Eva's journal

I've got an absolutely horrible cold. So bad that I just can't work, which really is very rare for me. I also lost my voice over teh weekend and it still sounds very funny and hurts if I talk to muhc. This would of course always be a problem for me, since I am a very talkative person, but now it is doubly so since I am to give one public speech (1,5 hours on 16th century clothing and changing perceptions of sex and gender) on Thursday and another on Saturday at the LGBTQ-festival (on the realtionship between clothing, masculinity and femininity from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.)
Today I've stayed home to try to recover, but tomorrow I first have a meeting with one of my daughter's psychologist, peopel from eher school etc and then a seminar where I will try and sell in an idea for an article to my colleagues. It's jus tthat I'm too ill to check out the stuff I needed to really show brilliant an idea it is.

What I do is to lie down and re-read the books in Susan Cooper's The Dark is rising series, cough an awful lot and in between try to cut out the pieces for a dress that I am going to sew to my best friend Inger as a birthday present. We went to buy the fabric this Saturdya, it's orange with a flower pattern that is sheer.

Today my wonderful girls Vendela and Valeria turn sixteen. They are so big! And pretty and smart. I am proud and happy to be their mother.

Maja's Saxon court gown is sewn together and I'm now working on the sleeves. Depending on the amount of pearls on the brustfleck I hope to have it all finished tomorrow night. Then cuffs on Vendela's and Valeria's smocks and then I may be able to make something for me for this Visby medieval week, I need to make some kind of new headwear for the Margareta Leijonhufvud gown. Maja needs something fancy too, since she has short hair now.

This has been a rather low day - on top of being really ill I had sort of an argument with a friend, which made me even more sad. But we cleared that and then my big girls came home since one of their classes was cancelled, so now everything is much better. I love them.

Today the best girls in the world turn fifteen! They can now legally have sex, drive a moped and be tried for criminal offenses. This far they have been asleep and I think they will wait a little with the other stuff.
Yesterday they celebrated with playing Shadows over Camelot:

They're actually almost the same height, it's just that they stand differently.

I have updated my web site with a page about Valeria's blue peasant dress.

Rickard is leading my teen daughters in a D&D campaign. They've been doing this for most iof the evening. I'm sorting and packing away garb, but I can't help listening and it is so amusing to listen to them; especially when they talk about the peculiarities of the local lord, who by mere coincidence is called "Lord Padraig", which is the name of camele0pard's SO. I'm chuckling and giggling most of the time

To my great joy Valeria's gown fit. Now it needs one hook and eye at the waist, I need to bind the sleeves and also to make black under sleeves and a petticoat. The partlet ruffle needs to be starched and shaped as well. This is the inspiration.

( Photo )

This the dress Valeria wants:




I'm using it as an inspiration, her partlet looks different and she will not wear the cap and veil of a married woman of course. It will be made from black wool. The skirt is lined and hanging to stretch and I made a mock-up for the bodice yesterday, now I only need to get her home so I can try it on; she's away to pick up her sister from her riding camp right now. So instead I'm making another shift for Maja.