Tablet Weaving with Þóra: Stromgard Barony Demo

I participated in a SCA demo with my barony in October. I originally volunteered for a different table, but the fiber arts table needed more people so I switched over. I was a little scared because I'm still extremely new at all of this, but I figured that I could help people interested since I was still very new myself and had a fresh perspective of what it is like to try to figure out a new skill and try to navigate SCA stuff in general (I'll be honest, my friends have been massively helpful in answering tons of questions).

I prepped a historical backstrap weaving example for me to work on during the demo and I prepped my two modern (non-historical) looms with other tablet weaving projects. I neglected to mention that I bought a second loom that is specifically for tablet weaving from a great little etsy store. I like it because I don't have to move the weave and reset the tension as many times so anything I make on it looks much nicer and more consistent! Plus, I can weave things with more cards (greater width) because the posts are longer. Here's the link to what I purchased - I really really love it even though I've had to repair it a few times: https://www.etsy.com/listing/467729493/the-mandolin-card-tablet-large-sized?ref=shop_home_active_7

I did my best with the demo and printed cards to explain what things were, why I used them, and what my process was. It was a fun experience and I got to chat with a lot of people in the community that were interested in what we were doing and meet a lot of people from the barony. The Stromgard Chatelaine did an amazing job setting it all up and I was really happy to be a part of the event.

This is the historical project I set up for the demo. Backstrapping is pretty much weaving tied to an object where the other end is attached to my belt and I lean back for tension. I got it started before arriving at the demo so I could just pick it up there. This pattern is based on a historical Osberg sample find - I think it is really pretty even though I'm kind of butchering it doing in the traditional way - I guess I'm much more used to using a loom at this point!