Planning..

I should be resting but I am too excited. I am thinking about the Summer Coronation and what I should do before that. The Summer Coronation is going to be at Viking Village near Stockholm this summer and the theme is of course Viking. It’s camping event so I will take wool clothes with me although it’s summer and it’s supposed to be warm. Here are the things I am planning to do before the event:

Fix the white linen Eura style under dress
Make another linen Eura style under dress
Make a long belt (tablet woven)
Make an apron and decorate it with bronze spirals (I hope that I have enough bronze for the decoration, I might have to buy more)
Decorate the upper dress with bronze spirals also (not sure about this yet, I might leave the dress as it is now)
a headdress (I have couple of ideas for this)

And now.. I concentrate on getting better.. need more strength for doing thing :). 

(I put some pictures about the brown wool Eura style under dress to my Flickr account  )

The Mooseskiing, Viking Clothing and Flu

After the Mooseskiinig (eight days ago) I got a bad flu and I couldn’t do anything except sleep and watch TV. I still have this week off from work and my fever is almost gone so I can stay little bit at the computer and write something. 

The Mooseskiing was very fun event. I missed the actual Mooseskiing but I heard that it was very cool. The idea was something about the populace of canton of Torna had made elfs angry and the people at the event had to do different tasks so we could get dinner. And at the end they tried to kill the moose (made of snow) with spears. Later during the feast the moose appeared to the feast hall and it yelled and pooped golden chocolate eggs. Very extraordinary :D. I am not sure if the Torna people have now made the moose angry or what. Ok.. but anyway there was some heavy fighting as well and a archery competition. It was the first archery competition for me (I was miserably bad.. only hit once to the sack … but not the animal figure at the sack which I was supposed to shoot). And it was Ulf’s first time to try archery also and he liked it very much. Now I have to start talking about buying the bow and arrows to us :D. Our (Sahra’s and mine) handicraft workshops went also well. We end up cutting a Eura style under dress for the baroness Katariina and Rikissa and Elzebeth got their patterns for the dress also. I taught little bit naalbinding to Kaukameeli and Sahra was very busy with teaching the tablet woven basics for Torna’s young ladies. And what about the food! I was absolutely fantastic!! Very simple ingredients, enough spices lots of Laplander touch at the menus.  

The journey to the event and back was also easier and funnier than I thought. It took about 9 hours in one way to travel. We went to the event with Robert and Vilhelm (Robert was driving) by car. So I had plenty of time to do things. I started to do a naalbinded hat for Vilhelm (as I had promised couple months ago). Here is footage about the progress of making the hat while going to the event and back again: 

8th of April at 11.30 a.m.

at 3.43 p.m.

at 5.35 p.m.

11th of April at 6.41 p.m. ... Done

Besides the apron (and a headdress) I now have a set of Viking Finn outfit. The white linen Eura style under dress is a little bit too long and I am going to fix it as soon as I can. My blue wool upper dress is very good and I am happy about it. Still I am planning to put some bronze spirals to the end of the tablet woven decoration. I am very happy with the brown wool Eura style under dress also (unfortunately I don’t have very good pictures about the dress yet). I can wear the linen and the brown dress together with or without the blue over dress, or separate with the blue over dress. How versatile!

Back home, before the flu, Ulf and I put together my Eura style necklace. I am planning to change some of the glass beads to the better ones as soon as I can. It is very pretty, but looks too “clean” to me. Oh, and I almost forget… I bought the bronze brooches and some bronze chain from Thorstein at the event.

8.4.

We have had some problems with our computer at home and that’s why updating this blog has been difficult. The problems are not yet solved but I will do some serious actions next week if it will not be better till Monday. So no photos this time :( .

Despite of the problems I have lots of good news. Both related to the personal life and hobbies. We have now set a date for our marriage (it’s during May 2010). The ceremonies will be held at Pyhtää medieval church. It is obviously easier now to start making things because now we know the deadline for things. I have been lazy and not ordered the fabrics fot the wedding dressess (I am trying to do it as soon as possible... I can do things quite quick when I started to do something). And the good news that are related to the re-enactment are that I finished the upper dress for the Viking Finn outfit yesterday and as I have told my woolen under dress is finished and the linen underdress is almost finished. I borrowd my mom’s tablet woven belt (that I have made) and I am lacking only apron and headdress (well I don’t know if I really need a headdress but anyway). And I need some jewellery aswell.. I did some digging at home and I “found” some Kalevala Koru jewellery that I can wear with the Viking dressess (it is very common here at Finland to give Kalevala Koru jewelleries for birthday, graduation etc. gifts). Some of the Kalevala Koru jewelleries are based on Viking Age archaeological findings at Finland.

This evening I am going to pack for the Mooseskiing/Border War event and do little sewing (we are leaving early tomorrow). I can’t pack lots of things because there will be four people at the car (9 hours drive to the event site HUH!)... but I will pack some cooking books for Elzebeth and some craft books etc. for the handicraft workshop that we are going to have at the event.

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.