Fencing | Elizabethan Mafia

Flanders Gown To-Do’s and Website Ponderings

24. January 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Fighting, Sewing · Tags: Fencing, Fighting, Flanders Gown, Project, Sewing, Website

Sorry there was not a practice update this week. I was very busy with work on Thursday and unable to make it out. Hopefully this week will be easier and I will be able to make it out. I’ve really enjoyed the last few practices and it feels good to be out again even if it is freezing cold in NC this winter.

Not much happened with the Flanders gown this weekend. We helped friends move into their (very beautiful) brand new house on Saturday, Saturday and Sunday I had to go into work to check on a freezer that decided to start acting up Saturday, and I spent Sunday afternoon running a low grade fever, drinking lots of juice, and working on a web design project. I’ve been thinking though that I would really like to wear the gown to KASF in a couple of weeks (Feb 5th). Everything is cut out and the interlining has been stiffened so I really think I could finish it up by then if I set some time aside for it. So my plan for tonight is to make sure everything is ironed and sketch out a rough schedule for myself.

The other thing I’ve been considering over the past week is what to do about my site and my expanding costuming interests. I’ve been branching out more and more into 19th and early 20th century fashions. However discussing them and putting them up on “Elizabethan Mafia” seems out of place. I’d like to continue to keep Elizabethan Mafia focused but at the same time I’d like to start discussing my other costuming endeavors. Currently I have several options running around in my head:

Just keep everything at Elizabethan Mafia. I’ve spent six years building a following here and this is already how everyone knows me.
Make a second site dedicated specifically to 18-20th Century costuming and keep my 14th-16th Century costuming and HMA research at Elizabethan Mafia.
Refocus Elizabethan Mafia around my HMA research and move all my costuming to a new site.
Build an entirely new site from that would cater to all my interests and redirect traffic to it from Elizabethan Mafia.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Am I over thinking it? Am I crazy? (Most likely but it would be nice if you all told me no. )

Practice Log 1/13/2011, etc

18. January 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Fighting, Sewing · Tags: Fencing, Fighting, Flanders Gown, Project, Sewing

Sorry for all the quiet last week. With the ice storm we got last Tuesday and the holiday yesterday I’ve been completely thrown off schedule-wise.

I did make it to practice last week although sadly it appears last week was my goob practice*. I forgot my contacts, forgot just about everything else, felt sick, etc…etc…etc. I still fought just not particularly well. Ah well, these things happen. I just need to make sure that they don’t happen again this week.

I did spend some time working on my Flanders gown this weekend. I didn’t get a lot done but I did get the remaining pieces cut out so I can finally get started on the assembly. I also think I’ve changed my mind about the sleeves again. I really need to get this project done just so I can stop changing my mind about it. I also fit my shell jacket mock up. It’s currently still up on my dress form as I debate making some other alterations to it but otherwise I’m pretty happy with it.

*goob practice: That particular practice when coming back to regular practice from a break when a fighter seemingly forgets everything they’ve ever known. It may be the first practice back or it may wait until practice 2 or 3 to strike.

Practice Log 1/6/2011

07. January 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Fighting · Tags: Fencing, Fighting

I made it out to practice last night. I had a great time and it was good to be out for the first practice of the year. I’m rusty as usual but I was pleased to note that my old bad habit of pausing doesn’t seem to have returned and I didn’t have any issue following up with second intention attacks. The problem I was having was judging my distance with those second intentions in the lamp light so several of them ended up just barely too short. I’ll take that problem over plenty of others though…it’s a lot easier for me to fix.

It was cold but I layered a long sleeve shirt under my usual armor and an over sized sweatshirt over it and I stayed pretty toasty for the duration of practice.

I fought Jama with rapier and buckler, Percy with rapier and dagger, and Wistric with rapier and dagger. When we have light again in the spring I’ll start video taping my fights for later review and analysis.

Getting in the Groove of the New Year

03. January 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Goals · Tags: 2011 Goals, Fencing, Music

It’s the Monday after New Year’s and I’m back at work. It was a truly lovely holiday.

After posting my 2010 retrospective Saturday I spent the rest of the day relaxing with my hubby and friends. It was wonderful. Over the last year I’ve begun spending more and more time on commissions and freelance projects and while I have really enjoyed them and the opportunities they brought with them I realized that I needed to make sure I still make time for spending with family and friends.

I have three goals this week:

Get over the cold I picked up from the nephews at Christmas.
Go to fighter practice Thursday.
Finish setting up my drill space.

At some point I need to practice my guitar. I think I can do that.

2010 Retrospective and 2011 Plans

01. January 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Goals · Tags: 2010 Goals, 2010 Project Plans, 2011 Goals, 2011 Project Plans, Embroidery, Fencing, Fighting, Project, Sewing

It’s New Years Day which means it’s time look back on the projects I’ve finished and the goals I set for myself over the last year and start planning out the ones I want to work on this year.

2010 Goals:

1) Continue to work on my physical fitness and fighting.
2) Only have one embroidery project at a time. Until it’s finished this means my jacket.
3) Do more sewing.
4) Learn to play 2 pieces of music appropriate to Elizabethan England by Pennsic.
5) Spend more time with my students.
6) Continue to post Silver and Swetnam installments weekly.

I had a lot of false starts with my first goal of working on my physical fitness and fencing. I would stay focused for a few weeks and then drop off. I was really disappointed with myself in this. These were really important goals for me and I let myself set them on the back burner over and over again.

I did OK with goals two and three. I couldn’t maintain working on a sewing project and an embroidery project at the same time but I did enjoy more sewing projects this year and kept myself focused on the one embroidery project (my jacket) even if I didn’t get as far on it as I would have liked to.

I wrote about goal four recently already.

I did enjoy spending more time with my students both on and off the field this year and I’m looking forward to even more next year.

I did not continue with my Silver and Swetnam series mostly because I’ve decided to change those projects slightly. Instead of working on them in a series I’ve decided I want to publish them all at once.

2010 Planned Projects

Get my fencing in top notch shape In progress
Embroidered Jacket In progress (Started August 2009)
Flander’s Gown In progress
Silver Training Blog Series In progress
Swetnam Training Blog Series In progress
Steampunk Gown Finished! January 2010
Wrapped and Stuffed Buttons @ Etsy Opened! January 2010
Grey Wool Bias Cut Hosen Finished! February 2010
Linen Kirtle Finished! April 2010
White Linen Bias Cut Stockings Finished! April 2010
16th-17th Century Stocking Tutorial Finished! April 2010
Blue Linen Bias Cut Hosen Finished! May 2010
14th Century Hosen Tutorial Finished! May 2010
Saviolo Dueling Blog Series Finished! June 2010
Early Modern English Dueling Class Finished! June 2010
Green Linen GFG Finished! September 2010
Burgundy Linen Effigy Bodies Finished! October 2010
Recreating Elizabethan Bodies Tutorial Finished! October 2010
Monochrome Embroidery Tutorial Finished! December 2010
French-Cut gown
A new linen suit
Natural Form Gown

2011 Goals

1) Continue to improve fitness and fencing
2) Have one sewing project a month
3) Publish a new ebook every 1-2 months
4) Be able to play 1 Elizabethan popular song by December

In December I rededicated myself for improving my fitness and I’m pleased to say that I was able to stay pretty straight and mostly narrow even through the Holidays. I have also begun outlining my plan for working on my fencing one already and I plan on discussing them in more detail when their more firm. My first fitness and fencing goals revolve around Gulf Wars and I will be discussing them in future posts. My other goals are all pretty self explanatory. In order to keep myself on track and focused I’ve decided to keep my total number of goals this year lower than last and I will be posting monthly updates.

2011 Planned Projects

Get my fencing in top notch shape In progress
Embroidered Jacket In progress (Started August 2009)
Flander’s Gown In progress
Silver Training Manual In progress
Swetnam Training Manual In progress
14th Century Cloth Hosen ebook
New Rapier Armor
Shirt, Brais, Hosen
Charles de Blois Pourpoint
Edwardian Lingerie Gown
Arming Garments Class

The first non-fencing related projects I will be working on are the 14th Century Cloth Hosen ebook and finishing my Flanders Gown.

Setting Up an Indoor Space for Drills

14. December 2010 · 2 comments · Categories: Fighting · Tags: Fencing, Fighting

It’s OMG!!!!! cold down here in sunny NC. As an example it was in the teens last night and it’s not expected to really get any warmer until after Christmas. I’m beginning to expect a very long, very unseasonably cold winter. Ugh!

In NC it’s hard for us to find indoor practice space. Most of the indoor spaces available charge fees for use and while their cost might be reasonable for one or two practices they are rather expensive for a regular weekly practice. So while we continue to chase down leads for indoor practice sites (and we are almost always chasing down a new lead) we’re left with practicing outside during the depths of winter and heights of summer.

I’ll be honest, I’ve been a bad Provost lately. I’ve been a slacker with my drilling and irregular in my practice attendance. But I’ve decided to turn that around. In addition to rededicating myself to regular practice attendance (which may have to start next week if we really do get snow Thursday-ugh!) I’ve decided to set up some space at home for drilling. Currently my plan is to set up an area in the guest bedroom but I may need to move it into the master where there’s more space. I’m curious though as to how many of you have set up space in your homes for drilling? How much space have you set aside? What did you include in your drilling area? If you have them I’d love to see pictures.

Fencing Videos from Midnight at the Oasis Part 1

23. November 2010 · Write a comment · Categories: Events, Fighting, Video · Tags: Events, Fencing, Fighting, Video

I’ll bet you all thought that I had forgotten. I didn’t, it’s just taken me longer to go through them that I had originally thought. Here are the first three videos from Midnight at the Oasis.

What Sorts of Men Ought not to be Admitted to Trial of Arms

09. November 2010 · Write a comment · Categories: Fighting · Tags: Dueling, Fencing, Fighting, HMA

This is a transcription that I did from a passage of The Third Book of Of Honor and Arms that I thought might make interesting reading for a Tuesday morning. I took the liberty of modernizing some of the language in hopes of making it easier to read. If anyone would like it in the original please feel free email me. My contact information can be found on the about page.

In Between Projects the 2010 Review Begins

28. October 2010 · Write a comment · Categories: Embroidery, Fighting, Goals, Sewing, Tutorials, Website · Tags: 2010 Goals, 2010 Project Plans, Embroidery, Fencing, Fighting, Foundations Revealed, Project, Tutorial

This week I start to find myself between projects. My last article was published and I’ve started writing the next next one. I’ve finished a couple of sewing projects and I’m getting ready to start a new commission. This is the time that I generally make updates to my site. So today when I was making some of those updates I found myself looking over some of my recent accomplishments and thinking that it’s nearly November and the end of the year is on it’s way.

War of the Wings 2010

14. October 2010 · Write a comment · Categories: Events, Sewing, Tutorials · Tags: Events, Fencing, Foundations Revealed, Tutorial

I need to write some more fencing posts! Well, that will have to wait until next week when my article has been submitted. It’s all done except for two pictures I need to take tonight. It’s getting turned in tomorrow. Excellent.

But I’m sure what you want to read about is War of the Wings, which I went to last weekend. More »

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