Now and then, I get to do shopping for the shop. Some things are re-orders of goods (semi-exciting), some are first orders of things (very exciting), and some are logistical items like boxes or packing tape. 

The logistical stuff is mostly not very exciting; once I've found good boxes in suitable sizes, I tend to stick with them, making re-stocking those pleasantly boring. One part of the logistics shopping that is technically very un-exciting but still fun is shopping for stamps.

Quite a few of my orders go out via Deutsche Post, paid for by stamps. It's the best method for a certain size and weight range that many of my smaller orders fall into, and using that possibility helps me keep the postage fees down. (Obviously, it's still more than ust the postage, as there's the packing materials to pay for, which includes the tape, and some very non-obvious costs like the fee for the customer putting the packaging into the recycling bin. The stuff adds up surprisingly!) 

So long story short - from time to time, I get to order stamps. And of course I try to pick out ones that have a relevance for me, like "800 years this or that place", or "Democracy needs democrats" or, yes, "cats as domestic animals". Trying to make the stamps say something and not just use the boring option of the Deutsche Post "Letter" series (where they now have all possible postages) usually means that I have to stick not one, but several stamps onto each package... which I also find quite enjoyable.

There's usually a set of favoured combinations of certain stamps after a while, and that lasts until I start to run out (with an increasing amount of stamps on each parcel as I need to get the correct amount together somehow) and then new things starting to get combined once the new stamp order arrives, usually with different motifs than the previous one, as they run out of old ones and print new, different things.

Having just placed an order, I'm looking forward to find out what will be the fave combos this time!

I've been battling the yearly end-of-year book-keeping - with some extra excitement this year as I was able to enjoy a few (minor, but still nerve-wracking) glitches in the programme.

Finally, all the numbers on the screen lined up with all the printed numbers or those on the other screen, and it's time to finally put 2024 to bed after it's zombied on for a bit. Well, there will be a short resurrection at some point between March and June when the tax paperwork will be done, but until then, it can rest in peace.

While this is seeing its wrap-up today, plus some exciting prep-and-pack work for the winter school in Padova later this week, you might enjoy to read a bit about metallurgy analyses done on the famous, fabulous Nebra Sky Disc.

Staying with the textile theme (how surprising on this blog), but skipping a few centuries - there's been an interesting attempt to gather more information about the Railway Guard clothing in Victorian times, and how suited (or not-so-suited) they were to the tasks given the guards. So in a beautiful mash-up of living history and experimental archaeology, Anthony Dawson and two colleagues dressed in the re-created garments to do the tasks that would have been done by the original Railway Guards (with only very small changes). 

Their conclusion? It looks really smart, but is more on the "looking good" side than on the "this is practical and sensible" side when using it for work. You can read the full open-source article on the EXARC journal pages here. 

Just in case you have not heard of it yet, the Galloway Hoard is a treasure hoard discovered a while ago, containing (of course) a good amount of precious metal in various incarnations.

Even nicer, though (at least from a textile archaeology's point of view), quite a few of the textiles involved in depositing the hoard have also been preserved - so we know that individual items were wrapped in fabric. There's also some leather and even some braids, which means that this find is a treasure trove regarding textiles as well.

There's a nice presentation of the hoard by Susanna Harris online -  I hope you enjoy it!

In case you're looking for a place to do a PhD with getting money, here might be something for you - providing you're not averse to metal and metalworking:

Newcastle University (UK) announces a call for a PhD scholarship on a project titled Technological choice and variability in prehistoric metalworking: a transdisciplinary investigation, funded by the AHRC Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership as a Collaborative Doctoral Award. The partner organisation is ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, STFC, UKRI.

Project Summary

This project investigates variability and social choice in prehistoric metalworking through an innovative transdisciplinary approach that integrates experimental archaeology, materials science, and a critical review of social studies on craft practice. The student will develop a novel understanding of artisan skill, sensory perception, communities of practice, and craft specialisation in prehistoric bronzeworking. The research will provide new insights into the social context of early European metallurgy, reassessing the enduring link between metallurgy and the rise of social complexity. Through this work, the student will acquire a unique transdisciplinary skillset that will significantly enhance their intellectual profile and employability.

Prospective candidates are advised to look at the full project proposal here: https://northernbridge.ac.uk/applyforastudentship/cda/

Value and duration of the award

Tuition fees paid at a rate equivalent to the UK home fee. For international students, Newcastle University will generously cover the difference between home and international fees through the university's Global Scholarships Scheme. Costs for relocating to the UK cannot be covered.

A yearly stipend paid in regular instalments. Awards increase every year, typically with inflation. As an indicator, the level for 2024/2025 is £19,237.

A contribution to research costs of £600 per annum. Additionally, award holders can apply to a Northern Bridge fund reserved to support primary research costs.

Duration of the award: 3.5 years full-time or 7 years part-time. Funding can be extended up to 4 years by undertaking a placement at the partner organisation or another non-higher-education institution. The maximum duration of a UK PhD is 4 years full-time (8 years part-time).

As one would expect for a PhD thing, you need to have a Master's degree in Archaeological science or something similar or an MSc in a relevant science degree, as well as some knowledge about metallurgy and materials. Bonus points if you are familiar with bronze casting and have experience there. In addition, the usual stuff for working together with other researchers (including interdisciplinary work), writing scientific papers etcetera (and of course the thesis), and working towards deadlines in the academic field.

If you think that might be something for you, go find out more on the official website at https://northernbridge.ac.uk/applyforastudentship/cda/ for details about everything (look under "recruiting programs" and scroll down, unless something else sounds even more like the thing for you). Deadline for your application according to the guidelines on that page is Monday 3^rd February 2025, midnight (UK time). 

I've mentioned the knit-along yesterday - I'm also on my merry way to resurrect a pattern design that I made ages ago (or, if you like precise numbers, about 11 years ago). It's ... interesting.

I was pretty sure that I had recorded everything correctly, and that it was just a matter of adding some explantations and formatting and tweaking it a bit here and there, but now it turns out that... well. I hadn't. There's some issues. So I'm re-knitting it, trying to find out if it's a systematic error (and if so, where to fix it) or if it's just a sequence of on-going blunders not really connected to each other (that's the interpretation I am currently leaning toward) and fixing those individually. It definitely stays interesting that way, and I will have a nice knitted item at the other end of this.

In other work news, I've been packing up orders to send out, and more of that is still on the list to do during the next few days. Though I have to time my away-from-desk times carefully, or I am getting The Stare from the little cat, who does insist on her desk cuddle time. (Which, as you may well guess, does not always align with my planned sitting-at-desk-and-typing times.)

Welcome back here on the blog - which should have declared my winter break until today, but the post got stuck in the publishing process. Anyways, I'm happy you're here (still or again), and I'm already looking forward to an interesting year with a lot of things going on...

One of my first shenanigans will be going down to Italy to teach a tiny bit of spinning to the participants of the Winter School "Textiles make the world go round". Then there's a knit-along starting on ravelry on January 18 that I'm sort of involved in (I made the pattern). Most of the knit-along will probably be in German, but the pattern is available in both German and English, so if you're interested, you can check it out here. 

And speaking of knitting - the Knitting History Forum this year is taking place on February 1 (a Saturday). It's an online conference with six presentations, followed by discussion, and the tickets are available now on the Knitting History Forum Website.