Hello! I am busily putting together a character and some basic garb, but I have a few questions and would love your feedback.

Background: I have not joined my local barony yet, as we are moving at the end of December and life is chaos. I'm telling myself that this prep is streamlining the process for meeting folks/making friends in the new year!

Alright: how much time-period hopping is acceptable in terms of clothing and crafting? The world is too interesting for me to just pick one decade and locality and stay there forever. I'm also watching some SCA blogs/vlogs, and it seems like many folks will go Viking to one event, 1350s Italy to another, and then pivot to Tudor England. Is this widespread and acceptable? My boyfriend is teasing me about being "another basic Early Tudor girlie," but! The clothes! THE KNITTING! (I love knitting and want to incorporate it into whatever character I design.) But at the same time... Vikings! Early Scotland! Islamic Italy! Ahhh!

Discussion question: how did y'all design your backstories?

So I am trying to put together a fencing costume, and I see a bunch of period art where the people are wearing leggings. like here or or here . Does anyone know what these would have been made from? they look form fitting like today's tights or yoga pants but synthetic fabric is a 20th century thing... does anyone know where I can get a pair of historical leggings?

Hi all. I posted this in another page hoping it might help and Newcomers. I hope it might help anyone else.
YIS

1. Show up early. Early arrival means a better pick of camp area. Set up crews likes donuts.

2. Put everything on wheels. Some sites do not allow driving on the grass so everything needs to be carried/trucked in.

3. Bring winter and summer clothes. Especially at elevation. Quincy CA can have all 7 seasons in 1 day.

4. Prep everything! food, packing, ice, firewood usage, extra propane, a few days before.

5. Get a good tent heater, you'll need it!

6. Get a packing blanket for your tent floor.

7. Slow down, choose your events. Burn out is ugly! Events will always happen.

8. Get to know the event sites, where gate is, privvys, the Eric and Royal are, and the loud area.

9. Get at least 2 5gal jugs. Water at some sites is either undrinkable or not available.

10. Get to know who you're camped next to. It can make events more fun.

11. Get a large wide mouth sealed bottle for a 3am bathroom. Instead of voyaging out on a cold night to find a privvy.

12. Talk to people. Ask questions. When in trouble yell GUARD. Literally everyone will come running.

13. Invest in a good roomy 4 season tent for you + gear.

14. Remember to say THANK YOU HERALD after the Shouts. Offering them refreshment is a good way to meet them.

15. Tarp, duct tape, rope, power tools, kitchen sink. You'll need them.

16. Know where the hotels are near site incase you have to Bug Out. Which has happened.

17. You have the right to eject unwanted visitors in your camp. No repurcussions!

18. Pets, not all sites allow them. Check with event steward/Autocrat.

19. When approaching another camp/pavilion, announce yourself. Hello in camp, may I enter? Most likely you'll get a yes.

20. This is about fun. Ignore those who say You Have To do such & such. You play your way, no one else's.

21. Stay away from the politics. Some people like causing drama. Just walk away.

22. The jokes are all true! You know you're in the SCA when...

23. Thrift Stores are your new best friend!

24. Power Tools. Bring them. Drill, Saw. You just might need to head to town for new pavilion beams.

I have a riveted steel shirt of mail that I love, but it weighs heavily on my shoulders.

I was thinking about getting some lightweight shoulder pads, similar to football-style but just...lighter, if such a thing exists, and wearing that under the mail shirt in hopes that it might distribute the weight of the shirt better.

Am I high on crack?

Clan Blue Feather subreddit has been created. If you identify as LGTBQIA+ or are an ally, feel free to join r/clanbluefeather and post something of interest.

This is something that, I hope, with your help, we'll be able to expand out and have a long list of "go here to get x".

Fabric

• Fabric Guru has mostly drapery fabrics but some pretty good buys as well.

• Nick of Time is a new one to me from the list. Any fabric I've bought from them, the color has been slightly off from my screen. It's otherwise exactly as described. Also, their sales staff is pretty attentive.

• Denver Fabrics and Fashion Fabrics Club are the same store. Denver fabrics was a privately owned business that got bought out years ago. Unfortunately, I've had a few bad experiences with them (they'll say something is 100% wool and I doubt it even had wool in it!) so be wary.

• Renaissance Fabrics is droolable. I love all their fabrics. Of course, they are on the pricey side but it's worth it for a few of their fabrics.

• Syfabrics is a seller on ebay but also has a website. I've never had a problem with them and love a lot of the fabrics I've gotten.

• B & J fabrics probably stands for Broke & Jobless because their fabrics tend to be so $$$ that that's what you'll be. However, they sometimes have some rare fabrics that are impossible to find elsewhere.

• Pure silks is a great place to go if you need that specific color of silk taffeta. They aren't outrageous in their prices but they are shipping from overseas so it can be slow sometimes.

• Dharma Trading is one I've used mainly for dyes. I know others have bought fabric from them. I've never heard a complaint.

• Fabric Store is where you go if you want linen. You do not bother with anywhere else - except Carolina Fabrics who travel to SCA events (and are now up on destash!) or fabric mart when they have a 70% off sale.

• Prism Silks used to be Golden Silks. I've bought silk velvet and silk taffeta from them. They are simply fabulous.

• Burnley & Trowbridge focus mostly on 18th C fabrics. However, a lot of their stuff can be used for almost any era. Price wise, they are pretty comparable to everyone else

• William Booth Draper is another 18th C specialty store.

• Sartor focuses on medieval and Renaissance fabrics. I've seen everyone of their fabrics in person. You want all of them. Considering the work that goes into some of the reproductions, their prices are pretty reasonable

• Fabric Mart is my go-to store. They have an ever changing selection but they also have sales pretty much everyday. I buy about 70% of my fabric from them. Sign up for their newsletter to get in on the sales!

• Joann Fabrics can have some good deals, including wool lately.

• Etsy and Ebay are common places to find fabric. My only concern with them is there are a lot of resellers.

• Silk Baron is another good source for silk that is pretty well established. (Mentioned by u/Godwinson4King)

• A Thrifty Notion is sort of an online thrift store for all things sewing. They have very limited supplies so check often for some pretty decent deals.

• Spoonflower is a design your own fabric. They do have some good linen and linen/cottons that would work well for SCA uses. Printed linen is period!

Shoes

• Son of a Sandlar I haven't personally bought from them but I have heard many, many good things.

• Catskill Moccasins are a place I've bought boots from. They aren't accurate but they are comfortable and last forever.

• Armstreet's shoes - I have their Tudor Rose cutouts that I love. They are a bit wide on my feet but fit well with thick socks. Also, be careful the first couple of wears of the dye on the shoes and pale carpet....

Finished Garb

Armor & Fighting Gear

• If you want a sparring sword you should look at Purpleheart armory if you're in the US. All their swords for the most part will state if they pass for SCA combat, especially look at the VB line which is their budget line. (From u/fwinzor)

• Castille Armory or Darkwood armory are more expensive (300 for an economy blade usually) but quality and very customizable. (From u/fwinzor)

Tents

Statement from JP Andrews via the Virtual Herald

Some Thoughts Regarding Today's BoD Announcement.This is very SCA inside baseball. Yes, it's long an opinionated and I haven't spent a lot of energy trying to make it nice or hide my irritation. If that's not your thing feel free to pass on by.

Because I'm me, and I don't think anything that happened yesterday can be understood without knowing a bunch of stuff that happened a long time ago, I'm going to tell you a story.

I've known Duke Guy for almost the entire 40+ years I've been in the SCA. I like the man, I consider him a friend. He's not perfect (he never claimed he was) but he has a good heart and that counts for a lot with me. Over the years I have found myself in agreement with him most of the time, but the things we have disagreed on have not always been minor.

Guy's first reign was also the first reign during which I was really aware of the behind the scenes politics that exists in every kingdom. If you think your kingdom doesn't have backroom political antics, or that it's not as bad in your kingdom as it is in Caid or wherever, it's because you are not connected enough to see it. If you don't like that feel free to fight me, you'll lose.

Guy's first reign was a political disaster.

Yeah, I said it.

It wasn't because Guy had bad intentions, if anything his intentions were very positive. He wanted people to have fun, he wanted them to be nice and kind and loving and for everyone to just get along.

But despite his long history and achievements in the SCA Guy was incredibly naive when it came to politics and he had absolutely no idea how to work with the peerage councils. Including the one he was a part of.

Guy thought that being King ment he was in charge and could do whatever he wanted, without ever thinking about how other people would feel. Replace the thrones with a roman style bench? Why would anyone care? Unilaterally lift sanctions, imposed by the Knights council on two knight for getting into a FIST FIGHT! IN THE LIST! DURING CROWN!? Sure why not? Knight someone, with a history of mistreating women, over the objections of the Knight's council? "Yeah sure 'cause he's my friend and I'm the king! What!? The knights are upset? Ok, I'll just make him a Master of Arms, while we're in Atenveldt, and the knights can go screw themselves."

That does not work. It might have worked in 1978 when the SCA was smaller and opinions were more homogenous, but it sure as hell was never going to work in 1988.

Guy's clueless blundering pushed the peeraged council's into a bit of a melt down. On one side were the people who thought, like Guy, that the "Kings Word is Law" and he could do as he liked (we'll ignore the parts that were in violation of the SCA Bylaws) and on the other side those who thought that fealty goes both ways and the powers of the Crown were not unlimited or unquestionable.

This disquite was hard on a lot of people, but it was hardest on Guy and he was frustrated and hurt. I know this because he told me so after an event (in Heatherwyne as I recall) during which the collected peerage councils had what some of them would later refer to as a "Come to Jesus" meeting with the Crown.

But I never believed that meeting helped. His second reign was better, but Guy never understood that there are rules he couldn't ignore, that politics matters, and that no one, not even a king, can do whatever they like just because it seems right to them.

What he did learn was to look for some way around the rules he didn't like.

Guy is a man who strives to be a good friend and a good knight. He would literally give you the shirt off his back if you asked for it. But he can't buy a good clue for love or money.

So how is all this ancient history relevant to the BoD announcement?

BECAUSE THIS IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF SHIT I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED FROM GUY 37 YEARS AGO.

How he and the Crowns of the Outlands came up with this "Oh he's not really a Caidan! He's a citizen of the Outlands!" BULLSHIT is a mystery to me. More so why there wasn't anyone in the Outlands that could intervene and prevent Their Majesties from making a monumentally stupid fucking mistake. Honestly WTF were these people thinking? The rule prohibiting Crowns from making peers outside their kingdom has been on the book longer than I've been in the SCA. Why would these fucking morons believed that this was actually going to work?

Actually I think I know. They thought "We don't have to follow the rules because we're the CROWNS! Rules of for OTHER PEOPLE!"

Now where have I heard that before?

So how's that working out for ya? Crowns removed, reign declared a failure, peerage invalidated, former king and queen banned from crown for five years. Good job folks!

Why does that make me so angry? And yeah, I'm angry, ready to spit nails angry. Why?

Because the truth is that it's almost impossible to fuck up a reign. You are surrounded by systems and people whose job it is to help you do it well, or at least keep you from making unforced errors and running it into a ditch. A complete idiot can do this and we all know at least one that has. But this kind of fuck up? This you had to work for. This is the kind of fuckery that requires real commitment, I mean a deep, earnest desire to fuck around and find out.

And it's not even close to over.

Right now, and for years to come, people are going to be fighting, sometimes bitterly, about what happened. Some will support Guy and the Crown, some will support the BoD. Some will see it as evidence that the peerage councils are full of corrupt gatekeepers. Some will feel this validates their decision to leave the SCA never to return and for others it will be a reason never to join the Society at all.

This makes me what to grab some folks by the throat and shake 'em till they stop moving. The people who made this string of very bad choices are not the only ones who pay. Everybody pays, the entire SCA pays for this kind of crap and will still be paying for it when that five year ban on participating in Crown is over.

That right there is why I am so livilidy pissed off. The SCA has been the single most defining thing in my entire life, to the extent that almost none of my friends call me JP. My name is Thomas, I've lived here. I courtered, married, divorced, made new friends and buried old ones, here. Theses kinds of incidents incline me to rage because they cost us so much and were are so preventable. No one had to do this! Guy is a double peer, he gets NOTHING from being a triple peer!

*Final Thoughts"

I've heard some people express the belief that Guy should have been made a Laurel 30 years ago. Nothing I've seen over that time has ever caused me to think "Why isn't Duke Guy a Laurel?" I've been trying to think of something Guy should be a Laurel for. Two days so far and I've got nothing.

I've also heard a few people expressing the position that Guy is being "held back" in someway, that some faction in the peerage council is deliberately preventing Guy from being recognized.

OH SO MUCH GATEKEEPING IN THE SCA! I might cry! Duke Sir Guy, KSCA is being victimised! He's only been a knight since 1983, and a royal peer since 1988. I'd wager that the vast majority of people reading this weren't in the SCA in '83, or '88. In fact I suspect many of them hadn't been born in '88.

Lastly, listening to a bunch of men that are not only knights, but largely royal peers, lamenting about how sad it is that Duke Guy isn't a laurel is... agraviting. I know that some of you are from the West, where the best person to give a peerage to is someone who already has one, but don't any of you know a non-peer who actually NEEDS your advocacy?

Guy doesn't need you to defend him from the oppression of the peerage councils. If anything he needs you to stop him from doing something else stupid.

*edit for clarity and minor punctuation 10 AM cdst 03JUL24

Changed status to public due to sharing requests.

https://www.facebook.com/TheVirtualHerald/posts/pfbid02WX2vP1MD8Sc5CwPQ264keGtsqMchEHkwfCM69bLN8hy1vNoPTpXJS1AwyffM9AWbl

And statement from Duke Guy via the Virtual Herald:

Friends,

We are reaching out.

We wish to speak on the turbulence of these current events.

The idea for a citizen treaty for Guy of Castle Kirk between Caid and the Outlands was conceived and put into motion months ago by their Royal Majesty’s and Highnesses of both Kingdoms.

Signed by four sets of Royals, we were approached in late April to join said treaty and I would then have the opportunity to possibly be considered for elevation to the order of the Laurel in the Outlands.

For decades in Caid, this award has been a goal.

Not as much for myself but more for all the people who have encouraged and believed in what Darla and I have created over these past 44 years.

Laurels in Caid have never been in my corner.

Over the years and though they have had an open invite to visit and tour, we have heard many disparaging remarks about our life’s work by Caid’s Laurels who have never even visited our Castle.

Over the past decades, we have made efforts to conform to the always changing demands by the Caidan Laurel’s Circle to be able to join their order

We believe that the arts should be encouraged, enjoyed and celebrated by all.

The Caidan clique has shown heavy handed and harsh criticism of many artisans who have been driven away from living the enjoyment of this Known World.

I excepted this proposed elevation for all of them.

After hearing so many disparaging comments about my work, the Castle and even my looks, I accepted this offer whole heartedly.

We traveled East to the Grand Outlandish event in the Outlands where I joined the Knight’s council and swore fealty to the Outlands.

That evening I was called up to Court and the offer to elevate me to the order of the Laurel was given.

I was elevated at evening Court the next day where I showed my excellent shoveling form as the procession marched in.

Complaints and threats were then made as the BOD took up this issue.

Then, without any direct communication from the Board or Society Seneshall, we learned of the tragic sanctions leveled upon their Majesty’s of the Outlands as well as having my Laurel revoked.

I was a Laurel for five weeks.

I wish my Father could have been here for those five weeks. He knew how important this was to me.

He would have been very proud.

Henceforth, Darla and I will continue to live a real and meaningful life at Castle Kirk enjoying what we have created together with the help of many many friends.

The Castle is a place of arts, education and friendship.

Good luck and we send much love to all of you.

Don’t be a stranger, our friends are always welcome here.

As always,

Leave your politics and titles at the gates.

Best Regards, Be the change for good.

Guy and Darla