Italian Renaissance...

Well, it has been quite a while since I made my first post. Life has been in flux and it took us a while to move to our new home. Which is great by the way. But I'm slowly getting my craft room into order and working on new projects.

I have to wait on the 14th Century Cotehardie. I'm pregnant now and it seems a little pointless to try and fit the Cotehardie for a pregnant stomach, only to refit it later. So I'm switching to late 15th Century Florentine gowns. The Cioppa and Gamurra are fitted with a high waist that will be perfect for pregnancy. The only thing I will have to take up later on, is the hem of the skirts. That's workable.

I also have a few embroidery projects going. I am working on a favour for a friend, when he fights in Crown Tourney in October. I am using a piece of gold silk scrap as the ground. This works out perfectly, as the ground for our Kingdom arms is gold. This is being worked up so that my friend can tie it around his shield arm. On one side of his upper arm will show the counterchanged spears from his arms, surrounded by a St. Catherine's wheel from my arms. The other side of his upper arm will show the dragon and red pine trees from our kingdom arms. That's for god luck. :-) I am using linen floss and working in klosterstitch and couching.

I'm also working on a Baronial and a Shire arms for a wallhanging, headed by our lovely Racaire. Those are being worked in silk thread on linen fabric.

As for the Florentine gown, the gamurra has a silver silk dupioni shell, brown silk dupioni lining and brown linen interlining. The bodice is almost finished and I plan to have photos soon. I'm using a silver Gutterman silk thread. When I get to it, the cioppa is a light red, almost pinkish brocade. I have no clue yet how I will embellish the gamurra. I plan to have it finished for the Masquerade Ball held in Polderslot later this month, but I want it also embellished by the 8th of October for Crown Tourney if I can. At least in the case of embellishment, I only have to work on the bodice and sleeves and not the skirt as well.

This month, every Tuesday I have a pottery class at the Arts & Crafts store I work at. I started this past Tuesday. We're learning how to throw on the wheel. It's lots of fun. My first night I made a slightly lopsided salt cellar. I am going to look through the photos my man took of Italian Renaissance pottery and plates to see what else I want to make. Once I'm finished with the class I have free reign to play in our store's pottery room. (There are definitely some advantages to working in an Arts & Crafts store.)