Yule, and costume thoughts
Last Saturday was our Baronial Yule, and it was an enjoyable if brief evening of good folks and great food - potluck style. There were many folks there I didn't know or knew minimally, and I'm not a social butterfly so I kinda stayed around some of the ladies and gents that I knew. Sadly, a few friends did not attend, one was sick and her husband stayed home with her. Another was busy at work. One was not feeling well so she sent her husband, and another was far, far away visiting friends. Another I've no idea. They were missed by me, but life happens.
We did have quite the haul for Toys for Tots, which is the only entry fee for Yule. I hope some kid somewhere enjoys the toy I had brought.
I decided to wear my French silk gown, early 16th century style, known as the Phyllis Writing outfit. It is the one I made & wore to the Tudor Ball a couple of years ago, and entered into Pentathalon earlier this year. None in my barony had seen it before. I also wore my blackwork partlet for the first time. I now understand why tons of pins are needed to get dressed, and used a lot of brass pins but really needed to use more to keep the partlet where it needed to stay. Wear and learn.
If you want to see pics of our Yule, including a couple of pics of me that were taken by Countess Seanachaidhe, go here on FB.
I got a lot of compliments on both the gown and the partlet, and I also received a Baronial award, the Beau Coeur for my arts. (woohoo!) It is the first arts awards I've ever received in my time in the SCA, and I knew I was getting it since I also made the award certificates for the Baroness to hand out (mostly computer done, not hand). There were also a couple of folks added to the Order of the Phoenix (yes, a baronial service award created long before the Potter book) and one given the Coeur Noble for his great services. I also won a pair of goblets from the raffle fundraiser, that my kids should enjoy (tho I may just use them myself).
I will admit here that one of the nicest compliments was one gentleman who said that in seeing my outfit, I must be close to getting a Laurel. Ah, if only that was so, but I told him in truth I've more to learn & do to improve my skills. His wife then said that she'd love to learn what I've learned, and I told her I'd be happy to share what I know. I think in some ways it was a bittersweet comment from the gentleman, since until that night, I'd not even been given any arts award outside of Pentathalon, so it seems I've a long road ahead of me. Thankfully, making and wearing the outfits I do is its own reward. I just need to figure out where to go next, and I'm not sure if I should switch to making headwear next, along with working on outfits for the kids beyond tunics (tho they love their tunics). But that's a thought for another blog.
We did have quite the haul for Toys for Tots, which is the only entry fee for Yule. I hope some kid somewhere enjoys the toy I had brought.
I decided to wear my French silk gown, early 16th century style, known as the Phyllis Writing outfit. It is the one I made & wore to the Tudor Ball a couple of years ago, and entered into Pentathalon earlier this year. None in my barony had seen it before. I also wore my blackwork partlet for the first time. I now understand why tons of pins are needed to get dressed, and used a lot of brass pins but really needed to use more to keep the partlet where it needed to stay. Wear and learn.
If you want to see pics of our Yule, including a couple of pics of me that were taken by Countess Seanachaidhe, go here on FB.
I got a lot of compliments on both the gown and the partlet, and I also received a Baronial award, the Beau Coeur for my arts. (woohoo!) It is the first arts awards I've ever received in my time in the SCA, and I knew I was getting it since I also made the award certificates for the Baroness to hand out (mostly computer done, not hand). There were also a couple of folks added to the Order of the Phoenix (yes, a baronial service award created long before the Potter book) and one given the Coeur Noble for his great services. I also won a pair of goblets from the raffle fundraiser, that my kids should enjoy (tho I may just use them myself).
I will admit here that one of the nicest compliments was one gentleman who said that in seeing my outfit, I must be close to getting a Laurel. Ah, if only that was so, but I told him in truth I've more to learn & do to improve my skills. His wife then said that she'd love to learn what I've learned, and I told her I'd be happy to share what I know. I think in some ways it was a bittersweet comment from the gentleman, since until that night, I'd not even been given any arts award outside of Pentathalon, so it seems I've a long road ahead of me. Thankfully, making and wearing the outfits I do is its own reward. I just need to figure out where to go next, and I'm not sure if I should switch to making headwear next, along with working on outfits for the kids beyond tunics (tho they love their tunics). But that's a thought for another blog.