Steppes Artisan Competition 2014

Today I attended my first Steppes Artisan competition, and I was completely overwhelmed by the awesomeness. From metalwork and stonework, embroidery and calligraphy to weaving and more edible arts, it was a fascinating and inspiring collection of arts and crafts from ages past. I was delighted to be a part of it.

For those of you who couldn't make it, here's a quick view of my table, as well as links to the relevant blog posts and documentation.

The right side of the table dealt mostly with my rigid heddle weaving. I've posted pictures of a couple bands at a time, but there's something special about seeing so many of them together.... especially since I only started weaving last January! I did pull out the family inkle loom, but only so I could demonstrate both a rigid heddle project and a tablet-weaving project at the same time.

The left of the table was my duct-tape model of Mom wearing my last two sewing projects: Her tunic and my new apron dress. Both were sewn entirely by hand using period stitching techniques. Here are links to more in-depth articles about each: Apron Dress: Part I, Apron Dress: Part II, and Mom's Under Tunic.

The middle of the table focused on my tablet weaving. I've mentioned before that my first two projects were completed within 24 hours of getting my cards! There are two relevant blog posts for these projects: Weaving with Period Fibres/Beginning Tablet Weaving and Tablet Weaving with Silk.

All I expected going into this event was some constructive criticism and maybe an "atta girl" or two. Instead, I had the honor of being recognized by Mistress Rhiannon, who gave me an awesome basket of goodies to play with. Other members of the populace were incredibly generous too, and I have a lot more beads and period toys to play with!

But what incredibly floored me was  receiving my first award in over a decade: The Sable Thistle in Weaving. While I received other honors during my time in the Kingdom of the West, this is my very first scroll! It's totally getting framed and hung in a place of honor!

One last note: If you enjoyed the mini chicken pies we brought for the potluck, the recipe was Capon Pie from MedievalCookery.com and is supposed to date to the 16th century Netherlands.