[Steppes] A Call for Largesse

[Esther]

Thank you! This is enormously useful, and a proud reminder of the creativity and generosity that is the hallmark of the people of the Steppes and Elfsea -- and of you, my Dear!

Emma

--- On Fri, 8/1/08, Liz <elizabet.peters at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
From: Liz <elizabet.peters at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [Steppes] A Call for Largesse
To: "Esther" <reese_esther at yahoo.com>, steppes at lists.ansteorra.org, "April Page" <alpage1225 at sbcglobal.net>
Date: Friday, August 1, 2008, 10:31 AM

Good Gentles,     My response to this is not very timely; however, my Internet access is currently problematic at best.       Many are unsure of what constitutes appropriate largesse and have requested ideas over the years.  What follows is a list compiled a number of years ago by members of both Steppes and Elfsea to give ideas about largesse for those of us (including myself) who are periodically (in my case, chronically, devoid of ideas).  The list below will at least give some of you a place to start.     Largesse Ideas          Table linens  pillows  period looking coffee mugs  An illuminated page from a period book  hand knitted mittens  necklaces made of semiprecious stones  handmade glass bottles 
 crocheted lap warmers  pouches with tablet-woven edges  a children's activities book about knights  wine  gloves  a full apron for a cook  tablet woven trim  jewelry  magnifying glasses with a nice handles  Damask napkins  Basket cloths  A full set of hand-turned wooden feast gear  Hand-made tassels,  Champleve' medallions of the Kingdom's arms.  a bag painted with the Kingdom's arms,  big turned wooden candlesticks from Hobby Lobby,  chip necklaces,  handmade paper  a hand made ocarina  long-distance gift cards,  beanie-baby dragons,  silver vases,  sandalwood fans  a soapstone box and candle holders,  boo-boo medicine,  bath salts  trim.  painted wall hangings in Celtic
 motifs  Honey Mead  Herbal cough remedy  A pair of vambraces  a necklace of coral and bone  yardage of damask brocade  a selection of various trims  wooden chests  napkins painted with the arms,  some really spiffy jewelry pouches  extra long wooden hangers  an extra long garment bag in kingdom colors  belts  bath oils  little glass jars with various dried/fresh herbs or honey.  hand made cake of hand lotion,  hand made bruise balm  embroidered pouches  dress hand kerchiefs  fresh water pearl necklaces  Giving edibles can be a bad idea - they tend to get shut into boxes  for travel and forgotten about.  Getting potables is always nice  Hoods in kingdom colors are really cool!  matching goblets.  Battery
 powered hand-held fans, socks, little chemical hand-  warmer packets to go in your gloves on chilly nights, tiny  flashlights, etc....  Canvas tote bags  Material(esp white for veils/shirts)  Feast gear  Artificial sinew  Duct tape  Embroidery floss  Needles  Gesso  Wood  Books on art in the Middle Ages  Embroidery hoops  A belt blank  Books on heraldry  Books on armor  A seam-ripper with the little light on the end  lanterns  Good paper (ask for 'elephant paper' at a paper shop)  A piece of good leather  Paintbrushes (ten bucks can get the good ones rather than the  cruddy ones)  A length of trim  A length of lace  A basket  Some ostrich plumes  Some pheasant feathers 
 A Nine-men Morris game  Dice  nice period looking buckles  Rivets for armor  A strap-cutter  A rawhide mallet  A brick of beeswax  A hydrometer  A wine thief  A package of corks  Patterning paper  Books on brewing or vinting  Camp stools  Decks of renaissance style cards  A yeast culture  Period cookbooks  Buttons  Hooks and eyes  Good thread  Some antler  A cows horn  A yard or two of buckram  Tracing paper  Blank tapes  Brewers logs  Carving linoleum  Drawknives  Rattan  Some 550 cord  Tent stakes  Banner Poles  Seeds for different herbs  Lamp oil  Beads/Pearls  cloaks,  painted banners
 and "tapestries"  small binders or booklets in which to list gifts given These binders  can have embroidered, painted or leather-worked covers put  on them.  period belt findings,  period table ware,  antler buttons,  bone/bronze needles,  hand-spun silk or wool thread,  small yardages of brocade that can be used as trim.  award insignia  Special Manly Largesse Items   1) Manly soaps ~~ works except for royalty and such, who get far too many candles and soaps to use in the rest of their lifetime. Also be careful, as some people are allergic to scents   2) Notebooks ~~ especially covered or slip covered (can cover an inexpensive composition or spiral notebook) ones that look nice.  3) Pouches, especially tapestry, felted wool or leather, with flap pouches more popular than drawstring. They need to be at least big enough to
 hold a checkbook, as most pouches are too small for this -- also sized for a cellphone is great. The kind with a flap over the top is better than a draw string.  4) Massages. Again, hard to put into a largesse basket but a gift certificate is good.  5) Unguents to use on bruises. Be sure and list ingredients, same thing with soaps, bath salts, etc.  6) Rings. For example, safety pin full of copper rings in all sizes, that can be given out as tokens.   7) Rattan.  8) Shield blanks  9) Salt cellars. Also pepper holder. These are too often missing at  feasts.  10) Napkins, table runners or cloths.   11) Chests or boxes (use to hold other gifts instead of a basket).       YIS,   Lady Fionnghuala the Fair "Nuala" and/or Liz and/or my
 evil twin, Cedric   Curmudgeon, Misanthrope & Gadfly  The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire." ~ Voltaire ~  

Esther <reese_esther at yahoo.com> wrote: Remember, space will be limited in the car, so things like bottles of wine or mead or such like, or small, unique pieces of jewelry, weaving, pottery, etc.!  Also, please put your SCA name, your modern name, and the largesse on a 3 x 5 card, or a piece of paper, so you may be thanked!  HL Emma     --- On Mon, 7/28/08, April Page wrote:  Subject: [Steppes] A Call for Largesse  Date: Monday, July 28, 2008, 
Dearest Friends and Family:  (SNIP!) However, we need your assistance as we hurriedly prepare to travel to
 Pennsic this weekend. The heirs are in desperate need of largesse, both to take with us and to have on hand here in our fair lands. Lady Emma is coordinating a
"donor drive" over the next few days on our behalf and can be reached at   (972) 535-8485. Baroness Katheryn Cunningghame will be an additional collection "point", and she will be attending Glaslyn's fighter practice tonight and the Steppes' heavy/rapier practice Tuesday night. Any assistance you can provide in this quick project would be greatly appreciated by both of us. We hope to represent you and our Kingdom well at Pennsic and look forward to seeing all of you at Steppes Artisan in a few weeks.  YIS, Gunthar and Elizabeth  Prince and Princess, Ansteorra


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