And that's official . . .

It's been a busy few months for me as I prepared to take the mantle as Principal Herald of Calontir.  Garb to make, contracts to write, calligraph, and illuminate, ceremonies to write, and then bits to learn and create and find out about.

Photo by Marie le Faivre/Kate Gill

So, garb.  I was gifted some absolutely gorgeous teal silk by my lord that was purchased in the Middle East.  I don't trust my sewing skills, and especially not on silk, so I sent this to a friend of mine (Anna, of annasrome.com) to work her magic on it.  I do, however, trust my skills on decorating garb, and so, after it arrived, I started beading it with freshwater pearls, peridot, moonstone, and amethyst, which I must confess I selected because of how it would look, and not because of periodicity.

Beading the Byzantine on an off day.

I sewed several very tiny beads onto the silk (and not period trim), taking care to couch them so they wouldn't move too much.  All are sewn on with size 11 straw needles and a doubled length of regular sewing thread.  I did find that the beads were occasionally problematic, as I purchased hand-cut rounds, which sometimes didn't fit on the needles, so I found myself overbuying beads to ensure I had enough.  I clocked about 40 hours, if not more, on the actual beading of the dalmatica.

Now, when I wasn't working on the dalmatica, I was working on the ceremony, which was based on Byzantine functionaries, who were required to swear fealty.   I found an oath, and I blogged about it here.  I then calligraphied the oath (after clearing the ceremony though Their Majesties), and signed it in court with a quill pen borrowed from my friend Mirabel.  My unsigned oath has been photographed, and was based on Byzantine illumination from the Rossano Gospels, which are a purple dyed codex of the Gospels.  I did not dye the pergamentata, but I did try my first gilding experiments on this piece.  I did put myself in the illumination, but I also put Their Majesties in Byzantine garb.  My calligraphy is not the best, but, being a lefty, I do have some issues with beautiful writing.

Photos of my investiture as Gold Falcon can be found here.  I look forward to serving the Kingdom in this role - it's going to be fun.