And DING!!!

 I had so wanted to enter to compete in Artifacts of a Life. I wanted to pull together some textiles that could have been left behind by my counterpart Lydia. In another example of serendipity, I realized that everything I have crafted in the competition deadline of 3 years (which is really my entirety of intentionally playing in the SCA), fit well together and tell a story. 

Because of the stress of my kitchen remodel, I have had very limited spoons. We (my mother and I) packed up the kitchen 3 weeks after my gallbladder removal surgery, while my spouse was away for 38 days of travel for work. I've been surviving on frozen meals that can be prepared in the microwave or air fryer, and eaten off of paper plates using plastic utensils for 11 weeks now. There have been many hiccups along the way, including a 3 week pause due to a corner cabinet that was delivered broken. That pause was excruciating, with all the new cabinets and boxes invading all aspects of my first floor... and no hope of progress until the broken piece was replaced. That finally happened today. It's not significant to my SCA career and play, and yet it absolutely is because it has interfered with every thing I do daily. Finding space and spoons to make and document has been... hard.

But here we are. I emailed and asked if I could display. I had an appropriate number of connected pieces to enter, but could not pull together the documentation for the event. So I displayed. And I sat with my work. I never sit with my things. I set them up with a tri-fold science fair board of information and an index card that says "Please Touch". This time I got to sit with people and tell my story. It was raw. It is hard to describe to the average mundane and SCAdian, because Lydia isn't a shell I put on - she is how I can engage in my passions and crafts in a way that is celebrated. She is real and Me. There is no insulating barrier that I can let barbs stick into that armor. In so many ways, Lydia is as raw and vulnerable as I can possibly be. 

Now that you've endured my ramblings about what months of lack of nutrition and daily stress have reduced me to, it's time to look at the bright side - what I have been able to accomplish. 

That goal of weaving enough fabric to waulk at Harvest Moon was accomplished. I will upload a few videos to YouTube, but a longer format video is available on TickTock. I was completely tongue-tied that the EK social media person was there and recorded us. It was such a fun experience that I've been requested to do something similar at 3 upcoming events and have big plans for either Panteria or GNE in 2026, as long as the kitchen remodel actually gets finished. 

I used a mattress stitch with the same yarn I wove with to join my 3 panels. I chose a much thinner gauge yarn for hemming and ironed under twice for the hem. I did not get the project hemmed completely before Artifacts of a Life, but that wasn't a big issue as I thought that sitting with my table of projects and working one of them would add to the immersive experience that AoaL encourages.

At the end of the day, my project was a success. I was able to replicate the weave structure of the precious Falkirk Tartan and see a significant difference in the fabric after it was waulked. It was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to add the next layer to this experiment.