I had a beyond wonderful time at the last fair - a lot of people stopped by to say hello that I see way, way too rarely; I had lovely food (Margit treated me to Königsburger Klopse for one dinner) and lots of nice coffee and there was sunshine and warmth and general enjoyment. The fair featured a nice, large, well-lighted space with tables to sit and eat and drink and knit in one part, and most of the stalls in the second part, with a little foyer inbetween.

As usual, I didn't get out much from behind my table, but it was enough time to go on a button-hunting safari for the Most Patient Husband of Them All, who has almost finished knitting his cardi and needed buttons for that. So out I went, armed with a yarn sample (for colour coordination) and my phone and a size indicator and sent him photos of buttons I supposed might please him. I can definitely tell you that proxy-button-shopping is an exciting thing! (It was also successful, to my great delight.)

[caption id="attachment_3753" align="alignnone" width="1632"] As usual, I'm standing side by side with Margit from Alte Künste...


There was even a little knitting done in the evening - my five-toe socks are slowly creeping towards being done. And I definitely need to knit faster. Or spend more time knitting. Or, preferably, both... because, you see, there might have been a tiny little mishap at the fair.

You know that good resolution that we knitters tend to have? About not buying any more yarn before the last project is finished, or the stash has been diminished a little? Well. While I was flanked on one side by Margit's stall, I had Holles Wollfärberei on my other side. And when I returned from a quick run to fetch some coffee, I sort of got confused for a few minutes and turned left a few metres too late, and by the time I had sorted out my directions, I might have accidentally dropped some money at that stall, and some yarn might, in turn, have accidentally dropped into my bag.



I blame fair-addled brains. And her choice of blues.

So. That does look, to me, like a little cardi and a pair of socks, some assembly required. See why I need to knit faster?

(She has an Etsy shop. Just in case you wonder how to get that stuff.)

When I'm at the fairs, it's always fun to explain the simple yet ingenious principle of the oillight to people. A lot of them get just as excited about these little things as I am - especially those with a bit of a green soul and a bit of a love for tea on teapot-warmers, as it's possible to replace tealights with the oillight.

Explaining these things, I quickly learned that most of the visitors are really new to this old concept that's almost forgotten today: place a swimming wick-holder on top of some vegetable oil which in turn floats on some water in a glass of your choice. The wick will burn until the oil is used up (or you extinguish it).

Because the concept has been almost forgotten today, I ended up taking an explanatory video that runs on a little tablet in my booth - to help explain the thing, and show how the lights actually look when in use (safety restrictions keep me from just lighting one - no open fire allowed at any of the fairs).

Now I've finally managed to go over the oillight videos and get them embedded into my shop, and while I was at it, I did a translation of both of them (which for the German fairs were, obviously, subtitled in German). Yay! So you can now watch the show on my Youtube channel, when you are looking at the oillights in the shop... or right here:

The peach tree has started to bloom (probably because it felt like if Dutch trees are doing it, it should go ahead as well), my food for the weekend is all prepped and chilling in the fridge waiting to be packed, I'm cutting price tags (again! it is incredible how easy it is to not get them all right, or not cut straight!), and then I'll actually have some more time to spend on non-fair-prep stuff before I have to leave. I'd consider going out into the garden, but it's rather drab and grey today for a change - no complaints, though, as it makes the wise decision to do some writing instead easier, and it is also actually pleasant weather to drive in, as long as it won't turn to rain.

[caption id="attachment_3747" align="alignnone" width="393"] Peach blossoms!


If you're in the area, I will be stall number 52 at the Wollfest Hohenlohe - do drop by and say hello!

One of the fun things about having an online shop is sending things to all imaginable corners of the world. Another fun thing is getting to buy fun stamps to do exactly that...

I've always liked the variety of different stamps that you get in Germany. There's always a selection of different motifs for the different price categories, and they change regularly. So when I started sending out more stuff, and consequently buying more stamps, I also started trying to buy motifs that are nice and, if possible, somehow connected to either textiles or the Middle Ages.

Now imagine my delight when, a few days ago, I had to get new stamps and I found that there is one actually featuring the Rhoen sheep!



It's a special one about endangered livestock breeds. It's also coming with a pig partner, making the whole stamp rather huge, and (it has gum adhesive) a pain to properly stick to the box or envelope. I've had similar stamps once before, featuring Asterix and Obelix, so at least I know what to expect. The value is also not right for what I need, so I have to add two more (more boring) stamps to make postage.

So. Never mind all this, because Rhoen sheep, right? This is beyond cool, and I promptly got a stack of these stamps with the additional ones to get up to the value required. Which means that if you order stuff within Germany that I can send in a smaller package, you will probably get a bonus Rhoen sheep picture stuck onto it.

If you're ordering stuff to outside of Germany, you will probably get something very German as your stamp - bread. Germany is famous for its bread, which is not only a staple food, but also utterly delicious. German bread comes in a gazillion of variations, and the selections usually change with the region, but there's always a number of different breads to be had in any bakery worth their salt. You can read some more about German breads here, or here, or here.



I actually don't eat so much bread myself - but when I do, I thoroughly enjoy it, especially the pure rye variety that our bakery sells. So you'll be getting a little bit of German bread culture with your package that goes outside of Germany... (Unless you request the Rhoen sheep stamp when ordering. Then you'll get that one, if it's possible for your package... because I obviously know about the importance of sheep!)

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled blog with a double Call for Papers - here you go:

Lessons Learned: Textile Conservation - Then and Now
12^th North American Textile Conservation Conference, Ottawa, Canada, September 23 - 29, 2019

The twelfth biennial North American Textile Conservation Conference (NATCC) will be held in Ottawa, Canada, and will focus on the theme of “Lessons Learned – Textile Conservation – Then and Now.” The choice of the topic was inspired by NATCC’s return to the City of Ottawa, venue of our first conference in 1997. Analytical studies, conservation protocols, treatments, exhibition displays, and materials and techniques have evolved during the past 20+ years, often dramatically. We propose to revisit conservation procedures, best practices, collaborations, and other preservation guidelines carried out during the 1980s through the present.

Presentations may include, but are not limited to, evolving conservation protocols and best practices, including those for treatment, storage, travel and display; methodologies for technical analyses, scientific and historical research, collaborations among different stakeholders, and other topics as they relate to the field of textile conservation of tangible and intangible culture. Both successful and unsuccessful “lessons learned” are welcome. Specific cases where past treatments, methodologies, and/or collaborations are contrasted and reassessed according to contemporary needs and approaches, are especially welcome. Conservators, curators, conservation scientists, art historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, collection managers, designers, preparators and others are invited to submit proposals for presentations. Collaborations among professions are encouraged. Projects already presented or published will not be considered and proposed projects must be complete by the end of 2018.

Abstracts must be submitted by May 11, 2018. Abstracts will be peer reviewed by the NATCC board. Authors of selected papers and posters will be notified by August 3, 2018. Presentations will be 20 minutes long; there will be time for questions.

Please visit the website for the full information on submission and any updates at http://natcconference.com .

If you're based in Europe, this one might be more accessible for you:

16. annual meeting of European association for the advancement of archaeology by experiment in Unteruhldingen/Germany, 27. September - 30. September 2018
This year's meeting of the European Association for the advancement of archaeology
by experiment takes place in Unteruhldingen/Germany in the Lake dwelling museum
and the World Heritage room. In the European year of cultural heritage 2018, we would
like to devote ourselves especially to the practice of experimental archaeology and
school as well as the mediation to young audiences. For this conference we ask for
presentations. Lectures on the latest methods of investigation of finds and findings,
possibilities of analysis and reconstruction as well as reports of scientific
demonstrations and associated museological methods of mediation are again in focus.

End date for submission of papers: 15 May 2018
The conference will take place from September 27 to September 30. 2018, lectures on
September 28 and 29, 2018
Conference languages are German and English.
Registration is possible via www.exar.org.

I don't know how much English will be actually spoken at the conference, as it's been years since I was last able to attend (the date somehow always clashed with some other event that I already had confirmed). It used to be rather German-heavy, language-wise, but things may have changed.

 
 

... is before the fair.

Today, though, I spent mostly relaxing and doing fun things - a little hanging out with the cat, a little gardening, a leisurely walk to the bakery to buy some bread, and otherwise not much apart from paying a few bills and answering a few emails.

There's lovely flowers blooming in the garden and in the car parking space that our neighbour has, and their scent wafted over to me - incredibly strong in the sun's warmth:



Tomorrow will be spent doing the fair homework (there hasn't ever been  a fair from which I went home without a list of things to do) and, hopefully, getting some writing done again for a change...

Well, not actual zombies. Just me, feeling slightly like one after the weekend and taking a day off - so you are getting flowers:



These were in time for easter, as befits their German name Osterglocken (Easter Bells).

You're also getting plants, or plants-to-be:



I managed to finally get my tomatoes started, plus some other plants. Now they can grow until mid of May, when they will be set out into the garden - and hopefully bear lots of fruit!