[MR] fun little medieval crafts (Fwd: Aoife-Links Digest, Vol 9, Issue 4)

Thu Jun 23 15:16:31 PDT 2005

In a message dated 6/23/2005 1:03:20 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
aoife-links-request at scatoday.net writes:

Today's  Topics:

1. Escaping the Devil's Workshop: "Little" Arts  for Idle    Hands
(Aoife)

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Message:  1
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 22:48:31 -0400
From: "Aoife"  <aoife at scatoday.net>
Subject: [Aoife-Links] Escaping the Devil's  Workshop: "Little" Arts
for Idle    Hands
To:  <aoife-links at scatoday.net>
Message-ID:  <007801c5779e$0ac5f210$6475bacc at pcbz6mpmt4r04r>
Content-Type:  text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original

Greetings my Faithful readers.

When I first  joined the SCA, about mumblty-teen too years ago, It was the 
norm for the  ladies to sit around and gossip, with their hand-work firmly in 
hand,  while the men went off to bash their friends over the head with big  
sticks. Nowadays, things have changed. The non-fighters sit around and  
gossip while watching and the fighters, both male and female, go off to  bash 
each other over the heads with big sticks. And a good time is had by  all.

Fighting is good fun, after all, and a well-rounded SCAdian should  try some 
sort of combat during their years in the SCA. But wait! What  about that 
other thing, that "Hand Work" thing. You know, that thing that  some folks do 
while watching fighting, that others do while at a demo, and  that still 
others do just for fun? What's all that about?

I firmly  believe that our Medieval counterparts were quite industrious, and 
what  with "Idle Hands being the Devil's Workshop" it seems to me that it's  
still a good idea to find something to do to keep the hands busy. I  hesitate 
to call them 'little" arts, since big results can be obtained by  a little 
work here and there, but none the less, these are certainly  transportable 
arts. And working on any handcraft is good for you! It not  only builds your 
skills and dexterity base, it also occupies the mind,  provides a source of 
conversation and knowledge sharing ("What's that? Can  you teach me how to do 
it? I know someone who's really good at that..."),  and historical crafts 
look a lot more medieval then doing nothing at  all....

Therefore,  this links list is all about "little" arts and  sciences you can 
carry with you wherever you go, be it in court, alongside  the tourney field, 
at the demo table, whilst sitting in class, while up at  night, whilst 
sleepless, at the Office on your lunch hour, or simply while  sitting and 
gossiping at an event.

Cheers!

Aoife

Dame  Aoife Fin of Ynos Mon, CL, CP
m/k/a Lisbeth  Herr-Gelatt
Riverouge
Endless Hills
Aethelmearc

Stefan's  Florilegium
www.florilegium.org
Let's face it, it's a gold-mine of  information no matter where you look. 
However, these files caught my  eye:
Embroidery: 8 Period Stitches
by Mistress Ealasaid nic  Shuibhne
(click Textile Arts, the 8-P-Stitches-art)
Making  Quills
(click Scribal Arts, then quills-msg)
Herb Uses
(click plants,  Herbs, and Spices, then Herbs-Uses-msg)
Period  Favors
(http://www.florilegium.org/files/ACCESS/p-favors-art.html)

Twill  Beadwork
http://www.loudzen.com/users/jessica/beadwork/index.html
(Site  Excerpt) Twill beadwork is sometimes mistaken for woven beadwork, but 
it  differs in distinct ways. While woven beadwork aligns the beads in  
horizontal and vertical rows, twill beadwork arranges the beads in an  offset 
pattern, like bricks. Because of the strong diagonal 'grain' lines  formed in 
twill beadwork (hence its name) the resulting 'fabric' is much  more flexible

Hurstwick: Games and Sports of the Viking  Era
http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/games_and_sports.ht
m
(Site  Excerpt) Game boards and playing pieces are common finds in grave 
goods.  The game boards that have been found have playing surfaces ranging 
from  7x7 squares (right) up to 19x19 squares. Playing pieces have been found 

made from a wide variety of material: glass; bone (left); antler; amber;  
bronze; and wood.

Making Medieval Shoes by  Eleanora
http://www.hindin.gen.nz/Simone/Shoes/Construction.asp
(Site  Excerpt) Another way to make a pattern is by careful measuring. The  
Carlson web site offers instructions on making patterns by this method.  The 
good news is that once you have the pattern to fit your foot,  stylistic 
details can be added at will. Therefore you should not have to  re-size your 
pattern each time you want to try a different style- just  make adjustments 
to you standard pattern.

Kim's Website: Make  4-panel Juggling  Balls
http://www.jordanclan.net/kim/crafts/juggling.cfm
(Site Excerpt) I  suggest taking your pattern paper and folding it neatly 
into quarters, the  measure up half your long side length (plus seam 
allowance) along one fold  from the folded center, half the short side length 
(plus seam allowance)  along the other center fold, then cutting one nice 
curve from one measured  end to the other. Then your curve will be even on 
all sides of your  pattern piece when you unfold it.

Medieval  Letter-writing
http://aelflaed.homemail.com.au/doco/letters.html
(Site  Excerpt) Letter-writing was not restricted by class, gender or 
occupation.  The treatises examined by Austin contain examples appropriate to 
all walks  of life, and actual letters survive from people of many different 
types.  Minimal education would have been required, but certainly many who 
had not  had the benefit of a university education were expected and able to 
use  the treatise examples in composing their own correspondence.

Arachne's  Webserver: Lace-maker's  Homepage
http://www.arachne.com/

Viking-Style Tablet Weaving: Birka  Strapwork Motif by  Þóra's  Sharptooth
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/birkarcp.html
(Site  Excerpt) The motif for this tablet-weaving "recipe" is based on a 
Viking  Age brocaded tablet-weaving pattern found on Bands 22 and 23 at 
Birka,  Sweden. Based on both the number of finds of brocaded tablet-weaving 
finds  and the total weight of metal brocading weft found at Birka, this was 
the  trim pattern most commonly represented in Birka's Viking Age  burials...

Phiala's String Page: Fingerloop  Braiding
http://www.stringpage.com/braid/fl/fingerloop.html
(Site  Excerpt) This type of braid was very common in medieval London 
(Crowfoot  et al. 1992). They were used as edging on mesh hairnets, purse 
strings,  and for fastening clothing. Examples of 5, 7, 10, 14, and 20 loops 
have  been found. All were of silk, mostly monochrome, but one used 2 colors. 

Fingerloop braids of 3 and 4 colors are known from elsewhere.
SEE  ALSO:
Lucet
http://www.stringpage.com/lucet/lucet.html

Celtic  Artwork and  Illumination
http://www.aon-celtic.com/cknotwork.html

Chain Mail  Connection
http://www.chainmailconnection.com/

Medieval Games and  Past-times (an OLD Aoife-Links  List)
http://sca-librarians.gallowglass.org/links/games.html
(Site  Excerpt) This list is perfect for those planning amusements at  events.
There's information on: Bocce, Quoits (a horse shoe like game),  Croquet,
Tennis, Battledore/Shuttlecock, Bowling (Ninepins, etc.),  Shove-penny,
skittles, and a couple bonus curiosity games.

15th  century girdle book for note taking and other uses
by Cynthia Virtue aka  Baroness Cynthia du Pré  Argent
http://www.virtue.to/articles/girdlebook.html
(Site Excerpt) To  wear it, the knot slips under your belt from below, until 
the knot is over  your belt, which keeps it from falling out.  To use mine 
for taking  notes, I can either leave it in the belt, and just pick it up and 
start  writing (I write in it "upside down") or I can take it out of my belt  
easily and write.  I've used it to remember names, allegedly bright  ideas I 
have at events, interesting clothes or art, my lines in a play,  class notes, 
and other little things.

Ingvild