Eva's journal

We're back from the event and it was really nice. The weather was wonderful and though I didn't get to hear them I'm sure the lectures were really interesting. I spent msot of the time with Maja and sometimes Valeria, but I managed to give my lecture and to finish Maja's 12th century dress. Valeria's was finished a week a go and is remade from one of my old early 14th century sleeved surcoats and I wore a really old woollen dress in a colour I adore. I think we represent our different ages in a reasonable way: Maja's dress is luxurious, but not laced, Valeria is wearing a laced highly fashionable gown and I'm wearing a dress with a looser fit and without the hanging sleeps, looking a bit more matronly. The current king and queen are doing 12th century so that's why I wanted us to all wear clothes from that period for the banquet.
Anyway, I'll write more later, here's the photo, taken by jehanearbonne:

I have way many things to do these weeks and with me being really ill the end of last week and the beginning of this I'm getting really super-stressed. Today I've done the radio show, which takes about four hours including travel time and now tonight I teach at our evening course in medieval history. Tomorrow I have to make four lemon pies and one chick pea paté before 1 pm for our event this weekend. I also have to pack fabric for decoration and bowls, candlesticks etc before that and ideally also mine, Valeria's and Maja's packing for the weekend so we don't have to bring it on the bus. At least it would be nice if the feast gear for the three of us could go by car then.
I haven't finished Maja's new 12th century dress either and can't decide what to bring myself. So I can't say that I'm thrilled about the event.

On Monday I bought a new lantern for my pavillion. Not only is it more correct than my brass and glass ones, but it of course doesnt' break as easily and takes up less space, which is important since there is more limited packing space this year. I will continue ot use the old ones when we bring the large pavillion, I don't care that much that they're not period, because to me they give the right atmosphere anyway and we need more lanterns in the larger pavillion. They also give more light of course, because of the glass panels.
But this one looks like a proper medieval brass lantern.




It was 250 SEK, which would be around 28 dollars or so.

Now we're going out to try putting up the new pavillion. I hope it goes smoothly.

We just got a phonecall from a guy who hade "goods" to deliver to me. Unless someone has unexpectedly sent me a present that way it must be my new tent!!!

I've spent a couple of hours today finishing the web page for bippimalin's journeywoman costume for Nordrike's tailor's guild. Go see! Unfortunately the text is only in swedish, but there are some detail shots you may not have seen before.

Here are lots of photos from Nordmark Principality tourney/St. Martin's feast that I didn't go to. Lots of my friends did, however, and it looks like they had a wonderful time. The castle is from the end of the 15th century and apart from some electricity cables it isn't modernized at all. And it has a moat.

The event was nice and relaxed and while Maja took up most of my time she was cheerful and nice while doing this. I passed tha first part of my Master's test in the tailor's guild and I now have a great lust to start sewing on the second part again. I need more, gorgeous 16th century outfits.
I managed to find the time to take in the blue peasant gown so I could wear it this weekend too:

( Blue peasant gown and an adorable photo of Maja )

Tonight is my medieval group's traditional christmas party. There will be a potluck and lots of marzipan, flavoured with rose water, saffron or dried fruit. We'll have a "kissing bush", dance, sing christmas songs and play games like blind man's buff. (The music will be mostly renaissance and so will the dances, since there are so few sources from before 1500. At least for the dances there are no exact descriptions before the second half of the 16th century.)
And everybody should have twelve kisses before they leave, for each of the twelve days of christmas and we'll drink warm lamb's wool (mulled cider with apples and whipped cream) It' usually a lot of fun.
Rickard is working, so I'm going alone with the girls and a friend of theirs.
I'm busy making blawmanger (chicken with rice and almonds) and rose pudding now and the girls are away playing football. I also try to do some tidying up and dusting, to at least get started on the christmas cleaning.
I'm trying to decide what to wear tonight. Valeria will wear her soon too small renaissance dress from last summer and Vendela and Anna (their friend) will wear 12th century. I would like to wear 12th century too, but Rickard won't be home to lace me and I'm not very agile these days and have great trouble seeing anything below my breasts. Probably I'll wear something from my Manesse wardrobe instead. I'm thinking about wearing a pink cotte and a blue surcoat lined with orange-brown. All in wool blends, with maybe 20 % poly or something. It won't be warm though so at least heat's not an issue. The outfit is based on this illumination, from the Codex Manesse, although her surcoat is lined with white, most probably fur. This blue surcoat, on the other hand, is lined with orange.
We used the last illumination for the invitations to our wedding and I plan to make these outfits for both of us. I have green and pink wool for Rickard, but have to buy red wool for a cotte for me. I will not be able to line his surcoat with vair, so I will either use white wool or a beautiful grey-white damask we got as a wedding present (it's patterned very discreetly with lozenges). But that's in the future.
Since my brother-in-law is coming I hope to get some pictures of whatever I'm wearing so I can present it at my web page later.

Well, I have to go back to the rose pudding