Mary Ostler

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Did some more experimenting with the Turkish rug project. I was having trouble trying to get the same number of knots on the warp compared to the weft. I decided to tie the knot around doubled up warp threads. It worked very well as for the first time I have matching knot counts. I also [...]

Long, long ago… When I first joined the SCA, I had wanted to start fighting with all the heavys. I made armour, and went to fight practice…and eventually built my own helm. Its a nasty piece of work as I really had no idea what I was doing. The welding job was pretty bad (Having [...]

fromPleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks Mushrooms of one night are the best, if they are small, red inside, and closed at the top; and they should be peeled and then washed in hot water and parboiled, and if you wish to put them in a pasty add oil, cheese, and spice powder.  – [...]

Well, my clumbsy nature got the better of me. Last week I broke my ribs. What does this mean? Means playing out in the shop is sharply curtailed. Having been benched for the next few weeks I have decided to turn to some less strenuous persuits. Cooking being one of them. I decided to try [...]

Goofing around in the work shop the other day.  I have been thinking about trying to turn a Japanese oval turned Inro. This turned out to be one of the more difficult things I have made. Trying to juggle drill bits of different sizes for different cuts just got confusing after a while. An Inro [...]

Tir Righ Fall Coronet Tourney has come and gone. Overall I got to give the event two big thumbs up.  I talked to alot of people about possible machinations for future builds. I love my deviously  inventive and creative friends and acquaintances. <insert evil laugh here> Many pictures after the link

I am broke beyond all measure this month. I have had to use what I have inside the fabric stash to work on my Turkish garb. Hence the somewhat nasty green/gold sari material shalvar.  Since I will be making nicer ones once I am back in the black, I have used elastic in this pair. [...]

I am attempting to make myself some new garb. I have been wearing mens English late period since I started in the SCA. I started with mens clothing because of my extraordinary ability to trip on the hems of skirts even if the hem is well higher than my ankles. Time has come for a [...]

Thorgeir Ingvarsson makes these wonderful rawhide lanterns.  I didn’t see one aglow at night, but I am certain that the rawhide screen would give any candle a wonderful glow. Really makes me want to play with rawhide. Thorgeir Ingvarsson runs a merchants shop at events called Thor’s Gear. He goes that extra mile to make [...]

I had been playing around with making a bedouin tent, but even I am surprised at just how quickly the idea went from wishful thinking to completed prototype. If not for the sale on canvas painters tarps at a local hardware store, It would not have happened. In less than 4 days I went from [...]