Summer!

This might sound like a school essay titled “What did I do last summer” because it has been so long since I had time to write here and so many marvellous and wondrous things has happen!

Turku Medieval Market

Summer this far has been full of interesting events and medieval markets and unspeakable and awful heat a.k.a. scorchio (as someone has described it) anyway something hotter than hot never seen before in these latitude (or at least I haven’t seen). Week after Midsummer we and Elsa went to Turku Medieval Market. This time we didn’t spend long time at the market area. At Saturday we went to see Turku Castle. At the Historical Museum we saw an archaeological display of items they had found recently at one of the excavations at Turku. For me the most exiting finding for me was a piece of weaving heddle or rigid heddle or heddle for weaving simple bands (it’s very hard to find a good term in English for it) from 15^th century. It interests me because I want to learn the technique.

A piece of rigid heddle/ kappale pirtaa

Also very interesting was two pieces of woollen fabrics which had kept their colours quite well.

A pieces of red twill and green tabby/ pala punaista toimikasta ja vihreää palttinaa

And this piece of leather belt (there was a pouch, but I don't have good picture of it/ lisäksi tämä nahkainen vyön kappale (lisäksi nähtävillä oli vyölaukku, josta minulla ei ole kunnollista kuvaa)

New clothes

After Turku Medieval Market I had one normal work day and then my vacation finally started. I sewed like a crazy again for the Cudgel War (the new smock and a new kercief I finished at the event) and finished the new wollen Flemish peasant underdress for me. UlfR also managed to finish his braies. At Thursday we left to the event site (to help the event crew to fix the site for Friday when the event started).

Couple pictures of the new Flemish underdress and partlet/ muutama kuva uudesta flaamilaisesta alusmekosta ja partletista:

Cudgel War

Was a great event once again! This time I looked the event from the other perspective than I used to see it (means I didn’t spend the event at the kitchen). The heat made the event little bit challenging for the people but we survived and enjoyed the event anyway! It meant that people didn’t wear their woollen clothes all the time and they spend more time at the lake and at the sauna. At evenings when sun went down and air cooled little bit people seemed to got their strength back. This Cudgel War was the first Cudgel War for me to have time to go and see the war at the battlefield. And I saw almost all the tournaments that were held during the event. And the greatest thing of all was of course Oliver’s elevation to knighthood. It is very rare event here at the Aarnimetsä.

Arts and sciences lectures and workshops was this year better than ever in my opinion. Helena’s Herjolfsnes gown workshop was very good. I didn’t start my own but I helped Kerttu to cut her one. I am sure that now when I have the instructions about how to cut it I will cut mine soon. I hope to get some help for the fitting (which is always the question for me because I don’t have anybody here living near to us to help me).

I also went to Katheryn’s reliquary pouch (or alms pouch) class and started to make one for me. It is not finished yet. I hope that it will not turn out to be an UFO at the end of the year. I was more than happy that Estrid from Shire of Harpelstane (Scotland) taught me some basics about rigid heddle weaving!! (I have now ordered a rigid heddle for me from Lankadontti, I want to start learning as soon as possible).

Couple photos from Cudgel/ muutamia kuvia Nuijasta

View from Tofa's tent / näkymä Tofan teltalta

War/ sota

Hollola Medieval Market

Only a week after Cudgel War we went to Hollola Medieval Market. The market are held only every other year and some of the arrangers are our friends and we are paid members of Hollola Medieval Society aka Medieum Aevum Hollolense. We don’t live near to them and that’s why we seldom have opportunity to participate their activities, so I think that we are more like support members. This was our first Hollola Medieval Market and I really have to say that it was the best medieval market I have attended. Why, well it has more heart and soul and better atmosphere than I have ever seen. This time we saw the market from kitchen and from fire place. It is not very often that we have a chance to do food for 50 people at the open fire. The food was simple and it was for the people that were selling their things at the “big camp”. I really enjoyed the market!

Couple photos from Hollola/ muutama kuva Hollolasta

So what next? We are having three weeks without any plans! I have some ideas what to do next… but before that I will make our Viking wardrobe better. This month we’ll go to Sahra’s and visit Hämeenlinna Medieval Market. And I will start making plans and probably some new things for Civil War at Nordmark which is held at the first weekend of October. Yes, it looks like that we are going there, Yay!

**

Tuntuu kuin kirjottaisi kouluainetta aiheesta “Mitä tein viime kesänä”, niin paljon kaikkea hauskaa ja mahtavaa on tapahtunut viimeisen päivityksen jälkeen. Mutta tässä vähän tiivistelmää:

Turun keskiaikamarkkinat

Kesä on ollut täynnä mielenkiintoisia tapahtumia ja asioita ja sitä kamalaa kuumuutta ja hikoilun määrää, josta on saanut lukea myös muista blogeista ja lehdistä jne. Juhannuksen jälkeen seuraavana viikonloppuna Turussa järjestettiin keskiaikamarkkinat taas perinteiseen tapaan, jonne me Elsan kera suunnistimme. Tällä kertaa markkinoilla tuli vietettyä tavallista vähemmän aikaa. Sunnuntaina menimme käymään poikkeuksellisesti Turun linnassa, jossa oli kaikenlaista kivaa nähtävää. Museossa oli näytillä jonkin verran uusia arkeologisia löytöjä Turun alueelta. Mielenkiintoiseksi asian teki mm. se, että esineet olivat esillä pöydillä (ilman lasia tms.) ja asiantuntijoilta pystyi kyselemään lisätietoja! Ehkä mielenkiintoisin juttu omalta osaltani oli esillä oleva pala pirtaa (pirtanauha pirtaa siis). Samasta pirrankappaleesta ja monesta muusta pöydällä olevasta jutusta minulla on kuva ”Elämää Hansa-ajan Turussa” näyttelyesitteessä (jossa on hyviä värikuvia). Vanhin Suomessa löydetyistä pirrankappaleista on näyttelyesitteen mukaan 1400-luvulta, mutta en yhtään ihmettelisi jos sitä olisi harjoitettu Suomessa jo aikaisemmin.

Uusia vaatteita

Keskiaikamarkkinoiden jälkeen minulla oli yksi päivä töitä, jonka jälkeen muutama päivä lomaa ennen Nuijasotaa. Loma meni lähinnä vaatteita tehdessä. Tein Nuijasotaa varten uuden villaisen flaamilaisen alusmekon, röyhelöllä varustetun partletin, aluspaidan ja huivin. Uffe sai valmiiksi omat ensimmäiset braiesit. Torstaina lähdettiin jo Nuijasotaan auttamaan tapahtumanjärjestäjiä ja Perjantaina tapahtuma alkoi.

Nuijasota

Oli mahtava tapahtuma kuten aina ja suosittu kuten aina. Tällä kertaa pääsimme katsomaan tapahtumaa hieman eri perspektiivistä, eli ei pelkästään keittiöstä käsin. Kuumuus aiheutti omat haasteensa tapahtumalle, mutta me selvittiin! Vaikka vaatteista niitä villaisia ei voinutkaan käyttää koko-aikaa. Suuri osa ihmisistä viihtyi kuumimmat hetket järvessä. Illan tullen, kun aurinko meni mailleen, muuttuivat ihmiset huomattavasti pirteämmiksi. Tällä kertaa minulla oli aikaa nähdä sotatoimiakin kentällä sekä taisin olla katsomassa lähes kaikkia turnajaisia, jotka tapahtumassa järjestettiin. Tietysti tapahtuman kohokohdaksi nousi Humalasalon ahkeran Oliverin ritariksi nimittäminen lauantaina kuninkaan hovissa. Se oli mahtavaa se ja harvinaista täällä Aarnimetsässä.

Tieteiden ja taiteiden määrä ja laatu oli tänä vuonna mielestäni parasta koskaan! Helenan Herjolfsnes työpaja oli erittäin hyvä. En leikannut omaa mekkoani työpajassa, mutta autoin Kerttua leikkaamaan hänen mekkoaan. Nyt kun hyvät ohjeet ovat olemassa, varmaan jossain vaiheessa leikkaankin omani.. tosin toivottavasti saan jostain sovitusapua, koska yksin tätä mekkoa on vähän turhan hankala tehdä.

Menin myös Katherynin ”almupussi”-työpajaan. Toivottavasti saan aikaiseksi tehdä pussin loppuun eikä se jää roikkumaan UFO:na jonnekin korin pohjalle. Kiinnostusta olisi, mutta en tiedä onko aikaa. Mutta siis joka tapauksessa ehkä parasta oli se, että vihdoin pääsin jyvälle pirtanauhan tekemisessä, kun Estrid opetti alkeita pirtanauhasta minulle. Tilasinkin jo Lankadontista pirran, ja toivoisin pääseväni harjoittelemaan pirtanauhan tekoa mahdollisimman pian.

Hollolan keskiaikamarkkinat

Vain viikko Nuijasodan jälkeen järjestettiin Hollolassa keskiaikamarkkinat. Markkinat järjestetään vain kerran kahdessa vuodessa ja tämänkertaiset markkinat olivat meille ensimmäiset. Osa markkinoiden järjestäjistä on ystäviämme ja olemme myös Hollolan keskiaikaseuran jäseniä. Joskin ehkä enemmänkin statuksella kannatusjäseniä, koska matkaa Hollolaan meiltä on jonkin verran, joten pääsemme osallistumaan muihin seuran aktiviteetteihin harvemmin. Täytyy silti sanoa, että nämä markkinat olivat parhaimmat markkinat joihin olemme koskaan osallistuneet. Ehkä siksi, että näissä markkinoissa oli jotenkin enemmän sydäntä ja sielua sekä tunnelma kohdallaan. Harvemmin pääsee kokkaamaan nuotiolla 50 hengelle, mutta nyt siihen oli mahdollisuus. Se oli kivaa, joskin tietysti rankkaa, mutta etupäässä kivaa! Ruoka oli yksinkertaista ja sitä tehtiin isomman leirin tarpeita varten.

Mitäs seuraavaksi? Tässä kuussa on vielä Hämeenlinnan keskiaikamarkkinat, jonne olisi tarkoitus mennä. Paljon olisi kaikenlaisia ideoita, mutta ehkä kuitenkin keskityn viikinkivaatteiden paranteluun. Lisäksi aloitetaan valmistautumaan Civil War tapahtumaan lähtöön, joka järjestetään Nordmarkissa (Ruotsissa) lokakuun ensimmäisenä viikonloppuna :) .

Corset and some progress

We went to Turku to see Elsa and Teresa last weekend. At Friday we stayed at Elsa’s. I had UlfR’s Investiture shirt with me at Turku and I managed to sew a lot which is very good because it would be excellent if I could have it done by next weekend. Then at Saturday to Sunday we stayed at Teresa’s place. The main thing was to start making a corset to me to Investiture. It would be also very good to have the corset done as soon as possible so I would have some time to get used to wear one. We are not going to make the corset 100% period, there isn’t that much time... maybe next time when we don’t have to make things in haste? I am very happy about that Teresa promised to help me with fitting things and with the corset. I know that I can do something by myself but it is easier to have someone to the fitting. Again I am not going to post much pictures about this project not before the event. I also know that I have to make exceptions and maybe use sewing machine to have all things ready by the event :( .

This is the corset pattern we are going to use...

Now I have lots of sewing to do...

Cauliflower Soup

This weekend we wanted to try to use the crock pot and see how long it takes to make food with it. I wanted some soup so we decided to try Cauliflower Soup from Ken Albala’s Cooking in Europe 1250-1650. The recipe is early 17th cent. Belgian.

Cauliflower soup

Place in the pottage cauliflower, sausages, some chicken or pigeon or grilled mutton, and a bit of chopped mint.

My thoughts:

About 800 g cauliflower
450 g chicken (not marinated: breasts, legs what ever. If you use chicken with bones you should remove the bones before serving)
200 g sausages
fresh mint
chicken stock as much as you need to make a soup
(salt if needed)

Break the cauliflowers into florets and put them into a cooking pot. If you want you can fry the chicken with butter or olive oil before putting the chicken into the cooking pot. The chicken will taste better if fried. Cut the sausages into small pieces and put the pieces into the cooking pot. Add as much chicken stock as you need to make a soup. Slowly cook (about 4-5 hours if using the crock pot or about 1 hour if you use normal stove) as long as the cauliflowers are done. Add more stock or/and salt if needed. Sprinkle some chopped fresh mint to the pot before serving.

My lemon liqueur is almost done. It will be done till Cudgel Wars. Also my aniseed liqueur is done. I need to open next vodka bottle soon because I need to put some more vodka into the aniseed liqueur. So I have to decide what to do with the rest of the vodka. I am thinking about making some cherry liqueur. I think that if I do that soon the liqueur might be done by fall.

I am quite tired because I have been doing lots of work with my Italian dress and planning the foodstuff for the Cudgel Wars all the weekend. We woke up today about eight a clock and I found my self sewing at nine a clock. And last day was same than today (except that yesterday I spend little time outside weeding our front yard). I think that I will watch some TV now :D.

Lucet

The lucet is a very interesting gadget. Last Tuesday I went to city of Vantaa (near to Helsinki) because I had a job meeting there. I travelled by train and bus and it took all together abut eight hours going there and back. So I had plenty of time to read and for my crafts. I decided that this time I will bring my lucet with me because I need to make braids for my Italian ren. dress and for my black partlet also. For my Italian dress I need three braids because I am going to make three lacings for the bodice. Here are some links about the lucet and making braids with lucet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucet
http://kws.atlantia.sca.org/photos/lucet/

... and a picture about my lucet and the braid that I am making..

But anyway making something odd like crafts and reading an odd book about Medieval clothing or Medieval food makes other people in the same train or bus very interested. So I have learned now that if one want's to be alone one should not do anything odd like crafts (except knitting a sweater or something like that). Well, to be honest I don't mind people asking about what I am doing (but it is still little bit funny). I had a lovely conversation at the train with a woman (she is a high school Swedish teacher... I hope that you found my blog...) who sat next to me while travelling to Helsinki.

About the dress I am making.. I have fixed the pattern for my Italian dress bodice and I have started to cut the fabric. I have cut the lining for the bodice and today will cut some thick linen between the lining and the outer fabric. I think that I need to put a picture here about the progress also… I am making a dress similar than those in Vincenzo Campi’s beautiful paintings:
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/campi/vincenzo/index.html

It is finished but…

During my Easter holiday I finally finished my hand sewed Italian chemise. So it is finished but I am not happy about it. I like the fullness of the chemise and I think the sleeves and the length of the chemise is pretty ok. But the neckline… Ok I admit that I didn’t put too much time and effort on sewing the neckband to the chemise (because I knew that I am not going to like the neckline when it is finished). But still it is very frustrating to know that I need to take the neckband away and sew it back again. I know that it is common that when you sew you might have to undo it and do it again. Sometimes you have to do it more than once. I just hate it! I want everything to be perfect at the first time so I can start to do something else. The neckband is not cut on the bias because I wanted to make some blackwork in it. Usually when cutting the neckband to the square neck hole you should cut it on the bias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_(textile). So I really don’t know if I am ever going to be happy with my chemises neckline. We shall see. I will try to find mental strength to start it over again today.