For all those folks who have asked for the research behind the projects in this year's Ice Dragon.

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard and made this year's event such a special day.

An Arming Coat of the Albigensian Crusade

Now this was a fun experiment... although my fingers are still recovering from all that quilting. This piece was cross entered into several categories - mainly because there were just so many parts to it. It was entered into pre-1400 clothing, embroidery, and heraldic display.

Knitted gloves in Silk (& wool)

The other major piece this year were the knitted gloves. They were a gift to a friend. These were an interesting experiment - both for myself on the skill side - and on the research side. I'm still looking into the mixed fiber question that was raised by this project. So if you would like to share information or resources, please do.

Funeral Crosses for the Grave of an Anglo-Saxon King

The foil crosses were literally a 20 minute, one page entry. I did these for fun, and to try to make the point that good research doesn't necessarily have to take eons and that simple items are just as "valid" as the complex ones.

Possible, Probable and Provable Research

And the last entry this year was an essay. I'll admit - this was a bit of an experiment on my part just to see how the Ice Dragon judges would handle it. Now the category is Essays/Research Papers. And as usual some excellent research papers were in the running, and then there was my little 5 page essay - the Mule amongst the Thouroughbreds.

Last but not least there is:
The Social Meaning of the Color Black in the Middle Ages. This was a little side project that kinda bloomed all on its own... and is still going. Interesting stuff.

Have fun all...