Chalice was loads of fun, and Wilhelmina was a hit.

(She has, since, been dubbed the "Period Voodoo Doll" but we won't tell her that . . .)

At any rate, the A&S competition was just amazing. The quality of the entries was superb, and I don't envy the job of the judges. Not only the entries were awesome, but there were a lot of them. (I believe that the judging didn't end until 4 p.m.)

The winner in the end, was the awesome pair of embroidered linen socks (with card-woven garters) by Lady Alina Silverthorne. I must confess that I have been a fan of her work for quite a while, and I do hope to see her at more events.

(Which won't stop me from gunning for her next next year! I want the chocolate my title back!)

You can see Wilhelmina, Alina's entry, and the rest, in strawberrykaren's Flickr album.

Not only that, but I was extremely proud of my sweetie, ballistabob, whose first entry at an A&S competition (a nifty 16th Century writing desk), did extremely well, and of my student, geoffreyapclwyd, whose amazing inlaid Chess/Tabula board scored even higher than Wilhelmina! And my other student, Seamus, although not competing, got a lot of compliments for his hand-stitched Kilcommon jacket. (Pics to follow.)

I could go on and on, with melaniesuzanne's extremely cool rosary and pouch, and James' spiffy lidded pouch, and so on and so fort, but I am sure I am going to miss mentioning someone. Go check the pics instead and see for yourselves!

The Bardic Competition was very high-caliber as well. I went on with two Sephardic songs, and was very happy with my performance. However, psallite was kicking butt that day and she totally beat me in the face-off, becoming the new Chalice Bard!

(Hey, psallite! I'm going after you next year too! There is chocolate a championship in the line!)

In the end, our team, "Belfabulous and the Boys", tied for first place with "Lion's Keep." We slugged it out at Court with a cutthroat game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, between Yours Truly and James de Biblesworth. Alas, we were bested again and "Lion's Keep" became the new Chalice Team Champions.

(Watch out! We will fight to get our chocolate title back from you next year!)

And that's it for now.

Like I said, I will be posting pics later. Once I get some more sleep and my brain back.