Not so scary, actually.

Posted on September 21, 2011 by

My photoless project du jour is for an upcoming SCA event, and is allowing me to do some pattern testing. I did my Mughal angharka in four different ways for myself (each time learning valuable info), but then found a miniature that shows the ties in the front of the lady’s version (!). So there will be a fifth for me, hopefully the most accurate of the set. I’ve also wanted to make a version for general consumption for some time, and Wonder Husband needs garb for said upcoming event. I’m using him and his obviously different measurements (it would be so weird if we were the same size and shape) to pattern up a man’s crossover jama, and see if my pattern translates well to my theory about how the measurements work and how the whole thing can be modified to fit various body types.

So far, I’ve got a paper pattern done and have fit one of the sleeves. Tomorrow evening I plan on stitching together a muslin so he can try it on and we can see how it fits.

If all goes well, I’ll put together documentation for a nice, hand-sewn version (as yet to be completed), enter it, see what feedback comes out of that, and hopefully put together instructions for a fit-to-wear pattern. I can think of lots of people who might like a comfy Mughal outfit (lots = maybe 5; I’m being optimistic).

Woo.

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Actual crafty-type stuff!

Posted on September 12, 2011 by

I so wanted to post this sooner, but it was supposed to be a surprise, and now it has been gifted, so there you have it.

I have a very dear friend who was elevated to the Order of the Laurel DragonCon weekend, and the days up to the Con saw me madly crafting. I think I posted the Ramirez costume already, which took up a goodly bit of time (and looks great, so totally worth it). But that was broken in the middle by two weeks of even more frantic crafting, as I realized that I finally had money for the materials and was looking at a really close deadline.

The now-Laurel in question is Mistress Madhavi, the only person in the SCA (that I know of) who is researching the exact time and place I am, specifically Mewar in the mid 16th century. Actually, her persona is from Jaisalmer, and mine is from the Udaipur area, but the culture is pretty similar. So when I heard that she was going to be elevated, I knew exactly what to gift to her.

Remember all those angry patka posts I made? No? Okay, so maybe they were just frustrated emails sent to Madhavi. There was anger! Don’t get me wrong, I’m fond of patkas, both the under-pagh Sikh version and the ornate Mughal belt version. But when it comes to a woman’s patka, there has been much staring at paintings trying to figure out what in the world that thing could possibly be.

(Miniature from the Caurapancasika, or Tale of a Love Thief, 1570)

OMG WHAT I DON’T EVEN.

No, seriously. If you know WTF is going on with the white pointy bit in the front of her skirt, please do let me know, and send along your documentation as well. I love conjecture, but I have conjectured just about all there is to conjecture (and then Madhavi has done quite a lot of her own, besides, before I even got to conjecturing).

Actually, most of recreated Medieval Indian costume is based on this sort of painted conjecture, supported by a few extant descriptions of garments. The climate and culture just doesn’t support a lasting textile preservation tradition, as things got burned or rotted away in the tropical climate or were reused to make other things. For example, the gold threads in fabric are still pulled (or melted) out of garments and used to make jewelry, new threads, etc. So it’s a challenge.

Our current working theory is that this piece of white material is somehow tucked into the front of the ghagra. It’s either woven with lots of gold or embroidered with lots of gold. The men’s patkas from the same period are often heavy silk and brocade. They’re also embroidered. So I bought the nicest piece of shantung I could find (not too slubby!) and did the thing I have the ability to do, which is to embroider.

I had some really great gold ribbon, which I sewed on, and then I couched four gold laurel wreaths into the top of the folds, and chain-stitched a red stripe between the gold bands and the laurel wreaths.

(Madhavi had seen my test piece, which was on red silk, and had requested red on the final piece.)

The inner folds:

Close-up of one of the wreaths:

(One of the wreaths has two chain-stitch filled leaves, as I had originally intended to do that but determined that it was overambitious considering I was sewing this at 3 a.m. the day before I mailed it out.)

And unfolded:

In the end, it was maybe three feet longer than it needed to be, top-to-bottom, which ended up being good, since she wore it to the elevation ceremony. Normally? Not a problem, except that she wasn’t a Laurel until she was officially elevated at the ceremony, and therefore not allowed to show the wreaths yet. No problem! Being a resourceful lady, she tucked it in with the plain end on the outside and voila! Fixed.

She had sent me an email asking me to make a book for her as well, and I was happy to oblige. One small problem, though – I make Islamic (read: Mughal) books, and she requested a Hindu book. To compound the challenge, the book she wanted was based on the miniatures the blasted patka came from (I kid!), which are single pages dispersed and then re-collected. Nobody really knows how they were bound. Or at least nobody who I could find knows. I am still researching. Instead, I emailed Kannanbala, who had done a palm leaf manuscript or three, an ancient Indian binding style (still used in temple scrolls from Tibet to Tamil Nadu). I modified this one slightly, as the Caurapancasika paintings lack the center string hole and are a totally different dimension. Luckily, the local Home Depot sells nice 1/4″ oak planks that I was able to sand down.

Unsanded but cut:

And sanded:

I used a file and fine-grit sandpaper to get these nice and smooth. I later discovered that smoothness is not necessarily a prerequisite, though I imagine people appreciate it over splinters.

Madhavi had recently designed her arms, so I put those on the covers.

The water lilies:

And then the green bar and crequier (tree of life):

(Sorry, am not so up on the heraldry-speak today. I’d look it up but I’m enjoying being lazy.)

The small red spot in the inside, mimicking the red dot on traditional manuscripts:

And finally, created lucet ties and small silk tassels to hold the whole thing together. The insides were loose heavyweight 100% cotton sheets that I cut to size. Yay, paper cultures.

Close up of the tassels and their gold tops:

And everything together, ready to drop in the mail:

Oh! And I waxed the book with beeswax, to seal it and give it a nice smooth shine.

Actually, I ended up enjoying both parts of this much more than I anticipated, partly because they were gifts for someone I really like, and partly because they were just so fun to make! I will be making  myself a patka in the near future, and binding more books. I’m also digging tassel-making. Expect to see more of that as well.

Next project is some new garb for Red Tower, and a sekrit project for Mistress Adela, which I should’ve finished by this past weekend, but so did not have the energy for. She knows it’s coming. I also have plans to make one of each style of Mughal coat, for both men and women. Busy busy busy!

Posted in bookbinding, crafts, sca | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

DragonConzzzzzz

Posted on September 8, 2011 by

There was another exciting event that happened this weekend, but the photos of my contribution to said event are saved at home, and therefore inaccessible until later.

(Photos for this post will be added this evening. Please do check back!)

But whoa, DragonCon. Extra “z”s are intended to indicate my level of alertness following the weekend. As you can probably tell, that level is not so high!

Firstly, I want to acknowledge that despite all my pessimism regarding the line for registration, it moved incredibly smoothly. I got my badge early in the morning on Thursday, with less than 5 minutes wait time once they opened the room (!). I brought cards and water and snacks for Matt and I while we waited, and none of those got used. Instead, we had a brief and very sleep-deprived conversation with Chief and Yahia, who had been awake all night, driving from Ohio and camping out on the sidewalk. Sort of like cards only completely different? Yeah. Afterward Matt got himself a monthly parking pass and we parted ways, he to save some woman having an epileptic fit, me to frantically finish sewing my Ramirez costume and pack ALL THE THINGS. Jennie came over briefly to have lunch, and then went of to unload her stuff at the artist’s alley.

OH THE FRANTIC PACKING. Amazingly, I only forgot one thing, which was the Ramirez pearl earring (small item, big thing to forget). Underwear? Check. Socks? Check. Toothpaste? Check. That evening, after checking into the hotel, M came over and helped sew my costume trousers, and we all gorged on Thai food. It was great. And I had a finished costume (I spent the time gluing trim to my hat)! Thanks so much to M for being an awesome friend.

We hung out at that weird skybar thing in the Marriott later on. It was already way crowded, and folks were costumed and we people-watched for a bit. L showed up with her husband and we chatted until Jennie declared herself to be Le Tired and we all crashed in the room.

Forgive me if I forget details in the remainder of this account, because things were very busy and very overwhelming. The Con gets bigger and bigger every year, but my desire to be not in crowds does not diminish, so I lose track of what goes on a bit.

Friday we got up and got dressed. Otter wore her sheer blue jingly outfit (this is an important detail), and I did a low-key Indian gaslight, which actually turned out to be my most lovely version of this so far. I’ve been gifted a copper brocade choli, and I have a sari with copper borders, so altogether with my jewelry, blue satin corset and copper colored juti, it’s a really nice ensemble. I like this costume. Because I’ve made an effort to retain as many Indian costuming conventions as possible, it’s a very organic outfit. It’s draped differently every time, and never looks the same way twice. I’m hoping the idea catches on and inspires more people to research India. So far, no luck, but I’m optimistic!

WH and I did some wandering, and then he was off to a panel as I went to change into the Ramirez costume. OH MY THIS GROUP WAS AWESOME. I met the rest at their hotel room, borrowed some gauntlets and off we went to be shiny. I totally forgot the claymore I promised, but ended up being the only one with a sword anyhow. Honestly, though? The Kurgan and Connor are recognizeable enough without, and together we rocked it.

We had some very excited photographers, and people were even more excited when we pointed out Candy. So awesome. Expect a repeat next year. I even got interviewed for a webcast! I don’t know if my footage made it in, but it was fun.

Then came dinner, which I honestly don’t recall all that well, except that maybe it included food? Oh! Wait. Azio. That’s right. People, don’t be fools and order the entrees. The appetizers are, well, appetizing and quite sufficient. Yum roasted mushrooms. Then we hung out and people watched before going back to the room to ready ourselves for the kilt-blowing.

So. Jingly outfit? In the morning, on the way to breakfast, we spotted Misha Collins (Supernatural actor) jogging, and Otter casually said, “Hey” at him. She went to a Supernatural panel later, in her jingly outfit, and that outfit got her a spot on Mr. Collins’s lap for a good portion of the panel. From there on out, people were recognizing her everywhere as either “jingly boobs” or “that girl from the Supernatural panel.”

Kilt blowing was nuts, with some minor incidents (overenthusiastic guys, a drunk being escorted away by the police), but for the most part pretty tame. We had a great group of surprise helpers, who made it so incredibly non-stressful. I have no idea what to do with myself when I’m not doing things myself, and was so happy to have people getting waivers signed, checking IDs, and doing crowd control. It’s so far from the early days of unruly crowds in the Marriott lobby. Like, whoa. We had a microphone! The posters went over very well, and will certainly happen again, but updated.

Six hours later, I woke up, put on garb, and rushed to the parade area, where we stood around a lot. I got to chat with a really interesting guy, who had the most incredible Italian WWII military costume (one of 30 reenactors in the US, he says) and had spend some time living in India. I will be friending him on Facebook later. Then came parade marching, with some minor snags (literally) as we discovered that our banner poles were just tall enough to get caught on the streetlights.

After that I honestly don’t recall what happened, except that we ogled celebrities, met Carrie Fisher, and did a quick perusal of the various shopping opportunities. Seriously. I have no idea what I did, except that it was evidently not terribly memorable. I was in costume? I think I changed clothes? Later we met up with friends from Chicago and had our favorite cheap Chinese buffet. Said friends made some stiff drinks and then it was off to the room to change for night 2 of kilt blowing, and husband went home.

Where the night before at kilt blowing had been mostly low-key (aside from the Goblin King serenade, which was indeed lovely), the second evening was not. We had an additional 10 participants, plus one surprise participant. In the form of Obby, Jennie’s boyfriend. In a kilt. Proposing marriage.

No, really.

They vanished for 20 minutes afterward, while we all cleaned up. Did I mention that awesome group of helpers? Awesome.

Aaand then there was more crashing in the room. Oh, sleep. I love you so.

Sunday was another day I don’t recall so well, but I do recall that we slept in, and then Otter and I went to breakfast, and I helped Lea (no blog yet! I think she’s working on one?) with her Persian Dance class, which had approximately 20 more people in it than I’ve ever seen (she confirmed that this was the largest she’d ever taught). Whoa! Then was a photoshoot of costumed superheroes, and running into Duke Max (his first con ever), and more celebrity ogling. I did manage to change clothes, as did WH, and wandered around as a 1980s Bollywood star for a while. I got my photo taken with Ming the Merciless. Then we all trundled off to Ted’s for a delicious dinner before more people-watching. Millicent, who I just met, was a good sport and accompanied me to see Jefferson Starship. It was everything it sounds like! One more Mischa Collins sighting, then back to meet up with Jennie for the drum circle, at which we danced a little and then escaped, it being brightly lit and not at all what we expected.

I wore garb again Monday morning, leaving a pile of luggage for WH to take to the car, and sat on a panel (on a panel!) informing people of the Silk Road cultures and the SCA. I met a lady who engaged me in conversation about the international community and the research we do in the SCA, and am feeling much better about what I’m doing, from the perspective of cultural appropriation (in that I’m not as self-conscious as I was).

So then came the Eureka panel, which was lovely even minus Wil Wheaton (in the words of one Sheldon Cooper, WHEATOOOONNNNNNN!; not sure why he wasn’t there, but it was great anyhow), and then a change of clothes, and some wandering with WH. Ate a mediocre lunch. Met Norman Reedus, who is a really really nice guy. Helped Jennie load out. Bought some art. Hung out with Fyvel for quite a while. Popped in on a hookah party, and picked up some con crud. Finally, we went to La Fonda with Fyvel  before dropping him at the airport.

That evening, I had intended to unpack and clean a little. Instead, I fell asleep at 7:30, and didn’t wake up until 11 the next morning. Jennie and I had a nice, quiet lunch at the Farmer’s Market while buying groceries, and I spent the rest of the day catching up on Bollywood films. I can now recommend Dhobi Ghat (excellent film), and Aisha, which is an acceptable adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.

This weekend is Coronation and Lady Adela’s elevation to the Order of the Laurel. I plan on doing some serious lazing about.

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Still pretty much only Prince Zuko.

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

(More awesomer than awesome. Source)

Hi, little blog. I hope you haven’t been too lonely lately. I’ve been shamefully neglectful of you.

I’ve got good reasons, though.

I was in the process of applying for a fellowship to do design with a nonprofit in India, actually living there, and that kept me nice and stressy for a while. I didn’t get the fellowship, but whatever. There will be other chances! The position went to someone very qualified, and I wish him the best. The organization is still one of my favorites, and you can find their info here: Design Impact

But the biggest reason? DragonCon is coming up very soon (in two days – eep!) and I have been crafting like a mad thing in preparation. On top of that, my dear friend Madhavi is being elevated to the Order of the Laurel this weekend, and I’ve made her some swell things that I will share as soon as she’s seen them (no spoilers). As usual, I waited until the last minute to work on them, so I spent a good amount of time embroidering on the couch, watching things on Netflix.

It was in this manner that I watched the entire Avatar: The Last Airbender series. No, really. The whole thing. All of it. I kind of wish I hadn’t, because it is so amazingly good, and I want to keep watching it forever and ever. Thank you, show, for having really amazing female characters. Thank you for making Prince Zuko awesome in the end. It was such a rich, engaging story with great writing and lovely characters. Team Avatar, all the way.

So then I had some more sewing to do last night, and thought, well, the movie can’t be as bad as everyone says it is, right? I watched it. And no, it’s not as bad as everyone says.

It’s worse.

My issues with it are the following (1 and 2 are pretty much the issues everyone has with it):

1. If you’re going to make an adaptation of a highly successful show, at least watch an episode so that the actors pronounce the main characters’ names correctly. Aang as in angle, not as in yawn. Sokka, like sock-a, not soh-ka. Yeesh.

2. Mr. Shyamalan. Manoj, buddy. Let’s have a chat. The original series was wonderful because its cast of characters was diverse. It wasn’t stereotypical. The main lady hero has dark skin! So does her brother! Nobody’s Anglo! Why, then, as a person who is presumably invested in making sure that the white=good/dark=bad stereotype goes the way of the dodo, would you cast dark-skinned people ONLY as the bad guys in your film? Okay okay, so Zuko is debatable, but geez, man. Why in, a village that appears to be comprised mainly of native North American-types, would you put a small and heroic family of white people? Why are the native people only accessory background characters? Why are the white people the heroes? Why can’t they be native, too? Aaargh.

3. Katara is a fantastic role model for young girls, in that she’s smart, she takes charge, she’s powerful, and she’s pretty much not at all that helpless girl that gets pushed at little girls by cartoons. She’s not in sexy, revealing outfits. Much of what happens in the cartoon’s story is driven by her decisions and actions. She takes initiative. She makes things happen. So why, then, did you push her to the background and make her this weak, worried little person, who follows her brother around as he makes all the decisions and does the things she’s supposed to do? Not cool.

It was obvious that the film was intended to be one in a trilogy that will likely never happen. Maybe if somebody else makes the film? I dunno. All I know is that Prince Zuko is still my favorite character, and that every time I saw Sokka, I couldn’t help but think, “Sparkly vampire guy from Twilight? What are you doing at the South Pole?”

Yep. Expect mad blogging after this weekend. I expect epic goings-on.

(Incidentally, I think Jackson Rathbone is a really fantastic, old-fashioned name, like Reginald Stumblypot, or Aloysius Weatherbottom, Esq.)

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Cicadas

Posted on July 14, 2011 by

Last weekend we did sort of low-key stuff (my husband assures me that we did Interesting Things, and so I kind of believe him but I don’t recall what those things were).

Sunday night he took the foster dog out for her walk, and came back in much faster than I anticipated. He was sort of agitated in an excited way and urged me to grab my camera. Out on our back deck was an unusual thing – a cicada mid-molt, drying its wings.

I actually really hate bugs, but for some reason this was almost cute. Here are the photos:

(Teeny wings, just out of his husky old skin.)

“Hellooooooo!” (Such a cute little buggy dance! He was sort of waving his legs up and down veeeeeery slowly.)

(just before flying away)

Cicadas are a big part of my childhood memories. In the heat of the summer, we’d open up the windows and fall asleep, sweating, to the sound of cicadas calling to one another.

In the morning all that was left was that weird little brown ghost-cicada, and my husband left it on the kitchen counter as a surprise for me. I put it above my desk, with all my other cool bits of inspiration.

Well, I think it’s inspiring.

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Lame-o blogger

Posted on June 27, 2011 by

If there was an award for that, I’d be getting it.

Hang in there, people. I have been dealing with this dog and am totally discombobulated, and so no blog content until I am dog-free (which could be a while; guess who just went into heat?)

Ugh.

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Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

Posted on June 21, 2011 by

Wait – Hrithik Roshan? Seriously? MyHeritage, you’re a little crazy.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage – Pedigree – Free genealogy

 

 

 

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