The Last of the Faire Photos!

Before it gets too ridiculously late to post the remaining photos from the Olde English Faire, here is a post with some of my favorites from the day. I can't believe it was over a month ago! What a great day we had. I can't wait until next year!

Here is Baby Anne, just before we left in the morning. It was very chilly when we woke up and I was tempted to put Malachi's old wool gown on her, but decided against it at the last minute - which I am glad of as the day got very, very hot. She is quite sensitive to heat but her linen clothes kept her cool and breezy. Linen is really the Perfect Fabric. Wool is Perfect, too, but we shall just conclude that there are two variant levels of Perfection and Wool and Linen top the lists.

The week before the Faire I made the boys each a new linen shirt and a linen coif. Their coifs were made of a 1 piece pattern, with the fold being placed on top of the head. They were very simple to make although I do not like the finished shape as much as the 2 piece coif the baby wore.

Of course, on our way to the Faire we discovered Malachi had left his coif at home. I had brought along a few of Anne's gauzy cloth diapers (the kind we use mostly for towels or burp cloths) and experimented with tying one on his head a la kerchief. He was not pleased.

David and Judah each got a straw hat from the craft store. They wetted them and shaped them to their desire, based on a few images of medieval folk wearing straw hats from Karen Larsatter's site. They were very proud to have made these and the shady brims kept them from being sunburned. It's great to see them take an interest in making part of their own attire.

There were lots of activities at the Faire and demonstrations that the boys were excited to watch. The Knights from Full Metal Jousting were again in attendance and their two performances were the highlights of the day.

We had very close seating.

I have to just take a moment here to say how impressed I was with these guys. It was the same last year. These men travel far from home to perform all over the place and they get hot, sweaty and very tired. They are at risk for getting hurt just because of what they do (imagine being knocked from your horse by your opponent!) yet they have always been extremely courteous, kind and very generous to the people who come out to see them.

In between performances the children and I sat on the lawn between the arena and the area where their horses were picketed. One of the knights came out and brought his horse over to us and asked me if the children would like to pet the horse. He stayed with us until it was time for him to go into the arena and prepare for the tournament.

Just that simple act of kindness towards my children. . .it really impressed me. These guys are so down to earth, humble and kind even if they *are* popular t.v. characters! Not to mention some of them are, um, reeeeeaaaalllyyyy good looking. Doesn't he look a bit Aragorn-ish here?

Because the day was so hot the boys loved the water mister. Even David walked through it with Anne in his arms!

Malachi went through it time after time and quickly became soaked to the skin. He seemed to think it was very sensible. He reeked of damp wool the remainder of the day. Damp wool is an acquired smell.

Little David, now almost-7 years old, was very excited that a few gentleman had set up some chess boards and were playing that fascinating game. One of the gentleman invited David to play, so he bent over the board, moving his pieces and speculating aloud about the best move he could make.

He isn't very good at the game (yet - he is learning quickly about strategy!) but his opponent was very helpful and instructional and the game lasted much longer than it might have.

We visited the merchants. Some sold goods such as knives, "medieval-esque" clothing, toys and candy. Some sold services such as henna artists and hair braiders. Some sold food. Here Anne visits with a gentleman who was selling bird whistles while inside the tent David bought wooden swords for the boys. The bird whistle man said the baby was good for business, since she would lure in potential customers.

The swords were a good idea. The boys were most pleased. Of course, they broke all of them over the next few days but the were good fun while they lasted.

Even Anne was intrigued. A little sword-maiden in the making? Perhaps we should have named her Eowyn. I was very seriously considering naming her "Theoden" before I found out she was a girl.

I made a new veil for the occasion, this one out of very lightweight cotton voile from Dharma Trading Company. It was left over from a different project and I had just enough for the veil which is cut as a wide rectangle. I love how it floated and it breathed so well. I attached it to my coif using straight pins. (Need to make a new coif. This one kept wanting to slip off my head!) Cotton lawn is suggested by Sarah Thursfield in The Medeival Tailor's Assistant for "best" headdresses. It is certain that a very lightweight cotton does work very nicely. The handkerchief linen from fabric-store.com is nice, too, but is still a bit heavier and coarser than this cotton voile. Here you can see the veil doubles as a convenient nursing cover (though I am not prudish about using covers most of the time. . .)

I made this side by side comparison for fun. Here I am last year at the Faire, 5 weeks away from delivery. David took a new picture this year in the same spot, with me and my little girl! While I have to say I prefer this year to last year (since I am so glad she is here!) last year she was certainly easier to carry around and she didn't squirm and shriek and yank my hair.

We watched the archers. Judah lamented the fact that he had picked out a sword and wished he had got a bow and arrows, instead.

There were quite a few of them, all lined up in a row and WHING - all their arrows went flying at once towards the targets.

It reminded me of the tale Robin Hood and how he participated in an archery tournament under a false name and people found out his identity just because of how well he could perform.

I took surprisingly few pictures of David. I do like this one of him, though.

Malachi then broke his sword. Probably due to him whacking it swiftly and passionately upon a large tree.

David tried to fix it but soon gave up the task as hopeless.

I like this one of Judah for no reason other than I like it. He wasn't feel the greatest but he steadfastly declared he was fine and didn't want to go home and no, he wasn't too hot in his wool tunic.

The baby became more and more tired as the day wore on. In late afternoon she was in overdrive. She was so determined to *not* fall asleep.

After the final tournament it began to storm. It was a quickly passing, gentle, cooling sort of storm. We left the Faire and went to a nearby park where in leafy wealth the woods spread in beautiful shade. The grass was glistening with rain and a few droplets were still falling when we found a little shelter and brought our little picnic to it. The baby had, of course, fallen asleep the moment she was put into her carseat.

Sausage, cheese, bread and grapes. Grapes are, of course, not the most authentic choice as they are not in season. But they can be easily eaten with little mess so they are ideal as finger foods for little boys. Plus they were on sale.

The boys ate and then ran off to explore a bit. Malachi took his shoes off.

We found a grassy lane. A doe and two fawns crossed it while we watched, and then a red fox scampered off after them. We tried to get a picture, but they were too quick.

A leaf Judah found that he thought "pretty".

Here is a better picture of the veil. You can also see the fitting issues I experienced with my kirtle, which will need to be addressed before I need to wear this again. It doesn't really support at all and is much too loose around the midriff area. It will need to be picked apart from the hips up and refitted, and the sleeves sewn back in. Not a huge job, but one I am loathe to tackle.

One last picture of Malachi and I as the rain started to fall again. We had been going in circles but when the rain became heavier we knew it was time to go. But we will come there again.

Love,
Sarah

I Went to Olde English Faire, The Archers and Jousters Were There

I have been severely lacking in the event department so far this year. I think the only events I have gone to include The Festival of Maidens (January), the Candle-Lighting Ball (April) and, well, that is it. We had several other events that we were scheduled to attend but due to various circumstances had to change our plans quite at the last minute. So that is why I was so happy this weekend to be able to go to the Olde English Faire!

David and I left the children with my parents. I felt a bit guilty leaving them behind but I did offer all of them the chance to go with us. They all, of course, declared they would much rather go to Grandma and Grandpa's house and in the end, I was glad that they did since it was a very hot day and it would have been difficult keeping them all hydrated and in their woolen clothes. Plus it was nice to be able to walk hand in hand with David, just us two. Time alone so rarely happens for us and it was good to have some hours with him where we didn't have to continually focus on children asking a million questions an hour, or screaming and whacking at each other, or endlessly requesting to go potty.

The Faire seemed smaller this year but the quality seemed better. The location in the park was different than last year and was much easier to navigate. There were plenty of shade trees and benches and the merchants had a very nice area to set out their wares. There were some good quality vendors interspersed with the typical fantasty-clothing, belly-dancing, henna-tattoo vendors which made browsing interesting and fun.

There was also a tent where several chess sets were set up. David was happy to sit down and play a game with one of the gentleman.

The chess sets were handmade by this gentleman and a friend. It was nice to see this game set up as an alternative to the more carnival like games going on in a different area of the park.

We watched a jousting tournament, hosted by the guys from Full Metal Jousting! It was one of the most exciting parts of the afternoon and I got a bit carried away, cheering and screaming with a most un-ladylike demeanor as the champions battled it out in the arena. Seeing the men emerge on their horses, armour-clad, noble bearing, was swoon worthy. My goodness!

Prior to the tournament, each knight gave a yellow carnation to a random lady in the crowd, as a token that they would be fighting for her honor. The little girls who were chosen as the Ladies Fair were adorable to watch - I truly admire the generosity and kindness shown by these guys to their audience, especially to the children. For sure this will be something those little ones will never forget!

I stood on the hill to watch, in the hot blazing sun and consequently was sunburnt quite badly. David, since he is taller, sensibly stood in the shade of several trees farther up the hill. One of the trucks parked there housed two dogs and David promptly fell in love with them.

After the tournament, we went to the living history camp in a different park of the park. This group demonstrates various aspects of 14th century life and focuses on the skill of archery.

It was wonderful and inspiring to see a progressive group like this! One of the ladies I spoke with mentioned how that morning she assisted in plucking ducks that they later cooked and ate. I think David was impressed. Even 1860's groups typically do not go to that extent in their pursuit of authenticity.

This group is headquartered not far from our own hometown. It would be lovely to get involved some way, sometime. If only David liked the medieval period better! But maybe he will learn to. I will wait and in the meantime will try my best to convince him that wearing hose and braies are very manly and much more desirable than the 1860's cotton overalls he currently wears beneath his tunics.

The archers were skilled and swift. It actually grew a bit monotonous watching their arrows fly since they rarely missed the target! I liked watching them, watching how their clothes moved, how they acted and talked with each other, with the background of leafy trees and summer sunshine. It was easy to imagine that we really had found a way to travel back to the 14th century.

Now I am all inspired to work on our wardrobes for the next medieval event, The Fields of Cloth and Gold which will be in September. It is not that far away and I think both David and Judah could use a new outfit before then, and, of course, the baby will need a full supply of shirts and caps and some sort of gown - I do not think I could, with mental comfort, wrap her up in strips of linen - and I'd like to make David a new hood and a hood or heavier woolen veil for me as well.

I was thankful my pink linen gown still fit for this past weekend. The only part that was a bit tight was the bustline, but I just laced it a bit more loosely there and all was well. I apologize for not wearing a proper gown underneath it in these pictures, but it was just so hot and I thought that I could get by wearing just my smock underneath. A few images do support the wearing of a smock underneath a short sleeved outer gown, although I think the images date from a bit past the late 1300's. Here we are at 32 weeks!

The only new thing I made for the event was a veil and circlet, roughly basing it on the instructions here: Silk Wrapped Circlet. I put my version together the afternoon before the event and used some heavy wire for the base. I wrapped it in tan silk thread although the wrapping was not as tight or closely packed as I would have wished it to be.

It took so long to wrap the wire I didn't feel like wrapping the thinner wire that I wound around the base, so I left it plain. I put a few black beads on the front (wood; so not a great material choice but hey, its what I had) and made a quick veil out of a long rectangle of sheer silk that I hemmed all around and stitched to the circlet to secure it.

I did get a lot of positive comments on the veil. So many people wondered how I could possibly keep the veil from slipping off and they were delighted to find out I had stitched it on. It does make so much sense to just saw the darned slippery thing to the circlet. Why had I never thought of that? A huge thank you to the documentation from the Silk Wrapped Circlet site! I also got a lot of nice compliments on how well the pregnant belly looks "so medieval" and I was called Maid Marion more times than I ever imagined. I don't know if a true maid of the period would go around unapologetically pregnant but I will bypass any historical deviations of the term and circumstances since the people who spoke thus to me were modern spectators and likely were just trying to link what knowledge they have of the period to what they were seeing in front of them.

All in all it was a very satisfactory event. Many people still lament the fact that the Faire no longer takes places at Jubilee but I am grateful that even though the state has made it impossible for the Faire to continue there, Wildlife Prairie Park has wholeheartedly welcomed the Faire to its own grounds. I'm glad it still can live on. It would be a huge shame to have it go by the wayside. It has become such a summer ritual in this part of the state for so many people.

Love,
Sarah

The Olde English Faire

Well, this must just be a lucky month for me - if there is such a thing as luck! Perhaps I ought to say fulfilling or blessed instead. Whatever you happen to uphold as your word of choice in regard to Good Things Happening, I have been having good things happen.

This past weekend saw us going from a flood-washed Civil War reenactment to a gloriously warm, slightly humid medieval faire. The change of 500 years, give or take a few, was a good one.

I first attended the Olde English Faire as an impressionable young girl of twelve or so - in fact, I think it was the same year I went to my first Civil War reenactment. Or maybe the year before? I can't quite remember. Back then, the Faire was held on the grounds of the beautiful Jubilee State Historic site, which, sadly, is now closed so the Faire no longer can take place there.

I remember my mom and I paying one vendor to be dressed up in "medieval" clothing and we had our picture taken in gaudy costume satins, velvets and strings of beads. . .a picture I long cherished and worshipped. I dreamt of someday being able to return in a period outfit of my own.

Yesterday we went and had a fabulous time. The weather was just about perfect, considering what it could have been, and the location very scenic and appropriate. The colors, fabrics, textures, the stimulation of every sense was just as I had remembered. It gave me great delight to see my husband and my boys enjoying the faire in their own ways and making memories that I hope will remain with them forever.

We enjoyed the various merchants, including the talented Doug Lais of Leatherhelms. The recreation of a historic camp of archers by the Order of St. Sebastian was very interesting and well done, I thought.

There were dancers, musicians, pirates and various other folk.

I met some wonderful people, enjoyed visiting with people I already knew and surprisingly, the one I had to almost physically pull away at the end of the day was David, who was settling in quite comfortably and feeling very much at home, to all appearances.

With the Faire behind us I look forward to many more, as well as to other events that are coming up and I hope to be a part of! There is so much to do, to look into, to research, to plan for. It's exciting. :)

One of the first things I need to do is to take in my kirtle, if I can. I have lost about 15 lbs since I made it, which does not seem like a lot, but it is definitely affecting the fit and thus the support I need is going away. . .of course, I could always use that as an excuse for a new dress. But I like this one and want to salvage it if possible. Let us hope.

Love,
Sarah