So Far So Good

Well I got to a reasonable point on my Tudor castle done. Its not finished by any stretch of the imagination. Probably not til the end of summer at least, though it is keeping me out of trouble, lol.

I am pleased with all the progress that was made this week. It was just a pile of plywood with lines drawn on it last friday. Now it is nearly all complete and painted. I have yet to finish making cushions, bedding, curtains and the other plush features of the castle. Plus finishing touches on the decor and furniture. I have it completed enough for display. Which is how I wanted it to look in progress or under construction, whatever fits your fancy.

I will write a small amount on what I am building and why. Let alone the details yet to be finished on the castle, its purpose and its creation in the 16th and history there of in turning into a child's toy.

Everything is packed and in the car, thank goodness. I am not sure if I am going to change on site or not at this point. Though I am as ready as I am going to be. There is now way that I am going to get my bookmark embroidered in time for this event. Really sad about that though kids things came up quickly for a general plan on what they would be doing and such. So I had to look to my office first and then to my A&S display that was already in progress.

Wish I had time at work to craft, though it would be frowned upon. Alas living the dream can be hard when the mundane interferes with the imagination. I am sure that is a very Scadian feeling that crosses the minds of others like me from time to time.

Excited for my class tomorrow, hope it goes well. Got lots of information and visuals for the class. I know the A&S display will got well, just got to get the small article done. I am taking my Tudor Barbies for the class and for the A&S display they are always a hit. I know the kids will have fun there is lots of things I have in mind that will be good for them to do.

Well that is all for now. Hope to have more pictures and such to post soon.

Blessings,

Lady Mairin O'Cadhla

Mairins Crafts

Here is some photos of the various projects I have worked on in the recent past.
There will be posting more photos of projects in the future.
Enjoy,

Lady Mairin O' Cadhla

So Many Projects So Little Time

I have had so much on my mind as far as new things to do it has been dizzying. Unfortunatley no time or the lack of materials to do them. So sitting and spinning and getting no where has been a constant lately. The list of to do things are as follows:

Work on rolled edging for silk veils and pearl edges, blackwork embroider my ladies pockets, finish all the embroidery for O'Cadhla castle's interior furnishings. Finish and stain all the interior furnishings and get all the windows and interior walls drawn on the plywood and sent to get cut. Put together the caslte and texurize the walls for the stucco look inside and brick look outside. Work in Embroidered bookmarks for largesse. Make a crewel work Elizabethan Ladies Jacket, Coif and Kirtle. Knitt socks from spun wool, dye and ply wool for crewel embroidering.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head for now but I know the list can be more than a mile long. Now that my work schedule has changed and there is less time to work on SCAdian things I am feeling a bit of a pinch. Though I just need to strictly dedicate some time to getting some things done and I won't feel the pressure as bad. There really isn't any time limit for most of those projects, I just want to get them done and enjoy them sooner rather than later. Guess I have no choice but to be patient.

Patience is a virtue,

Maureen

Tudor Castle Doll House

Well I have been having a fun time the past week, lots of planning and brainstorming.

I have yet to write up the handout for my class I will be teaching at Aethelmearc Academy, a SCA event that is coming up in two weeks. Nothing like procrastination, lol. Took forever to decide what I wanted to teach but I made up my mind to give a Tudor Roundtable. Which will allow those interested in Tudor times or making a persona to voice challenges, problems, and allow group discussion, questions and resolution on some persona building issues. I know it took me forever to get into the swing of things when I first started up, and something like this would have helped alot. So I want to give a brief time period discussion of what happened in the whole of the Tudor Dynasty and then give my own challenges and open the floor to the class for questions and queries. I am looking forward to this, hope I get a good group of interested quizical tudor nuts, lol.

On another Tudor realted topic I had an ephiphony for using the plant stand my sister gave to me, the original plan was to use it for a book shelf. Upon inspection it is way to flimsy for the weight of books. Later on I had a light bulb go on in my head, now I plan on turning it into a Tudor Castle for my Tudor Dynasty dolls. These are the same dolls I made for Ice Dragon all outfited in Tudor clothing. I got the plywood the other day and drew my pattern for cutting out the exterior walls, and floors done. A friend of mine is going to cut it out on a table saw for me, saves me from doing the whole mess myself. I will be challenging since the stand is not square so neither is my measurements, should be interesting to attempt. I still have to measure and draw out the pattern for the interior walls and windows yet. So there is some left to be done, though I got a majority of it taken care of yesterday. So details, details, details, lol.

Of course I will have to put it together, paint and furnish yet, though I won't take me long to do that with some evenings to myself, it will be a fast process. I plan on taking photos and posting them when it gets far enough along. I am really excited about this project.

On the reaserch side, I knew that most dollhouses weren't really documented till much later in the 17th century. So this started out as a project just for fun. Though with some determination and luck I found a 16th cenutry source. The Duke of Bavaria, Ablrecht the V, had several interesting collections of fine art, books, and historical artifacts. In his area of curiosities there included one "baby house" that was a miniature version of his exhisting home found, which was held in a cabinet. Most of the previously mentioned collections ended up in various museums in Germany. Though the baby house and the other contents of the cabinet do not exhist due to a fire at the the noble residence in 1647. Though it's grandeur is forever detailed in an inventory of the Dukes Estates by Johann Bapist Fickler in 1598. Thank goodness someone wrote it down and within the period, I am trilled. So that is at the end of the Elizabethan age but I still counts in the SCA timeline. Of course, this is all going towards a forthcoming research paper and most definitely a Ice Dragon entry for 2011. I think this will upset the common knowledge community in the A&S area, I look forward to the reaction. hee hee.

As you can all tell I am working on more doll things. So I have not made any new garb, though there is no real need for me to make too much more. With my Garb trunks all full I have some exception pieces that I want for a later Elizbethan and French styles, but that is the extent for now. I am very happy with my garb wardrobe right now, how it fits and looks. As with alot of my arts and crafts I go in seasons so I won't come back around to garb till sometime later on maybe nor for six months. Maybe I will have more silk from my source by them, hmm?

I am however working on more embroidery, so that has come back around. Now that I am in the Embroidery guild that helps me out a lot with motivation and projects. I hope to do some black work eventually but there isn't any pressure to get something done now. I made a bookmark for a feast basket and I will have to make another one for the next event so there is lots I still have to do yet. Procrastination as I mentioned before, lol. This won't take me long to do though.

Well that is all the Tudor related things I have been making lately or that are in the works. I will hopefully be back sooner than later to post pictures and comments on the above mentioned projects.

Have a blessed day,

Maureen