allergic), the weight, or the heat).  I'm going to be using the brown faux-fur on it that I used on his shuba, as well as a gorgeous gold-and-black lightweight brocade we found that looks just smashing with the olive green "wool", in the trim and other little decorative accents.  I'd like to try to find some really pretty, high-relief braid to use for the button loops and bars down the front, and I found some really GREAT buttons to go with the outfit, with the Russian double-eagle on them!

 ♫  fabulous ♫

I also have a surprise for him, but since he reads this blog....


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Василий Алексеев

WHEW!  The Fall baronial event was A W E S O M E.  I'm still sorting through photos and things, so I'll update about that soon, but in the meantime...

As promised, here's a quick run-down of the stuff I've made for my b/f, Vasilii Alexeev, a 15th century nobleman from eastern Russia: 

Vasilii's striva, or long undershirt (the neckline of which is not really correct; but e'll get to that in another post)...and pants.

Armpit gusset in the shirt that goes all the way down to the hem of the shirt (instead of just being a little diamond- or square-shaped insert in the armpit).  Classic Russian?  No. But it does give him a great range of movement for fighting. 

His shuba, which is a "light weight," fur-lined, knee-length coat, open at the top and closed below the waist.  Fur-lined? In Texas??  Hell no.  But I did trim the sleeves, hem, and front opening so that it looks like a fur lining peeking out.

With a faux-fur blanket I picked up on clearance at Target for $6, by the way.  Score! 

A close-up of the front button placket, trim, loops, buttons, and a tiny bit of the faux-fur "lining" peeking out. 

The "lining" is a bit thicker and fuzzier at the sleeve cuffs and around the lower hem of the shuba.

Vasilii can has hat. Same blanket-fur on the band.

While Vasilii's court gear is primarily red, black, and gold, most of his fighting stuff is dark blue.This is just a simple, long over-tunic, not embellished. We keep meaning to get around to dressing up the front placket and the cuffs/hems...

 ...






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Vasilii Can Has Hat

[This was posted on my DIY blog July 2011;  just copying it over]

Raise your hand if you're one of those people who can work on ONE project at a time, from start to finish, before you start another one?

♫♪♫

That's what I thought.  So, if case the lack of posts this week didn't clue you in, I stopped working on the living room for a bit.  Got all wrapped up in sewing.  Thought I'd introduce you to my other hobby today, just for something different.  I'd mentioned it, but I don't think I'd posted anything here about it, aside from the cooler cover I made earlier this year.

Kress and I spend quite a ridiculous amount of time with the Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA (a pre-1600 historical reenactment society).  I find it QUITE awesome, since I'm a lifelong costume geek!


Kress' persona in the "game" is Russian, 15th century - and this is a hat I made for him last night.

It's made from scraps from a damask table runner given to me by a friend, and trimmed with faux-fur cut from a throw blanket I got from Target on clearance in January for six dollars.  I'm not even kidding.  I bought a white one, too.

The pieces are easy to shape:  take the circumference of the head and divide by however many "sides" you want the hat to have.  This hat has four, and Kress' head is 24" around.

From the top of his ears to the top of his head is 5" - I added an extra inch for ease, hem, and so there'd be a small point on top.

So, I started out with four 6x6" squares, and cut the arched sides by hand.  I started wide, fitted the pieces to his head, and then brought the side seams in - the steeper the angle, the more fitted the hat.  If the arch is too wide, the hat will end up being square on top, like a box.

Here are two sides put together, which is half of the hat.

As I said, I drafted the pattern myself based on Kress' measurements; but in case you were wondering, I learned about the construction of this type of hat in the first place by reading  Sofya la Rus' excellent and well-researched website on historical Russian costume and recreation.

 I made the lining first, to fit to his head, then used one of the lining pieces to make a paper pattern that I can use again, and then to make the upholstery pieces.  Always, always, always make a paper pattern.

The fake-fur band is 2" tall, 28" long, and sewn between the outer and lining layers, then folded to the outside.

I also tacked the top of the band to the body of the hat on the outside, underneath the fur trim, to keep it from folding down while he's wearing it, so he doesn't have to worry about whether it's staying in place, or walk around court looking like a doofus. :)

I already have ideas for improving the design and the fit for the next time I do this...but that's a story for another hat.





Tada!  I'd never made a hat before, aside from simple hoods and veils and elastic shower-cap type things.  This was fun!  And really quick, too - only took about an hour and a half.


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