VPC2017: Baroness Agnes' Medical Chest Contents & Simple Dress

More entries from Baroness Agnes - the herbal contents of a medieval medical chest for the category For Science! and a simple Renaissance style dress made as a gift for a relative newcomer for Give What You Get.

About the herbs, she says:

The beginnings of the contents of Agnes's medical chest. Pictured are mint, lemon balm, sage, plantain, rosemary, catmint and cleavers. These were located, identity confirmed, harvested, dried and stored. Eventually they'll get nicer jars and a chest to live in, but the herbs are the central aspect.

About the dress she says:

A simple renaissance style dress for [a friend] who wanted to come to Faire. Unfortunately she never made it, so there's no photo of the relative newcomer in the dress, but I still made the dress, and she'll still wear it one day.

VPC2017 Baroness Agnes' French Hood & St Birgitta's Cap

Baroness Agnes brings two articles of headwear - a French Hood for category The Neck Best Thing and a St Birgitta's Cap for category One Metre Material Project

She says about the hood:

A french hood to compliment Agnes' Tudor garb. It's wired fake-buckram covered in brocade, with glass pearl accents to create the look. It perches on the head rather than being an encompassing hat, so I shall make another eventually.

And about the cap:

A super-useful hat to hold the hair away that can be found through Europe 13th to 16th C. This one specifically is a commission for katherine kerr. Linen, with manufactured lace because I'm no embroiderer.  This is being entered in the A&S championship.

VPC2017: Dona Isabel Maria's Perugia Towel

Dona Isabel Maria presents what she described as a "knock off Perugia towel" for the category One Metre Material Project.

She says:

Having long wanted a Perugia towel of silly proportions but not being interested in learning to weave, and baulking at the cost of good reproductions, it became necessary to figure out how to create a plausibly period knockoff in time for Canterbury Faire.

I bought one metre of linen canvas (wanting something slightly more substantial than shirt weight but having limited options), washed it and ironed it dry before remeasuring the piece and squaring it up.  I then cut it into two and stitched the pieces end on end before hemming the sides and fraying the ends to form a knotted fringe.

To imitate the Perugia towels, I then embroidered a stripe on it using Elizabethan Knitting Stitch. To save sanity, I used waste canvas to gauge the stitching as the canvas proved to be rather uneven.

VERDICT: This towel was used at Canterbury Faire, alongside my wash station, and proved to be eminently practical, particularly when combined with the shelf.

VPC2017: Dona Isabel Maria's Linen Underskirt

Dona Isabel Maria presents a Spanish underskirt for the category Togs Togs Undies!

She says:

Over the last few years, the number of Spanish costuming resources has exploded as people translate portions of wills from both Spain and the New World.  One of the more interesting wills mentioned a manteo that was described as "not put on over the head". This has been interpreted as a wrap skirt and, of course, I had to test this interpretation. I decided to make it as an underskirt as part of a middle/lower class capsule wardrobe for camping events.

Materials & Equipment: 3m linen, cotton thread (1 spool), beeswax,  scissors, tape measure, preferred hand sewing needle, both editions of Juan de Alcega's pattern books.

As I intended this as a working garment, I followed period imagery and chose to make it just below ankle length.  As this was a test piece, I also chose to make it from linen and forgo the lining mentioned in the few, partially translated wills I can access.  In order to make more efficient use of my fabric (and time) I decided to alter the piecing shown in Alcega's cutting diagrams. (This does not seem to be against his general philosophy.)  After a few calculations, the fabric was cut and hand sewing commenced using a combination of running and whip stitches.
The piecing is done with a flat felled seam and the hem is a simple double turn under, both worked in running stitch (it just worked beautifully with the linen). The waist is bound in a narrow strip of linen (finished with whip stitch) that extends to form ties to fasten the skirt.

Verdict: Flattering, comfortable and now a workhorse garment.

VPC2017: Her Excellency Ginevra's Hose & Houppelande

Her Excellency presents a pair of hose which fit the categories Counting On Sheep and Togs Togs Undies, and a refashioned houppelande for Remake Reuse Refashion Reconsider.

She says about the houppelande:

I remade one of my old Burgundian dresses into a 1520’s middle class houppelande. I took off the old collar, cut the cuffs to just a bit over wrist length, recut the front, rehemmed the front, put on new cuffs and collar facing.

 

VPC2017: Mistress Taddea's Appearance In A Play & Skinless Ravioli

Mistress Taddea appeared in a morality play at Canterbury Faire, as Princess Tardia (an always late no show) for category Break A Leg. She also made Skinless Ravioli at Canterbury Faire from chicken mince (300 of them!). This is presented for the category Bird In The Hand.

Here is the recipe used:

500g plain breadcrumbs
1 bunch of mint
1 bunch of marjoram
pepper
salt
nutmeg
15 eggs
2.5kg ground chicken or veal, or a mixture
300g suet
300g bacon (fat, not lean)
oil for frying

Mistress Taddea notes:

We had to leave the suet out as there was none available and due to the horrifying numbers and awful heat we poached rather than fried them.

HC2018 - The introduction

Richard and Ginevra, Baron and Baroness of Southron Gaard, in appreciation for heraldic display, and the high standards of inventiveness seen amongst the populace, would like to announce the Third Baronial Heraldic Challenge.

• Standards and Banners

• Something to wear

• Something to adorn you (jewellery, tokens, favours...)

• Something to eat, or eat off (food, plates, glasswear, napkins)

• Something to mark your territory (chairs, chests, cushions,...)

• Something to protect you (umbrellas, shields, tents, buildings...)

• Something to hide the everyday (throws, bags, things to keep the mundane out of sight)

• and, to serve the barony (We have many projects that would be easier with more hands, such as blinging up the pavilion, helping make banners for the group, which we'll arrange workshops for through the year, but this would also include making a heralds tabard or ceremony cover to stay in Gildenwick, or Wildmoor and other things like that)

The Challenge shall run until next Baronial Anniversary, when we shall hope to see a magnificent display of both personal heraldry, or that of any awards you may have received.

Please direct any questions about the challenge to Baroness Ginevra.

If you're interested and not sure where to start, we are also running monthly Creative Commons evenings during 2018. These are held the first Tuesday of each month at Avice Hill Community Centre.  For more information, please see the list, or the FB page.