Archery Champion Scroll

When I saw a page in the Hours of Catherine of Cleves depicting various archery/crossbow paraphernalia, I knew I wanted to one day use it as an archery award.  Thus, when the opportunity arose that our Kingdom needed an Archery Champion scroll, to be awarded the evening of the archery competition.

The winner ended up being HL Owen ap Howell.  It's awesome to see him out shooting again.

This is done on Bristol vellum finish paper with Pilot Iroshizuku black ink, and Winsor & Newton gouache.  I did add a touch of sparkle with some Finetec metallic gold pigment.  The calligraphy is Gothic Textura Quadrata.  The name is left blank in the pictures, because I took the photos before shipping the piece to Idaho where the competition was held.

 

All in all, I have to be honest in that I didn't much like this piece.  While I was excited in the beginning, I quickly got bored of the whole design and its floating archery...stuff.  I guess my heart lies with super colorful flowery designs.  Oh well, I hope it is enjoyed by Owen, because in the end, that's what it's about.

Quick Templar Surcoat

My fantastic husband decided to shift his SCA persona, Sven, from being a generic Norseman into a Templar.  He asked me to sew him a simple surcoat in black.

This made up rather quickly, even for my slow skills (no really, a normal seamstress could hand sew a garment in the amount of time I take to make one by machine).  Between Sven and I, we went with the cross pattée over his heart(ish).  The tricky thing with Templar research is that there were no firm rules early on, just suggestions of what warrior fighting for God should/would/could do to delineate themselves.  I'm still looking for solid documentation on Templar clothing as this is most certainly not my area of expertise.

This surcoat is split up to the groin (front and back), for easy horsemanship, and slips over the head with no need for ties, connectors, etc.  It is made from a lightweight wool gabardine, lined in white linen (all from the stash, and designed for comfortable wear in Utah's warmer months).  The cross is red linen, machine appliqued into place with a tight zig zag stitch.  I'd have preferred to applique it by hand, but the amount of time I had to complete the piece was tight as he wanted it for Southern Regional Collegium in April.  It was done on time, but I didn't take pictures until now.

He accessorized with a belt made of rope, a paternoster, and a fuzzy beard.

He seems to enjoy it.  And really, that's what it's all about.  I had to post this picture because who doesn't love anachronistic disco?