Knowledge and Resources from Nova Schola

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending Nova Schola hosted by the Shire of Hartshorn-dale in the East Kingdom. The day was full of interesting classes, many knowledgeable folks and a delicious dayboard. I didn't bring my camera to the event, so alas no pictures. I will share a little about the classes I attended and some interesting information and resources I aquired throughout the day.

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Arrow Making- taught by Naomi bat Avraham
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I wanted to attend this class to have the chance to try some techniques in person and was very pleased with how well stocked and prepared the teacher was to show just that.

Some things I learned:
- Ash, while a strong wood for shafting, does not want to stay straight.
- You can use higher spine weights than your bow, but never lower ones.
- Giant feather fletching is used to create Floo Floo arrows for bird hunting.
- Right wing arrows are from the right wing of a bird and have their catch to the left.
- You can attach points with a glue gun. Fancy that.
- Fletching jigs are less complex to use than they look.

Some resources from class:
Naomi's Website w/ Arrow Making Tutorial
High Quality Cedar Shafts

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Simple Period Tunics taught by Bertana
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I actually walked into this class thinking it was period handsewing, but realized that I mixed up the times and decided to stay since I knew the teacher and might learn a few things. A good selection of handouts were available in this class.

Some things I learned:
- Underarm gussets can be cut directly from the sleeve.
- Handstiching is the easiest way to sew a neckline. (I've always struggled with this on a machine.)
- Your basic tunic made from a geometric pattern is seen across many cultures and many centuries, making it a very versatile starter piece.
- Couching embroidery and simple chainstitch outlines can be used for embellishment.

Resources from class:
Pictures of extant tunics (includes Bocksten and Skjoldehamm)

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Authenticity 101 taught by Mistress Brangwayna Morgan
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I was hoping this class would maybe cover some methods for researching accurate sources for projects and give some tips on common pitfalls. Mostly we covered that those who are interested in authenticity are not "Period Nazis" or "The Authenticity Police" and that authenticity can be fun. I did pick up on some interesting bits of information in this class.

Some things I learned:
- Most people who provide unsolicitied criticism of attempts at garb are not experts in the area.
- Wool socks will keep your feet dry at war.
- Your recreations are only as accurate as your source.
- Vikings had access to silk in the 700s and 800s, but not again for several centuries.
- The easiest was to move towards seeming more authentic is to relate your modern experiences to period terms at events. Such as "I recieved a message." rather than "I got an e-mail."

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Intro to Scribing - taught by Violante de Rojas
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I was hoping that we would get the chance to talk about some period pigments and tools in this class, but as it was an intro we didn't delve as much into that. This class was an excellent overview of supplies and resources.

Some things I learned:
- You can use Sheaffer's calligraphy pens for scrolls.
- You can get refill cartriges for said pens to fill with waterproof ink.
- You can use Gouache for painting illuminations. Fancy that!
- Bristol paper is NOT good for scrolls.
- Hot press watercolor paper and Pergamenta are excellent paper choices.
- Use an X-Acto with a rounded blade for scraping, never a pointed blade.
- Don't let cats near scrolls!
- Don't use brushes intended for oil painting for illumination.
- Loew-Cornell's watercolor brushes are a better option. Personally, I've always be fond of their American Painter brushes.
- Use a white eraser and a large paintbrush to brush away eraser bits.
- NEVER blow away eraser bits from scrolls.
- Higgins Eternal is an excellent scroll ink for calligraphy.
- Borders on a scroll should be 1" to 1.5".
- The Ames Lettering Guide along with a cork backed C-Thru Metal Ruler are your friends.
- Quill dip pens WILL splatter.
- Manuscript pens are not very good, neither are Speedball.
- As a beginning scribe you will likely be paired with a mentor.

Resources from class:
A History of Illuminated Manuscripts by Christopher De Hamel
Medieval Calligraphy by Marc Drogin


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Aside from classes yesterday I finally had the chance to submit my device for a conflict check and worked on documenting my SCAdian name. It's a big step that's been put on the back burner far too long. I am excited about the process and have been recieving a lot of help from the incoming Eastern Crown Herald, Lillia de Vaux. I'm sure I will add a post as that all progresses.

Archery - Making a Leather Quiver

This past Saturday I had a day long Functional Sign Language training in Lancaster which was conveniently only a few minutes away from Lancaster Archery Supply. I dropped into their facility to have a look at bows and get some quiver options. I knew going in that I wanted a hip quiver that was basic and functional for target shooting. I really struggled with the knowledge that I could make one myself if I just drafted a pattern and had some tubes. I ended up buying a simple quiver with three arrow tubes to dissect and recreate out of leather. I mainly did this because they didn't have separate arrow tubes in stock and I figured the few extra dollars spared me having to draft out a decent pattern from scratch. I will go over my process below.

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LEATHER QUIVER
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My leather target quiver is based on a simple modern target quiver. It is basically a sleeve pattern piece of leather that tucks into a rectangular tab at the base of the sleeve. It uses three arrow tubes to hold twelve arrows. It is designed to be a hip quiver and has a strap that can be attached to a belt of a pair of pants using a clip.

I used a 3oz brown leather for the outside of the quiver and used the original canvas piece as a lining. A 4-5oz leather alone is probably a better idea. I also used oval shaped scraps of black leather as reinforcement areas for the strap that secures the arrow tubes. The straps are from the original piece, but could easily be made with leather straps and riveted below the O ring for the belt clip.

I sewed the entire piece on my Janome, but I have to admit some of the areas were difficult even for my heavy duty machine. I would suggest taking your time and having a pretty hardcore needle in your machine.

Here are some pictures of the finished quiver:

Archery - Making a Leather Shooting Glove

As I wrote in a previous post, I'm finally getting into archery and have little in the way of supplies. I've been working over the past week to change that though. Along the way I ran into a problem that I often have. I found myself looking at supplies and immediately going "I could make that. In fact I have the materials at home already. I should just inspect it and figure out a pattern for it on my own." I of course have to recognize that my creative talents are better left to sewing and leather work as opposed to woodwork. So I decided to concentrate my efforts thus far on a leather shooting glove and a leather target quiver. First I will discuss the glove.

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THREE FINGERED LEATHER SHOOTING GLOVE
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I made it over the course of two days. All in all it probably took closer to three or four hours of work including patterning and sewing, but there was much delay in between. (A certain budgie wanted to be on my hand when I was trying to hand stitch.)

I created the pattern based on a leather winter glove I own and a pattern I found on Glove.org. That glove site is profoundly helpful and was created by an SCAdian lady. I may include the pattern image if I ever decide to scan it. Most of the sewing was done on my new machine, but the tips of the fingers, the center points between each finger and securing the horn button were done by hand.

I used a lovely 3oz brown leather I purchased a few months ago for the glove and a strip of 5-6oz black leather that I got a few Pennsics ago for the wrist strap. The horn button was purchased at Jo-Ann's. I am happy with how it turned out for the most part. I had some difficulty getting the points to meet with the tips of the fingers, but this was expected for a first time glove project.

Some pictures of the completed glove are below:

Palm view of the entire glove.

Horn button and wrist strap.Back view of fingers.

Palm view of fingers. The middle one aligned poorly toward the tip. Grr.

Archery Practice

I finally, after years of excuses, made it to an SCA archery practice. Being poorly under equipped, I was glad they had some loaner gear on hand. I can't say I'm good at shooting but I didn't hit any people, didn't damage anyone's arrows, stayed withing two feet of the target area and only got scratched up a few times. That all spells first day success to me. Tonight was probably the most fun I've had in a while. That mostly being attributed to the combination of finally doing something I've put off for far too long and having the chance to do it with a friendly group of people. The evening was nicely wrapped up with a group trip to a local diner and my almost one hour ride home (which flew by). Once I got settled at home, I got online and ordered a dozen wooden target arrows. I'm definitely pretty excited about all this. I will absolutely be there next week and I'm hoping that I'll have the chance to get a few things in the mean time. A flemish string, bow stringer, bracer, hip quiver and glove are on that list. I don't want to rush out and get the first things I see. I would like to at least be patient and get some quality supplies if I'm going to stick with this. I have a sign language training this weekend in Lancaster, so I may stop by the archery shop out there and see what I can do about making myself a properly stocked archer. Horray for discovery!

This image above is "Discoverer" by Gold-Seven