SCA's A&S 50 Challenge - Oh boy, here we go!

I have been thinking about the SCA lately, and how much fun I had in my local Shire, Loch Ruadh. I was missing the get-togethers and talking with other Arts & Sciences people about garb and such. Also, researching Japanese court garb has brought me to a lot of SCA sites and discussion groups. So, last week, I decided to rejoin. I'm working on getting my personae fleshed out - I want to do a Japanese and a Western, so I have lots of garb to play with and different avenues for research. (Is it weird that I really enjoy doing research?)

So, of course, almost immediately after deciding to rejoin the SCA, I come across this:

Arts & Sciences 50 Challenge

What the heck is it, you ask? From the website:

"The A&S 50 Challenge involves doing 50 things in the Arts and Sciences between May 1st AS 42/2007 and May 1st AS 50/2015, in honor of the SCA's 50th Birthday .  The Challenge is a chance to develop skills and learn more about what interests you in a non-competitive, community-based environment."

I've decided to jump in, and do 50 pieces of garb. This doesn't mean I'm going to be making 50 entire ensembles, it means I'm going to be making pieces - stays, petticoats, foreparts, bodices, hitoe, karaginu, kinu, etc. To guide me on my garb making journey, I'm going to be making as many complete ensembles as possible. I'm shooting for, at the minimum, 3 Japanese ensembles, and 3 Western ensembles. That's entirely doable in the 2 1/2 years left on the challenge, and should get my goal of 50 garments. 

I'll be tagging posts pertaining to the challenge with "50garb", but I'll also be keeping track of each ensemble by their own tags, so you can see them come together individually.  Let the garbing commence!