Opening weekend of the Connecticut Renaissance Fair, also Labor Day weekend in the States, we found ourselves with a free afternoon and my desire for a particular bodice from a particular vendor opening at the faire. I threw together this cute Renaissance shopping outfit from pieces already sewn to peruse… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Fair Shopping Outfit
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
This past weekend we attended the first ever Wyndonshire Renaissance Festival. Organized in collaboration with the Winchendon Recreation Department, the faire took place in a large public park. The venue was spectacular. Very large with a variety of wooded paths, open fields, paved walkways, water-views, and even an amphitheater. There… Read More »Wyndonshire Renaissance Festival, Year One Review
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
Happy Halloween, everyone! Somehow after a vow-renewal and a mini-moon to Florida we still managed to have a spooky costumed Halloween-weekend. This holiday is a priority. So what did we wear? Saturday we sponsored a hole at a spooky Disc-golf tournament where we won the costume contest in our raiders-from-the-north… Read More »Halloween 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
Small, local, outdoors; our second Renaissance faire of 2021. Still deeply impacted by the pandemic, but fun and comforting nonetheless. Garb made by me, but nothing specifically made for this event. It was a hot one. I don’t know why more fair don’t run in November…beat the snow, but pass… Read More »Massachusetts Renaissance Faire 2021
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.
It’s here! It’s here! The post on Family Plague Fair 2020. I know you’ve all been waiting anxiously for weeks for the inside scoop on this pandemic renaissance festival. As many of you who follow this blog already know, devastated by the cancellation of the 2020 renaissance fair season, my… Read More »FAMILY PLAGUE FAIR 2020
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
With faire season 2020 cancelled, my social cadre and I are planning our own socially distanced, hygienically responsible backyard fair for the future if our local numbers continue to improve. It will be black-death-themed, of course; our own little plague party, except not in a crowded palace. Time to get… Read More »Prepping for Plague Faire
I’m in denial over the cancellation of much of my Renaissance Fair season. This consolatory accessory is a custom bottle holster to re-purpose glass kombucha bottles into faire-bound drink containers. Sewn from a thin and soft faux-leather, this was my second attempt at making such a holster. My first attempt… Read More »Pirate’s Bottle Holster
Last bustle in this fabric, I promise!! I was going to be all done, but then I had leftover fabric, and everyone had a bustle to wear over their big skirts or pants except for me. So I just had to whip myself up a very simple bustle out of… Read More »Mini Tartan Bustle
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’ve sewn a new dress for this most magical time of year. Nine-or-so yards of buttery polyester had appeared in my fabric stash. I don’t remember where I got so much of this sage green delight, but many a historical fantasy garment call for such great lengths of fabric. Lengths… Read More »Green Elven Gown
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!
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
Another quick-sew to use up some fabric lying around my studio; I made a reversible red and blue bubble cape with hood and yoke. Some subtle red paisley lining fabric leftover from one of Jake’s earlier jerkins seemed like it would make a good red cape of cloak. A red… Read More »Reversible Costume Cape
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
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
On October 15th, 2016 we had an absolutely fantastic time at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in North Haven, CT. The CT Ren Faire isn’t as big as the King Richard’s Faire, and it doesn’t have permanent faire structures, but the people and programming is top-notch. This mid-fall faire was also… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Faire and New Viking Costumes
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