Nicolaa provides an event summary and results from Ealdormere's first Golden Seamstress competition, held March 19 in Ontario. Eight teams gathered on the evening of Friday, March 19 just outside Brantford, Ontario, bringing fabric, thread, needles, sewing machines, leatherworking tools, looms, pewter casting equipment, and even lampworking supplies. Their goal: to assemble complete sets of clothing, from raw materials, in just 18 hours. This was the goal of Ealdormere's first Golden Seamstress competition, patterned after the event of the same name that has been held in the Middle Kingdom for several years.

Saturday evening, after a great deal of sewing and caffiene, the teams each presented their ensembles. The teams, their entries and their categories were as follows:

• Talia na Biene - Advanced, pre-1300--men's Norse ensemble
• Vest Yorvik - Advanced, pre-1300--Women's 11th century Anglo-Saxon
• Marines - Advanced, pre-1300 - Men's 11th century Anglo-Saxon (patterned after an illumination of King Canute)
• Lame Ducks - Advanced, pre-1300, men's Norse clothing
• Las Mulieres de Matteo - Advanced, post-1300, men's 16th-17th century Spanish
• "The Bog Guy" team (they had a much better name in Swedish) - post 1300, Advanced, patterned after the Bocksten bog find (mid-14th century)
• Wyrd Sisters - Novice, women's houppelande
• Greenhithe Seamstress - Novice, girl's early 16th century Flemish

All of the entries were made by teams of five or six people, except for the Greenhithe Seamstress, where one lady made the entire outfit. The Lame Ducks also lost team members at the last moment, meaning that only one person carried the entry forward.

The accomplishments of all of the teams were incredible, and choosing winners was difficult. The winners were:

• Novice - Wyrd Sisters
• Advanced, pre-1300 - Vest Yorvik; also winner of the Competitors' Choice award
• Advanced, post-1300 - the "Bog Guy" team

Special notice also should go to THL Mauverneen MacKellar and her event staff, who kept all the entrants and judges well-fed and well-caffienated throughout the event, and who worked very hard to make this event a success. Hopefully, it will become a yearly occurrence.