Viking Finn outfit

I have been busy lately with making my first Viking Finn outfit (it will be more like Eura style outfit..). I am trying to make a brown wool underdress, white linen underdress, blue wool over dress (peplos type) and a brown wool apron for Mooseskiing/ Borderwar event http://www.reissut.com/hirvenhiihto/mspaa.html . At Easter, when the event is going to be, the weather might be still cold there at Northern parts of Aarnimetsä. So I need lots of warm clothes.

I am currently sewing the brown wool underdress with wool thread (it is almost done), I haven't cut my linen underdress yet (I will try to do it today), I have dyed the wool for 0ver dress and for the apron and I have made 4 m tablet woven band to the over dress. I don't have proper bracelets, necklace, brooches etc. If I don't have time to buy (or make necklace) jewellery then I will borrow the things that I must have to keep the dressess together. I don't have time to make bronze spirals to my apron but I am trying to do it before Summer Coronation. But it sounds still a mission impossible to have everything ready by Easter. If my hand doesn't argue with me I can be quick handsewer.

But anyway I will do as much as I can and Sahra has promised to borrow the rest of the things I need. And I am still trying to do neat stitching although there isn't much time left.

Recipes from the book of Sent Sovi

I have put the recipes from the Book of Sent Sovi to my web pages, the same recipes we tried with Sahra at the end of the February. There are a meat stew recipe, a recipe about lentils, a recipe about baked aubergines and a recipe about fried cheese. Yum! Yes, fried cheese with sugar can’t be bad!

I am not completely happy about the web pages. They are free but very limited to use.

Oh, I have to go to clean our house now.. we are going to have a friend visiting us this weekend.. which is fantastic! I love to have quests! I am going to cook a lot.

...and I have included short translations in Finnish as well...

New Book

A new book "Merchants, Princes and Painters: Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings, 1300-1550" arrived last Friday. It looks very interesting and the pictures in it are fabulous.

9.3.

We attended to Hukka Spring Ball last weekend and I think that it was our first Hukka Spring Ball event ever (it's hard to remember.. but I am quite sure). That is because we don’t usually dance... well we can dance some very easy dances but that’s it. Anyway it is a very good event for people who love dancing. I spend most of my time at kitchen. Well there weren’t so many things to do and it was pretty easy job. I had also enough time to finish Elsa’s mittens. The weekend’s result: lots of new books (mainly about embroidery patterns or making embroidery), finished mittens, cheerful feeling, increased courage in driving at Helsinki area and a notice that my old dark woollen gown needs some serious fixing if I want to use it again.. I have almost worn it out. So more excuses for making new dresses :D.

The most interesting news I read today was about this perfume bottle from about 1350 and especially the findings of cotton wadding inside of the bottle:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/feb/14/perfume-bottle-erfurt

Tired

I didn’t sleep very well last night.. maybe I was thinking about this weekend and going to the Hukka Spring Ball event. There is nothing to stress about with the event, I am just making some simple snacks there. Well... I don’t know. Next weekend I will be at home and “rest” (read: do handicrafts). This week at home I have been mostly at the computer reading emails and planning the coming weekend. But I had little bit time to start the tablet weaving project that I have with Sahra. She has been busy and made one ribbon already.. I have just started.. but the ribbon that I am making looks very nice. I am taking Elsa’s unfinished mittens to the Spring Ball and if I have some spare time I will try to do some naalbinding. I have also updated the web pages (just added some links)...

The Fabric Samplers

...are here. The fabrics are not good... they are perfect! I am very happy now :).

Crazy Weekend

If I want to do things with friends I have to travel. We don’t have any SCA-members or other re-enactors living near to us. So it is time to time a little bit boring to do things all alone. This time we travelled to Lahti to do things with Sahra and Knut and boys. Boys played roleplaying games and Sahra and I did… erm.. lots of other things

But before going to Lahti Ulf and I went to Hämeenlinna to visit Seppo (the Cobbler). He is going to make shoes such as this for us for our wedding: http://www.curiousfrau.com/Images/Kat_23.jpg . The shoes are called “Cow mouth shoes”.

During the last weekend I started to make a basic hood, new socks, and a Viking Finn underdress (Eura style) for me (and we cut the dresses for Sahra and Kira as well). We also made lots of balls of wool yarn for out tablet weaving project. (I just heard that Sahra’s first band for this project is done).

A small dog can be also very entertaining and helpful with wool yarns. This is Eikka, Sahra’s lovely little furry nose.

I also have started to practise German renaissance embroidery (brick stitch) not with silk that it should be done, but with wool. It is very addictive. I have done very little embroidery with wool ever.

At Saturday we went to Mia’s shop and I bought some glass beads and coins for my Viking necklace. That reminds me that I have to sort how many beads and things I already have for the necklace. Also at Saturday we spend most of the time cooking (or it felt like that). We tried four recipes from the book of Sent Sovi (from Catalan around middle of the fourteenth century). The food was delicious! As soon as I have time I will write the recipes and put pictures to my web pages. And other things also..

So lots of cutting fabrics, making balls of wool yarn, drawing patterns and little bit blackwork practise for Sahra. I now have wool now for Vilhelm’s naalbinded hat.

When we came back to home my blue silk embroidery threads for the Assisi style tablecloth had arrived. But I haven’t got the fabric samples for the wedding dresses yet… still waiting.