Adhela of Ottersdam

Photo
Adhela, March 2025
Information
Resides: Barony of Adiantum (Eugene, OR) Date Started: early 1990's, a break, 2018 Awards: Baronial_Brownie Offices: Arts & Sciences Officer, Barony of Adiantum
Heraldry
Quarterly sable and argent, a tree counterchanged and in chief three fountains

MEMBERSHIP NUMBER: 242922 Member since 2018
MUNDANE NAME: Strata Chalup
SOCIETY NAME: Adhela Of Ottersdam
DEVICE: Quarterly sable and argent, a tree counterchanged and in chief three fountains (Registered Oct 2019)

In the Society

Adhela of Ottersdam is a 5th century Low Countries woman. She is married, but her husband isn't in the SCA so that is kind of glossed over. She was raised largely by her aunt and her glassmaker uncle, and learned some basic lampworking. When he passed, she decided to travel to England to learn lampworking techniques there.

Adhela - from a list of `Dutch Women's Names before 1150' by Kees Nieuwenhuijsen, Living History Studies [1]
of Ottersdam - there is an Otterdam road area in the Netherlands. And I really like otters.

Background

I spent several years in the early 90's going to West Kingdom events in the company of an ex-boyfriend. He and his friends were more of the "show up, dress up, and party" crowd, so I didn't really meet anyone involved with the kingdom. Time passed, as did that relationship, and in 2018 I decided to try again and started attending some then-local West Kingdom events (12th Night, Crosston Dance Ball, etc) and getting to know some folks. Then, of course, boom-- pandemic. I knew I was moving to Oregon to retire, so I attended some Adiantum and An Tir virtual events during that time, and joined some of the Facebook groups. When I moved to Eugene in December of 2022, I started getting involved locally in person.

Useful Mundane Skills

• Retired, so flexible schedule
• Spent multiple decades as a program and project manager (PMP Certified), very organized
• Comfortable with several online technologies (Google Docs/Sheets/Slides/Forms, Wordpress, Blogger.com, Office365)
• Comfortable with several social media platforms (Facebook, Slack, Discord, Bluesky, Mastodon, Whatsapp, Signal, Facebook Messenger)

Skills & Interests

• I chose my persona based on two primary factors: women had a fair amount of freedom in that culture and era, and I could make my own garb with my limited mostly-straight-seams sewing skills.
• I am a passionate gardener, volunteering as a Master Gardener in Lane County and slowly learning about period crops that we largely don't grow anymore: carlin peas, orach, good king henry, purslane, chervil, lovage, scorzonera, and more.
• I enjoy cooking, especially baking breads with sourdough, and am studying Roman bread making techniques.
• I am an amateur lampworker who can reliably make beads and stringers, but can't yet control the latter well enough to decorate the former to my liking.
• I enjoy making bead jewelry using pearl knotting and wire wrap techniques.
• I've had a fondness for pen-and-ink, and am very gingerly learning some scribal techniques. There's a lot of gravity down that rabbit-hole, so I'm being careful about getting sucked in.
• I am a novice potter, and have enjoyed making cups and mini bowls for largesse for Adiantum.

Service

Arts & Sciences Officer, Barony of Adiantum March 2025 (term to March 2027)

October 2025

• Hosted an A&S Cooking Lab at my home: hot water pastry
• Organized a third Thursday A&S class: Beginning Leatherworking (belt frog for mug), by Baroness Isis

September 2025

• Hosted an A&S Cooking Lab at my home: collaboration on 3 recipes
• Organized a third Thursday A&S class: Beginning Embroidery, by Katherine of the Lakes

August 2025

• Created Event_Photos_Pages as a repository for non-AI photos to use for event listings
• Co-hosted a combination A&S Sewing Circle and Chatelaine Thingmaking event with Aila'antha of Williams Keep
• Organized a third Thursday A&S class: Garb That Fits, by Lady Victoria deKent

July 2025

• Volunteering at the Barony's demo exhibit at Lane County Fair (23 hours)
• Organized a third Thursday A&S class: Medieval Hammered English Coins, by HL Hrodnavar

June 2025

• Egils Debriefing Session

May 2025

• Created Adiantum Arts & Sciences Survey to discover populace needs and resources
• Volunteer point coordinator for Egils; also did inventory of area leads volunteer needs and created documentation that will help future events

April 2025

• Hosted in my home combined Adiantum scribal/bardic night with Muirenn inghean Ui Cléirigh
• Organized and hosted in my home A&S Sewing Circle event

March 2025

• Arranged Arts and Sciences classes and displays for Adiantum birthday bash
• Hosted in my home combined scribal/bardic night with Muirenn inghean Ui Cléirigh

February 2025

• Organized and hosted in my home A&S Sewing Circle event

January 2025

• Gate shift at Midwinter Feast, January 2025

October 2024

• Hosted in my home Adiantum bardic night
• Assisted with setup and cleanup for Amergins Revival October 2024

September 2024

• Assisted with setup, execution, and teardown of Petersen Barn public demo

July 2024

• Assisted with setup and execution of Lane County Fair public demo

2023

• Attended several Chatelaine's Thingmakers sessions (cup covers, coifs, spice bottle filling)

Largesse items made so far

• 4 cloth cup covers with beaded corners
• 3 decorative drawstring bags
• 1 light canvas coif
• 4 beaded necklaces (as part of the An Tir necklace project, materials provided)
• 12 muslin lavender sachets with homegrown lavender
• 18 glazed pottery cups, 4 glazed pottery bowls
• Painted several preprinted thank you cards and created a bookmark

Arts & Sciences

Adhela's Research Midden, a collection of research snippets

Bardic performances at Adiantum courts:

• The Coming of Spring by Lord Thomas Bordeaux, Birthday Bash March 2025
• Crossing the bar by Alfred Lord Tennyson, set to original melody, Midwinter feast January 2025

Adhela's Bardic Links

Entered Bardic Championship at Amergins Revival, October 2024

Public projects:

• Virtual university class on Forgotten Vegetables & Potherbs, Atlantia University, September 2025
• Short talk on Forgotten Vegetables for the Lane County Master Gardeners' Edible Gardening group, August 2025
• Class on They Ate What?!: Forgotten Vegetables & Potherbs at An Tir West War, July 2025
• Unleavened hearth cakes and frumenty for a Cooks Playdate dinner, An Tir West War 2025
• Geek Session on Forgotten Veggies & Potherbs at Egils , May 2025
• Display on Forgotten Potherbs at Amergins Revival, October 2024
• Saxon leavened hearth cakes for a Cooks Playdate dinner, An Tir West War 2024
• Pliny's Grape Must Leaven and Cato's mustacei rolls for Adiantum A&S night June 2024
• Tart with Plums Sabrina Welserin West Kingdom 12th Night 2020 wooden spoon competition
• Fine Cakes, Good Huswifes Jewell, West Kingdom 12th Night 2019 wooden spoon competition

Private projects:

• lampworked glass bead "bling" necklace, inspired by grave find beads (but I lacked the technical skill to reproduce them with any accuracy)
• nine men's morris set, fabric and paint markers
• garb
  • 6th century Saxon / Low Countries: three tee tunics and three peplos
  • Roman chiton and a "towel chiton" for ATWW
• cardboard loom pouch, wool blend yarn

Martial

• Occasional thrown weapons practice
• Entered Fast & Loose thrown weapons tournament June 2025
• Entered Fast & Loose thrown weapons tournament June 2024 ; placed 3rd (of 4 entrants)