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Strawberry Raid IV Laurel Prize Display: Fermented Porridge

Strawberry Raid IV is just over, and it included a Laurel Prize Display. This is an arrangement whereby aspiring artisans of whatever kind bring out their stuff to display it, and the attending Laurels (and everyone else) gets to look at it, poke it, ask questions, and in my case, taste it.

My overall Big Arts & Sciences project at the moment is a reconstruction of pre-Norman Irish cuisine. The outcrop of this at Strawberry Raid was fermented porridges (which I've done before) and this time I tried a ten-day ferment.

The Prize Display is an excellent format. It gives room to talk about some of the super-geeky aspects of a project, and to see other people doing the same with theirs. I got all the Laurels present, pretty much, to try the porridges, and explained the context and the likely usage.

The four-day ferment was the by-now-familiar slightly cheesy, slightly sour taste. The ten-day one was, from my point of view, spectacularly sour, too much so for my own palate. However, several people, including some of the Laurels, preferred it to the 4-day one, and said they'd happily eat it on, variously, crackers, bread, or with jam.

Master Alexandre pointed out that it's essentially sauerkraut with oatmeal.

Someone (I now forget who) asked about why porridge would have been fermented. I reckon it's to fill some of the taste gap in the winter - sowens, the Scottish dish that's essentially the same thing, is associated with New Year and the months that follow, and in Irish food, with very little in the way of preservation available, there would have been only a few different tastes through the winter. So the variation of fermenting it would have alleviated that considerably.

(Image of Magnifica Magdalena Grace Vane and myself, with the two pots of porridge between us. Photo by Viscountess Agnes Boncour.)

The Porridge Project

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there is actually a large radfem population who get mad if you imply women’s fashion throughout history wasn’t specifically designed to torture and maim women. like, not just corsets. if a fashion historian talks about the functionality of removable pockets and underskirts, they’ll get really angry. idk why, truly. women throughout history were doing jobs and living lives, they needed clothes that could be functional. even if the upper crust was competing to see who could strangle their waist, everybody else had to have clothes comfortable enough to move in. and the widespread corset maiming is a myth too.

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making a viking dress for gender euphoria and ren faire and did trim for the first time! i think it turned out great for a first attempt

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I don't want to go to work. I want to wear my silly outfits and be fucking weird. Is that too much to ask?

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i love having the hubris to go 'sure i'll try that, how hard can it be' about every creative skill under the sun. jack of all trades master of shit fuck but who says you have to be a master??? maybe i want to sew a mediocre plushie and code a janky mod and write a bland song. im having fun. im in my lane. im learning and im thriving.

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On the one hand... kudos to Michaels for pouncing on a lucrative marketing opportunity upon the death of one of their primary rivals.

On the other hand, it is SO SURREAL to see this banner atop the Michaels website. Honestly, it looks like some sort of cursed Tumblr joke about how fans really will ship everything, or what AO3 would look like if the primary users were cosplayers, or something. How is this an official promotional image, and not some bonkers sh*tpost?

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The performance of wool in winter is better than all materials that I have used. But Linen..... Linen in the texas summer was my magic pill. Sweat? Wicked and cooling. Hot? Pour some water on for fast evaporating AC. In the sun? Throw a piece of linen over the head, and maybe some water. I've never been as comfortable in clothing as I am in full linen summer garb. The caveat is that if I'm not dry enough when I come inside I will quickly be shivering.

The closest experience I've ever had to discovering "the vitamin" was buying a 100% wool outfit and wearing it in the winter.

Not only was I not freezing anymore, I was not sweating and overheating either. The horrible sensory nightmare of winter clothes disappeared.

In particular, I bought a pair of wool pants. They were a thrifted pair of fancy dress pants like you would wear at an important office job, and they were easily the most comfortable pair of winter-appropriate pants i'd ever worn. I wore them Every Single Day.

From that point on I realized a lot of my clothes were making me feel bad, and the common thread was polyester. Especially polyester blends.

It's a trap because the polyester clothes are the ones that always feel sooooo silky soft when they are in the store, whereas cotton, linen and wool can feel comparatively rough and scratchy. But when actually wearing them for hours throughout the day, it's the natural fibers that feel more comfortable.

Maybe the secret to sensory comfort is not about the presence of softness, but the absence of overloading sensations. Or maybe the sensory stress and agony is not triggered by texture of the fabric, but by how it breathes and regulates temperature.

Then there's the problem of clothing life span: polyester blends, no matter how soft they seem at first, become rough and scratchy and covered in hard, itchy pills after wearing them 10 or 20 times, whether or not they have been tumble-dried or even washed at all. (I tested it!) Linen and cotton become softer and more comfy the more you wear them, polyester but ESPECIALLY polyester blends become a constant stressor. Polyester blend t-shirts I used to love for their softness now feel bristly and irritating.

So now I'm trying to change my wardrobe to as many natural fibers as possible, and the more natural fiber clothes i have the more I realize that the plastic fibers stress me out. It's so easy to overheat or freeze in them and they're always degrading and becoming less comfortable and it sucks.

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The music video too!

It's here! Reconstructing Greensleeves

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SUMMER KIRTLE

I am in love with the short sleeves

The reference picture :)

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It's here! Reconstructing Greensleeves

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“Bamboo is antifungal”

Because it’s rayon

“Eucalyptus fabric is cooling!”

Yeah, because it’s rayon

“We make clothing called seacell out of seaweed!”

Yeah I looked on your website it’s made by the lyocell process, which means-

-wait for it-

It’s fucking rayon!!

Listen. There is a list of actual plant fibers that are directly made into fabric: cotton, linen, ramie, some hemp. I’m sure I’m missing a couple.

But if you’re wondering “huh how did they turn that plant material into fabric,” 99% of the time? It’s RAYON.

All rayon is made by putting plant material in chemical soup, dissolving out everything but the cellulose, and turning the cellulose into filaments/fibers.

The source of the cellulose has zero effect on the eventual fabric.

Rayon made from bamboo or eucalyptus or seaweed is not any better than rayon from any other sources.

Don’t let companies mislead you!

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Happy Pride Month! Your SCA Mom/Aunt loves you. 🏳️‍🌈

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With JoAnne Fabrics going out of business I feel it is my duty as a cosplayer, historical costumer, and general sewing gremlin to help teach y'all how not to be reliant on evil overpriced mediocre big box stores for fabric and cosplay supply, cause if I catch y'all going into Homophobia Lobby to get cosplay fabrics imma have to start throwing hands. And frankly you guys all deserve better.

- Find a neighborhood full of brown people. Probably a slightly poorer neighborhod. I know, I know, but they will have small independent fabric stores. Selection in each may vary. Hispanic and Caribbean areas will give you prints that EAT. Muslim areas will give you fabrics with amazing drapery. Indian and Southeast Asian areas will give you beading that would make the House of Worth wet with envy. (Try to avoid oldwhitelady quilting stores unless you are a knitter or are specifically trying to cosplay Kirsten Larson.) (Also ask while you're there for lunch/dinner spot recommendations. Your fabric store guy usually has a buddy with a joint nextdoor with the best *insert relevant ethnic food here* you'll ever put in your mouth.)

- DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OWNER OF SAID STORE. This I cannot stress enough. Abdul, my fabric guy, can and will get me whatever I want cause he knows me, knows I bring in other young people, and knows I will be back every month for more. Indie fabric stores tend to have older clients. They are anxious to see faces under 60. Just chat with whoever is in there about the kind of stuff you want and need and they will help you. This also frequently leads to discounts. I have not paid listed price for fabric in years and just walked out of Abdul's with 7~ yards of gorgeous teal satin for 10 bucks. Not a yard. Total.

- Do not be afraid of mess. The best shit comes from stores that look like a hurricane went through them. Don't try to understand the organization. (One day, 4 years into your relationship with the store, suddenly the fabric gods will reveal the knowledge to you.) Again, talk to whoever is in there about your project. They'll help.

- Give up on one stop shopping. Get your crafting supplies elsewhere. Like a small independent hardware store. There's usually an old guy in there that reminds you of an uncle who will also help you.

-Worbla and whatever other Cosplay Specific Material you're using is a fatphobic material straight from Satan's hot taint, you do not need it, and any old hardware/tractor supply dad will help you find better, more durable armor/weapon/detailing material. Don't snub your nose at paper mache and plaster of paris. Venetian Mask makers have been using it for years. Balsa wood is also your friend. Hardware store Uncles will teach you to work with both.

- Elderly people are your bffs. If you see an old person TALK TO THEM. They know how to do all kinds of shit. I know there's a hesitation around old people because of the political climate and a fear that they may be homo/trans/whatever-phobic, but hey....minds are changed by making friends. My elderly Muslim fabric supplier is an Our Flag Means Death fan because of me gushing about the teal I needed for Stede Bonnet. He wishes me happy pride now. He put bolt of rainbow in the window in June and kept it up all summer. And he'd never had a thought about queers before me.

- Don't feel limited to Craft and Fabric stores. Hardware stores are cool. They stock outdoor fabrics and umbrella and furniture covers that are very durable....my first cosplay was made out of patio furniture covers. Also upholstery stores and upholsterers have velvets and damasks and faux leather and real leather and all sorts of rich textures. Most of them will part with a few yards pretty cheap. Second hand sheets and bedspreads and curtains also make some really cool garments. A significant amount of my ren fair garb started as household goods.

- If you are forced to order fabric online, please for the love of all that is holy DO NOT BUY FROM MOOD or any other famous store. You're paying for their branding and their place on certain reality shows I will not mention. Indie is always cheaper for the quality and usually not abusing their workers.

- If the fabric/hobby/hardware/upholstery/etc store you develop a relationship with is inconveniently far from you, see if said owner is willing to take your order via phone and send it to you. You'd be surprised how accommodating people in the crafting and sewing world can be.

It all really comes down to having to form a community. I know finding multiple small stores is a lot less convenient than Joannes. But forming a relationship with a local supplier will, in the long run, yield you much better results AND put money and good back into a community near you.

(And if you're in the NYC area DM me and I'll put you in contact with Abdul. He's the absolute best and I'd do anything to help him and his business grow!!!)

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As soon as I see this documentary in my YT feed I am slamming it up here so freakin hard

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“Temporary stitches” all stitches are temporary if you have a pair of scissors and aren’t a coward