How Stuff gets out of hand!

[Peter Remling]

Clothing and equiping a personea is easy to go astray!

As some of you know I like the craft end, particularly making scabbards. Right before my last vacation, I found a few items of interest on Ebay. One of them was an old Windlass blade from the Warriors Dream collection. These were fantasy pieces made useable (serviceable, battle ready) but with no historic reference. The piece I saw was an old falcion with a bone grip, the butt of which was carved into a lion's head. While I didn't particularly want the piece, I did want to do a scabbard and rig for it, so I bought it, paying about $120.

I instantly started laying out the rig in my head, going through a number of ideas. I've never done a rig with a kirtle but this one justified it. I found some bergundy sheepskin for about 10 bucks and picked it up. For a belt and suspension I ordered 2 belt blanks 1 1/4" ($16) and a two inch blank ($13) to form the kirtle foundation. Thescabbard core is to be lined wood (no $ outlay ) as I have both the lining and the wood.

At around this time my eldest daughter came home for the weekend and I showed her the sword and explained what I was going to do with it. She asked if she could have it, I said yes.

A little background is probably needed here, Jessie now 20 has loved going to the Renfair since she was little and I made her four leather "Warrior Princess" outfits. The first when she was 6 and the last at 14. My youngest really isn't interested and even when she wants to go, is bored and ready to leave after 2 hours, so Jessie and I share this interest.

Now, I can't have MY daughter running around without a dagger to match this feline motif, can I ? So, remembering the leopard headed knife (jambiya) Windlass sold for a while I did a search and finally found one for a good price($26). So now I have to make the matching sheath of course.

It was around this time I settled on a rabbit skin chape and throat piece dyed to look like a bobcat pelt ($10), I'm planning on useing the pelt for the back of the kirtle too.

Hmmm, Gee my daughter can't go to the fair in her Warrior Priness outfits, they don't fit her. The pirate outfit she's worn the past 2 years won't go with the barbarian "Cat Clan" look, so I guess Dad has to make a new leather dress. Fortunately I had enough leather left over from cutting out that new hunter green backpack, I'm making for myself.

What's a barbarian female without jewelry you ask, well I did ask. I found a tibetian wolf claw necklace($10).

Now where do you suppose barbarian girls keep their keys, cell phones and their credit cards. I bet you know the answer, a leather haversack again I already had sufficient leather but I needed some pewter accent pieces for it($6).

Damn! all barbarian's regardless of sex, need flint and steel, so off to Ebay for another firestarting set.($8 ). Wait a minute, you can't just throw it in your haversack so of course I'm making a leather holder for it.


Now if any of you think of something I've forgot,
Please God, don't tell me!!!!!

[Greg]

I pity you...and see a vague reflection of what I'm probably going to wind up being like when I have kids. Such a joy, yet such a curse.

Best curse ever! Let us know how it all turns out once you've finally decided that there's nothing else you could possibly make for it.

[Mirimaran]

Peter, my wife and I can sympathize. My step-daughter from my first marriage came to live with us last September, and the cost of regular clothes alone can drive one to the poor house, (my wife is making her clothes right now!) so I can well imagine making garb for her from scratch! Still, I know I would have a tear in my eye if she ever asked me to make her a piece of garb. Good job, and post some pics!

[Eledhwen]

LOL

My partner and my son have me in the same boat. I know the pain.

Siani

[Gareth]

...

[Willrett]

Well "DAD" I could use a few things myself. Can I pm you the list. :P LOL


Good Luck and please post pics I wanna get my girl involved and pics might help.

[Peter Remling]

Thanks folkes for all your sympathy !!

It will be a while before I finish everything. I havn't rec'd the jambiya yet and several of the smaller things. The haversack is done, except for the shoulder strap. The dress I ordered a pattern for ,but will have to customize it a bit. Don't expect to see me on "Project Runway". Even after I start the dress, I'll have to get Jessie's approval, but I don't think that will be a problem. The way I designed it is pretty cool.

I forgot to add the buckle for Jessie's rig, I have to order, there goes another $20 bucks (pewter).

Willrett just pretend I'm Santa when you write your list. Don't be too surprised if you just get coal in return.

I'll post pics when finished.

[mcapanelli]

Well "DAD" I could use a few things myself. Can I pm you the list. :P LOL


Good Luck and please post pics I wanna get my girl involved and pics might help.

Hey Poppa Pete, could you make a Middle Earth looking baby carrier for the misses and I for this season while your at it? We're due in July so we'll have another little renrat to tote along.

Really though man I feel you here. My Daugthters cost an arm and a leg to outfit, and they ALL go to faire. When does the hurting stop!!!!

[Willrett]

Pete my chic said the pretty much the same thing about my list, only she used the no room excuse.


mcapanelli Congrats my girl (wife) was born on the 10th and my daughter 26th of July.

[Eric C]

Don't be too surprised if you just get coal in return.

I'll post pics when finished.

(Waving hand wildly in the air) Oo, oo, oo! I want coal!!! Bituminous if you will sir!
Last year was the first time the Cartrette clan dressed for the faire. We plan to do it again this year, but until I can work on my sewing skills some more, the ladies of the family -wife and 6 y-o daughter- will wear store bought outfits. Hopefully I can remedy that before next year's faire.

[Peter Remling]

Well "DAD" I could use a few things myself. Can I pm you the list. :P LOL


Good Luck and please post pics I wanna get my girl involved and pics might help.

We're due in July so we'll have another little renrat to tote along.

Congratulations Mike, I'll see if I can borrow the suit of maille my brother made for his wife's Cabbage Patch Kid (it should fit by Sept. He also made a saddle and some armor for Clyde (the Cabbage Patch Kid's horse was a Clydesdale). Yes, I'm serious.

See I told you guys not to blame me, it's genetic!

[Peter Remling]

I was off again this week, last vacation for this work year. Fear not my new calendar starts in two weeks. I did a few projects and one of them was Jessie's scabbard and belt rig. The scabbards, belt, kirtle (more like a kidney belt) were completed Monday with the exception of the buckle, which I hadn't at the time received. Tuesday I got up and starting cleaning the bedroom closet, or as I call it the black hole of death, anyway I found some items I was unaware I had. Among the finds was some emery paper. Well afer several hours of sorting and discarding, my stuff, I know better than to discard my wife's. I sat down to await the mailman.

As you've already surmised I was awaiting the buckle and a bunch of other goodies from www.fetteredcockpewters and within a short time the mailman showed up with not only my pewter pieces but a choclate brown hide I had ordered a few days before. So I quickly completed the belt rig and started on my next project. I had picked up from a recommendation here, some gun bluing liquid. The produt is called Blue Wonder and I got the black version and went outside and blackened an Atrim longsword. The product worked very well by the way and in a short time The sword was completely black. I'll post pics in a separate thread when that project is complete.

The next project was something I saw here in one of the sites mentioned in the want list thread, a hooded mantle. Well I really don't need one but as a project it looked really fun so I started with a old cloth hood and sketched it out making alterations to the design as I went, I cut out the leather added buttons and within a few hours it was complete. I had contacted the poster earlier in the day asking him if he wanted as I had no need, but it was a fun project to work on, so much so that I'm holding it a few days until I receive a lighter colored hide so I can do a similar one. I'll post pics of both hoods after I complete them.

It was now early evening, my wife had come home from work, but had taken my youngest to her swimming class. Cheryl is autistic and while she knows how to swim it's an excuse so she can swim once a week throughout the year. Now what, I had completed the scabbards, done some work on another scabbard setting in the basement , cleaned the closet and completed the hood, hmmm, what's a bored guy to do?

All of you have probably experienced this quandry, you can either sit down and contemplate the great questions of life or you can bake. Into the kitchen I went and baked the equivalent of 5 1/2 dozen fruit filled sugar cookies. I say equivalent. but mine only number about 24. Okay I like them big and coated with confectioners' sugar.

By this point about 8:30, my wife and daughter had returned so I quickly cut out a piece fo leather from a hide that was laying around and recovered a bota, that I originally covered 6-7 years ago but it was a very light color and had stained blue amoung other colors from Gatorade.

I then did two small pouches and went to bed after one.

Wednesday was a do almost nothing day as the new dishwasher was coming and I don't llike the dining room to be all cluttered when delivery people come, nor can I concentrate when expecting someone. They were expected between 1-5 and of course they didn't get here till after 6 so Wednedays was a complete waste in the project department.

Thursday I met Jessie, my eldest, at the Met, she had some research for a Art History class to do and I got to go through the Arms and Armor sections.
I just posted a link to the My Armoury sites I posted most of the pictures to. Yes I did go to all the things she wanted to see as patiently as she went to mine. We grabbed a slice of pizza a few blocks from the Museum and then grabbed a slice of cake at Grand Central from one of several shops selling baked goods. We parked our butts in a quiet area and devoured them.

http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=16054

http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=16053

http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=16052

When I got home I cut out a bow tip protector, One of my longbows sticks out a slight bit from the bow bag I made and while I made a tip protector before it was hunter green and the bag is gray. The gray leather was one of those finds from the black hole of death closet. BTW does anyone need The Holy Grail, I think I found that in there too.

The old green tip protector is long enough to cover a spearhead so no loss of effort there.

Friday. I was waiting for the lighter leather to make another hood but it didn't come so I started to work on the rig for the black sword. I still have to cover the core so I probably won't finish it this weekend. I did a few small projects, another pouch and dug out the tomahawk I picked up over a year ago and started to work with the emery cloth from the closet. This tomahawk I actively searched for over 6 monthes. I was particular, and looking fror a brass headed non smokeing pipe. When I got it it was very rough having come out of a mold and no work done on it whatsoever, so it stayed on my list of future projects for over a year until I put the blade on my belt sander a few weeks ago and now with the emery paper I found could continue. Useing a small file, the emery cloth and I little effort, I brought the metal down to where I wanted it. not rough, but not looking machine made. I stained the wood handle and sprayed a clear laquer protectant over it, adding some brass nails and done.

So here are a pic of Jessie's rig and a shot of the tomahawk, it's pictured by another hawk I did about 30 years ago ( I got it in kit form from Ron Wilson and it's a 440 series head).

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... e417-1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... icture.jpg

Just today and tomarrow before I have to go back to work. Hopefully the mailman will bring the lighter colored hide today!

[Peter Remling]

I recently pretty much finished Jessie's Cat Clan outfit and have a few pics.

The leather dress was designed to cover any modern support and still look primitive. She just wants me to put lacing on the sides to pull it in a little. Oh yeah and she wants it a little shorter (we'll see).

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... ure536.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... ure537.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... ure538.jpg

She was just trying it on for size, so she doesn't have any of the other accessories in the pics.

I also just finished a longbow case this evening. As the shape was cylindrical and I decided to use brown leather for the outside and sherpa for the inside padding , I went with a vine pattern to hold the padding in place, so it would resemble a tree trunk. Didn't want to do a glue job and a normal quilted pattern just didn't seem Rangerish.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... ure540.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... ure539.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... ure541.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn46 ... ure542.jpg

Wait till I show you the embrodiery on my loincloth!



Hello, Hello,.......... I was just kidding, .................I'm not really going to show you.

[Greg]

I can see why she'd want some lacing down the sides for the sake of making it more form-fitting...that's all the rage these days as I'm sure you're aware. However, I'd be against making it a whole lot shorter. I'm sure she'd want it to remain a reasonable length, so I'm not discouting your family's morality or anything. I'd just like to rant for a moment about the stupidity that was taking place at our own So Cal Ren Faire last weekend. There were a number of people who took medieval and/or renaissance and made it into clubbing outfits. It disgusted me. Musketeers didn't hang around saucy wenches who were wearing musketeer regalia cut mere inches below their buttocks; Musketeers hung around saucy wenches who wore simple floor-length printed skirts and bodices who served drinks at the local pub.

SERIOUSLY, people.

I LOVE your scabbard work, as always, Pete. A friend of mine wants me to make him a scabbard for his new cutlass, (which I want to steal because it's awesome) so you can expect a few PMs with some questions in the upcoming weeks.

The whole setup looks great! The longbow case is, as per the usual, gorgeous. Once her getup's all together you'll have to take another pic or two so we can take in the full scope of your brilliant-as-always craftsmanship.

[Gareth]

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