The 2009 Project List

I noticed the other day that my Project List was getting rather long and needed a more permanent home than a string of Post-It notes stuck to the computer desk. So I decided to take some of that pent up "Snow Day" energy and arrange it in a (slightly) more organized manner here.

Projects to Finish Before Company of Wolves
(February 27 - March 1)

Gomlek
I have a sheer burgundy gomlek waiting to be hemmed and a sheer white gomlek cut out and waiting to be pieced together. Shouldn't take me more than an hour for both, but I've been letting small weaving projects get in the way. And I'm debating whether or not to hand sew the white gomlek now that I have discovered an innate flair for hand stitching. Perhaps it would be more efficient for now to machine stitch the hidden seams and hand stitch the hems and neckline. I could always take it apart and hand sew the hidden seams later if it bothers me that much.

Kataginu
Though this should be the first item on my list and it looks like a simple enough project, the kataginu is one of the most annoying pieces I have encountered in making Japanese garb for my fiance. I know it sounds terribly whiny, but I absolutely hate doing the collar on these things and the shoulder pieces never look right to me, despite his insistence that they are perfect. I do owe him this piece, though, since I already finished a pair of matching red cotton hakama back in December.

Entari
This is probably the most important item on my project list. I have a gomlek that can pass for now, I have salwar that fit well enough, but if I had to go to an event tomorrow, I would have only ghawazee coats to wear over them. Just the thought makes me cringe and then break out into a cold sweat. Ever since I started pursuing a more accurate wardrobe, the very sight of a ghawazee coat disgusts me. Therefore, of all the projects I have ahead of me, this one is the most dire. (The only reason the gomlek is #1 is because the pieces are cut and waiting on me and that is a project I can throw together in an hour... unless I'm handsewing.)

But I do need to make a mock-up for this first as my last mock-up was a complete disaster.

Salwar
After tinkering with the pattern a bit, I need to make a new pair of salwar in a softer fabric with smaller leg gores. The last pair I made were in some kind of wool blend that was rather scratchy and there was a ludicrous amount of fabric between my legs. This leads me to believe that I either miscalculated my measurements (which I am almost sure I did not) or that the pattern is specifically designed to be fiddled with until you get a cut you like. For those of you who might steer me toward an answer to this musing, the pattern in question is that of Master Rashid.

Veil
As mentioned above, I am getting pretty interested in hand sewing and I blame it all on this silly veil. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about having a veil and having it completely hand sewn, but, I seem to be having trouble with the hand-rolled hem. I just can't get the hang of it. I have picked my way through online tutorials, but it still looks weird to me. Maybe I should wait until PFAN next week and ask Annabell to give me a lesson.

Chirka
Through sheer serendipity, I came into possession of a lovely pale peachy-pink woven-looking fabric in a large enough amount to make a chirka. Though the chirka follows almost the exact same construction as an entari, it is my assumption that a chirka should be even more fitted (since it is the support layer, much like a corset) and therefore deserves its own mock-up session.

Projects to Finish Before Gulf Wars
(March 15-22)

Kaftan
The construction is almost exactly the same as the entari, only a bit bigger, so this project shouldn't be a problem after I am finished with the former.

Frogging
Maybe it's the marching band geek in me, but I absolutely love the look of frogging down the front of a kaftan!! And now that I know how to fingerloop braid, I should be ready to try it soon (I want to practice my fingerlooping a bit more first).

Buttons
I found a tutorial online about how to make thread-covered beads to use as buttons. Not that I think this is a difficult project, I'm just not ready to sit down and make them until my frogging is done.

Japanese Garb
Ashikaga is going to need at least one more pair of kimono / hakama / kataginu before Gulf Wars. Now if I can just get him off his rear to pick out the fabric, I could get started.

More Ottoman Garb
I could always use more garb for myself -- even more so since Gulf Wars is a week-long event! I don't want to resort to wearing ghawazee coats just to get by!

Projects to Finish Before Medieval Fair
(April 3-5)

Something for HRM Gunthar

I would like to make something, whether it be food or largess, for his Majesty Gunthar since he was the first SCA royal I ever met and Medieval Fair will likely be the last time I see him before the end of his reign.

Ashikaga's Namu Sash
I started on this last year and ran out of time to finish it, thus it needs my attention once more.

Projects to Finish Before Ansteorra's 30th Year Celebration
(July 9-15)

My Kit
All Ottoman garb must be completed by 30th Year because I have been asked to help run a Middle Eastern snack bar at the hafla Saturday night and I want to look awesome!


I'm sure there are things I left out, but these are undoubtedly the most important. Hopefully some of these will find their way onto the blog in the form of pictures and tutorials. haha

Merhaba!

Welcome to my blog! My mundane name is Kasandra, but I am known in the Society for Creative Anachronism as Emine Hatun al-Tha'labii bint Abdullah.

I have been playing in the society for nearly a decade, but only "met" Emine last year (before that I was hanging out with this Irish girl whom I never really understood). Since then Emine and I have begun the long and arduous (but unbelievably fun and rewarding!) journey to "periodness." Thus, I have started this blog to serve as a chronicle of that journey as well as a place to record my musings along the way.

But this blog isn't only about the pursuit of accuracy. I have a little thing nicknamed "SCA ADD" where I get easily distracted by new and interesting activites and often drop everything else I'm currently doing to immerse myself head to toe in whatever shiny thing has wandered across my line of vision. These activities are usually related to period cooking or candymaking, needlework and other fiber arts (especially weaving!), or toymaking.

One of my favorite things to do is research a topic down to the smallest detail and then try to link it to Emine's world in some way. Or I will come up with a question and need to justify it for her.

Other times I will muse upon the SCA itself, its traditions and oddities. My fiance, Lord Ashikaga Hideyoshi, and I often ponder these things over dinners at our favorite Mexican restaurant (I blame it on the tortilla chips).

And every now and then this blog will serve as a place to outline garbmaking projects. I'm not the best seamstress, but I am improving in leaps and bounds and I don't think it's a half bad idea to have some sort of diary of the process.

So feel free to follow along, make a comment if you like, and we'll see what happens.