Nikki took Winners Bitch & BOS (Best opposite sex) at dog show today, and won her first point towards her Championship.

I have been working, off and on, on a project that will take me a while to complete. The original is in the Victoria & Albert Museum in England. I have enlarged it, almost double, so that I can applique it onto a pillow cover for my own use.

I finished the black outlines and am now starting to work on filling in the leaves (the bows will be outlined in a darker color of each bow). I am using Soie d'Alger silk, 32 ct. linen, and jap gold (for the applique) as I cannot afford real gold.

Today is grooming day for Nikki. I need to give her a bath and really groom her fur and nails for he show tomorrow. There is only two bitches again, and I am wondering if she will be competing against the 6-month only bitch again. I will admit that the pup is cute and very fluffy, but it is disheartening to have your 2 1/2 year old get beat by a 6-month old. Nikki's coat is coming back, so that is one good thing. I will just need to watch her more closely for when she "blows" her coat after comming in heat (seems bitches actually loose their fur right after they are in season). This is why males do much better in shows than bitches.


We will be leaving a 8am for her 10:30 show time. Will just have to wait and see how it turns out. We should be home by noon.

In the remaining two weeks of this month, we only have 2 1/2 days of actually going anywhere; I have a 2 hr meeting to attend, then a full day to & from a dog show and then the Golden Rivers Banquet. This will leave me 10 1/2 days to embroider on projects. I am hoping to get six projects completed by 12th Night and then the remaining six completed by the end of January. Of course, if I really push myself, I could get them all completed by 12th Night, but I will need to relax a bit in between projects.

Last night at the embroidery class, I delivered the completed haversack to E'tai'n. I needed to take the lining off the flap to embroider her device onto it. This was a very simple process. She was please with how it turned out. One project down and 12 more to go -- all by 12th Night.

This was sent to me by a dear friend, I just could not resist posting it.

Disaster or rebirth? Total annihilation or world peace? With all the hype on the Mayan Calendar, Revelations from the Bible, Government conspiracy and scientific speculations, what do we, as the population believe? Will the world really end on December 21, 2012? Will the Earth shift on its axis (as in the tortion field physics)? If it does shift, will our climates change drastically? Speculations will run wild between now and then.

If it is the “end”, what would you wish you could do? Personally, I would like to mend bridges with my daughter and hope that we could get back together and become a family again. She is like her grandmother and holds grudges, but 10 plus years is a tad too long for any grudge to continue. She holds onto the past, both good and bad, and does not believe that anyone can really forget things said or done. Hence, she keeps a hold on her grudges.

I have felt empty these past years, my life is incomplete. If I were to die tomorrow, I know that she would not care. Every time I think about her, and her distance, I ache inside. I get very depressed and think of terrible things. I think this is why I try to keep busy, to keep my mind occupied on other things. If the world is to end, I would give anything to be able to see and hug her, and to see my grandson for the first time.

When I first started in the SCA I was told about the different colored belts (white/knights, red/squires, green/apprentices & yellow/protégés), and that I was to avoid wearing these colored belts as they were “status” symbols and you could tell who was doing what, per say. And I know that not all apprentices/protégés wear the colored belts (why, I do not know). I, myself, think it would be an honour, but then, not everyone thinks like I do.

If one made garb in, say, yellow and black, they could wear a yellow belt that went with that particular outfit, but not on regular garb. Lately I have seen others wearing yellow belts at events. When I inquired who they were protégé to, they replied “Oh, I am not a protégé. This is our household belt.” Interesting, I did not know there was another option to wearing colored belts (other than matching for garb).

Are the colored belt regulations now obsolete? Can anyone wear red, white, yellow or green belts now? I am not referring to material belts (that go with a particular piece of garb); I am referring to the leather belts.

Ahhh, To Hell and Back, I have GOT to find that DVD. I watch it every time I can, it is one of my most favorite movies of all time.

I have been approached by many people asking about the documentation for Arts & Sciences competitions. One does not need to do a 10-20 page thesis (think of the time a Judge would need to read through them). You can write up a nice 2-3 page document that will cover everything needed. I hope the following information will be helpful to those who do enter future competitions.
Documentation shall consist of, but shall not be limited to, answering the following questions:

1. What extant item inspired your piece?


2. Where is this piece currently located?


3. What culture is the extant item from?


4. How was your inspiration piece used in period?


5. What century is the extant piece from?


6. What are the materials used in the extant piece?


7. What materials did you use, and if they differ from the extant materials, why?


8. Where did you find the designs for your piece?


9. What stitches and colors were used in the extant piece?


10. What stitches and colors did you use in your piece?


11. Remember to include a Bibliography/Resource section at the end of your
    documentation.


12. a photo of the original piece is also a good idea.

Questions 9 & 10 are mostly for embroidery pieces, but you can adapt them for other topics (metals used, wood used, dyes, etc.). If you answer these questions, you will have a nice documentation with all the needed information. You can either 1) write out these questions and supply the answers, or 2) write them in a paragraph form; which ever way is easier for you. Permission granted from Katherine de Langelei, WK Needle Guild Minister to use questions (#1 thru #10) from the West Kingdom Needle Guild’s Broider Program.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime at
pjbarnes1@yahoo.com or ans@cynagua.org

Sorcha Fhionn inghean ui/Ruairc
Cynagua Arts & Sciences Minister

Today Josephus day tripped to Cynagua/Mists War (as he is RMIC) and I stayed home. Since I was up at 6AM I figured that I would work on my web site. I posted the two paternosters I made to my Projects page on my web site. Now I will relax on the couch and start back to work on the two haversacks that I need to finish. I can always work on the other Or Nue sample piece in between; not to mention two scrolls that I need to finish painting.

Of the 15 projects needed by January, I am now down to 13...LOL. Yes, they will all be completed and ready for delivery at that time. Have I ever mentioned that I love to keep busy??

• Haversack-Ducal promissory


• paternoster-Colorado


• paternoster-Sir Gemini


• finish Byzantine tunic trim


• commission – pillow cover


• commission – smocked apron


• haversack – finish device


• service project 1


• service project 2


• goldwork butterfly


• aprons – smocked & blackwork


• Or Nué – leaf & chalice


• 2 scrolls – AOA & LOM

Today I worked on two paternoster commissions (to take a slight break from my embroidery projects).

The first one was commissioned by my son's friend after he saw a photo of my skull paternoster. He wanted a 5 decade paternoster using bone skulls as gauds and red beads for the aves. He wanted to use his wedding band (his wife died and he wanted it as a momento) as the connector and a sterling silver crucifix.



The red beads are all garnet colored, but photo looks different.

My second commission was from Sir Gemini at Cynagua Coronet after he saw my skull paternoster. I offered to give him mine, but he wanted just a 4 decade loop using all skulls. I fingerlooped black silk thread (all 12 strands) for the cording and then made a black silk tassel for it. The aves are bone skulls and the gauds are date wood skulls.



(The skulls go with his device as there is no lower jaw bone on the skulls.)

Most everyone knows that I do not drink alcohol (at least not in the past 10 plus years). But I do enjoy tasting concoctions that others make (plus, I do make cordials). (I just need to remember NOT to take my meds if I drink!) At Fall Coronet Lady Yrsa made a most delicious treat “Vampyre Kiss Jello Shots”. Now mind you, these were in tiny 2-3 oz. cups and did contain alcohol, but just the two that I sampled made my head a bit woozy later on. Talk about “sneaking up on you”. These would make a lovely treat for any occasion, alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY racaire1

Okay, I finally finished my Or Nue class project (taught by Mistress Teleri at IKINS). I took out all of the first attemp I made due to a bad wave in my gold threads. Thistime I was able to complete it without any majot errors. IMHO, it is still not perfect, but this is my first Or Nue project.

I just uploaded photos of Mari's Knighting on my FlickR site...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sorchafhionn/sets/72157622593884033/

Van packed, embroidery tote packed, everything is all ready to go. Time to hit the shower and get to bed. Then in morning we head out to Cynagua Coronet.

When we went to Collegium last weekend, we had to cross the Sacramento Bay Bridge; coming and going. On the way home, we heard odd noises as we crossed the bridge, Josphus commented he did not like the sounds, whereas I took it as just the wind blowing through the support cables.

Josephus just informed me that a section of the Sacramento Bay Bridge collapsed Tuesday! Approximately the same area we heard the strange noises. I am just glad that no one was seriously hurt.
Bay Bridge Collapse

At October Crown I bought 2 bone needles for embroidery; I figured I would use them when stitching on wool. Stupid me, I never realized that they would break so easily, or not so easily. I was doing a simple chain stitch on a wool project and broke the tip off one of the needles. I was showing it to Josephus, and POP, off came another piece of the needle; so now I have a shorter needle than I started with. I almost tossed this in the trash, but thought “Hey! I can sand the tip to a point and I can still use this needle.”



At Collegium, I took an IKINS class on Or Nué. I actually got ¾ of it completed (the piece is a 1 ¼” X 1 ¼” square), but the gold diapered threads drooped on the sides and I ended up with a very bad wave on the upper part of the chalice. Normally, when I screw up this badly, I just trash the piece; then I either “forget” about learning the technique, or I rip it out and start over. If you have ever done Or Nué, you know the stitches are tiny and it is very tedious work to rip out the stitches. Well, I spent 2 hours ripping out the threads (very, very carefully); I did not damage the design, did not cut the linen and only lost about 4” of gold metal thread. I was pleased with myself. Now I do plan on redoing this piece and completing it soon.
Here is the photo before I ripped it all out....

I got up early this morning (6AM hubby already left for work) and started coffee (auto timer was set for 6:30). Went to the bathroom, washed face, combed hair, and looked at puffy reflection, grumbled to self. Went into kitchen and poured myself a cup of the first inch of coffee, the super strong beginning coffee.

Sitting at computer, one dog curled by my feet, one on a blanket covered crate, one still in her crate, no noise in house, all quiet and peaceful. Then I heard it; a wooden click like a door closing softly. Dogs were still sleeping, no alerts, and no movement. Still, that unexpected sound bothered me. I slowly reached over and pulled a knitting needle from my knitting tote under the sewing table. I was just starting to, quietly, get up from my chair when I heard “Hello.” It was W, seems he forgot his train pass and had to come home to get it.

That man is worse than a cat when it comes to walking. He walks as silently as a cat and can cross a room without making a sound.