Illumination and Needlepunch

I just started doing SCA things a few months ago and now I remember why I quit. It's expensive. It's not that much if you just want to hang out, but everything I want to do in the SCA requires a monetary investment. I spent almost $100 on supplies to do illumination. Did you know that when you make a scroll for someone, no one is paying for your paper, paints, brushes and so on? I feel like doing those things is satisfying artistically and will help me grow as an artist, but now I'm thinking I should have spent that money on something a little more practical, like food.

But now that I have all the supplies, I can scroll to my heart's content. I want to go to the meetings to learn more, but there again, gas costs money and I'm back in the same boat. It seems the only way to get ahead is to stay home, do nothing, and go nowhere. But that's not much of a life is it?

At the archery meeting yesterday I worked on some of the Japanese braiding and made a great tangled mess. Ah well. And I worked on Needlepunch aka Punchneedle. That went pretty well. Luckily I already own the supplies to do that. Art sure is expensive if you are not selling anything.