Open Shop 5-24-2012

 

Abby got off to a good start by smoothing the edges of the aluminum plates for her gorget using a belt sander.  Later on she curved and slightly dished the plates using a stump and a hammer.

 

 Diedre has finished the top of her helm and is starting on the back slats.

 

Ben re-strapped his shield and did some planning work for his coat of plates.

 

 Evie and Gunna looked through reference materials and planned Evie's next new outfit.

 Helen is such a pro, she can do applique with her eyes closed!  Not really.  Later she worked on some embroidery why loaning her sewing machine to Jovian...

 ...who sewed some leather pouches.

 Wolf kept after his lamellar lacing project.
 

 Nora helped Belle dye the ends of her hair blue.  We are not sure why and we are afraid to ask.

 Diedre also helped Wyllow with fitting the corset layer of a new Elizabethian outfit.  Sometimes fittings can tickle.  Wyllow very consistently says "Elizabethian" rather than "Elizabethan" while I do the opposite, yet somehow we manage to co-exist.

Artorius looks suave and debonair after a hard evening of helping other people with their projects, while still not getting his own shield re-strapped.

Thursday, May 17

I got so busy I forgot to take pictures again.  But we started with my Barley Porridge and Diedre's Beefy Cabbage.

Sage fleshed out his armour plan for a 15th century Italian boffer kit with upgrade to adult armour potential.  It will include a lot of King-Renee-inspired hardened leather.

Ben worked on a 1200 Hospitaler armour plan.  He really likes the look of the flat-top helms but will probably use one of our baronial loaner sugarloaf helms for a while.

 Here is what he wants: 


Belle and Josh and Nora re-painted some miniatures that had been banged up the recent  Rube Goldberg project.  I'll try to provide a link to the video.  (Yes.  There is video.)  Nora also drew up a lovely knotwork piece for Wyllow...involving a willow tree of course.

Wyllow sewed a hammock cover that she plans to use on a Girl Scout campout this weekend.

Gunna worked on projects and visited with folks but I never actually saw what she was working on.  Maybe it is a secret present for me!  Or maybe not...   :(

Wolf laced together more lamellar scales and figured out how many he will need for each row, so he took some more plastic with him to cut out the remaining scales on his bandsaw.  Working at home between open shop days=armour done sooner!

Diedre finish the last of the rivets for the skull of her Valsgarde 6 helm.  It looks great!  Now to rivet on the cheek plates, back slats, nasal, and face-protecting bars. She is on track to finish her kit in time for War of Ages this fall.

Crisdean dyed his leather vambraces and rerbraces black with iron-based "vinegaroon" dye and dished the vambraces for that sexy tulip shape.  Next week he'll be ready for glue-soaking and baking!

William/Artorius helped with several projects and worked with Aaron and I on where to re-locate the grip and strap on his shield.  Maybe this week he will drill the holes and move them?  It could happen...

Aaron repaired the articulation on a knee cop and did some quick preliminary padding for his new helm to see where the chin strap needs to go.  We had a wee bit of trouble drilling the holes for the chinstrap because his aventail seems to be designed not to be removable, but we managed to get it done.  We also worked out a pattern for a linen liner for this helm.

Period food night

 Wyllow prepared 4 game hens using/adapting a Roman recipe for roast hens in "green sauce".  She told me many more details about ingredients and methods and adaptations for missing ingredients like green nard, but what I remember is that they tasted exotic and delicious.

And Wyllow served up the hens elegantly on a platter.

 Deidre brought a middle-eastern dish of rice and lentils and...other things.  What things?  You'll have to ask her.

Belle and her friend Josh worked on a Rube Goldberg device for physics class, resulting in intermittent crashing sounds and exclamations throughout the evening.

In other news, Wolf finished shaping his lamellar scales so we worked out a lacing pattern/plan and he is busily assembling them.  Abby rounded the corners of all the metal bits for her brigandine gorget and we discussed design ideas for the remaining parts.  Gunna warped her loom with blue thread for a new project. Khutulun brought her stage-armour elbows and knees over and we worked together to dish the last elbow, planish all of them and drill holes for strapping/attaching them.  Deidre peened more rivits in her Valsgarde 6 helm.

Sage came over with his dad and little brother.  All seemed fascinated with what we do so we will see how many of his family decide to get involved.  Sage seems inclined towards 15th cent. Italian renaisance for clothing and armour.  It would be great to see someone do boffer in a hardened leather King Renee suit...and then he could easily upgrade it for adult combat in about 3 years.

And that was enough for one night!

Open Shop, 4-12, 19 and 26

It has been a few weeks, but we have been hosting Open Shop Night every Thursday.  Here Abby shows her new brigandine gorget in progress.

 Belle's friend Nora tried her hand at repousse with minimal instruction (I taught her all I know...)

Wolf added a stainless steel reinforcement to the front of his hardened leather gorget, attached lamellar scales to the back and glued in a sheepskin lining.

 

 Then we marked and cut some blue barrel plastic scales for his hidden lamellar armour.

 Belle painted a scroll with guash, an egg-based paint using period pigments.

 Nora sketched a couple of wolfhounds for me to use in future heraldry projects...

 ...and I made myself a new roping tool for embossing leather.

 Wolf cut his barrel plastic into lames this week, so tonight he could drill them.  He held each stack of lames together with blocks and clamps and then drilled the whole stack at once.  Note:  people who make progress on their armour BETWEEN open shop nights get done sooner!

 Morgan worked on some lightweight kneecops for her theatrical armouring class.  Tonight she got to dish, planish, and use both the wire wheel and the buffer!

 I'm having trouble with armour-moths.  Either that or the cords are wearing out on my lamellar armour.  I suppose it is 6 years old now.

 Nora tried her hand at an original illuminated capital, a B for Belle.

Abby and Gunna managed to avoid the camera this week but they were here, enjoyed some stewed chicken over rice, assembled a loom, made a pattern for gamboised cuisses, and cut out the linen for the cuises.

Open Shop 4-5-2012

We started with spaghetti, under the theory that nothing that starts with spaghetti could be too bad.  I got a bit creative with the sauce, including mushrooms, ground beef, onions, garlic, canned sauce, canned paste, canned diced tomato, several spices and a healthy splash of red wine.  Then I headed out to the workshop.

If I can just find the right tool...

 I can make this cheek-plate hinge!  (Off-camera I also glued aluminum c-channel to the edge of my new practice shield.) 

 Deidra is making progress with her helm.

 Wolf has glue-soaked and baked his new gorget

 

 Wyllow is making dye out of sticky weed. (Galiun aparine, catchweed bedstaw, a relative of madder)

...and that is all for this week!

Open Shop 3-29-2012

1st things first...roast duck with parsnips, leeks and onions!

 Then Belle's friend Josh tried on some armour.  He got so enthused that he went out and did pell work for the next few hours.

 Wyllow helped Franchesca design a new sleeve:

 

While somebody tried to hide in the coffee table:

 Wolf made a custom pattern to fit him, cut out the pieces and then beveled and burnished the edges of his new gorget:

 Deidra wisely wears her earplugs while peening rivets in her new Valsgarde 6 helm.

Maelgwyn and Chrisdean round the corners and smooth the edges of some aluminum vambrace splints.

...and a good time was had by all.

Gulf War!

Since last we met our heroes...Gulf War happened!  A few highlights:

The War Company performed magnificently in the Town, Ravine, Bridge, Field and Castle battles.  Many pictures are available on Facebook and in Ursus Gallery.   What I do not have is a picture of King Aaron awarding the Kingdom War Banner to the Bryn Gwlad War Company, which was the culmination of a fun-filled week.    

Other highlights include being chosen for one of the Unbelted Champions fights:

 

No, my opponent was not named Goliath...he is Danial von Hessen from Trimaris.

And fighting in the 14th century Deed of Arms:

My 14th century armour includes a sugarloaf helm with mail coif, blackened mail shirt, hardened leather curie breast and back plates, hardened leather arms and shynbalds and gamboised cuises.  The green linen surcoat is unadorned like most of the contemporary ones in the Codex Manessa or the Romance of Alexander.