Even though I had a few days off to relax and take a breather afterwards, the NESAT is still on my mind. It was a wonderful time with old colleagues and friends and the opportunity to meet new people, and I enjoyed every second of the conference.

NESAT is special, and this year it was extra-special, with the opportunity to visit the archaeological excavations in the bronze age salt mines, and a tour around Hallstatt. In case you haven't been there and have no idea about how it looks there, let me tell you: Hallstatt is spectacular, in more than one way. You have alpine scenery with those big, imposing mountains all around; the Hallstatt lake which is large and quite clear and very beautiful; and the combination between those two is really breathtaking. The weather throughout the week was wonderful, hot and sunny, and only very slightly overcast on some days, so we all got to enjoy summery weather. That included ice cream splurges and sitting outside for dinner in the evening.

The papers and posters were very interesting, and everybody kept to the time, so we all got to enjoy the breaks as scheduled (with minimal changes here and there, as is usual at a conference). It was so nice meeting and chatting with all the other textile folks - and the days went by in a blur, they passed so fast. At the end of the conference, I was quite happy that it was over, while at the same time very much regretting that it was already over. (A brain can only take so much archaeological textiles at a time... even if everything is wildly interesting.)

It's a pity that NESAT is only every three years, and then only for about four days. On the other hand, it's a big thing to organise, and handling all this every three years only is obviously much easier for the NESAT board than doing it every or every second year. I'm already looking forward to the next one in 2017, myself - it will be in the Czech republic, that time, and getting to see and to know some more of the Eastern colleagues will be a wonderful thing.

(Sorry for the very late blog post - sometimes my Firefox acts up, and it takes beyond forever to load a page... that was the case this morning, so internet work got delayed.)

There's this conference, started years ago by two textile archaeologists who felt it was a lonely occupation. It's taking place every three years, and it has grown a lot over time. Once upon a time, after it started, it was a smallish, private-ish conference where you needed to know someone to get in, and give a paper too. By now, it has become much more open (starting with the one in Copenhagen 2008, the first one that I attended), and you can just register and participate... provided you can stand the idea of having a large bunch of textile archaeologists talking textile, textile, textile, for several days in a row.

I'm talking about NESAT, of course. The wait is over, and after spending the weekend frantically getting everything that needed to be done before end of next week wrapped up, I am now on my way to Hallstatt. Where I will meet lots of lovely colleagues again, and finally get to see the glorious salt mines of Hallstatt. Where I will probably stay up way too late and chat way too much and have loads and loads of fun. Where I will have absolutely no time, and no inclination, to write a blog post for you (sorry, but that's the plain truth).

So I'm taking a blog break until June 2 (I'll be taking a few days off after the conference). Have a good time until then!

The time has come - the Call for Papers and the registration form for our next Textile Forum are online. As usual, you can find them at www.textileforum.org.

This year, our conference will take place from 3-9 November, and our focus topic is "Plant Fibres: Materials, Techniques, Problems". We've touched on plant fibres now and then in the previous Forums, but there's usually much more been said and done on wool and silk, so we would like to have this as the focus topic for a change.

Just like we did last year, we're planning to make it a combination of papers and practical sessions, and we're looking forward to the suggestions and proposals coming in.

If you're interested in the Forum, or know someone who might be interested, please pass on the Call for Papers - we're happy to see it spread out!

Do you know that feeling that the plan of the year slowly emerges out of fog and nothingness? January and February are the two months when plans are made and dates are fixed, and the calendar becomes spattered and sprinkled with colourful spots all over. It's an exciting time every time it comes around!

And for 2014, there are a few things fixed that I am really looking forward to already.

As usual, I will be in Freienfels with my market stall. Freienfels this year is April 30 to May 4, and the market is open for all visitors during the weekend.

Next on my calendar is the International Museum Day on May 18, which I will spend at the Stadtmuseum Bietigheim-Bissingen, demonstrating spinning technique both with distaff and spindle and with the Great Wheel.

Right after that comes the NESAT in Hallstatt, a conference I've been looking forward to for, as usual, the last three years.

Next up is a semi-private medieval event in Herzberg, running from June 27 to July 6. The event after that is the exact opposite to private, however: Together with Margit Ströbele from Alte Künste, I will be running a dealer's table at LonCon3! I will also give a paper about textile techniques on the academic programme there. If you are at LonCon, make sure to drop by!

If you want to learn a textile technique or need assistance in tailoring a garment, I have course dates planned for September 6-7 and October 25-26. As usual, details and booking info can be found on my shop page.

And the last date already fixed and agreed upon for 2014 at the moment is our next Textile Forum, which will take place 3-9 November, again in Mayen (we love it there). If you want to keep informed about the Textile Forum, you can subscribe to our newsletter on the Forum homepage.

And if you want to keep informed about my upcoming events and dates, you can always check the list of them on my homepage.

As you can see, the year promises to be full of interesting events already, and I am looking forward to maybe meeting a few more of you this year.

It's time for a little textile conference stuff - exciting things are coming up!


First of all, NESAT. The next one is taking place in Hallstatt, and the preliminary programme is online. Also, the proceedings from last NESAT are now out and available from Verlag Marie Leidorf.As usual, you should also be able to get them via your book dealer of choice.

The CTR Copenhagen also has a few conference announcements on their website, including a conference about traditional textile crafts early in 2014.

If you have been in thorough contact with textile crafts, especially tablet weaving, chances are high that you have read at least one book by Peter Collingwood. Sadly, he died a few years ago (here's an obituary). The Early Textiles Study Group, where he was a member until his death, now has a CfP out for a conference about Crafting Textiles from the Bronze Age to AD 1600: A tribute to Peter Collingwood. The conference will take place in London 10 to 11 October 2014, the CfP is open until January 31, 2014. Here is the conference website, in case you would like to be part of this.

The event is based on an international, interdisciplinary and intercultural format meant to spark a lively and informative dialogue among speakers and participants from a variety of backgrounds, professions and points of view. The three day event will not only feature an impressive selection of high profile presenters, but also all inclusive behind-the-scenes visits and excursions to exclusive places and sites pertinent to the interests of all who attend.

They are looking for papers from all kinds of backgrounds,  and the CfP is open until August 22 2013. Technically, there is a website, but there is no info whatsoever there apart from three rather unrelated links; so if you are interested, it's probably best to contact info(at)costume-textile.com directly.

The international digital heritage congress will take place from October 28 to November 1, 2013, in Marseille, France. More info, as usual and expected, on their website.

And finally, don't forget about the European Textile Forum - we still have some very few spaces left!

There will be a symposium about the textiles in the newly renovated Rijksmuseum Amsterdam in October, with lots of conservators and textile historians giving papers and an overview about the collections. The event will be on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 October 2013, and involves curators and restaurators from the Fine and decorative arts department, the History department and external ones talking about the selection and the historical background of tapestries, textiles, costumes, kimonos and accessories, as well as about interior textiles which are used in the reconstructed 19th century style room, textile upholstery and 20th century sculpture textile.In addition, there will be lectures on the conservation, research, treatments and preparations that were needed for installation of the objects in the museum.

It does sound like a very lovely event, and registration is now possible via their website (where you will also find a link to the programme and hotel info). There's not too much information about how much medieval objects they have (and how much they will be spoken about in the conference), but my wild guess would be that the focus will be on more modern textiles - there is a lot of stunning medieval pieces in their collection, browsable (partly) online. (The English translation does not work for the actual data or the search mask - you can look for wol, zijde, katoen, weefsel, linnen to find wool, silk, cotton, fabric, linen. Or, as I did for the link, narrow down a timeframe via the advanced search.)