A&S display at Pennsic 42

I really wanted to post about this right after it happened because I was afraid I wouldn't remember much of the experience. It is almost 1 year later and I still so happy about he experience. I have always been very hesitant to do any kind of A&S display or completion. Like so many other artisans I take the negative comments I receive too much to heart. I didn't think I would have the strength to sit there and take negative reviews of my work. I was pleasantly surprised to have only received encouragement and constructive suggestions on my project. I had some really awesome conversations with people I would have never met if I had not displayed my work. I think I spent the entire time talking to people about my project.

This past winter some friends and I went to the East Kingdom Kings and Queens A&S champions event in Dragonship Haven and I was really inspired. While most of the displayed seemed so beyond what I was capable of, I was extremely interested in the artisan who eventually became the Queens champion. She had done a study of how the spinning and plying direction changes the appearance of the final fabric. I was able to understand everything she was talking to me about, and even though her spinning and weaving skill far exceeded my own, I thought that the work I was doing on the fleece to frock project was something I could easily share with others. It wasn't long after this that I decided to do the A&S display at Pennsic.

The biggest highlight for me was talking to the King of Artemisia for some time about spinning. He is quite a spinner himself and showed me the fantastic items he was wearing from his own home spun. Some of which was done with Navajo Churro sheep which are native to his lands. After our conversation he presented me with his coin and I treasure it.

Another highlight was having my display featured in the Pennsic Independent. It was a real honor. When I initially talked to the reporter I did not realize they were from the Independent and she came back later after seeing all the rest of the displays and said she thought my project was a great representation of what we do as medievalist.

The greatest thing about this whole experience is getting to meet all the fantastic weavers from the Middle kingdom. I am really a very novice weaver and learned to weave to be able to do this project. Not knowing anyone else who has done this type of project before has been difficult for me, since I have made a lot of mistakes and hit a lot of dead ends. It was really great to talk to some people who knew about weaving and who were very encouraging of the project I was undertaking.

I also have a new perspective on A&S displays and competitions after being involved in it. I always thought the "science" part of "Arts and Science" was what we would think of today as science (chemistry, astronomy, alchemy etc) but now I see the science a little different. My display I think falls under "science" because it is a study of how a dress is made. My display was not about how nicely I spin, or how beautiful my embroidery is. It is what has to be done to take a raw sheep fleece and make it into a dress. I initially felt self conscious about my display because I thought it wasn't "pretty" and now I see that my contribution is not about the "art" of dress making but the science. I never really made the distinction before and it actually came after receiving the only really negative response I got, which was that my spinning wasn't very nice.

That comment really hurt, but I totally agree, this spinning is not even close to my best spinning and it has everything to do with my incompetence with picking a good fleece. It is one of the most important lessons that came out of my project. The quality of the fleece will directly effect the quality of the spinning and the final woven fabric. It seems like something I should have realized before, but I didn't realize HOW much the spinning would be effected until I got a second batch of raw wool that was in much better condition. The second batch made such better yarn than the first.

If there was someone who walked away from my display and their only thought was how crappy my spinning was, then I feel like I didn't present what my project was really about, and when I put this display together I didn't really think about this. I will definitely change my approach the next time I display.

 

 

my very brown display :) on the left is the 1st 4 yards of woven fabric. The little swatches in the middle are samples of : 1)woven fabric, 2) fulled fabric, 3)fulled fabric that was then stretched, 4) sample had nap raised with brushed and cut down to add softness. On the right side is the hand cards I used to prep fiber, washed wool and spun fiber.

I demonstrated spinning on a period spindle to help illustrate just how much work it takes to get 4 yards of fabric. 

what I do best: talk!

I don't think I stopped smiling all day.

Showing the finished fiber sample to the Pennsic Independent reporter.

 

Actually my next display will be very different in many ways. The biggest difference is that this is not longer a fleece to frock project. When I displayed this at Pennsic 42 I only had 4 yards of finished fabric and hoped to get another 4 yards to finish the dress. I had not yet spun up the second fleece I had bought, so I didn't realize how dramatic difference the quality of the fleece would make in the spinning. I continued and spun it all up and then when I wove it I only got 1 yard more since I messed up when I warped the loom. I didn't want to get a third batch of wool and then have 3 different quality fiber in one dress. When I started I thought 1 fleece would be enough for 1 dress for a very short person like myself. Another great lesson I learned from this project. When you use more than one fleece in a project you should mix up the raw wool and mix up the singles before plying so that the final fabric is more homogenous. 

I plan to use the fabric I have made so far will most likely be made into a hood and I am currently spinning some Shetland wool to be embroidery floss that I will dye to decorate the plain brown wool hood. I was very sad to have to give up on the dress, but I learned SO VERY MUCH in doing this project and in displaying at the A and S at Pennsic 42. The next dress will be much more awesome. Maybe it will be there at Pennsic 44.