August A&S Update

So I've been up to a couple of things in the last while. 

First, I am embroidering a Celtic knotwork salmon on a gaming bag I intend to use to carry around my paumacary game. A Celtic design is not something my persona would ever use, but it is a handsome design, and I really wanted to give it a go. It is done in DMC cotton floss (white and 321 red) in split stitch on wool. The salmon's eye is couched in metallic floss. The bag will be finished off with another salmon in red and white countercharged opposite this one with a fleur du lys between them.

The St-Denis fish, which marks Philippe as a Dauphinist.

My other project is a Gluckhaus board. I knew this was going to be a learning piece, so I chose a really inexpensive board of birch plywood from Michael's. Sure enough, I made a number of beginner's mistakes. First, when marking out the board on the wood, I neglected to go along the grain. Also, I am still earning how to control the gouges in this unfamiliar medium, so a couple of times I slipped and made some nasty marks. Finally, I was going to inlay some small circles of wood in the corners, but discovered that this is not really recommended with plywood. Once I messed that up so spectacularly, I at once abandoned my plan to paint the board in egg tempera. I'll just stick to good old modern acrylics for this board and get into the medieval pigments on the next one.

Sorry for the shitty photo. I swear there is carving on that piece of wood.

And although Gluckhaus was a German gambling game, my interpretation will be decidedly French, with Royalist French symbols featured prominently.

I'll provide updates on these projects as they progress!