Goin' Campin'

My hubby and I have been married for juuust about 5 years now. In fact, it will be 5 years this Thursday! So we've decided to pack up the kids (and my brother!) and go camping. We've been wanting to go to this camping event every year since we've been together, but since it always falls on our anniversary (Labor Day weekend) so we've never gone. This year we decided to scrap the romantic anniversary plans and take the kids out for a little fun instead! (Well, the anniversary plans aren't being scrapped really, just postponed.)

Now, when I say we are going camping. . . . well, we don't camp like normal people. Oh, we have a tent and an air mattress and a cooler full of food, but. . . . well. . . . . this is the kind of thing we'll be wearing. . . . .

We camp old school. Reeeeeeeeaaaaaaallllllllllyyyyyyyy old school. Middle-Ages style old school!

 

I snagged that belt out of my 'garage sale' pile. I used to wear it all the time before I got married. It wraps around her twice, but it works for now!

  

She looks like Princess Leia with her 'piggy pom poms'. (or 'piggypumpums' in Lia-speak) She loves to have her hair like this! She's so cute!

  

Now, I'm pretty sure they didn't have light sabers in the middle ages, but Reese wanted to cover all his bases. Oh, and I've since shortened up that belt. (Also snagged from my 'garage sale' pile!) And I didn't make his pants. Don't tell anybody, but they're girls yoga pants from Wal*Mart. Shhhhh!

  

He's such a cute little monkey!

  

This dress was the first one I made myself for SCA. It's made out of that thin faux-silk stuff. I stood too close to a fire once and a spark melted a huge hole right in front. I was able to cut the dress waaaaaaay down for Amelia and I cut that hole right out. Hopefully she won't get too close to a fire either! But even if she trashes the gown it won't be a big deal, since it was recycled anyway!

  

It occurred to me the other day that it might get cold and the kids would freeze to death. So I ran to Wal*Mart and bought a ton of fleece and just sorta made up a cloak pattern. Lia's was the first one I did and though it looked okay, I wasn't really happy with it. The yoke is way too shallow. It is reversible though, and I love the colors.

I'm hoping to redo the yoke sometime after we get back.

So when I made Reese's I doubled the width of the yoke. I love his! I even made one like his for Jilly, hers is brown and soft pink.

The group we belong to (actually, we don't belong. Jay hasn't paid dues for years and I never officially got a membership!) is called the SCA, short for The Society for Creative Anachronism. (I lifted the following straight off the website.)

   The SCA is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. Our "Known World" consists of 19 kingdoms, with over 30,000 members residing in countries around the world. Members, dressed in clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, attend events which feature tournaments, royal courts, feasts, dancing, various classes & workshops, and more.”

The event we are attending is called September Crown and is one of the biggest events of the year. There will be all sorts of fun things going on including a tournament where people wearing armor get in a ring and beat the tar out of each other with big fake swords, lances, arrows, etc. to determine who will be the next King. It is incredibly cool. (This from a girly girl!) There will be equestrian tournaments at this event too, I think my little horsey girl is going to lose her mind! I absolutely cannot wait! Reese is already excited to see the archery competitions and sword fighting. 

The SCA is different from Renaissance Faires in that it is not scripted. And a different time period. SCA period pretty much ends where Renaissance picks up. (Although you do get a lot of people doing Ren garb, it is just so gorgeous!) You create a persona and go to these events and live (as much as is realistic and do-able) as if you were in that period. Some people (I wish we were some of them!) actually have period pavillions, they are just amazing! (And really expensive!) Jay and I don't really have a ton of period stuff, we haven't been to an event in years and just haven't sunk much money into it. So we'll be going with our Coleman tent and lanterns and our lovely air mattress.

So, as much as I hate giving excuses, this is what I've been doing since I got back from my mom's. Massive amounts of sewing. Amelia didn't have a single garment to wear and Reese and Jilly only had one each. (We'll be there for 4 days.) So I had to get my butt in gear and make a bunch of stuff. It's not my best work, unfortunately I was going for quantity over quality. But now I'm in the mood for garb and have plans to make the kids some more, much nicer garb after the event when I have more time to tackle it.  

I'm going to be taking a ton of pictures at the event and will report back on Tuesday!