The Tudor Tailor talks in Vallejo
I came home last night before the kids got to bed, which was a good thing, as I missed them very much. I missed my husband, too. But the 24 hours or so I spent in the Bay, and getting to meet with ninya_mikhaila and Jane on Friday, along with cileansdreams, and a few from various mailing lists I knew (Cynthia Barnes, and others), and many others who came to enjoy their talk, was very much worth the time and money to do.
Anyway, to pick up where I left off last...
I did get to Diana Habra's home, which was just a mile or two away from where I was staying. She has a lovely home and one room that has fabric lining the wall, well, more stacked on the one wall. She also had some new fabrics in her cutting room that I fell in love with, and some I even bought. I almost bought the silk/cotton damask she had, but I didn't know what I would do with it. So much fabric, so many ideas, but I limited myself to a few to complete the current projects, which is a loose kirtle and "frock" to use the Tudor term.
I bought a black medallion on pewter fabric to be the focal part of my kirtle (it has a little gold sparkle, too); a red & gold diamond chenile to use for the English gable; hunter green wool flannel for the frock (which I found out later is too 'poor' a wool for a lady of high station to use for a frock); a little gold dupionni to add as guards and welts on the frock; a yard of silk/cotton voile for a partlet (probably Elizabethan partlet), and black velveteen to use as guards on the frock and kirtle, and for other things.
So, happily having made my purchases we got to sit and talk for a bit on many things costuming, including her visit to Williamsburg (someday I will get there, too). Eventually, I did have to go as it was getting late and we both were tired. Diana is a really nice lady, and I am glad to have met her. I hope she can also find me the material I will need for my late Elizabethan gown.
One should not buy fabric late at night, because I had my mind churning with costuming ideas and thoughts for several hours. I made it back to the hotel, cleaned up my cameras, wrote down the directions to the theatre, and turned in for bed. My mind still churning on costuming, and then thoughts of the TT talks the next day, I only really got a few hours of sleep before getting up in the morning.
Morning, I showered, packed, loaded the car, and had the hotel's free breakfast. Then I departed for the theatre in Vallejo. I arrived at the theatre location given on their web site, and waited, my mind still churning on costuming thoughts. Other ladies arrived, and we waited by the front door patiently, until it was start time of 10:00. No one answered the door, no one was inside. Where was everyone? Well, it seems they did not put the directions to the Musical theatre on their web site, so the TT talks were at a different location. Thankfully, one of the ladies called their friend, and we got directions to the other site. And they held up the start time because about a dozen of us were not there yet. I was deeply puzzled, and a bit pissed, but at least I didn't miss anything.
So caravaning to the other site, we got in, got seated, and the talks commenced. I learned so much, with several pages of notes, and about a hundred digital photos, and a few film shots as well. While I will be working up the notes into something intelligible, it will be a bit before I have time to do so. I hope to upload the photos later today onto my site, or maybe my flickr account.
What I learned really opened my eyes to just how theatrical ren-faires are. Ok, I knew that already, but I didn't know how badly so until then. As a small example, we split the faire actors into a few groups (at least among the English groups). There is the lowly peasant, the merchants, and then the nobles, low and high. In English society of the Henrician era (which the TT ladies did their heaviest research into 1540s Henrician Court) there were the King and his family, nobles of various ranks, gentry of three ranks (knights, esquires, and "the meer gentlemen"), then merchants and artisans, yeomans, husbandman, and the rest. Sometime I need to google search (or read some of my books) to find all those ranks, as I know I've read them before, but not really paid attention to them before. Husbandman was the most common, and did not seem to be so badly dressed as our "peasants" seem to be at faire.
It was very helpful to get into the mindset of the Tudors. How simple things like the folding of the linens, or their various qualities of linens or wools, spoke of one's wealth, or even pretentions to a higher wealth. Or the market for used silks, for example, so that a "meer gentlewoman" might wear a fine silk damask, that her husband could afford because it was used. 'While I may never get to London, my kirtle silk has been in the court of the King!'
Yeah, there was a lot given, a lot learned, my eyes opened even more. I also felt good that my skill set and ways of sewing up garments is similar to theirs, which made me feel good (odd thing to say, I know). I still have lots to learn to get to their level of mastery and knowledge, but then that is their business, and they've developed what they know over years of researching what they do.
I also bought another book, signed as a gift to my GM, and two patterns.
And because of some of the insights given at the talks, I had some things I may modify in the Henrician research. But now I have to remember what exactly I wanted to modify, if anything really needed to be. Yeah, that's what happens when one thinks on the drive home, and has no means to write it down. But I do have to modify what I was going to write for the CIRGAzette article, with all this new info floating in my head.
And while I haven't said it yet, Jane and Ninya are wonderful ladies with a great sense of humor, and loads of knowledge in their minds. Jane even remembered me from our few e-mail chats! Which reminds me... more effigy images coming in a few months, and on her own server so there should be fewer problems. Yeah! Jane is getting married in July (that's a lucky man), so the effigies might get delayed. But hey, it is understandable.
Well, I've written a lot, and am hungry, so off to lunch.
Edit: I did make it by Home Fabrics on the way back home, and they didn't have anything worth buying. Diana had a much better selection of fabrics, and in natural fibers, too!
Anyway, to pick up where I left off last...
I did get to Diana Habra's home, which was just a mile or two away from where I was staying. She has a lovely home and one room that has fabric lining the wall, well, more stacked on the one wall. She also had some new fabrics in her cutting room that I fell in love with, and some I even bought. I almost bought the silk/cotton damask she had, but I didn't know what I would do with it. So much fabric, so many ideas, but I limited myself to a few to complete the current projects, which is a loose kirtle and "frock" to use the Tudor term.
I bought a black medallion on pewter fabric to be the focal part of my kirtle (it has a little gold sparkle, too); a red & gold diamond chenile to use for the English gable; hunter green wool flannel for the frock (which I found out later is too 'poor' a wool for a lady of high station to use for a frock); a little gold dupionni to add as guards and welts on the frock; a yard of silk/cotton voile for a partlet (probably Elizabethan partlet), and black velveteen to use as guards on the frock and kirtle, and for other things.
So, happily having made my purchases we got to sit and talk for a bit on many things costuming, including her visit to Williamsburg (someday I will get there, too). Eventually, I did have to go as it was getting late and we both were tired. Diana is a really nice lady, and I am glad to have met her. I hope she can also find me the material I will need for my late Elizabethan gown.
One should not buy fabric late at night, because I had my mind churning with costuming ideas and thoughts for several hours. I made it back to the hotel, cleaned up my cameras, wrote down the directions to the theatre, and turned in for bed. My mind still churning on costuming, and then thoughts of the TT talks the next day, I only really got a few hours of sleep before getting up in the morning.
Morning, I showered, packed, loaded the car, and had the hotel's free breakfast. Then I departed for the theatre in Vallejo. I arrived at the theatre location given on their web site, and waited, my mind still churning on costuming thoughts. Other ladies arrived, and we waited by the front door patiently, until it was start time of 10:00. No one answered the door, no one was inside. Where was everyone? Well, it seems they did not put the directions to the Musical theatre on their web site, so the TT talks were at a different location. Thankfully, one of the ladies called their friend, and we got directions to the other site. And they held up the start time because about a dozen of us were not there yet. I was deeply puzzled, and a bit pissed, but at least I didn't miss anything.
So caravaning to the other site, we got in, got seated, and the talks commenced. I learned so much, with several pages of notes, and about a hundred digital photos, and a few film shots as well. While I will be working up the notes into something intelligible, it will be a bit before I have time to do so. I hope to upload the photos later today onto my site, or maybe my flickr account.
What I learned really opened my eyes to just how theatrical ren-faires are. Ok, I knew that already, but I didn't know how badly so until then. As a small example, we split the faire actors into a few groups (at least among the English groups). There is the lowly peasant, the merchants, and then the nobles, low and high. In English society of the Henrician era (which the TT ladies did their heaviest research into 1540s Henrician Court) there were the King and his family, nobles of various ranks, gentry of three ranks (knights, esquires, and "the meer gentlemen"), then merchants and artisans, yeomans, husbandman, and the rest. Sometime I need to google search (or read some of my books) to find all those ranks, as I know I've read them before, but not really paid attention to them before. Husbandman was the most common, and did not seem to be so badly dressed as our "peasants" seem to be at faire.
It was very helpful to get into the mindset of the Tudors. How simple things like the folding of the linens, or their various qualities of linens or wools, spoke of one's wealth, or even pretentions to a higher wealth. Or the market for used silks, for example, so that a "meer gentlewoman" might wear a fine silk damask, that her husband could afford because it was used. 'While I may never get to London, my kirtle silk has been in the court of the King!'
Yeah, there was a lot given, a lot learned, my eyes opened even more. I also felt good that my skill set and ways of sewing up garments is similar to theirs, which made me feel good (odd thing to say, I know). I still have lots to learn to get to their level of mastery and knowledge, but then that is their business, and they've developed what they know over years of researching what they do.
I also bought another book, signed as a gift to my GM, and two patterns.
And because of some of the insights given at the talks, I had some things I may modify in the Henrician research. But now I have to remember what exactly I wanted to modify, if anything really needed to be. Yeah, that's what happens when one thinks on the drive home, and has no means to write it down. But I do have to modify what I was going to write for the CIRGAzette article, with all this new info floating in my head.
And while I haven't said it yet, Jane and Ninya are wonderful ladies with a great sense of humor, and loads of knowledge in their minds. Jane even remembered me from our few e-mail chats! Which reminds me... more effigy images coming in a few months, and on her own server so there should be fewer problems. Yeah! Jane is getting married in July (that's a lucky man), so the effigies might get delayed. But hey, it is understandable.
Well, I've written a lot, and am hungry, so off to lunch.
Edit: I did make it by Home Fabrics on the way back home, and they didn't have anything worth buying. Diana had a much better selection of fabrics, and in natural fibers, too!