A cushion for one of my benches

Camping events always makes you inspired to make more stuff for your medieval camp. And I have now made a bench cushion.

 In 2001, when I made my large tent my stepfather also helped us made a large table and benches, which has been used by both Nylöse and Gotvik, the two medieval groups that I have been member of for many years. They're very sturdy, and easy to take a part.

But it IS nicer if you have a cushion to sit on too. So when I found this embroiderd piece of fabric in a charity shop in the beginning of June I started thinking about making it into a cushion. 

The box, and the towel which you can see a little of was also from this charity shop, Erikshjälpen.

But, for something to sit on you want a sturdier stuffing than for a normal pillow, and I was thinking about what to use. Traditionally wool, cotton batting or feathers would have been a solution.

But then, while at another charity shop last week I saw all the cushions intended for outside furniture, and realized that the easiest way was to take one of those, cut it down, and use it.

And luckily, this Wednesday at Mölndal's second hand I found one that already was the right size.

Since ti would be stupid to have the emboridered fabric all around the cushion - after all the underside gets worn, I used another charity shop find: handwoven flax tow yarn twill, from Lindra Wieselgren.

And here is the finished project, on top of a chest, because the benches are down in the storage, and taken apart, and that would be just too much work just to take a photo,

Apprentice number two

 So, after much thinking, I decided just before I went to Double Wars, to ask my friend Alfhild de Foxley if she wanted to be my apprentice. 

This photo is from the Barony of Gotvik's picnic today, showing us together. Like Branna Alfhild got a painted glass with my badge on it, in the same style as mine, and with her heraldic device on it. 
And she also got a green belt. The leather belt was a gift from my Mistress, Mistress Helwig, upon my Laurelling, and the I bought the pewter buckle and belt end from my frist apprentice, Branna's shop, at Double Wars. This is also the first time I've fitted a buckle and belt end to leather - as they say in Swedish: You learn as long as you have students.

As with Branna, my first apprentice, I didn't, and still don't really know what and how much I can give to an apprentice, with my exhaustion and general bad health. But it appears that both my apprentices want the same thing: help to do more research and scholarly writing, which at least is something that I am good at.

So, overcoming my feeling of inadequacy, I have now asked two talented people, and two friends, to be my apprentices. And both of them said yes. Well, Branna asked me first, but that was years ago, and she could have changed her mind. 

A Laurel-apprentice relationship can take many forms. When I was apprenticed to my Mistress Helwig it was most of all a way to bind us together closer in our friendship. I don't live close enough to her to learn tailoring skills, and research I could already do. It was a way of formalizing the closeness that we've felt since we first met, many years ago,

I think that that is one of the things  that Alfhild's and mine Laurel-apprenticeship is about too. We already do lots of projects together, including holding all A&S meetings and courses in Gotvik. We are not exactly in the same field,  though overlapping, but we support and inspire each other. And as her Mistress I give her a place in my household, a place where she belongs, where she is home. While she lives further away I hope that I can be that for Branna too in some sense.

This photo taken by Margareta Arvidsdotter is an excellent one of me and Alfhild - always talking about different medieval and early modern material culture, and things that we want to make.

The Cocharelli project

 Since a couple of years I have realized that I am not satisfied with making one dress inspired by this wonderful 1330s illumination from Genoa, now at Cleveland Museum of Art - I want to make them all!

Finding striped brocade is very, very hard, so for a first attempt at the red and gold outfit in the bottom centre, I had to settle for much less bold colours. 

More about that outfit here.

But I have now also made the blue, more normal, blue outfit. It is made from blue silk, unlined cotte, and the surcoat lined with silver grey silk. of course, after buying all that silk to line the dress, and lining it, I realized that the blue gown actually isn't lined. Typical North European mistake. Because it looks like dress north of the Alps, I assumed that it would be lined. Well, it will be warmer, which can be nice.

Next on my list is the white outfit. I will probably use fine cotton, which was a known luxury fabric imported from the Muslim East (unlike half cottons or coarser Italian cottons). I also have lot of gold trim to use. However,  this trim bleeds when wet, and a white gown will need to be frequently laundered. I will have to think about that.

My apprentice

 Since it was Double Wars last week I finally got to meet my apprentice Branna - more known as Linda from Handcrafted History in the physical world, and give her the green belt that I was given by my mistress, Mistress Helwig. I had also painted a glass for her. It has my badge on it - the antler with with flowers on each tine - just like my own glasses, and a similar design, to symbolize that she now belongs to my family, but also a raven, which is what her SCA name means.

This is her, with the belt and glass, taken inside my tent the day I arrived. There was also Rotkäppchen, nice German bubbly.

I look forward to many more intellectual, craft-y, and entertaining moments in the future.