It Lives!

Well, it lives to joust, at least.

Howdy, folks. I guess it's been awhile, eh? At first, there was the psuedo defection to Tumblr, then there was the trip to Europe, then there was the Three Musketeers thing, THEN there was Christmas, and god knows, NOTHING gets done then.

So now we are here in February and the Costume Coma is beginning again. The jousting thing is progressing full-steam ahead and we've got our first tournament in May in Austin, Texas of all places! So, as you guessed, the Costume Coma Spring 2012 Edition features a LOT of historical gear.

Here's the List (it's okay, I cry too when I look at it):

MUST HAVE:
-Arming doublet
-At least one normal doublet
-At least three linen shirts
-Banner
-New boots
-Arming coif
-Helmet crest
-Sword scabbard
-Belts
-New velvet cap

NICE TO HAVE:
-Fancy brocade doublet
-Max's hunting gown and hood
-Proper hosen (well-made so crotch does NOT go when riding)
-'Bases' - weirdo armour skirt worn extensively by Germans between 1500 and 1545.

The arming doublet is DONE. It looks like this (about 3/4 finished here and missing the padded arms):




















It was made with THIS absolutely excellent tutorial. All hand-sewn, proper materials like linen and melton wool, nice period buckles, etc, etc. (By the way, if you're in the market for period buckles I totally recommend these chaps. Cheap, excellent selection, quick shipping, and just generally REALLY pretty stuff)

To be honest, the arming doublet is probably the biggest, most involved project on that list, so the other things should be relatively quick. I'll try to post play-by-play updates as it all comes together.

Before I sign off, have a few self-indulgent joust-related photos. Back in November, the troupe helped out with a TV show called 'Man on a Mission.' Basic premise is this - a vaguely hunkish guy goes out to learn to do "guy" things, like drive fast cars, cook steaks, gamble his life's savings away in a game of craps, etc. In one episode, he learns to joust and that was us. I ended up riding demo games for this one (spearing rings with a sword, spearing a hay-bale with a spear, doing quintain stuff). Decided to wear Marius' gear with the leather arming vest (but without the 20 lbs of makeup - let's face it, even I have a weirdness threshold) and it was a pretty good time.














Rowan decided she was going to have a good time too and try to buck me off during the rings. She was pitching quite the fit, so we traded her out for Peter, who is my main jousting bro this season.














Had a bit more luck with Pete.














And there we all are at the end, still smiling despite the long, somewhat arduous day it was (wish I could get away with wearing that stuff all the time...). Photos are taken by the wonderfully talented Marnie Burkhart

So jousting is the name of the game this summer and the sewing projects will be in accordance! However, the Texas joust may require me to miss this year's Calgary Expo and since I need my Con fix, there are plans in the works to hit up San Diego instead. Going to pimp Marius to The Nines, if that's the case and it's already begun. So stay tuned for updates all around!