March: A Month in Review

I blinked and suddenly we are through March and a few days into April already.

I started March with an optimistically well-ordered schedule for the next few months that would lead up to Strawberry Raid, our big medieval camping event of the summer. I would have plenty of time for helping out on the event staff team as Arts and Sciences Coordinator, sewing items to fill my market booth at the event, creating decor for our tent campsite, doing some home renovation projects that Daniel and I have been talking about since we moved in, and of course, hours of uninterrupted reading, knitting, and gardening time. Are you laughing at me yet? Obviously, this is not how my March went.

About a week and a half into the month, three good friends in the SCA had really exciting things happen to them. One received notification that he will have an elevation ceremony at Strawberry Raid, a major achievement and something that deserves a fancy new outfit. And, two others became Prince and Princess of the local society, and want new regal clothes for their reign. And, because they're all wonderful to me, they commissioned me to make these projects for them.

So, out went my sensible schedule, replaced with a marathon of fittings, mock-ups, and hand-sewing silk at all hours in order to (hopefully) get everything finished by the Raid. I thought about not doing a blog post this month, the voice in my head complaining that I'm miles behind on my to-do list and 'I haven't actually finished anything yet!'. But, the entire point of this blog is to keep track of all I've accomplished over time, and looking back at photos from the month, I've actually done a lot. So here we go, short and sweet so I can get back to sewing.

Let's start with the garden. Most of what I've done this month has been inside, we had a hail storm not long ago, and until last week we were still getting frost regularly overnight. But, I did start some seeds inside on my studio windowsill, and it is bringing me so much joy to see the little seedlings sprout leaves and start to thrive. So far I've planted woad, hollyhock, sweet pepper, and black beans. The black beans have only been in the soil for a few days and they're already starting to emerge.

I haven't planted anything outside yet, but I am still trying to work on the garden for an hour or two whenever we have dry weather. I trimmed tons of trees and bushes at the beginning of the month; it didn't even make a dent in what needs trimming, but at least it was a start. I used those cut branches to start laying down a dead hedge in our field. I have big plans to create hedges (living and dead), living fences, and pathways all through the field over the coming years. I want to sculpt the space and make small nooks and points of interest where different types of plants and animals can thrive. Right now, the dead hedge is a small semi-circular curve, all alone in the middle of the field. But, trust me, I have a vision and it will eventually make sense, probably.

I've also been continuing to work on the area of the garden where we will be growing vegetables later in the season. The two big raised beds are filled and ready to be planted, and we spent an afternoon laying down weed suppressant and mulch all around them. We took a photo at the driveway and also at the raised beds each time we made a wheelbarrow trip, and ended up with these fun time-lapse gifs (Thanks Daniel 😄)! These make it look like it was so much less work than it actually was- MAGIC!

I also built two more small raised beds from scrap wood we had in our barn.

The willow is starting to grow, we are seeing the first tiny leaves on our apple trees, and the daffodils have really been showing off this month. We ordered more soil and compost in order to fill more raised beds and create a good space to grow a pumpkin patch. The pallets of soil are currently sitting in our driveway, waiting for me to find time to get back out in the garden. Soon!

My beekeeping course is nearly finished and I'll hopefully be getting some hands-on experience with the hives in the coming weeks. I didn't think it was possible to fall more in love with bees, but it's happened. They're fascinating creatures and it has been so wonderful to learn more about them over the last couple of months.

In my sewing studio, I've spent most of the month making patterns and mock-ups for the commissions I'm working on. I won't say too much about them yet, because I like when the person I'm making the commissions for gets to be the first to do a big reveal, but hopefully I'll be sharing photos of all my finished projects by the end of the summer.

I finished three small commissions already, and one of them has even been delivered. It feels great to be slowly ticking things off the to-do list, making the whole process feel more manageable, and of course it's nice to work with 'the real fabric' on these small projects after so much time spent on paper and mock-up fabrics this month.

I've scaled back what I was planning to make for my market booth, but I still hope to have a few hoods, coifs, linen undergarments, and bags ready to sell. I've cut out several projects already and made piles for each item so that any time I have a free moment, I can grab something and get sewing. This has been working well for me, and I've completed a few small things already for my booth.

I'm also continuing to work on small projects for my own garb, including a new linen chemise and a pair of wool hose.

I'm still knitting a lot too; it's lovely to be able to continue making something with my hands when I need a break from sewing. I finished my Sophie Shawl early in the month. It was supposed to get its own blog post, but here we are nearly a month later. Yesterday, I finished knitting my fifth (and probably last!) knit cap. I have made one for myself, one for a charity tournament prize, and three for my market booth. I know that knitting pattern by heart now.

My weekdays have been filled with sewing and the occasional break for gardening, but our weekends in March were absolutely filled with adventures and friends. The first weekend of the month we had friends staying here and we had a lovely, relaxing couple of days chatting about books and gardening. The next weekend, we went to Galway for the local arts and sciences day, got to visit our favourite bookshop, and eat sushi in a restaurant right on the pier where fishing boats bring in their daily catch. We spent the following weekend at an intensive metal casting workshop where Daniel and I learned how to do sand-casting and lost wax casting with various precious metals. I was in Dublin the next weekend, staying with a friend. We went to an archery practice and then the Dublin arts and sciences meet-up. And, finally, last weekend (how were there so many weekends in one month?!) we spent the day at a friend's house where we chatted and did crafts together, I had a simply disastrous fitting for one of my commissions and Daniel got to cast some pewter chess pieces.

March was a whirlwind. Like the variable springtime weather, I had a lot of sunshine filled optimistic days, but also a few days filled with doubt and worry that I won't be able to make all of my deadlines in the coming months. I'll keep working away, and we have lots more weekend adventures ahead to look forward to. For the next couple of months, I think the only attention this blog will get are these monthly wrap-up posts. This one has already helped me see just how much I can accomplish in just a few short weeks.