Spinning has started - though I'm not too happy with some of the test batch. However, things were learned (I have found the point where there is actually too much twist in the yarn!), my fingers have the feel for what I will be aiming for (which is closest to my standard spinning thickness in this first batch, so it's a nice starting point), and the workplace is now nicely set up for the real thing.

Speaking of the workplace, here it is, ready to get started again (the first bit of wool is already sitting on the skeiner, visible in the background):


Apart from the obvious bits (such as the spinner itself and the hook for threading the yarn through the orifice), you can see a mirror to the left and some more tools to the right. The mirror is for seeing how the wind-up progresses so I can move the loops on the flyer in time. The tools on the right are for checking the yarn diameter - it's my Spinner's Little Helper Card, and because the yarn is thin and light-coloured, there's also a magnifying tool so I can clearly see the spinning angle.

The spinning can commence!

I'm all excited, as a project for a museum is coming to be realised - and it involves spinning. A lot of spinning.

Handing in a project pitch always means waiting afterwards, and it is by far not sure that the project will actually get done. So you do the research work beforehand, and all the planning, and all the calculations, and then you hand it in... and hope. Sometimes it is accepted quickly, and sometimes it takes a few weeks or months, and sometimes it never comes through, which means it is a gamble each time to invest a lot of energy and resources (time among that, of course) into the planning and pitching - but then, you have to do that, otherwise there's no chance at all of anything getting realised.

Which means that pinch of extra "hooray" when it does, and this is a project that is really exciting for me, as it involves replicating medieval fabrics. Hand-woven, from hand-spun yarn, in three, actually even four different types that are all made from wool but all very, very different in character.

All together, it will be more than ten kilometres of yarn... which is exciting, and a little daunting, and makes me incredibly happy at the moment.

So, obviously, spinning is what I will be doing this afternoon - I'm packing my things together right now, as there is (by convenient chance) a spinning get-together right this afternoon, which I had planned to attend anyway, doing some private for-fun spinning. I'll just be swapping out the "private" now... and give the shiny little e-spinner something to do. Yay!

It's raining outside, which is not nice since I need to run errands - and that means cycling... so soon now, I will be venturing out into the rain.

The cat, meanwhile, is not venturing out into the Great Big Cat Shower - of course not:


Smart cat.

In other news, I've been successful in testing material for a box for my new market/fair stall display boards (which are incredibly nice to have, since they save me a gazillion of setup and takedown time), so I can do the final design now. Which is nice - and a project for this winter.

I also made candied orange peel - which is used for quite a few traditional German Xmas baked things, such as Stollen. Which I am contemplating. (The baking, that is.) Making the candied peel wasn't such a great act as I had thought. Basically, you cut the peel (from untreated oranges, preferably organic, obviously) into small bits, boil them in water for 3 minutes, repeat that again with fresh water (this removes most of the bitterness) and drain them. Now you weigh the boiled peel. Take that amount of sugar, add enough water to make a thick syrup, and simmer the peel in the syrup for one hour.

Once they are done simmering, drain them (you can use the leftover syrup for sweetening other things) and dry them in the fan oven at 60° C for about two hours, periodically stirring them. Store in a glass with some added sugar to prevent them from sticking together.

There you go. Candied orange peel. Tastes lovely!

 

Aarhus University Press has another free e-book of the month that might be of interest for you: Things from the Town. Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-Age Kaupang.

It's a thick volume with its 485 pages, listing many different items. The official description for the book is this:

In this third volume deriving from the excavations of the Viking town of Kaupang of 2000-2003, a range of artefacts is presented along with a discussion of the town's inhabitants: their origins, activities and trading connexions. The main categories of artefact are metal jewellery and ornaments, gemstones, vessel glass, pottery, finds of soapstone, whetstones and textile-production equipment. The artefacts are described and dated, and their areas of origin discussed. The volume is lavishly illustrated.

There's a chapter about textile equipment which is mostly focused on spindle whorls, but it is not one of the most lavishly illustrated ones - and in fact, while the book does contain quite a few photos and drawings, they are not of very good quality, but rather strongly pixellated. Which is a pity, as the objects are really interesting.

I don't want to really complain though - it is still a free e-book with lots of information about finds from Kaupang, and having some more data about spindle whorls is never a bad thing!

Today is one of those weird days where a lot of small things come up, and are dealt with, and bits and pieces get done on larger projects, and suddenly it is late afternoon and it feels like nothing has been achieved at all - except, of course, for coffee consumption.

This is especially true (the feeling of non-achievement) as part of today's work was searching for and watching youtube videos about different spinning techniques - which I need to do for a presentation in the future and a course I will be teaching in spring. So yes, that was actually work - although my brain and the whip-wielding part of my conscience somehow have not realised that yet and keep telling me that I have not done any work. At all. Sigh.

And just in case you'd like to spend some time looking at all those different fascinating spinning techniques too - here you go, a long playlist called "Spinning around the World":



 

When people asked me if I did dyeing, too, my usual answer is something along the lines of "no, I don't - there's no reason why I should do everything, and I have wonderful colleagues I can hire for that".

However... I have peeked in a lot of pots when my colleagues were dyeing. I have been enjoying their lovely colours for ages. I learned a lot about what to use, and in what concentration, and in what sequence, when we were discussing colour choices for museum reconstruction projects.

And starting with the dyeing experiment in 2012, I also got to stir some pots with dye myself... all on my own. Now, for the dyeing experiment, you don't need to know how to dye. You just need to follow the recipe to the last letter - so all the creativity that is part of "real" dyeing work is gone. It's not even a big deal if there are spots on the yarn, because it is not about spotless dyeing, it is about finding out about the influence of metals.

Playing around, creatively, with colours, though - that does also appeal to me. Enter opportunity for that: after the last Forum, there was some madder left over, and some alum. That madder was already soaked (and had started to slightly ferment), so it was about time to be used.

And since I had decided to play around, I did exactly that. I stuffed Romney top into a stocking leg (to cut down on madder particles in the fibre, and on felting), and off it went into the mordant.


After mordanting, it took a nice bath in the madder liquid...


... but came out rather splotchier than hoped for, due to the middle of the stocking leg filling being rather compressed. Now I don't mind splotchy (in modern stuff, not the historical, mind you) - but the light spots seemed almost undyed, and that was too much (or too little) for my taste.

So I stuck it in again, sans the stocking leg this time (which was, instead, used to hold the madder sludge).


The end result is rather nice, I think:


It is a warm, bright red that is hard to photograph. And of course it is full of madder dust, but that just can't be avoided when dyeing with that stuff.

So at some point in the medium future, there might be some madder spinning in store for me...

Today's blog post is different - but in case you need some editing done, it is hopefully also helpful:

My friend and co-author Gillian Polack, known for a list of books both fiction and non-fiction, has an unexpected opening in her schedule... and she is thus taking on editing work (which she normally doesn't). This will be possible until February 2017, so it's sort of a special offer.

I've had the pleasure of working together with Gillian with her editor's hat on, so I know that she does a very good (and very thorough) job.

In a similar vein, if you would like her to give you private consultation for your writing, or research, that would be possible per chat (or, I guess, if you're in Australia or willing to travel there, it might even be possible in person).

If you are interested, you can reach Gillian via this contact form on her website - she'll give you her rates for the job you are asking for, and you can discuss details with her, too.