Abbey Medieval Festival - Our 'Linen Song' Stall
We had a fabulous but exhausting two days at the Abbey Medieval Festival. We packed the cars on Wednesday, drove up on Thursday, bumped in on Friday in a bit of a gale. We were back up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to start the festival. It is a really happy crowd and that makes it such a delight. The reenactors were doing a brilliant job and nearly everyone was dressed up - we had lots of medieval customers as well as some elves, some fantasy characters and a few passing Ents. Our only problem is that we really don’t get much chance to take photos except in the early morning or late afternoon. This year the numbers were capped which was a great decision by the organisers and made it such a good weekend.
It was fantastic to have so many people returning and wonderful to see aumonieres made up and being worn. We were so excited. Check out this cute bird inspired by the bayeux tapestry.
This year I did manage a very fast walk around the other stalls and chatted to a couple of people - felt, leather, jewellery, reproduction glass beads, metalworkers, costumemakers - it was so nice to see so many craftspeople in one place. The stall next to ours had handmade leather waterbottles. They looked awesome and were a delight. On our other side we had a furrier who had some great leather plague doctor masks.
The food stalls also did a great job, I had the best ribs with a tangy sauce ever, (only I don’t know where from).
From all reports the jousting, archery, falconry and siege weapons were awesome, though tbh I do find the cannon a bit random. We all would jump a few feet in the air when we heard the bang. Luckily, it was only occasionally.
All in all it was a great weekend. I’m reordering crochet hooks and redoing kits if you missed out. I am just waiting on orders of linen and wool to arrive. I’m planning a block of the month starting in August, I’m just figuring out the best way to make something that will wash and wear well - a lot of crewel wool will felt if washed and woollen wadding can beard. More on that soon.