No pictures for these...sorry!!

Thing 20 - Almond Tart
This is what I'm going to be making for NS Coronation's feast A&S competition. A couple dry runs are good things!! I got the recipe from Traveling Dysshes by Siobhan Medhbh O'Roarke & Cordelia Toser (thanks for the book ladies!!). I used the redaction by Cordelia, but I will need to work on out for myself for the competition. Here is the original recipe:

Blanch almonds & beat them , & strain them fine with good thicke Creame. Then put in Sugar & Rosewater, and boyle it thicke. Then make your paste with butter, fair water, & the yolks of 2 or 3 Egs and so soone as ye have driven your paste, cast on a little fine sugar, and rosewater, and harden your paste afore in the oven. Then take it out, & fill it, & set it in againe, & let it bake til it be wel, & so serve it.

The only thing I didn't have (and couldn't find at my local grocery store) was rosewater, but I will make a point of getting some for the next go. I took this to Lupercalia this weekend, and subjected my innocent friends to try it - to positive reviews! So looking forward to coming up with my own redaction.

Thing 21 - Focaccia bread
At Lupercalia, I took a basic breadmaking class (since it never hurts to have a simple recipe!) and made 2 loafs of herbed focaccia bread. Very fun and easy to do! We didn't use a set recipe, but just did things by "feel". I never really did this much before so I was happy to get a bit of guidance by the class's teacher. It turned out really nicely, and it was great to have fresh, warm bread at an event.

Thing 22 - Breadsticks
I made breadsticks to build on the bread class from Saturday. Used the same recipe as the class, but brushed on a bit of olive oil mixed with garlic powder. Yummy right from the oven, but a bit hard and crunchy the next day. They went great with spaghetti though!

In case people are interested, I have setup a separate blog for my A&S 50 Challenge. You can find it here: Anpliça’s A&S 50 Challenge.

Two pictures of my finished belt! I included a very simple design in the weave in tan. Click on the image here to get a bigger one.

More than one way to get some A&S 50 projects done...

the first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! my choice for you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make you.
- What I create will be just for you.
- it will be done this year.
- you have no clue what its going to be. it may be a story. it may be poetry. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to create something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well.  We all can make stuff!

I am making good progress on my embroidered bookbinding. The blue is all done in my device, and I've started on the cinquefoil - but I am not happy with the way it looks. I'm thinking I'll have to rip it out and redesign it so it's more even. But even so it's good for me to see the progress.

I have also started researching #2. I have one book - English Embroidered Bookbindings by Cyril Davenport, and have another coming via ILL. A third book, and the one that looked the best to me, was denied by the requested library. *pout* But I'll try getting it again - see if someone else has it available. I have no idea what the design will be yet, but will be working on silk fabric in silk thread. Should be pretty and nice.

(for more pictures of the event, go to the Northshield Gallery.)

I had such a good time this weekend at the Griffin's Needle Challenge!!! I was wonderful to see everyone working so hard and so well together on their various projects. My team, The Persian Griffins, worked very well together, and we completed just about everything we worked on. We created two BRIGHT outfits, one for me and one for my fighter, Jonns Gunnarson. The only thing that didn't get finished was my outer coat - it needs to be hemmed and a closure added to it.

The biggest lesson we learned for next time it to make a mock-up of the garb before the "real" version. My under coat was way too tight, & even after making a second attempt at it, it pulled a lot across my chest. Since I will be wearing this outfit to Coronation next month, I am planning on making middle layer before then. I think it'll be longer so it will cover the shift and show under the over coat better.

I am already looking forward to next year's competion, & am even thinking about attending the Middle Kingdom's Golden Seamstress competition in the Winter. We'll see just how crazy I'm feeling at that point. :)

I had some fun today with makeup today for makeup. Since we are going all out on the outfits, figured I should also do the proper makeup for Persian. :) Enjoy the fun! LOL

7:00 - Dog got me up to let him out. Not the best way to wake up, but not unexpected.

7:05 - Fell back asleep

9:30 - Hubby called and woke me up. Love him! After that phone call, started reading Blood of Flowers by Alica Amirrezvani. It's very good and evokative about a young lady growing up in Safavid Persia. Once I finish it, I'll write a proper review.

11:00 - Got a call from spot1111 to see when I was coming over to make cord.

12:00 - Arrived at Sorcha's with fried chicked for lunch. YUM! After eating, we got down to business. We made lots and lots of cording to use for button loops and trim in the Griffin's Needle Challenge next week.

During the day, I think we probably made 40+ yards of cording with her rope maker. Love it!! I may have to find one all for myself. It's a great way to make a cord and much quicker than fingerloop braiding. My big toe thanks her greatly for saving it from getting the blood cut off to it from fingerlooping. :)

7:30 - Came home and just beat the hubby home. He was in Wausau for work since Friday. Good to see him and try and find something worth watching on TV for the evening. But Strawberry Daiquiris help with that. hehe

Persian garb is started to be sewn together. I need to cut out a bit of facing for the neckline, or else line the whole thing. I need to decide this pretty quickly, as it will matter for putting together the body with the sleeves & side gores. Any input is welcome. It's a v lightweight linen blend, and will basically just for summer camping. I am also planning on at least 1 more layer/outer robe so it will not be the only thing I'm wearing. I'll be properly covered. :)

The Lawn never happened. I'm a very bad wife. But maybe it'll still get done by me tomorrow. We'll see.

Hair is a dark blonde with a little red peeking through. Not very different than it was, but at least it's a decent dye job. Maybe i"ll go back and bleach it out a bit more sometime.

Incredible Hulk had some unanswered questions, but all in all it was a good film. The FXs were good - and the story was mostly a good one as well. I enjoyed it, even though I'm not a Hulk fan. Lou had a small cameo, and that was fun.

Trip to St. Paul was worth it. Dad is doing well enough, and he was very happy to see us. Hubby also got some work done while we were there, and that's good as well. Dad & Shannon are expecting company from England this weekend, so the more done now is best.

I got the small banner for NS's A&S 50 Challenge participants for Artisan's Row for our future events started. The gyonny is painted - just need to add the candle and outline the field division. Also helped John get his banner painted today. Coat 1 is done and hopefully he'll have the opporutunity to do coat 2 sometime this week. Or at least before WW. :) I'm counting his banner as a piece in my Heraldic Display A&S challenge since I painted half of it, & encouraged him to get it done.

I also got the blocks for an afgan quilt ready to be put together. This will make the hubby happy, since I'm making it for him. :)

Just a quick update on things.

• I've gone to an event every weekend for the last 3 weeks, & while it's been a bit tiring, I'm feeling like I am at loose ends this weekend without an event. I just can't quite figure that out. LOL My next event is WW on 7/10-12. And that's my only event in July! What will I do with myself?
  
• I'm working on an embroidered bookbinding. I'll get pictures posted of my prep work with this. I am almost ready to put this on my brand-new embroidery rack - looking forward to actaully getting needle and thread on this!
  
• I'm also working on some new garb - Persian this time. I'm almost ready to grab my fabric and start making cuts. WooHoo! Just need to sit down and work on it!
  
• I volunteered to make a banner for Artisan's Row at WW for those of us participating in the A&S 50 Challenge. It'd be nice to have something advertising our presence there and be a good place for people to gather and talk about their projects. So I'll be painting very soon!
  
• Work is going very well, although I am not as busy at this juncture than I expected to be. I have quite a bit done with creating pathfinders/resource guides.
  
• I've been attending Silfren Mere's fighter practices for a while and am really enjoying the fighting I'm seeing this season. Last night was especially cool since we had a newcomer armor up for the first time. Bob (the newcomer) did really well for his first time out in armor that was WAY too big for him, and his wife, Steph, was very nice to talk to as well. Little John will be helping Bob make some armor for himself and it'll be cool to see that taking shape.
  
• Karel's new helm is SO PRETTY!! It's a Gothic German helm and it is so spiffy. John, Damiano, Matsasugu and Lyulf all took turns scuffing it up a bit so it didn't look quite as new when he took it off as it did whe he put it on.

I would love to make some spiffy new embroidered sleeve bands like the ones here someday. There are griffins on the Bayeux Tapestry in one of the feasting scene borders that could be really fun to do. That way I can maybe include this on the A&S 50 Challenge I'm doing for Heraldic Display! *grin*

OK...I know I'm nuts, but I have just taken on another series of projects from myself for the A&S 50 Challenge. I have already committed to entering 50 A&S projects into 50 A&S displays or competitions. Now I've been inspired to create 50 items that promote heraldic display. I got the idea from the A&S 50 email list. The good gentle who suggested this on the list includes everything from bedding to banners and clothes. It should be very interesting to take on...and it should also help me with a class on Heraldic Display that I'm preparing for NS's Heraldic Symposium with Reinholdt this Fall.

I am counting the embroidered bookbinding in with this challenge, but I think I'll work on a couple banners for my first couple projects. I know how easy these can be to knock out.

I have a bunch I want to get done this week. Here is a synopsis:

* Tidy the kitchen
* Tidy the living room
* Laundry - both wash & put away
* Make Persian garb (by WW)
* Warp inkle loom & start new belt
* Fingerloop some lanyards
* Polyurethan new wooden chests
* Get all the mats out of Fred's fur
* Get to the gym!! & get them new billing info
* Go through closet and get rid of clothes I don't wear anymore
* Call insurance agency to let them know about hail damage from Friday
* Return dress 
* Ages final report (added 6/4)

I think that's it. I'm overwhelmed already...maybe tonight I'll ignore this list and be a slug on the couch. Or maybe I'll get the tidying out of the way this afternoon before the hubby gets home from being gone for a week.

Little John did a wonderful job yesterday in sketching out the pattern for the front & back of my bookbinding. The only difference I foresee is to make the tassels a bit bigger. Here is what it looks like thus far:

	embroidered bookbinding front This is the pattern for the frontside of my embroidered bookbinding.
	embroidered bookbinding back This is the pattern for the backside of my embroidered bookbinding.

The cinquefoil on top is to be purple, the cording is all gold, the device in the middle is white with the blue side flaunches, the tulip in the middle is also blue with a green stem.

Here is an update for the embroidered bookbinding that I am working on. It is a practice one for one I need to create for patsmor. I've been pondering this project for almost a year now, and am really looking forward to seeing it completed.

I am going to be veering from the original, as I am planning on also having the spine & back embroidered, and the colors will probably be more colorful, but hopefully my finished project will be something that will look very period indeed.

What I have:

• I have fabric - black velvet to be precise. It's been in my stash for quite a few years, so long I do not recall what it was originally purchased for. So it is time to make use of it.


• I have floss. Well, some floss to be precise. I am going to be using regular DMC cotton embrodery floss for this project since I cannot afford all the pretty silk I would love to use on it. I have a variety of colors to get me started, and have also invested in some of DMC's metallic floss for the couch work on this.
  
• I have a standing embroidery frame that will let me do the handwork on the binding without using the silly little round embroidery hoops. Hopefully this will keep the piece from getting too creased.
  
• I have a book to cover. cnewsonsmith gave me a photo album for Twelth Night that I will be covering. I'm going to use this as my project portfolio for the A&S 50 Challenge, so why not have one of the 50 as a binding!? :)
  
• I have inspiration! I ran across a wonderful bookbinding in the British Library's Database of Bookbindings. The original belonged to Marie de Medicis, Queen, Consort of Henri IV, King of France (1573-1642), and the book is roughly from 1615. You can see it here. I have a couple of changes I'm making to it so it relects me instead of Queen Marie, but the basic layout will remain the same.
  

All that's left is to get my rough sketches into a more final product and then transfer them onto tissue paper so I can get them onto the velvet. That should be a fun and challenging project right there! I hope to post images as I go to show step by step work on this.

I hope to get images of my design posted here shortly. Little John will be helping me with the final design this weekend hopefully.

This is a week or so late, but my housesister cnewsonsmith asked what kind of silk thread I used for my fingerloop braided silk cord. It is Gudenbrod, and many colors and thicknesses can be purchased on eBay. The one I'm using is green, but here is a black spool that is the same weight I'm using. You get a lot of silk for the cost, so I think it's worth it! :)

Note: I've not purchased anything from this vendor, but am using this item as an example.

I have challenged myself. And I accepted it! (Can you believe it?!) I am going to try to enter a project at every event I go to that has an A&S display/contest. These may include the rosaries/paternosters I've been learning about and small embroidery projects, along with whatever else strikes my fancy. I really enjoyed entering the contest at Boar's Head, so this is an extention of this. I hope to have at least a half-page of documentation for each entry. I am attending Shattered Oaks' Hromnice Celebration this weekend, and will be bringing my rendition of a knight's rosary. I'll post pictures when I take them.

Other ideas I'm mulling over include; a period broom, period camp storage/gear, recipe redactions...

Luck for me, not every event I attend has an A&S display!

I have found a good many websites on Medieval & Rennaissance embroidery, but I am still looking for websites or books that have good clear patterns based on period pieces. I did find a pattern page from the Needleworkers Guild of the West Kingdom from Fall AS 35 which looks promising but I'd like more. Does anyone have any they'd like to share?

Here is the link to the British Library's page on Embroidered Book Bindings http://www.bl.uk/collections/early/embin2a.html.

Other webpages I'm using for research include Making a Chemise Binding & Heraldic Covers without Rebinding. This with the book I have from the library on the V&A textile collection should have me well on my way with at least the research portion of my A&S challenge project. Of course, any other resources or advice are always welcome. :)

I had a really good day yesterday. Got lots done and have not so much left to do before next weekend! I had an eye appointment & am testing new contact lenses, I worked out (had a great work out actually! Almost killed myself on the "hills" my stationary bike decided to torture me with, but felt good when I was done.), cleaned the floor in my entry way and put down the new rug in there, and I also have become addicted to embroidery!

I am working on a small embroidery project as a gift for a friend for Twelth Night, and I literally didn't want to put it down to go to bed last night! I wanted to finish it to see how pretty it is done...I didn't QUITE get it completed, but only have a small hole left to fill with color. This really jazzes me up for the embroidered bookbinding/cover I am to work on for Siobhan. I even have a book for this bookbinding challenge - The Victoria & Albert Textile Collection: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750. I've not had the chance to dig into it yet, but am looking forward to spending some time with it.