Monday, April 12, 2010

Renaissance Faire, Day 2




[The whole booth, and nothing but the booth]

The second day was very different from the first. The weather was cold, which is usually good for cloak and shawl sales. I think that the threat of rain kept people away from the faire, though. Traffic was light.

In the end, the cloaks and shawls did OK, but my bags did not. We'll be trying out ways to bring them more to people's attention as I work to make them even more attractive and affordable.

The light traffic did let me spend a little more time away from the booth. I made it all the way around the first bend this time, just in time to see a procession of the queen. I snuck out the "forbidden device" for a moment and caught a snapshot of her entourage.


[Just a glimpse of the Queen]

I love the faire! My recordings of Renaissance music are nothing like hearing it live. All day, from every corner of the distance I hear psalteries, hurdy gurdies, crumhorns and singing voices. It's fantastic! And to see people take such care and pride in their appearance is a refreshing change from the sweatpants, blue jeans and t-shirts from the rest of the year. I'll need to acquire some regular cloth and make garb of my own before the next faire.

And last night it poured rain. Even though I was absolutely exhausted from two days on my feet, I hauled out the 20' tarp and covered the big AVL loom. I even picked it up and tucked the tarp under the corners and it's a good thing I did! I heard the rain start around midnight. No drizzling, just full-force torrent. When I woke up this morning the tarp had caught about 5 gallons of water, hovering precariously over the warp beam. Only the weight of the loom on the tarp kept it from spilling. I grabbed my trusty steel pail and started bailing! Soon all was well and dry. I'm going to buy clamps to keep that from happening again.

Today I have two tasks: weave shawls if the rain stays away or scurry into the van/sewing studio and make more bags. (And, right on cue, there's the rain! Sewing it is, then.)

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