Toiletries, part 2

Here's a bit of progress on the toilet bag I am making. I've already shown you the cord I braided, but now I finished the top with a small blanket stitch. The thread is a nice linen in darker yellow.


I already made a tunnel for the cord but I "covered" the modern machine stitching with a back stitch and I have finished the holes with a buttonhole stitch.

Winter tunic

Although tape weaving does not give you much room for experimenting with patterns and such, it does give you a good looking trim in a really short amount of time. So if you need something nice quickly, tape weaving might be a good suggestion and it is easier to do than tablet weaving.

Here's a trim I am making for my new winter tunic. Enjoy the pattern!


Despite the rumours that tape weaving is NOT viking, since nothing has been excavated (yet) I think this technique produces beautiful decoration and I am happy to share my knowledge of it.

Mustard soup with parsnips

Ingredients:
2 large parsnips
1 "sharp" onion
50 gr butter
3 teaspoons of spicy mustard
0,5 l vegetable stock (or meat stock if you are non-veggi)
pinch of salt

Peel and slice the onion and parsnips very fine and bake them in the butter until the onion is glassy. Stir the mustard through the parsnips and onion. Cook everything on a high fire and add the stock. Stir until smooth and let it simmer for about 20 minutes on a low fire. Add some salt and serve hot!

This is what a parsnip looks like, it is a "white carrot". Thanks to Wikipedia for this photo.

Shield wall, well almost

Einarr made two new shields this week and painted them as well. The smaller shield had our own bird on it but the bigger and newer shield shows our Tjursläkter bull.


The bull is not perfectly Viking, since it was found in Scotland in a cave and it is believed to be Pictish... but it does make a smart logo, doesn't it?


The third shield you see here is for little Lars! It doesn't weigh much, which is perfect for him.

Roasted chicken....

Last May we went to an Iron age farm with the entire group of Tjursläkter to enjoy a simple weekend together. Guess what hopped on my lap when I was sitting by the fire....

I am glad I have the picture to prove it!

Bowls and such

Few wooden items have been excavated in the past few decades, here's a photo of a some bowls and spoons which were found


It's tricky to find something that resembles these items but if you go to fleamarkets and yardsales you should be able to come up with a few nice looking ones, like you see hereunder.


These items make great camp decoration to give it all an authentic look. You'll never be able to create perfect authenticity, but this beats plastic! The spoons you see are made of horn.