AvalonSongbird

I've been bitten by the sewing bug, and bitten bad!
Here's some progress shots of a couple projects I'm working on for this year's RenFair visits! (No, they're not meant to be worn together, I'm just too lazy to take one off the dressform) A dress for an as-yet-undetermined local-ish faire this summer, and a new warrior ensemble for my return to the PA RenFaire at the end of August!

I'm back from my vacation (and most importantly, the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire!) I've been away from dA for 6 days and boy, do I have a lot to catch up on!!
I've got to say, though my experience with RenFaires has been limited, that was the absolute best time I've had in my life. Definitely ranks in my top 5 "best days ever"! I'd completely recommend it. There was so much to do and see-- I wish I could have gone every single weekend that they were open, because there's no way to see everything in just 8 hours!
I've included a pic in this journal because it's my absolute fave from the day. (It features a bunch of the goodies I bought from the vendors including my freaking awesome new sword-- the silver one) Check out my instagram for more pics from the PARenFaire and the rest of my vacation!

So I wanted to wait until my prop sword was finished, but it looks like that's gotta wait another few days. It's a good thing I went ahead and did a test run of the costume, because I'm leaving in about 2 weeks and I need to make some alterations!! Anyway, here's what I've got so far. (Please ignore my stupid expressions and posing, I haven't practiced and I don't photograph well anyway)

I don’t usually (or ever) do posts like this, but this is really important. A minister visited our church last Sunday and shared about this magnificent charity. Before you get put off by the term ‘church’, I want to state that this is not merely a church organization, though many churches support it. The main goal of this mission is to provide clean water, to everyone, regardless of any divisive factors you could dream up.

The BioSand water filter is a system of making clean water from contaminated water. This water filtration system is not new technology-- it’s adapted from a system that has been used for centuries. For just $50 US currency, this BioSand water filter can produce about 25 gallons of safe, drinkable water per day, eliminating virtually all parasites and bacteria and greatly reducing the number of deaths from diseases like cholera. The awesome part-- it can last for 35 years, needing only a few dollars worth of maintenance every 2 1/2 or 3 years. This group of organizations also trains and employs locals to build and distribute the water filters, which creates many jobs and allows the communities to maintain their safe water source in perpetuity.

I’m not eloquent and I don’t have all the statistics and information that explains just how cool, and how important this is... But I feel it necessary to share about this extraordinary mission.

More information can be found here (I tried to target the specific information, but the rest of their site and statements are also worth a read):

Next Leadership Association (How this was brought to my attention): www.nextleader.org/water.html

Friendly Water For the World: friendlywater.net/WHY
friendlywater.net/HOW#BioSand1

EDIT: Update from yesterday's sewing session!



Some of you may know that I'm attending the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in September! I haven't uploaded much lately due to work busyness and visiting relatives, but since I recently acquired a dressform, I had a pretty intensive sewing session this evening and I wanted to share the progress I've made on my costume over the last few months! Sorry for the crappy lighting, it's dark here.