Eva's journal

So, what has happened the last week?

I made up for most of the lectures that I missed the week before due to illness. I was still rather ill up to Thursday Wednesday, but managed both a trip to another town with my students on Tuesday to look at the Bocksten bog man, and the rest of my classes.

I finished the embroidery on, and attached the first sleeve on Valeria's 16th century camicia. I have also started on the next sleeve.

 Monday : Giving two lectures , one 10-12 (What is textile history) and one 15-17 (Ancient Greece)
Tuesday one lecture, pagan pub moot in the evening and I was responsible for the booking so I had to go.
Wednesday: One lecture (Ancient Rome), full moon celebration in my home in the evening. Which meant vacuuming and mopping the floors in the kitchen where we celebrate when we're at my place.
Thursday: No lectures, preparations for later lectures, excursions etc and I tried to write an abstract. Sewing meeting at my place 16-20.30. I managed to take apart my wedding dress, which is in Italian 15th century style and needs to be taken in if I'm going to wear it. I also made a modern stretch top before the meeting.
Today: Laundry. At 1 pm my friend Terese defends her PhD, then her PhD party.
Saturday: Talk over the phone with my friend Sara (yes, these things have ot be scheduled), hopefully a walk with hubby and then I'm babysitting Anna's son over the night.
Sunday: Hopefully some sewing.

Fun, but a bit exhausting.

Next week I have only one lecture, and then on Wednesday I'm going to Berlin for the Dressing the Early Modern conference.

I started working on taking in two of my many too large skirts on Saturday night. Unfortunately I was rather tired and stupid, so while I removed the right amount in the side of one skirt, I removed the same amount on both sides of the other one!
I can close it, but it's not comfortable, so I will have to add small gussets at the sides. Very irritating. But at least I know that I am the kind of person who will actually do it, and soon (probably this afternoon), not just put the skirt away.

The semester starts in a week and I need to have some more professional looking clothes to wear.

In other news I've re-made my net and lace regency cap cap, made a triangular fichu from spotted net with a lace edge, started the embroidery on Valeria's new 16th century smock and also sewn the skirt of a white muslin 1790s round gown.

Add to this that I have had family over to celebrate the twins' birthday, been to a football game, and to a manifestation for Afghan refugees - I think we can without doubt say that my weekend has been productive.

Now I just have to be productive at work too. Today the plan is to finish my presentation for the Dressing the Early Modern Network conference in Berlin on the 15th of September, and to unpack books at my new work place. Tomorrow I will have to start on a new class on written sources to dress history that I'm giving on the 5th of September.

 I survived the 11,5 hours long work day with the excursion with the students  at our "Viking and medieval Scandinavia" course on Wednesday. I have graded tests, made new tests, done the final correction on an article, given three lectures and I'm having another one tomorrow.

And I have packed all my stuff, and everything needed for the pavilion, and this evening Johan came and picked up .. so soon, soon I can go to Double Wars and relax. Only "the Soviet state up to c 1950" and all the packing for Rickard and Maja left to do. I even painted a banner for Maja today.

Of course, I haven't made my class notes for my class on "Cotton in medieval Europe" that I'm giving at Double Wars on Thursday, but I can always finish those at the site.

So, I'm happy, but stressed enough to be rather hyper too.

 Today I'm going to the Swedish History conference, which is held every three years at different universities. This year it's in Sundsvall, which from my southwestern perspective is far north, but which actually just at the middle of Sweden geographically. Unlike here it's still winter there however, and that is something I don't look forward to.

I'm flying instead of taking the train because I had two lectures yesterday and there was no way that I could get there in time (between 8 and 13 hours train trip depending on when you go). Flying is really bad for the environment so I feel bad about that - but I also love the actual flying. And that means that I'm free to do whatever I want this morning. Or, there is work that I should do, but I'll do some of it on the plane and spend this morning relaxing a little instead. And some crafting, obviously.

I will get there too late to go to the reception mingle, but I will have a much better evening: People of the shire of Gyllengran will come ever for tea and crafting. I'm staying in a guest flat which belongs to the co-op where Hillevi, a woman from there, lives, so we will have a nice place to hang in.

My presentations (I have two) are in the two first sessions on Thursday morning, which is a little stressful - but on the other hand means that by lunch time I have done all my duties and can just relax and have fun.

Thursday evening is the conference dinner and I am going to wear my dotted wrap dress. Luckily it still looks good on me, even if I'm thinner now than I was when I took that photo (= less cleavage, not necessarily a bad thing).

And Friday afternoon I am going home rather early, because it's Maja's birthday. I will have a teenager again.

 1. Relax, I had an evening lecture yesterday after all, and try on and clear out my extensive collection of socks.

2. Write on my paper on home sewing and ideals of womanhood in the 1920-1940 (circa)

3. Continue my work on getting images for my article in "Costume"


And then my friend Alfhild will come over and we will work on scrolls, or sew, and I will eat my first dinner since Christmas day.

I now have my tramadol pills and can function almost like a normal human being (or at least as an imitation of normal) again. Friday was wonderful - so many cool women researching different aspects of weekly magazines - from the kind of matronly family magazines I study to articles in porn mags. And I met a woman who is very much interested in the same topics as I am, so we decided that we must have a research project tgether and apply for money for that.

Saturday morning was spent working on a scroll. At 1 pm I met up with some friends at Järntorget, a square where neonazis have been manifesting on Saturdays three times now. The idea was to be there first, if they should come. The organization "Allt åt alla" (Everything for Everyone) brough coffee and cookies which they gave out to everybody who wanted. The rather large group of Roma migrants begging in the area seemed happy about that :)
The nazis didn't come this Saturday, but we spotted some of them scouting the square, so it may be that 30 people obviously gathered there to protest scared them It is likely that they will be back next Saturday though, so we will be back then too. I didn't bring Valeria, who usually accompanies me to demonstrations this time; not only was she taking her younger sisters (my Maja and her dad's Angelina) to the movies to see "Moana", but these are violent young men trained in diverse fighting techniques, so I prefer not to bring my kids, even if they are 22 years old.I'm glad nothing happened yesterday, but I'm not depending on it staying this way, so I am also grateful to have someone who can take care of Maja if I have to go hospital or something like that (and Rickard is working).

On my way home I stopped at a charity store and found these, hardly used:



for 125 SEK, which is about 14 dollars.

Today I am going to do the calligraphy on the abovementioned scroll, and then we are going to IKEA to get a rug for Maja.

I'm too busy with work to write anything longer. I have tests to grade, new courses to administrate and new classes to prepare. Craft wise Måns and I have worked on his waffenrokk and it comes along nicely, there will be photos when it's finished. I also knit a hat for Maja and cut her hair really short.

Now I have to get back to grading tests.

...I defended my PhD dissertation Kläderna och människan i medeltidens Sverige och Norge (clothing and the individual in medieval Sweden and Norway).
Most of you were around then, and before that, so I won't go into details.



In a way can't believe it's already ten years, it doesn't feel like that. In other ways I can see what those ten years have done to me; I am so much more confident in my role as a researcher and teacher now.

I will not celebrate it in any particular way, except not working any more today and instead have some tea and continue on a craft project.