The Most Magical Birthday Weekend

I turned 31 this past Sunday, and I am still reeling from the most love-filled, fantastical weekend of all time.

Part I: Ren Faire Revelry

Jayme and I have wanted to go to a Renaissance Faire for ages, so when we learned that there was one being held a mere hour and a half drive from home, we jumped at the chance and have been planning for months.

We really wanted to dress the part, and I found the most perfect, precious, D20-shaped buttons at The Fibre Nook that were begging to be added to a Ren Faire fit. I wanted to knit us something quick, cute, matchy-matchy, and period-accurate. Enter the Vest Friends pattern by Tin Can Knits. I knit ours to be much more cropped than the original pattern, and instead of stockinette on the front panels, I jazzed it up with the Tiny Scales stitch, found in my Vogue Knitting Stitch Dictionary. It added some fun dimension and character, while also making the knitting process take longer, but I believe it was worth it!

Since The Fibre Nook only had four D20 buttons left, and no idea when they’d get more, I had to get creative. I filled the gaps with the glass buttons I got from Northern Crow Creations at the fibre festival last month, as well as a lone butterfly button I’ve had in my stash for years, to create a charmingly mismatched look for our vests. The yarn I used was Brooklyn Tweed Dapple, a cotton-merino blend that wouldn’t boil us alive in the midsummer heat. Blue for Jayme, his favourite colour, and pink for me, to match my hair. Brooklyn Tweed has since shuttered its mill, so this project is extra special.

This was only the second-ever Medieval Faire hosted in Vegreville, and it was a total blast. We watched a jousting tournament, knight fights, bought some wonderfully kitschy souvenirs at the artisan market — some potion bottles, a gorgeous 100% handmade journal, and some earrings. I spun on a drop spindle in the Viking Village, and got my hair braided at a “Viking Braid Bar.” While I was waiting in line for braiding, a young lady gave me her flower crown after I complimented her on it. I nearly wept. It was a wonderful Saturday afternoon!

We had tickets for a feast that evening that started at 6:30, but when 8 p.m. came, and we still hadn’t eaten, we decided to duck out early instead. If we’d stayed all the way through, we wouldn’t have gotten home until almost midnight, and that didn’t jibe with the fact we had another big drive ahead of us the next day. At least we still got to enjoy the atmosphere, live band, and lively company! And I got to take home my drinking horn and medieval cutlery.

Part II: Family Frivolity

On Sunday, my actual birthday, Jayme and I took a day trip to Calgary for a party at my childhood home. I was honoured to be in the presence of my parents, my brother, sister-in-law, Gramma, a gaggle of cousins, and a couple of my best and dearest friends. It was a house full of love, laughter, and reunions.

My mom’s cousin, Leanne, is an unbelievably talented baker and cake decorator, and she made me the most incredible knitting-themed cake! The cake itself was vanilla with lemon between the layers, and vanilla icing. Decorated with moulded fondant stitches and buttons, a pair of “31” knitting needles, and a little fondant facsimile of Seabreeze. The yarn balls she made with fondant layered over styrofoam spheres.

Part III: Cameo Chaos

I told Jayme that all I wanted from him for my birthday was a Cameo from a Baldur’s Gate 3 star. Cameo is a platform where, for a fee, you can hire a celebrity to record a short video for yourself or a loved one. Like a remote version of a convention meet-n-greet. My husband, being so delightfully extra, got me Cameos from three BG3 actors — Theo Solomon, Devora Wilde, and Tim Downie — plus a fourth Cameo from the host of our favourite YouTube channel — Shelby, of Girlfriend Reviews.

Three of the four videos had arrived by Sunday, and since everyone wanted to see them, I put them up on the TV to show them off. Devora Wilde, who played Lae’zel in BG3, recorded her video in character to wish me a happy birthday, admonish me for choosing Astarion over her in my first run of the game, and ended it with a hearty “Tskva!” that made us giggle.

Tim Downie, who played Gale, did a three-card Tarot pull:

• Past — Knight of Pentacles, meaning hard work and reliability, to which my childhood bestie turned around and said “that’s true!”
• Present — Seven of Cups, which refers to creativity and daydreaming;
• Future — Judgment, which represents decision-making.

My Gramma turned to me halfway through and whispered, “does any of this mean anything to you?”

Last but not least for the day’s lineup was Shelby. Girlfriend Reviews is a games review channel based on what it’s like to live with or watch someone play the latest video games. Shelby is also an avid crafter, so after she serenaded me/us with a silly rendition of “Happy Birthday,” complete with choice lines like “Happy Shmirfday, hoo-hoo,” she showed off her latest knitting and crochet projects. Jayme surprised me last year with a Cameo from Shelby as well, so now it seems we’re starting a tradition!

My final Cameo arrived Monday morning from Theo Solomon, Wyll in BG3, and a prolific audiobook narrator. He said we were “basically” twins, because our birthdays are one year, one month, and 13 days apart, and casually threatened my husband with his wrath if Jayme didn’t spoil me properly. I forwarded the video to my folks so they could see it too. My dad sent back an all-caps “AWESOME,” and said it was his favourite. My sister-in-law responded with “He is SO CUTE lol!!!” (an appropriate number of exclamation points)

I do feel unbelievably spoiled—and endlessly grateful for this life of mine: wonderful friends and family, kind strangers, a fulfilling hobby, and now, 100 posts on my blog!