Today is one of those days when I really don't know what to blog about. I don't even have a bad joke to share with you. I can tell you that I am going to bake a cake today, but that is probably not going to interest you; or that I have a pair of socks that I'm (theoretically) working on and a jacket that I'm also (theoretically) knitting - but I haven't done any stitch on them in a few days. And that is probably also not going to interest you.

So why don't you go and look at a random xkcd strip instead?

I was properly busy yesterday and added more pictures to the shop as well as a few new items. Among them, brand-spanking-new: six-holed weaving tablets (made of parchment) and very variable slate frames.

You can check out the new goodies here - and I hope you like them!

Today is a day for taking care of odds and ends - all those small annoying things that need doing. Like checking for updates for my programmes, or fixing small oopsies on websites, or updating some things in the shop, or answering mails and phone calls. It's amazing how many of these small tasks keep coming up - some garden gnome or something like that to take care of stuff would be really helpful!

While I am working on diminishing the annoying-small-tasks list, maybe you would like to check out the programme for the next conference of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), which will take place in Helsinki August 29-September 1? You can find their homepage here, and the call for papers will be open until end of March.

I got up earlier than usually today and then sort of got gobbled up by lots of different small tasks (and lots of phone calls) - to the point that I totally forgot I had not blogged yet.

So, with ample delay, here's today's blog post...

You might remember the spinning for the Hallstatt narrow wares reproduction quite a while ago? This has been covered by the Standard, an Austrian newspaper, and the little (German) article is online as well - you can read it here. There's also a special exhibition about the project at the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, and I'm looking forward to seeing it when I am in Vienna for the 3000 years of colour conference. So much nice stuff coming from that project!

Really. They are. I mean I totally love my diamonds - they are always plane, they never need trueing, they do not need to be soaked before use, they don't even need lubricant, and they come with their non-slip feet or non-slip mat. Plus they are quite abrasive, even with small grain... so what's not to love?

For those of you who are confused: I am talking about diamond whetstones. And for those of you who ponder buying a whetstone for sharpening kitchen knives or other tools: I can totally recommend a diamond stone. They are a bit pricier than normal stone stones, but they last forever, they never develop a ditch, and they are easy to clean.

This post was brought to you by the person who finally finished sharpening a new tool (that came very, very unsharpened) and can now start to work on those 6-hole weaving tablets  that are supposed to go into the shop soon...

The last three days were quite intense - sitting in the car for about four hours, followed by a long afternoon and a long full day of unleashing my inner geek to get a website set up, organised and running, and finally a nice and interesting meeting at LEA to discuss future events - including the Textile Forum.

I had seen plans and pictures, but it really is different to stand in the rooms and halls and see how much has been done. The building is in the process of drying out and still needs a good clean, but then (almost) the only thing that's left to do is to put in the rest of the fittings for the two workhalls. One will contain a smithy, but they are both designed to be very flexible in their uses. There are two dorm rooms that are very light and friendly, a large room for meetings and conferences and papers, a nice well-fitted kitchen with lots of light and room for a little staff meeting or conspirative cooking (or doing on-the-stove experiments, like dyeworks with good control over surroundings and temperature). And last but not at all least, the folks from the Volcano Parc are lovely neighbours.

Now I'm even happier to be there in September - and I'm very, very much looking forward to our event!

Today is the day we will be visiting LEA (or at least LEA's building site) - the Laboratory for Experimental Archaeology that is being built in Mayen and where the Textile Forum 2012 will take place.

Sabine and I are both very much looking forward to this - we have seen plans and pictures, but it's always totally different to be there in person. I know that a lot of thought and effort went into this project, so I am very thrilled to see it come into reality!