And More Coronation Notes

I think Monique covered most of everything that happened during Coronation weekend. I just thought I would add my two cents worth.

We really had a great time. The church was a wonderful facility to hold coronation at. We really enjoyed a nice and pleasant day at court. The food was fabulous. The Upper Crust Cooking Guild did a superb job provding all of us a true feast. Monique and I were very lucky with our table placement for the feast and met some wonderful new friends. Long live table 7. I love you guys. The dancing was really fun. I was fortunate to have such a good dance partner. Charlie kept me from getting more lost in the dances than I could have been. Much fun was had.

Queen's Champion the next day was also a blast and super busy. I got asked to field herald at the last minute and was just kind of thrown into it. I flubbed up my words a few times, and missed a title or two - but had a really good time. I was very nervous at first, not knowing what to do. Luckily for me, Duke Edric was a marshall in my area and really helped me out a lot. I had never really spoken to him before. He was so nice, and easy going, he really made me feel at ease and my nerves went away. What a true gentleman.

The day was busy and exciting. Not only did Sir Sven win the day, but Monique won the silver scissors for the On the Spot embroidery contest! Woo Hoo, Monique! Check out here winning embroidery of the Caidan cross in our slide show. It was the first time a member of our household has received an award at court.

Well, that's about it for today. We have lots of things coming up. See you all soon!

Alys

Coronation Weekend Report

Coronation weekend was great fun. The processional carried Prince Patrick and Princess Kara, standing on shields with sword in hand, down the aisle to the thrones. It was then that King Edward and Queen Mora stepped down and the Prince and Princess were crowned as the undisputed King and Queen of the Kingdom of Caid. It was great pageantry and made both Alys and myself tear up.

After coronation, there was some brief downtime and then the feasting commenced. The food was all prepared and served by the members of the Barony of Gyldenholt. The food was fabulous and no one went hungry...I am sure of that! Diners brought commercial wine and homemade mead and many went cheerfully from table to table offering samples. They were delicious! After dinner, the tables were cleared away and chairs were set up around the room to leave the center open for dancing. Alys tripped the light fantastic with Charlie, a lovely gentleman we met at our dinner table. (I woke up Saturday morning with a mild cold so I was pretty tired by the time dinner was over, no energy left for dancing*sigh*)

Sunday morning Alys and I took our time getting ready for Queen's Champion tournament. We went out to breakfast in our garb and were stared at a bit. Go figure.;-) The most interesting comment we got was from the waitress who asked if Sunday was one of our holidays, you know, for Wicca. Uh, no....

Although it appeared overcast early in the morning, by the time we got to the site in Irvine, the sky had cleared and the sun was shining bright. Alys and I set up our chairs and baskets with the Barony of Altavia (the greatest Barony in the knowne world!) and got to work embroidering and weaving. Alys is weaving a fabulous (and I might add a 40 card pattern) in the colors of Caid for the King and Queen. I worked frantically to beat the clock on an embroidery piece for the On The Spot embroidery contest.

Alys was asked if she would like to herald for some of the fighting and she eagerly accepted. Like any new skill, she learned as the day went on and became a crackerjack field herald by the end of the day! Between you and me, I think she's hooked...At the end of the day, Duke Sven was victorious as the Queen's Champion.

I'll wager few people witnessed our Baron Secca, on his knees in full armor talking to a small boy with his father. The Baron then offered his weapon to the boy and allowed the child to take a whack at his head. The child was shy and swung lightly but was obviously pleased with the opportunity! Altavia is the best!

Oh, yeah. I won the prize of embroidery scissors in the OTS embroidery contest. For the first time ever, I was called to accept the prize at court. Very cool.

It's now Monday morning and we have returned to our mundane lives. Ah, well. Time to make some progress on other projects before the next event!

That Crazy Time of Year

Well, it is officially upon us. The crazy time of year has begun. From Coronation to Twelfth Night, Monique and I have our calendars and projects lists crammed to the max. We are currently getting everything ready for Coronation weekend - which means a lot of sewing needs to be completed. I am starting to accept that the trim I wanted to add to my Barony's largess just might not be finished in time for coronation. Blech.

After Coronation weekend, which includes Coronation on Saturday and the Queen's Champion on Sunday, we have something scheduled for almost every weekend and of course projects to prepare for almost every event. Monique and I have 3 Yule events to attend, and she is also making a trip of to the Pacific Northwest. We have Thanksgiving with Monique's family and I have Christmas in Arizona with my family. Then Tweflth night in the beginning of January. Monique also has a birthday in a little over a week. Sheesh. So little time.

Being the over acheiver I am, I have decided to make everyone's Christmas presents this year. Sure. I have time for that, don't I?

Monique and I have been so overdoing with our projects lately, that we both have "craft injuries". Seriously. We have sore backs and each have a bad case of what I am now calling "weaver's arm". Maybe next year, we can start all of our end of the year projects earlier. Probably won't happen, but it's an idea.

We should have lots of great photos to share with everyone over the next few months, so keep tuning in to our slide show.

Note to Self

Dear Self,

From now on please use the plastic coated playing cards when warping your loom. The strings just rip right through the other kind, and then you have to re-do your warp.

M'kay?

Thanks so much,

Alys

Rose

Rose, originally uploaded by alyssadyane.

So, I had to hurry up and finish this in time for Mom's birthday on Friday. It is done and mailed off to her house in the Kingdom of Atenveldt. Now I can get working on my next project, my Largesse donation for coronation. I warped my loom last night, and get to start the actual weaving today. Woo Hoo!

PRT report & photos

The Pink Ribbon Tournament was a very great success! Over $8000 was raised for breast cancer research and that is really saying something in these tough economic times. Mistress Bridget and Duchess Chamayn did a fantastic job putting this event together. Look up the word "organization" in the dictionary. I am certain there are photos of them on that page.

There was combat, rapier, henna and face painting, music, dancing, fiber-play-day, food and drink, T-shirt sales, and of course, the raffle. Pink was the color of the day and many a strong and burly man was sporting said color. I always say it takes a secure man to wear pink and that was never more true than yesterday.

One of the most coveted, if not THE most coveted, raffle items was an exceptionally beautiful damascus blade knife with a carved stone cat handle.
This was donated in the name of and to honor the Duchess Kolfinna. There were literally hundreds, nay, thousands of raffle tickets for this item. It was won by an extremely happy Lord Cormac.

Alys and I had a great time, as always, and wish to send out a hearty thanks to everyone who made yesterday a success. Remember those of us who have fought the fight against breast cancer and have passed on. Please continue to support our sisters (and brothers...I was informed that about 5000 cases of breast cancer occur in men every year) who have won the battle and those who continue to fight the vile scourge of all cancers, for it is only through research that we will (and I believe we will) find not only a cure, but ultimately the prevention of all cancers.

A final note on yesterday's activities;there was some sort of mis-communication with the local IHOP and their commitment to donate 20% of our dinner service to breast cancer research. Our sizable group, some in garb, some not, then went to The Monrovian Family Restaurant at 534 S.Myrtle Ave. in Monrovia. They were fabulous! Excellent service in spite of getting about 30 people all at once and great food. I highly recommend them.

Crafting for Pink Ribbon Tournament

Alys and I have been crafting a few projects to donate to the Pink Ribbon Tournament this coming Sunday. I had a few skeins of different pink colors that were begging to be turned into something useful. Thus these pink knit and felted clogs were created. These are fun to make and they fit right into the pink theme.

A couple of weeks ago I warped up a card weaving project, also for the Pink Ribbon raffle. Only 10 cards can produce a really nice pattern. There is a total of over 4 5/8 yds of approximately 1/2" wide cotton trim. I am grateful there are creative people out there producing patterns for me to use! Maybe I'll get to the point of designing my own someday, but for now I tap others' talent.