(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 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.

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.