What I did on my summer vacation

The days at Pennsic went by so fast this year! I had more responsibilities this year, participating at Court, volunteering with hospitality, teaching a class about spindle whorls. I had hoped to have some free time in camp to card wool, spin and nalbind, but as usual, I filled all my hours with classes. There are so many new and interesting things to learn! Unrelated to textiles, I took classes in medieval math, the history of labyrinths, architecture, and dancing. I suppose that's appropriate for a meanderer. And of course I took as many textile classes as I could. My favorites were taught by Barbara Klessig. She taught a class on the textile tools found on Gotland, Sweden. I found it interesting that the whorl shapes were mostly disks and spheres - quite different from the whorls found at Ribe, Denmark, although many were a similar size.

The second class she taught was reproducing weave structures found in medieval textiles. After learning about the different weaves, we were able to weave our own samples. I was rather slow and only completed 3 of the 4 samples. But I am very pleased with how they turned out:

Tabby, in the style of Coptic tunics woven as one piece.

This "waffle" pattern was found in a 10th century textile from Coppergate.

The rosette was fairly easy to weave. The complicated part was threading the warp correctly.

All of the samples were made on a rigid heddle loom with 3 heddles. I had so much fun with this project that I bought myself a little loom. (Yes, despite my insistence otherwise, I am turning into a weaver.) I want to make a larger piece like the Coppergate textile, and play with twill patterns.

I also took a class in 14th century nalbinding. This is very different from typical Norse nalbinding - simpler and more complex at the same time. Many of the artifacts are gloves made with the buttonhole stitch. The complexity comes from the fineness of the threads and the hole patterns made with the stitches.

I think I will put making a silk glove on my project "to do" list. But don't hold your breath - it will take a long time to finish.

New fibers to spin

We are back from Pennsic. I'll write all about it later this week. I was excited to be able to buy a few new fibers to spin. I've come home with hemp, musk ox and guanaco to spin. Can't wait to try them!