Isabella's SCA Project's Diary

More Xfiles fun!

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:28:25 GMT

The FBI has just put out some of their more interesting "X-filesish" cases on-line. You can read about them here. Most are really old cases (ummm, before I was born?) but I thought it might help build the excitement for the movie.

Epic Fail!!!

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:01:19 GMT

Police: Robber Uses Worst Hold-Up Note Ever!
First Coast News … FL

Posted By: Gary Detman 6 hrs ago

MARION COUNTY, FL — Ocala police say he held up two banks in one day, but it didn’t take cops long to catch up with him.

That’s because police say the suspected double bank bandit wrote his hold-up demands on his own personal check and then left the check at the crime scene.

The check had 33-year-old Patrick Johnson’s name and address on the front and police arrested him shortly after the second bank robbery.

Police also say bank surveillance photos show a man identical to Johnson robbing the bank.

Still, he says he didn’t do it.

“You know, this is America and we are presumed innocent,” Johnson said. “Who’s to say I robbed those banks?”

Johnson could face life in prison if convicted.

Since 1998, he has been arrested several times for grand theft, drunk driving and violation of probation.

Things that bring me down, fast

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:39:24 GMT

I was fooling around on LJ rather than sewing (like normal. I need to do one more roundel on the sleeves but I need to go to the store and get more gold cord.) when I went to look at my user info. I use my profile a lot as a short cut to my friends' pages at work anymore since I can't actually see my friends page at work. (The really blocked the weirdest stuff, honestly...)

Anyway, I was looking at my old LJ friend's user map that was going around last year and I added to my profile. Well, I clicked on one of the pink dots to find out it was ladyrowansplace. I didn't know her well at all but it still got me off my giggly "OMG! Chocolate!" high I was on. It didn't help that it's been almost exactly six months.

Now that I'm no longer hyper, I should give a bunch of updates. I detest the embroidery software. I want to use Adobe Photoshop to edit the image, which I have the CD for but the laptop doesn't have a CD-ROM. Using paint is just made of fail. Really. I just want to make the lines of the unicornate hippocampus thicker, which, in photoshop is super easy. In paint? no. It's just not. And when I transfer it to the embroidery software it looses lines. So, rather than a full loop in his tail, I get a C. Grr...

I'll have all this sewing done by the time I get Pennsic, really. It's a bunch of stuff that I should just sit down and do but I want to get the sleeve and the Atlantian mullets done first. This is mostly because, in my mind, those are the things I simply can't do at Pennsic on Sat as I'm struggling to get everything read. I need to have access to my sewing room to get those items done. Of course, this means everything else gets neglected. I understand this, but I'm a procrastinator extraordinare. ;-)

Work was interesting. The cake we had today was really good and matched my bright pink shirt. I got to work late, really late. I ended up not getting home today until around 7 or so. I hate getting to work that late but I needed the sleep.

So tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to explain that, yes, we really need decent search capabilities embedded into the program. You know, something that will allow multi word searches? Everyone wants this but the engineers say they need an outside search codex. (That wasn't the word they used but my brain is mostly dead right now and I can't remember the computer term.) I want to run my idea of a multi form search past the engineers and see what they think. I know it won't help with complex searches, which I hope to see next year, but it might help narrow down the simple searches without much difficulty.

I've been attempting to read about running reports and my brain refuses to let me. I need to read more on it but I really want to focus on getting the current errors out of the system before we go out for beta in oh....three weeks? ::sigh:: I'd rant about it but there's little point really. I'll just run a few more reports on the old system and see if there's anymore useful data that we need to transfer before beta. It's actually a lot more fun than it sounds. It's amusing to read all the data in the internal (ie old) system. I've learned all sorts of evol things. Yes, I know that's not actually good but at least I'm learning, something, right?

Something that makes my eye twitch

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:02:44 GMT

There is something that goes on all the time in the SCA that really just makes my eye twitch. I know this doesn't bother anyone else because I've seen about half my friends in the SCA do it. This little pet peeve of mine always pops it's ugly head about around April and dies down after August.

What is it? It's asking about non-persona appropriate garb for the "warmer" weather. Yes, about half of you have done this. You bad little boys and girls. Go sit in time out. ;-)

What is non-persona appropriate garb? Well, let's say someone that does 15th c Burgandian normally wants, suddenly, to know how to do a period sari (which is very popular suddenly. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone in particular because there have been about 3 or 4 people on my f-list alone saying they are going to do this). If you do 15th c normally, why not the Bohemian Bathhouse girls or something else that sticks to your region, generally, and your time frame? What? You don't think they actually had hot weather in Western Europe? Of course they did! And they knew how to dress for it too.

Most garb is fairly easy to strip down to it's bare esstentials and keep cool in the heat. Our ancestors loved layers. Whether you are wearing 5 t-tunics on top of each other or a full Elizabethan during the winter, layers are great. The undoing of all those layers, in the summer, is perfectly beautiful as well.

Do Elizabethan the rest of the year? Just go in your petticoat, smock, and pair of bodices. You'll be fine. (Actually a farthingale is very helpful during the summer if you don't wear a petticoat beneath it. Instant air conditioning!)

What about Italian? Well, it got hot in Italy a lot. Don't wear your sleeves. Wear a lightweight chemise and a lightweight linen dress and you'll be fine. You can roll your chemise sleeves up (there's tons of paintings showing middle class ladies with their chemise sleeves rolled up).

Norman? Lightweight tunic with angel sleeves if you want.

Viking, lightweight tunic with apron dress.

I have never, ever gotten overly hot at an event. I get that some people do. However, like I said, it got hot in the middle ages too. In the middle ages, they just took layers off! If you want to run around in your smock and nothing else, well, please, just makes sure it's not see thru, kay? But there really isn't any reason to go against your persona for two weeks. Everyone know that you like a specfic style. To go against that just doesn't look right unless you plan on doing this new style all the time. But just for two weeks out of the year? Just wear what you already have and you'll be fine.

Hanky weight linen is your friend.

EDIT: I'm referring to people who don't seem to understand that it did get warm in their chosen region of research. Not people who, like me, just go "Oh! Pretty!" and end up doing something new because they think it looks cool. It was not magically 65 degrees every single day in [insert favorite Western European country here]. They did have warmer weather. They did have warmer weather clothing. Saying "i can't wear my full [insert persona region/time here] because it's too warm" is not an excuse. You might not be able to wear the full velvet Elizabethan, but your corset/pair of bodies and your petticoat work perfectly fine.

Pennsic Weather Forecast

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:44:47 GMT

Hopefully, this really will be the forecast:

Sunday, Jul 27 Mostly cloudy with a t-storm Low: 57 °F High: 76 °F
Monday, Jul 28 shower in the morning Low: 50 °F High: 77 °F
Tuesday, Jul 29 Mostly sunny Low: 55 °F High: 79 °F
Wednesday, Jul 30 Mostly sunny Low: 58 °F High: 81 °F
Thursday, Jul 31 Sunshine and some clouds Low: 60 °F High: 83 °F
Friday, Aug 1 Partial sunshine Low: 60 °F High: 84 °F
Saturday, Aug 2 Variably cloudy, a t-storm Low: 59 °F High: 78 °F
Sunday, Aug 3 Times of clouds and sun Low: 58 °F High: 82 °F
Monday, Aug 4 Partly sunny Low: 59 °F High: 82 °F

So far, that looks pretty darn good.

Some good things that happened this weekend

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:02:23 GMT

I went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was really good. This movie will win every single special effects category and a few of the digital animation ones too. It was just that good.
You know how in most 3d movies, it looks like 1 2-d screen in front of another 2-d screen? This didn't do that. It looked like you were in the rooms and in the caves. The mine cart scene will leave you feeling a bit dizzy because it really looks like the railing is coming up greet you.
It was almost like one of those 3d rides at Universal studios but with far superior acting and script. This is the first movie I've been to in a long time where I felt that my money was worth it.
So, if you get stuck in the situation where all the shows for Batman Beyond are sold out for the next four hours or so, go to Journey of the Center of the Earth. It really is great and you get to keep the glasses. :-)
I went with my youngest brother, Joey. He told me he wants new Viking garb (woohoo!) and a historically accurate 16th c Scottish outfit. I showed him the pictures of the saffron leine and short jacket and he said "I will totally wear that and go to the renn fest with you, Sis." There aren't words to describe how happy that makes me. :-D I also might get him to come to SCA events. He sounded interested in the fighting and it's not exactly hard for me to find some people that will help my baby brother out with that. ;-) But, I think, Renn Fest first. It's a gentler transition.
I did get to see my Great Aunt Jenny and her daughter, Debbie. I really want to go out to LA sometime next year to bug them. Debbie told me that she'll take me down to the fabric district (and just leave me there:-) ). She had a really rough trip this time because of severe tooth problems (abscess). However, she was fine this week and it's just great seeing her and my mom just giggling...constantly.
I also saw Gwen and Nicolas (my French cousins) and my oldest little brother's girlfriend, Laresa. Lee just shakes his head when he sees Laresa and myself talking. He "complains" that we are just too silly.
My Aunt Gaynelle came over too with her two sons, Russel and Keane. Keane got into trouble (he's 4) within the first hour they were there and ended up in time out. This was a huge change from the giggling somewhat quite kid just a few months ago. Oh well, typically if they act out now, they get it out of their system before they turn into teenagers. :-)
Anyway, saw a ton of people. Had a lot of fun at the movies and ended up getting very little done on the sewing front.

The Mouse in the House part 2

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:00:07 GMT

After a very long and weary day
I sat down at my computer to play
Writing and reading
While Ginsie was feeding
Never knowing of all that may

Upon the counter did I hear rustle
so I gathered up what I could muscle
sneakers and flashlight
I stood and took a look at what might
finding something small and docile

The creature was slight and brown
and looked up at me as I looked down
Happy and joyful
I closed the dog food bag forceful
but this creature I would not drown

The dog food I put in the garbage
inside a black bag outside my cottage
done and gone
the mouse will no longer roam the lawn
and all without much carnage

Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm not that great with poetry but since the first part was a poem, I figured the second part should be too.... point and laugh all you like, the point is, the mouse is no longer and will never be again, in the HOUSE.

Stuffs and more stuffs

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:37:41 GMT

1) There is a joke in here somewhere:
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080718/D920768O0.html

5,000 gallons of molasses spill on Texas highway

Email this Story

Jul 18, 6:37 AM (ET)

SUGAR LAND, Texas (AP) - A sticky mess has been cleaned up after an overturned tanker truck poured 5,000 gallons of molasses onto a major Texas highway.

Drivers heading to Sugar Land were rerouted Thursday after the afternoon accident shut down Texas 6 at Southwest Freeway for eight hours.

City of Sugar Land spokeswoman Pat Pollicoff told The Houston Chronicle the road was closed until midnight Thursday because of the coating of "healthy, all natural molasses." The spilled molasses was supposed to be used in cattle food.

The 26-year-old driver of the truck, Joe Albert Loya, was taken to a hospital with minor head injuries

Now, my question is this: Given the good ole phrase "Slower than molasses in January", can we now test to see if molasses is, in fact, quick under the hot Texas sun in July? I see scientfic possibilities here people....

2)Ginsie seems to be okay this morning. I called up Mom and told her about the seizure. Mom wants to take Ginsie for the week next week. As much as I hate not having my pup around, I also know that staying at home all day while I'm at work, after she's had a seizure like that isn't good either. If she has another seizure, it's typically a few days later (like 4~6 days), which would put it in the middle of next week. So, she'll probably be over at Mom & Dad's next week.

3) I played with the embroidery program last night. That was interesting. I'm going to play with it more tonight and then attempt to sewing something else on that machine...while doing my sleeve, of course.

More for my own tracking then anything else

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:55:43 GMT

Why am I up? Because Ginsie had another seizure at around midnight. We were both asleep when I heard her start to have it. I think she knew this one was coming on because of how she acted before I went to bed. She kept crawling over me and then finally laid down right next to me and just wanted me to pet her. I did before getting a couple of minutes sleep.

The seizure lasted a good minute, or at least it seemed that long. I did NOT like this one at all because, as she was coming out of it, she started to cry. I think it was just because she really wanted to scratch her ear more than anything but nothing gets to me more than seeing her in pain and there in nothing I can do about it (unless she does something dumb and gets hit on the head for it. Then I admit, I giggle as long as it's not serious.)

I carried her downstairs the second it was over and let her outside. She did her normal wanting to sniff everything and make sure it's all real. (About the best way I can describe this is like Dorthy when she came back from Oz doing her "and you were there! and you were there! and you were there!". It's like she simply re-recognizes everything she's known forever...like my shoes, me, and her toys.) She recovered from this one very quickly (three minutes) which is far better than it was a year or so ago. I gave her a bit of food with some more meds and a lot more water. Ginsie is okay right now and just wants to go back up to bed (I asked. "Nigh-Night?" gets a lot of tail wagging and whining meaning that that's what she wants.)

So, I'm going to double check the house to make sure it's seizure proof when I leave her tomorrow and, hopefully, this was just one of the "a couple of times out of the year" seizures and nothing more serious than that. I really hate epilepsy...

ETSY shop

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:21:19 GMT

Put up a couple of new dresses. Well, neither is "new", just old garb in really good shape that I want to get rid off. The Irish dress really is neat and I hate to get rid of it but it simply isn't my style anymore.

The mouse in the house

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:12:40 GMT

It started as scratching upon the wall
I turned to Ginsie, who answered my call
but it was not her claws upon the door
it was something sinister, something more.
I listened and she growled
and the scratching grew not so loud.
We had forgotten the sound in the wall
until I heard something in the kitchen fall.
I saw the dog lying on the couch
and so I did I arise from my slouch.
The light in the kitchen had long since faded
so I got a flashlight to see what had invaded.
I knew the sound had come from a bag
for I heard the crumbling that made me gag.
Looking into dog food bag so near
I did find two black eyes that looked so drear.
The mouse was brown and small
and I wondered how the heck it got into a bag so tall.
So I grabbed a small box and reached for the cup
so I could put my hand in and scoop him up.
But the plan did fail because I did not see
that he could jump right over me!
I screamed and Ginsie stood silently by
for she did not see it nor know why.
Despite my urgent pleas of "Ginsie, get the mouse!"
the dog did not see the invader of our house.
The dog has caught all manner of creatures before
but she did not see the one that hid beneath the cabinet door.
So beneath the fridge it did go
this strange and peculiar little foe.
I am assuredly to come home today
to a dead mouse with Ginsie at play.
Or so I hope, it a strange way,
for I do not want to do this another day.
So Ginsie, grand catcher of things,
from muskrats to squirrels, and creatures that sting,
to chipmunks and birds, and that elusive cat,
why can't you see the little brown rat?

Why Isabella should not have an embroidery machine in her home....

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:55:04 GMT

It's Spike, now in four different flavors! I was testing out the embroidery machine tonight and ummm...yeah. The cute Spike came out gorgeously. I got that one from this page with tons of badges for embroidery machines. I think I might skip the blue next time and just do it in all white with a black outline.
The black thread was giving me a time on the cute Spike! On all the hippocampus Spikes? It was fine. Towards the end of the cute Spike it was breaking every 100 stitches which was not fun. I managed to get it to work and it came out perfectly so I'm not sure what the heck was going on.

My dress on my side table in the living room. I'm working on it, honest! Actually, one sleeve has now moved over to the futon pillow and has the second roundel pinned on to it. Ginsie is on the other side of the futon right now, on top of some of my garb I wanted to take upstairs so I can throw it into the suitcase.... It's a good thing she doesn't have long dog hair anymore. The problem with owning a white dog is black clothing. And the garb she's on? Navy blue.

Morning update

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:35:32 GMT

I didn't get anything done yesterday at all. I cut out a very basic Italian chemise from my crinkle cotton and that was pretty much it.

The rest of the day was spent replying to emails that I can't see at work anymore, washing the dishes, and playing with Ginsie...oh and that run out to get some Mike's Lemonade. Mike's Lemonade and cinnamon gummy bears? yum. Also got a lotto ticket because, well, it just seemed like a good idea when you are buying a 6 pack of something alcohol. Maybe next time, I'll just get the bug zapper and a bb gun.... that will really show my roots....

More ideas for a new 1840's dress

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:54:04 GMT

I saw this one and just think it's *perfect* for an Edgar Allen Poe dress. There are a lot more gowns if anyone else wants inspiration or just wants to look at pretties. Maybe a combo of the yellow dress from yesterday's style sleeves and bodice with this linear pattern combo and skirt? Hmmmmm......

EDIT: N'rmind. I want this one now. :-) (It's from one of the Tasha Tudor auctions)

Eleanor Dress Update

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:35:06 GMT

One sleeve is done. The other has the gold edging but I have yet to do the designs. I think I need to go get more of the gold roping because, of the 25 yards I originally bought? I have two and half yards left. Now, I just need to do the sleeve but I don't think that it's enough for six roundels. I'd need at least another yard and I think I'll just drive over to G-Street and grab another three yards to be safe.

After the design is done, the rest of it is easy (well, for me it is). It's a matter of lining the sleeves, adding the bias trim to the edges, and then beading them together. Hopefully, I'll get everything done this weekend.

On the Neapolitian dress: I think i like the green linen much better than the orange linen as a lining. It just *goes* better and I can't really explain why. The colors together - the brown, green, and bright pink - just look like a flower. It's really pretty and the trim still matches. The orange just did not look right. So, the next project - probably for when I get back - will be the jacket and dress.

More musings on future outfits...

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:01:41 GMT

So, I really want to make a new 1840's dress for the Poe Event in Jan (assuming we are all still going?). I have black wool pieces to an early 1850's coat I'm going to piece back together (I'll just be a year or two fashion forward. Poe died in 1849 and the coat is from 1852~. It's just too marvelous not to put back together and wear around somewhere. It's also a perfect "mourning" 19th c coat.)

I really like this dress and think I have enough of the orange silk taffeta to put this together. I'm not sure what I really want to do with the dress (other than long sleeves!) this time around. I just want something that looks *right*. Oh well, if nothing else, I can just wear the black wool coat over the old purple dress. :-)

Antique Clothing

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:16:06 GMT

I went and took a look at my early 1790's bodice this morning because of all the pretty LJ Tea Party pictures. The one thing I noticed about it is that the neckline is very wide and the bodice is short, similar to the chemise dress but it's over all construction is more like the robe a la francais. Does that make sense?
It has a drawstring in the neck that goes from the shoulder to the front of the gown. However, the drawstring is in the cotton lining and not the silk facing. Based on the shoulders, I'm wondering if the bodice was actually a 1780's gown that was redesigned in the 1790's to give a more fashionable shape. The skirt fabric has long since been taken away to make something else so I only have the bodice to go off of.
Anyway, I want to make a gown based off it post Pennsic. It's currently number two on my post-Pennsic list. :-)
Did I mention that I love my blackberry?

Those you know you are in the SCA when "stories" from the MR

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:12:04 GMT

Your parents like your persona name better than the one they gave you.

I'm very guilty of this one. :-) Actually, my parents kind of DID give me my SCA name. When we were in Italy when I was 2 (I remember this) they told me that "Isabella" was my name in Italian...and I demanded they started to call me that. ...and they caved while we were in Italy (hey, when in Rome, right? :-) ) ...and in Spain....and in Portugal. I still remember when I was really little telling people that my Italian name was Isabella. So, I decided that I was just going to go back to what my parents told me when I was 2, and go by Isabella in the SCA. Mea Caterina are Italianized versions of my middle names (Mae Catherine; Catherine being my confirmation name). D'Angelo is my maternal great grandmother's maiden name (I figured it went back far enough that it had to be period.) When I told my parents what my SCA name was, they loved it. Mom just adores telling all are friends and family that I've taken an Italian name and what it is. It's really very funny.

As for my own, ya know you are in the SCA whens:

- When you pack for one of the big wars, load up the car, and notice that, finally, your house looks clean
- you see people and think "oh, they'd look gorgeous in a 10th c Viking!" and mean it. (I think I've convinced our office manager to go Viking at the Renn Fest. She's all about plain clothing with tons of gold and stones so what is better for her than Viking?)
- You are excited when you find out there is a hardware store in walking distance from your office because you need more costuming supplies. :-)
- When talking about various levels of users in a database, you call them "stations"

Some Pictures of stuff

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:33:36 GMT

Me in my red & gold Venetian. My hair really is that color right now. It's fun when I just have barrettes on the sides to see people's reactions. It's almost as bad as wearing garb in a grocery store. :-)

EDIT: The front view is here I just don't like the underarm look there. It goes away with the sleeves on, or at least it's not noticeable. The "chemise" is a very old one but it works for seeing how things will look once I wear one of my real chemises. This one was meant to be a "pirate" shirt. :-)

One of the repairs I made to the Peacock Gown. It should hold until after Pennsic. I think, after Pennsic, I might just recut the bodice all together. I found enough scrap fabric that I can just remake it.

Ginsie helping me sew And y'all say you have problems with the cats helping? ;-) That's Shiloh in the background. Ginsie and the "orb" are in the foreground. This was a couple of weeks ago around the Fourth.

I have a few more up on my flickr account, as always. Feel free to ask questions, look around, and make silly comments (or serious ones). :-) I have finish one sleeve. Hint: Sewing while watching "The Nativity Story" (Gives new meaning to 'Christmas in July' :-) ) is extremely slow. I'm going to see about sewing during "Affair of a Necklace" tomorrow.

No pictures but...

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:52:59 GMT

Novice was fun, as always. I basically sat all my stuff down at Newcomer's Point and stayed. I wore my old peacock dress given the birds theme. I think the dress has about had it. Oh the problems with polyester taffeta. ;-) I couldn't help but make a dress out of it. After all, how can anyone resist the urge of a fabric that changes color three ways? It's just not possible, I'm tellin' ya. It looks blue but has a green or purple sheen depending on the lighting.

I wore one of my old chemises and a simple veil. I was going for this look with a dress that is closer in style to this. It worked okay, I guess. It's just an old dress and I need to make a new one...well, I need to make a lot of new garb but that will happen this fall.

Now, on to the day. First my day started pretty bad. You see, after packing up everything (my chairs, my tables, my books, my baskets, my tent, ect), I got on to the road. This sounds good until you get to the part where I'm stuck at an intersection with the blinking red lights one way and the yellows the other and I'm behind some black truck. The black truck would. not. go. He just would not move. Now, I couldn't really see down the road, so I didn't have a right to honk at him but I could count between cars that passed by. There were long seconds inbetween. He had plenty of time.

He was a creeper as well. You see, he'd scootch up a bit and then a bit more. A couple of times I thought he was going to finally cross, but no. Well, he got scared and started to back up. I couldn't back up because, by this point, there was already a line about 6 cars thick on this country road. (Did I mention one truck just gave up and went around him? I should have.) So, yes, the inevitable happened. He rammed right into me.

Of course, it was an old man. You know, the type that should NOT be driving? And there I am, check out my truck, in full garb. Yeah, it was a scene. My truck was fine. I was fine. Ginsie just wanted to know where the heck we were going and when we would get there.

So, I got back in the car and the guy FINALLY went across the street. It took him 15 minutes to cross that intersection!

A few minutes later, I got to the site. Now, here's another scene: Me, with Ginsie's leash on one arm and carrying chairs and baskets with the other, back and forth from my truck. I'm sure it looked very funny given that Ginsie wanted to sniff EVERYTHING and all I wanted to do is set up Newcomer's. One young girl did help me and carried one of the baskets.

Got that set up. Found the autocrat and figured out where my tent was needed. Went and put that up with the help of one nice gentleman. Getting that set up is always interesting. I really need a new tent frame...

So, I went back to newcomer's and waited. And waited....and waited...and nothing. I had three people come by the entire day. I was told there were maybe 2 or 3 other Newcomer's and that was it. One lady did need garb so I'm glad I brought my extra stuff given that the loaner garb didn't make it to the site. (I'm not sure what happened there.)

Around 3 or 4, I heard from the heralds that a class was being held at Newcomer's. No, I had no idea about this before hand which is interesting. Not that I minded at all, I just would have liked to have know because I would have set up Newcomer's Point differently. It was seneschal 101 which I did find interesting. Like I said, I didn't mind; I just wish I had been told earlier.

So, around 5 or so, I packed up because Troll was packing up. I had already wandered around a couple of times (and saw about half of my f-list in the process!) with Miss Ginsie. Ginsie was pretty well behaved. She did have some issues where she kept wanting to go around my chair, stepping over the leash, and, in the process, get all caught up in her leash. After the 5th time, I think she thought it was a game. It was not a fun one. Luckily, it only bothered me.

Court was early! Feast was good but there was a bit of time between the chicken dish and the pork dish. The chicken dish had a LOT of bone and not much meat. It was good, but it was garlic chicken, mac & cheese, and cookies. Basically, it was what I would have at the Olive Garden but in garb. I liked it all (well, didn't try the mushroom stuff) and I'd eat it again. It was a good novice feast but it was totally comfort food.

So, I'm home now. I'm going to head ot bed and sleep until noon tomorrow, hopefully.

Happy Birthday to...

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:11:06 GMT

bauhausfrau!!! I hope you (and everyone else) has a wonderful day. Pictures, please?

Documentation for tomorrow

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:56:25 GMT

Then & Now Display
By Lady Isabella Mea Caterina D’Angelo

Then:

My first attempt at Renaissance Garb; a blue synthetic brocade with faux silk organza sleeves made from Simplicity pattern 8735.

(I do have a picture in the document of the Ever After pattern btu I can access pictures at work anymore except in some weird instance so...)

I decided I wanted a blue brocade dress similar to the one worn by Danielle in the movie Ever After. I followed the Simplicity pattern for the velvet dress at the bottom of the picture above. Although I knew how to sew vintage remakes, I had no idea how a 16th century Italian dress was put together at the time. So, I kept the darts, the faux under skirt, the elastic in the bias tape on the faux chemise sleeves, and the poly lining. After all, what do you line your dresses with but lining fabric? :-) In keeping with the pattern, I put a zipper in the back of the dress.

The sleeves were originally silver. I learned quickly never to wash a strawberry pink silk Elizabethan skirt with anything else, ever. Everything that I washed with the skirt still has a pink hue to it and probably always will. Luckily, I only had this and a couple of underthings in the washer at the time.

Now:

This is one of my latest attempts at Venetian dress. It’s based off one of the musicians in Giovanni Antonio Fasolo’s “The Concert” from about 1565.
(again, a picture here too. Taken and credited from realm_of_venus's site.)

Although the fabric is a blend, the colors and design are correct for mid to late 16th century Italian. The dress is my own hand drafted pattern. I started this by trying to drape a muslin over my dress dummy, not getting the exact shape I wanted, retracing it on to paper, and then finally editing it until I got the desired shape of the shoulders and waistline.
I did end up making it a slight bit too small and added pieces on the sides to get rid of an unsightly line across the waist of the dress as it was laced up. I’ve lined it in cotton duck and cotton muslin. Both fabrics are natural and create a sturdiness to the bodice necessary to get the desired shape. Although cotton was rare in period, it was not unknown in Italy and was thought of as a lesser fabric. Given that it was a “lower” fabric, it being used as a lining and not for the facing fabric, is appropriate for a upper middle class/lower nobility persona. The inside of the dress is hand sewn to give a smoother look and not have raw edges on the dress.
The dress laces in the front which is consistent with the depictions of dress through out the mid and late 16th c in Venice and elsewhere in Italy. There are lacing rings inside the dress which have been seen in earlier portraiture and make sense with the depictions of dress in portraiture of the mid 16th century.
The sleeves are removable and are hand sewn for the dress. They are simple in style and attach to the straps of the dress by ties.
I’m currently making a more appropriate chemise for the dress which is very much a separate piece. Please feel free to come over to Newcomer’s Point and ask me any questions!

I have pictures of both dresses up on my Flickr account. I can't access it from here anymore. (What I can access and what I can't makes zero sense) Hopefully, I'll get everything I need to get done tonight, done!

Ancient Rome's she-wolf statue not so ancient?

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:03:40 GMT

By FRANCES D'EMILIO

ROME (AP) - She suckled Rome's legendary twin founders and fed Benito Mussolini's ambitious dreams of renewed imperial glories.

For centuries, the she-wolf has been one of Rome's most powerful symbols. But now some experts are contending that the bronze statue in a city museum atop Capitoline Hill might not be so old after all.

New theories suggest that the statue dates from the Middle Ages, and not from Etruscan times, as has long been held.

"It's decisively medieval," said Anna Maria Carruba, a researcher who studied the statue when she worked on its restoration a decade ago. "As I went ahead with my research, I was ever more sure," Carruba said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

While medieval might sound old to modern ears, if Carruba is correct the statue would be more than 1,000 years younger than had been thought - from the 7th or 8th centuries, or even later, instead of Etruscan times.

The Capitoline Museums Web site says the statue, known as Lupa, or she-wolf, is from the 5th century B.C. and was donated to the museum in 1471 by Pope Sixtus IV.

Added separately, in the early 1500s, were the bronze figures of Romulus and Remus, the twin founders of Rome who legend says were abandoned on the Tiber river's banks and survived by being nursed by the she-wolf.

The 30-inch-high bronze is the centerpiece of a museum room named after it, and postcards and T-shirts with its image are popular Rome souvenirs. Mussolini used the image in his regime's propaganda pushing for a return to ancient Roman glories.

In a front-page article this week in Rome daily La Repubblica, Adriano La Regina, who for decades headed the national archaeological office for Rome, suggested that the Capitoline Museums was reluctant to release test results indicating the bronze was medieval.

(AP) In this Saturday April 21, 2007 file photo, a view of the original bronze "Lupa Capitolina"...
Full Image

"The new information about the epoch of the Capitoline bronze have been held back for about a year now from the public and experts," La Regina wrote.

With the future - or rather, the past - of one of the city-run Capitoline Museums star pieces at stake, museums director Claudio Parisi Presicce insisted that his institution wasn't trying to hide data that could subtract centuries from the she-wolf's existence.

The data "aren't definitive yet, and we hope we can succeed in giving a definitive date" to the statue through the results later this year of carbon dating, Parisi Presicce was quoted as telling the Italian news agency ANSA.

Parisi Presicce's office confirmed the quotes, but said he was traveling in Italy Thursday and could not be reached for further comment.

Carruba said carbon dating of bits of dirt and clay indicate the statue was cast in the 7th or 8th century A.D. She also claimed the techniques of casting such a bronze work were developed in medieval times.

Her theory has skeptics.

Alessandro Naso, an Etruscan expert at the University of Molise, contended that Carruba's "concluding that it isn't ancient is based on indirect proof."

"Leaving aside the point of pride" about Rome's symbol, "arguments for the medieval are weak," Naso said by phone Thursday.

Archaeologist Nicoletta Pagliardi was also cautious about Carruba's theory. Lupa's origins "are really uncertain," she said in a phone interview.

Pagliardi said the statue would have likely been "manhandled" over many centuries, and so carbon dating might be testing substances that contaminated the bronze long after its creation.

Parisi Presicce, the Capitoline Museums director, said that in medieval times Rome's symbol was considered to be a lion. He said that weakened arguments that Lupa was made during that period.

Last year, archaeologists unveiled an underground grotto on the Palatine Hill believed to have been revered by ancient Romans as the place Lupa nursed Romulus and Remus.

Carruba said her contention that the statue isn't Etruscan takes nothing away from its mystique.

"It's an amazing, fascinating, majestic sculpture," she said.

So ummm...yeah

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:08:03 GMT

Today was one of those busy days where I didn't really get anything done...at all. No, really. I didn't even get to check my email until a few minutes ago.

I did take apart the dress I wanted too. I got Ginise her new haircut. I'll take pictures this weekend of her. I gathered together the books I want to bring to Novice. I'm just going to have sign up sheets for newbies to retain or see if they want to help out in the kitchen, or just look around. I did find my silver feathers and some thin white ribbon. Silver feathers on a ribbon mean they are new. Help them.

I'm not doing the scavenger hunt because, well, if I'm getting the newbies involved with retaining, helping set up stuff, helping out in the kitchen, or just doing whatever...they really can't do a scavenger hunt.

I'll have my pattern books there and I'm there to answer questions and draw very silly diagrams. I'll also have paper on hand to have newbies write down book that they'd like to get. I figure, rather than printing out a list of all the books I brought, if they write down the books they like, they are more likely to remember the piece of paper.

Ginsie and Sewing

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:26:08 GMT

Well, I tried to groom Miss Ginsie myself only to find two ticks on her. ::sigh:: I know it's from her little run through the woods a few days ago. I called up the real groomers and she's going tomorrow. If nothing else, she'll have an adorable summer cut come Saturday.

So, I repaired my garb and her garb. We will be properly dressed. I started sewing up the eyelets on Mom's dress. Hopefully, I can finish that tomorrow. Then, it's just my dress. I think I can handle that before August!