30.1.

Short update...

Life has been very hectic during this week. I spent two days at Lahti (at work related education days). So I had lot time to do naalbinding. My first mittens are done... something weird happen and I figured out by myself how to do thumbs. Just like that... well maybe not... Suski told me that I just have to start doing it the same way I started to do the mittens at the beginning. Ulf's mittens are halfway finished and I have started to make nalbindeed socks for me. And during my visit at Lahti I stayed at Sahra's and I had a change to look how to make heels for the socks. I am pretty sure that I can make heels without any additional help because I figured out how to make thumbs also. And I am not afraid to make mistakes :)

Today we are going to Helsinki to play roleplaying games with friends and I have SKA board meeting at Sunday.

Flemish kerchief

Is done :)

Tablet weaving etc..

I had an excellent weekend once again. This time I was happy that I didn’t have to travel so far from our home, only one hour... I don’t remember when we spend our weekend at home. And it is very hard to start any new projects at workdays. At Friday I just relaxed and did nothing special. Then at Saturday morning we went to Turku. I met Suski and we went to a fabric store. I bought some lightweight white wool and a piece of light blue wool (for a hood... if somebody needs one). And the rest of the day and evening I practice my tablet weaving skills. I had forgotten how to make a loom for tablet weaving. Suski is a very good teacher :D... and it is again very easy to continue from here and make more braids. Well of course I am still making stupid mistakes because I don’t concentrate enough while doing it (it’s so hard to count to four :D).

Yesterday I got very excited about making a new Flemish kerchief for me. It’s not done yet.

No progress with the mittens yet. I have to decide what project to take with me tomorrow when I am leaving to again another work related education days.

Update

Jon’s hat is done and he is very pleased to have a new hat which makes me happy :D .

I have started to make naalbinded mittens for Ulf (and last weekend I realized that Jon needs mittens also). I haven’t tried to make thumbs for my mittens yet but I hope that Suski will help me with the thumbs next weekend.

The thing I want to do right now as fast as possible is to find good fabric for our wedding dressess. I want to start looking for the fabric now... but I need to do some coordinating and reporting things today (and tomorrow I have a hardanger class and day after that I will have water gymnastics and not so much time for anything else after work). I want more time.

I have to find my tablet weaving things for next weekend.

But after I find perfect fabric for our wedding dressess everything will be a lot easier.

Hardanger 1.0

I think that I am sometimes brave (if I want to). Yesterday I went to the first hardanger embroidery class (at local folk high school). I had two goals: firstly to get to know another style of embroidery and secondly to get to know local people. I was afraid that there will be only elderly people who doesn’t want me there (that they would give me “the evil eye look” when I walk to the class room). Ok almost everyone was much older than me… except a girl who I knew but who didn’t now me. We have lived here in this small town almost four years now and we only know the people from our working circles. Yes, because I have internet and all handicrafts and too little time after work I have forgotten to get to know people. But anyway I didn’t get any evil eye from anybody and hardager was fun.

So I don’t know much about history of hardanger embroidery, there are so little information available. Or does somebody know where to find information about history of hardanger embroidery? Anyway the embroidery (table cloth) that we are making is very modern. But I think that it will still be very useful experience to me not to mention that I can get to know some people during that class….

Tomorrow we are leaving to Midwinter Feast event. I need to pack and fix the socks. Jon’s hat is almost done :) .

13.1.

We went again to friends' wedding last weekend. This time the wedding was at Porvoo medieval church, which is interesting because in 29^th May 2006 the church was attacked by an arsonist. The church was damaged badly. Because this all the ceremonies in the church was cancelled until recently. The wedding itself was modern and beautiful.

During last weekend I also did some weaving at Tofa’s (Viking Finn apron). I still have a lot weaving to do before it is finished. And it would be better to have the whole day to do weaving than just couple of hours. It will take couple of hours always to remember how to do it and after that it will be a lot easier. We are planning to go to Summer Coronation http://coronation.nordmark.org/main.php and the main theme of the event is Viking so it would be nice to have Viking clothes for the event. Although I think that Viking clothes are good for winter times… I have bought wool for them but I may have to make a linen underdress in case the weather will be very hot.

But now I am waiting for next weekend and Midwinter feast. I have to go to do something to my socks now (I have a hole in one of them). And I’ll try to make a naalbinded hat for Jon who is Ulf’s SCA brother.

Playing with colours

I should be doing some more important things right now… but I am sometimes very good at wasting my time with something else :D. Today I tried to dye some wool with the washing machine for the first time. It took a lot time… I used some blue and some violet colours… and I don’t know where the blue colour disappeared. The fabric was light brownish when I put it in the machine and now… it’s like this…

Planning

Couple months ago I wrote a list about things I would want to do this year. But after that the whole list changed because we decided that after these 11 years it is finally time to start planning our own wedding. And I know that making weddingdressess will take a lot time. The wedding is not going to be during this year but propably at spring 2010. I haven’t yet decided what kind of weddingdressess to make for us, but it will be something renaissance. I would like a Tudor dress but it might be too hard to do and too expensive. And I now have a very good alternative choise which I am not yet going to reveal.

Also I am trying to learn and do this during the year 2009:

- more socks

- Viking Finn outfit for me

- new wollen tunic, pants (Viking) etc. for Ulf

- finish naalbinded mittens

- naalbinded socks

- practise tablet weaving (haven’t done that for about 5 years)

- food food foood... do more medieval/renaissance food at home (simply because it is fun)

- maybe practise smocking and lace making?

- continue Assisi table cloth project

- a Flemish jacket? and lot of other things. I know that I might need more clothes for next Cudgel War maybe another kirtle and another smock.

And also I am going to take a class of hardanger embroidery during this winter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardanger_embroidery. I am hoping that the class will help me understand how to make reticella embroidery.