Busy rather long weekend
Mar. 22nd, 2009 10:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stellar_muddleA rather long weekend as it started on Thurs for:
Medieval Living History New Zealand March Camp 2009
Thurs: Leisurely slow start with packing and pottering along. Made it out to site round 3pmish(?). Well in time for setting up and dinner, in any case. Much sitting around talking, with some star gazing (nice clear night).
Fri: Some sleeping in. Long slow breakfast (as tends to happen at these camps:)). Had brought the MLH warp weighted loom to play with as my project, whereas Z had his usual forge and other tools to play with. There was some minor fixing to do before it was usable (in the set up form I was familiar with from ex-flatmates and AAF loom setups), so while Z hammered and swore about splitting wood, I set to winding wool up for the warp. Yay for awning poles (as seen in this photo) as something to wrap around (giving warp threads of about 5.85m long for leg bindings - narrow project to start with). 24 pairs of threads. Then there was setting them up onto the main bar and hitching up the length to make them a little easier to deal with. Paired them off which made for an interesting weaving pattern later. Put the cloth beam onto main frame (as in here), attached weights and attempted to tied the right threads to the heddle rod. Much swearing and several attempts later, I quit for dinner. I may have disturbed/confused people with the tent being very quiet appart from the loud occasional swearing outbursts. Nice dinner - mmm fish and roast pork and rice pudding for dessert. Board games and more talking. Yet another pre midnight finish (a feature of this camp). Starry out again.
Sat: Some sleeping in (warm enough but bedding a bit thin underneath, so not the best of sleeps). More slow breakfasting. Better luck with weights and heddle threading, so was able to start weaving. The first few inches can be seen here. At this point Z was playing with his forge and there was loitering and talking. As of 2pm, the weaving was 7.5 inches long. Timed myself to see how much I could do in 30 min (5 inches it turns out). Some closeups of the weaving can be seen here and here. Like the diamiondish pattern that seems to have resulted - will be interesting to see how that stands up to washing. A small lull and some picking of blackberries. Much very nice food for dinner - more roast pork, chicken, mince, blue cheese and mushroom pie, stewed blackberries and pears, date custard, fruit mix etc. Unfortunately right around dinner the Girl Guides turned up for a tour and it started raining. Much rushing around rigging a tarp over the fire. But it all worked in the end. Singing around the campfire and talking (though still til only midnightish). On and off rain through the evening.
Sun: Bit more wind overnight. Enough that Z was bolted upright by the sound of sound of tearing canvas. He ducked out in only a very short jacket to brave the elements (rain and wind) to investigate and fix the flailing kitchen awning (~6am). Good site to camp for just how sheltered it is, but still can get the occasional gust. Cold Z getting back into bed. Another extended breakfast and people sort of loitered in the rain, contemplated lingering, but started packing anyway. There were patches of sun almost enough to dry the tents a bit, then it would start raining again. We were lucky to take ours down just at the end of one such sunny patch, but it was close and the tents will still need some drying. Unfortunately the tie for attaching the white a-frame fabric to the ridge beam tore as we were taking her down, so there will be a bit of patching/fixing there before the next camp (May Crown I think). A lovely drizzle patch rolled in as we got our tents into the car and we we helped pack the last of the tables and tents and get the viking a-frame poles into our roof rack in the rain. Left site about 2:30pm to head to home and much unpacking. There was the vague idea of leaving the car in the garage and having a cup of tea first, but we worked out that you couldn't leave the poles on the roof rack and shut the garage door. We sighed and started untying.
Now there are chests littering the landscape (well, dining room and lounge, with some unpacked) and there might even be a warp weighted loom set up in the corner of the lounge...
About 28 inches done so far :)
Medieval Living History New Zealand March Camp 2009
Thurs: Leisurely slow start with packing and pottering along. Made it out to site round 3pmish(?). Well in time for setting up and dinner, in any case. Much sitting around talking, with some star gazing (nice clear night).
Fri: Some sleeping in. Long slow breakfast (as tends to happen at these camps:)). Had brought the MLH warp weighted loom to play with as my project, whereas Z had his usual forge and other tools to play with. There was some minor fixing to do before it was usable (in the set up form I was familiar with from ex-flatmates and AAF loom setups), so while Z hammered and swore about splitting wood, I set to winding wool up for the warp. Yay for awning poles (as seen in this photo) as something to wrap around (giving warp threads of about 5.85m long for leg bindings - narrow project to start with). 24 pairs of threads. Then there was setting them up onto the main bar and hitching up the length to make them a little easier to deal with. Paired them off which made for an interesting weaving pattern later. Put the cloth beam onto main frame (as in here), attached weights and attempted to tied the right threads to the heddle rod. Much swearing and several attempts later, I quit for dinner. I may have disturbed/confused people with the tent being very quiet appart from the loud occasional swearing outbursts. Nice dinner - mmm fish and roast pork and rice pudding for dessert. Board games and more talking. Yet another pre midnight finish (a feature of this camp). Starry out again.
Sat: Some sleeping in (warm enough but bedding a bit thin underneath, so not the best of sleeps). More slow breakfasting. Better luck with weights and heddle threading, so was able to start weaving. The first few inches can be seen here. At this point Z was playing with his forge and there was loitering and talking. As of 2pm, the weaving was 7.5 inches long. Timed myself to see how much I could do in 30 min (5 inches it turns out). Some closeups of the weaving can be seen here and here. Like the diamiondish pattern that seems to have resulted - will be interesting to see how that stands up to washing. A small lull and some picking of blackberries. Much very nice food for dinner - more roast pork, chicken, mince, blue cheese and mushroom pie, stewed blackberries and pears, date custard, fruit mix etc. Unfortunately right around dinner the Girl Guides turned up for a tour and it started raining. Much rushing around rigging a tarp over the fire. But it all worked in the end. Singing around the campfire and talking (though still til only midnightish). On and off rain through the evening.
Sun: Bit more wind overnight. Enough that Z was bolted upright by the sound of sound of tearing canvas. He ducked out in only a very short jacket to brave the elements (rain and wind) to investigate and fix the flailing kitchen awning (~6am). Good site to camp for just how sheltered it is, but still can get the occasional gust. Cold Z getting back into bed. Another extended breakfast and people sort of loitered in the rain, contemplated lingering, but started packing anyway. There were patches of sun almost enough to dry the tents a bit, then it would start raining again. We were lucky to take ours down just at the end of one such sunny patch, but it was close and the tents will still need some drying. Unfortunately the tie for attaching the white a-frame fabric to the ridge beam tore as we were taking her down, so there will be a bit of patching/fixing there before the next camp (May Crown I think). A lovely drizzle patch rolled in as we got our tents into the car and we we helped pack the last of the tables and tents and get the viking a-frame poles into our roof rack in the rain. Left site about 2:30pm to head to home and much unpacking. There was the vague idea of leaving the car in the garage and having a cup of tea first, but we worked out that you couldn't leave the poles on the roof rack and shut the garage door. We sighed and started untying.
Now there are chests littering the landscape (well, dining room and lounge, with some unpacked) and there might even be a warp weighted loom set up in the corner of the lounge...
About 28 inches done so far :)
