On the last weekend in June we spontaneously headed off to the Robinhood Medieval Festival in east-central Connecticut. When the weather forecast called for a break in the heat and humidity and promised a cool, dry, cloudy, blustery day, we were all in! I love a cloudy fair day, even… Read More »Robinhood Medieval Festival 2024
Years ago I was gifted some old saris to make into costume pieces and recycle the silk and satin. Here’s a men’s tunic that I finally finished after years on hold, stashed away since before we moved into the house. Patterned by me in my favorite shapes: rectangles. I used… Read More »Recycled Sari Tunic
I finally made myself a perfect medieval chemise. Perfection existing in the fabric, the pattern, and the notions. Past attempts at chemise fell short when I tried to use cotton muslin. The stiff weight didn’t drape how I had imagined in one case or another. This time I found a… Read More »Medieval Chemise
A little late in posting, but late is better than never. A few weeks ago Jake and I took our first trip to the Vermont Renaissance Faire. The summer one! We’ve been to the winter faire several times as the only event happening in the dead, fair-less winter, but have… Read More »Vermont Renaissance Faire 2023
Another year of plague, another Family Plague Faire. Our annual backyard Renaissance Faire turned three this year and continues to expand in attendance becoming a staple pre-holiday potluck. This year we moved to the third week in November, ever searching for that weather sweet-spot. This year we came pretty close… Read More »Family Plague Faire 2022
Oh my, have I ever written a negative faire review before? I don’t think so, but here we go, Lords and Ladies. The Massachusetts Renaissance Faire was not what we were looking for this year. I don’t know if it was the heat causing last minute cancellations or if the… Read More »The Massachusetts Renaissance Faire 2022
At the beginning of June Jake, myself, and several friends had a beautiful day at the Robinhood’s Medieval Faire in Harwinton, CT. We made a whole day of it, stopping for breakfast before the faire while the dogs were at their doggie resort. Starting the day well nourished, we had… Read More »Robin Hood’s Medieval Faire 2022
Still working my way through a box of yarn, this time, making ‘rustic’ doilies. I started out with a pattern or two, but found that my gauge and the author’s were not matching up, which results of course in a not-very-flat doily. I therefore abandoned the patterns and struck out… Read More »Crochet Crazy Doilies
Renaissance Fairs are back! Two weekends ago on a rainy day, my husband and I made our dog Tovi a Robinhood costume so that this past weekend we could enter her into the pet costume contest at the Robinhood Faire. Our poor sweet dog is very patient with all the… Read More »Robinhood, but it’s my dog.
With much good fortune I scored a limited-edition black Khadija set from Moresca’s Labor Day Sale. Fair season, and therefore most vendors’ income, has been cancelled this year, leading some vendors to hold never-before-seen online sales. I’ve been waiting for a Khadija belt and cuffs for a few years, but… Read More »Black Moresca Khadija Set
Back with more sewing for the highly anticipated Plague Fair 2020. I’ve finished four generic banners and hung them on dowel and twine. Jake notched the dowels for me so that the string has a nice channel to sit in. I’ve also completed another set of duel-sided flag garland; this… Read More »Prepping for Plague Faire Part 2
This was an especially fun year at the Vermont Winter Renaissance Fair, perhaps because we spent more money than usual…. First, they lure you in with free samples of everything: mead, jam, syrup, vodka, rum… Once you’ve been sufficiently liquored for free, which is basically the best part of this… Read More »Vermont Winter Renaissance Fair 2020
The troupe has a Celtic-themed belly dance show coming up in March for which we are preparing quite the little dance number. To tie our look together on stage, we ordered 30 yards of the same miscellaneous cotton plaid, from which we will each be making a garment–or rather I… Read More »Celtic Plaid Belly Dance Pants
The new spear has been assembled and hung in the expanding armory
Functional pouches are a life-saver in costuming. Purses, cell phones, car keys, and wallets do not time-travel well, and can only make the journey when well hidden inside a decorative bag or pouch. For the upcoming Winter Renaissance Faire in Vermont I am planning to wear black leather armor, but… Read More »Re-purposing Army Surplus Bag
My focus for the month, between Holiday preparations, has been the decoration of the dining room, which until recently has remained quite bare. I am in the process of painting a large diptych for one wall, and on another we have finally hung the armory. Our love of Renaissance and… Read More »Hanging the Armory
I had dreams of sewing Jake a very traditional Viking tunic. Something long, loose fitting, and functional. When I found several yards of sombrella fabric with a visible weave and stiff hand on clearance, I thought it had the perfect rough look if you ignore it’s forever fade-resistance. Jacob had… Read More »Orange Sensational Viking Long Tunic
On Labor Day 2019, the whole family (that means the dog too), attended the Connecticut Renaissance Fair in Lebanon, CT. This is one of the only fairs in the region that allows pets any day of the fair, however opening weekend was pet-themed. Tovi put on her only costume to… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2019: Tovi’s First Ren Fair!
So busy and yet look at all the posting I’m doing! So busy because of all that sewing, climbing, gardening, and now also because, surprise, I joined a dance troupe. The Whip City Witches, based out of Westfield, or “Whip City” Mass, is a group of adult women who share the common practice of… Read More »Bonus Post, I Joined a Dance Troupe
Another awesome year at the Vermont Winter Renaissance Fair at the Champlain Valley Exposition Center. We love this fair because it’s in the middle of the winter when we haven’t been to a fair in months and are eager to get back into the revelry. the cooler temperatures allow for… Read More »Vermont Winter Renaissance Faire 2019
So I was perusing my local fabric warehouse (because that’s where I go for fun), not even looking for this most amazing embossed pleather, but there it was! So here we are. I was already planning on making a bodice; the original plan was a reversible fabric bodice with a… Read More »Brown Embossed-Faux Leather Bodice
My very first trip ever to the New York Renaissance fair! People have been talking about this fair for years; about how it’s the biggest and the best around, about how they can’t believe I haven’t been. Well, this year we finally made the long drive in the early morning… Read More »New York Renaissance Fair
Labor Day weekend Jake and I attended military appreciation day at the King Richard’s Faire in Carver, MA. Every year the second day of the fair is free for active and retired military, so we try to go on that day to save on Jake’s admission. King Richard’s is one… Read More »New Viking Garb for Military Day at King Richard’s Faire 2018
Jake needed another pair of viking pants in a different color. Lucky for him, our bed sheets decided to rip in the washing machine, and I wasn’t going to let all of that good cotton go to waste. So here he is in his new pair of giant pants featuring… Read More »Gray Viking Pants with Side Panel
A great success in cotton jersey! I have a lot of clothes for the fair; many I made myself, some pieces I’ve purchased, but even in the depths of my vast collection I was lacking a neutral knee-length base layer that could also be worn alone. You know, something for… Read More »Cotton Jersey Faire Dress
Last weekend me and my crew attended the King Richard’s Faire. What a beautiful October day to travel through time, wear flowers on my head, and shop for weaponry. We saw some big cats to whatever they wanted on stage, ate stew from a bowl made of bread, and Kelley… Read More »King Richards Faire
This weekend my friends and I attended the New Hampshire Renaissance Faire. It was a gorgeous 82 degrees in May, and I needed a crown of flowers for the occasion. With the forecast calling for a such a warm day, my garb needed to be kept simple; no layers of skirts… Read More »Crown of Flowers
Renaissance Fair Season is upon us! I love spending a day out in the woods with the fairies and jesters, celebrating the late summertime magic. The first Fair on my list is King Richard’s in Carver Mass, and to make sure I make the most of my Fair day, I… Read More »Preparing for King Richards Faire
On Saturday, June 22nd, Faire Trimmings (a collarborative brand between Kelley and I) will be vending at the Pirate Rendezvous in Damariscotta, ME. Activities begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. The pirates invade at high noon, which is essentially a large parade and general storming of the fair grounds by… Read More »The Pirate Rendezvous