New dress: almost total success. Despite the bodice being constructed of four layers of linen and a mixture of steel and cable tie boning, it was remarkable cool (this may have been only by comparison with the fact that I’d just spent 2 weeks in Wind River, where it was much hotter, since most everyone else was complaining about the heat). Problems: grommets did not save time, as they failed to properly go through four layers and all had to be overcast right away. Need to make a thinner lacing cord (buying decent lacing = impossible). Discovered that a backlacing dress which I cannot get in or out of without assistance makes me claustrophobic (I’m going to make a front-lacing kirtle for supportive underwear and save this one for looking nice). I still need to put eyelets in on the sleeves to lace them on, but otherwise it’s done and I’m very happy with it.
Classes: I took fingerloop braiding (and am totally obsessed with it), lucet (need to actually get a lyre to make up my mind about it, as using my fingers hurts–but it is more practical for long lengths of cord), and bookbinding (which was very very exciting). I will post pictures eventually, I promise (although the book is not quite done, since I haven’t figured out how to decorate it or pasted the endpapers down).
All in all, it was an excellent event, aside from the fact that I am unpleasantly allergic to pine pollen and spent the whole weekend popping naproxen and feeling lousy.
At fighter practice last week I received the baronial A&S award, which made me cry (and also laugh hysterically, because the scroll text was…unconventional). And also, apparently there was a prize for the blank scroll competition, so now I have some cool new scribal toys to play with (and also a scarf, oddly).
Back to calligraphy layout, whee.
