Gunnar

Hello everybody,

I see that again this post is horribly late and again life got in the way. It is what it is. Right after I wrote the post about Einarr's oak chests we found out my father has lung cancer. Needless to say none of us took that very well, least of all my dad. It is still an emotional roller coaster but we are slowly getting back to regular life and crafts, yes, there is also time for crafts again.

The naalbound husband my daughter requested to accompany her naalbound Viking lady is almost, almost finished. Yes, you are allowed to say: "it's about time too!". I wholeheartedly agree!
Here are some photos.

As usual in these cases, I am not using a pattern because I just made this up as I went along. I can tell you though that I made all four limbs using the round start, see here the YouTube instructions for that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R7EWxeauSU

Please bear in mind that for the doll I did NOT work with my thumb! I thought the stitches would become too wide and the doll filling would come out, so I made the stitches very small using the needle and not my thumb for correct measurements.

Enjoy the photos and let me know if you have questions

Viking chests

We have all heard of the Mastermyr chest and the Hedeby harbour chest.
Here above you see the chests Einarr makes. The lids are flat so that you can sit on them in your camp!

The wood used here is French oak, the chests are 80€ for the small ones and 110€ for the big ones.

Archeon Vikingweek 2017

Hello my friends,

it has been a hectic few weeks! Not all of that was good, because we recently learnt that my father was diagnosed with lung cancer and at 82, he really is in no mood to start any treatment whatsoever.
It is painful and sad, but I respect his decision. So, now all we can do is wait...

In the meantime life goes on, even in these difficult times. The Dutch open air museum Archeon held their annual Vikingmarket again and after some debating we put up our tents in a quiet spot at the museum; the quite spot was mainly my wish. It wasn't very good for the sales though, but our old place next to the playing ground felt weird now that the mini-Viking is 8 years old and knows every chicken, goat, horse, nook and cranny of Archeon.

the kitchen

Svenja guarding her new territory

Last year, we replaced the old A-frame Viking tent, which had been in our possession since 2005. It really was time for a new tent. We decided to buy two smaller Anglo-Saxon getelds and use a smaller A-frame version to create a [sort of] living room. The poles of the getelds are much lighter and also the new living room poles are ligther and this gives us a lot more room to move with these tents.
We are still on the sunny side of 50, but not for much longer and carrying the heavy beams is a thing we began to feel. Seriously....

This is a camp we can manage better! Another thing we may change for next year: to bring Svenja or not to bring Svenja... that really is the question!

Having a dog in your camp can be quite charming. Cute even. The thing I noticed this year (and not so much last year) was her defensiveness of the camp. It was just too much for her. It was hard for her to settle down and relax, feeling she HAD TO defend us and the camp no matter what. It was sad to see and I think I am going to look for a dog-sitter next year.

Ylvi needs a husband...

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while, probably remember that I made a doll with the naalbinding techique for my daughter. 

It has been 6 years now and recently she (my daughter) declared that she (the doll) could no longer be single so I had to make a husband. Well... ok then! 

We went to the market to buy some cream coloured wool and I got to work. This is probably the easiest husband I will ever make for my daughter (*giggle*)!

There really is no pattern. All I do is start with a round start (or Josephine knot). You can watch an introduction clip of that here on YouTube!

And then I just continue, making the arms and legs as thick as my fingers. The upper body of the husband (we've decided to call him Gunnar) is a bit longer than Ylvi's, so he is a bit taller. Other than that he is the same.

Gunnar's legs were started with his boots, which I made with a few left over strands of darkbrown wool. I attached those to the legs, like I did with Ylvi because I always see dolls with just one shoe and that is a shame with handmade dolls, imho.

I will keep you posted on Gunnar's development!

Ylvi patiently waiting for Gunnar

Gunnar is still half a man...

Vikings on holiday

Dear all,

We just returned from a magnificent holiday in Denmark! I used to live in Copenhagen as a student and ten years ago in 2006 Einarr and I went to Denmark again. This year, during our May Holiday, we went to Jutland for the second time and had a really marvelous time. Allow me to write a few reviews on the 3 Viking museums we visited.

1) Haithabu Viking museum - Northern Germany
Driving all the way up to Denmark was a bit of a tall order for us, especially with a 7 year old in the car. So we decided to stop for 2 days in Northern Germany to visit the Haithabu museum

We found a campsite across the street from the museum, which was very convenient. If you ever want to go there, here is the campsite: http://www.campingplatz-haithabu.de/ Their services are excellent and in the summer a jump in the lake is probably very amazing.
Now, the Haithabu museum itself has undergone some much needed changes since our first visit in 2006 and it has improved A LOT! There are much more items on display with excellent audio information. The bookshop as well has a great selection of books too.

the outside of Haithabu museum, Viking houses

2) Ribe Viking museum
We went to this museum in 2006 and greatly enjoyed it. The timeline is very well done and there is a lot of info. We discovered to our surprise that the museum hasn't changed at all since 2006. This was, in all honesty, a bit of a let down because in our opinion you cannot have the same lay-out/exhibition all the time. Still, it is worth a visit and our daughter really enjoyed the museum!

3) Ribe Viking Centre
This open air museum is not very big but it is bursting with energy and activity. Truly a great place. We went on a Monday when the annual Viking market wasn't so crowded and this gave us plenty of time to see everything and talk to some old friends we hadn't seen in a while. The museum is great for kids, plenty of time and opportunity to roam and play!
We were staying at this campsite http://ribecamping.dk/ which I can really recommend for its fantastic facilities

The bird show was great, our daughter LOVED it!

The Three Norns who guard the entrance

In short: Go to Denmark when you have a chance!

Easter at Archeon

The winter, eventhough in our area it really wasn't a proper winter, is finally over and we had our first event a few weeks ago. As usual, the Dutch Viking season opened at Archeon with the annual Easter Market.
We had bought a new tent from Tentorium (http://www.tentorium.pl/) and it was pretty exiting to try it out! The owner of Tentorium, Michal Siedlecki, has handmade the entire tent and we think it is awesome!

Here are some photos of the event, it was a bit chilly still but we had great fun!

Svenja focussed on the ducks

It's a horse! Well...kind of anyway!!

Painting Easter eggs, very concentrated

Our gorgeous new tent, far right

Thorsberg trousers

Einarr has been wearing the same Rus-vik style pants for a while now and he wanted something new.

The wide Rus-vik pants!

Although the 4th century Thorsberg trousers are too early for the 'real' Viking era, I decided to try them anyway.

A friend gave me a pattern and I made these trousers you see Einarr wearing here in less than 2 hours. To be honest, it was a little too easy in my opinion.... and I got suspicious.... my version came out more looking like a pyjama style pants and I began to doubt the pattern. Admittedly, the pants were comfortable and a nice addition to Einarr's Viking clothes but still.... I used real linen of course and with a tunic covering his butt the seams aren't visible.

Thorsberg pants

Then I found this great website: http://urd.priv.no/viking/bukser.html

I am just going to copy the link here, it is a must-read.

Apparently, this is what the pattern should look like.....

Ha! Something to sink my teeth in!! It is clear to me now that the pattern I was given by my friend is not entirely authentic, mainly where the back of the pants are concerned, and so it is back to the drawing board I say! To be continued!

It is seriously scary how time flies! I thought I had updated this blog last week, but as it turns out, it was last year.....
Dear dear readers, I cannot even begin to think what you might think of me as a blogger.
With regards to us as Vikings, this past year we haven't been as active as we would've liked. Life just happened around us. We sold our old tent (ha! within 3 minutes on FB) and because we hadn't purchased a new tent yet we weren't able to go to quite a few events. We were daytripping to most events in our area. The picture you see here was taken by an unknown photographer, in fact as you can see we weren't even aware the photo was taken. It was in Archeon at the annual Viking market. Our little Viking queen is growing up fast as you can see (and still holding on to her naalbound dolly!!) and there is the other addition to our family: our beautiful dog Svenja.

10th annniversary

This year we celebrate our 10th anniversary as Viking re-enactors! Yay! It had not even crossed my mind until I saw this photo of our first event in 2004

It is truly unbelievable how much we have learnt these past ten years, how many people we have met and how many friends we have made. I am grateful for all the things we have seen and done, and the events we went to. Here are a few photos of those times & events

It is time now to broaden our horizons and travel to some more far-away places! The little Viking is growing up and is a better traveller these days. We will keep you updated of course. So, now to complete the photo "tour", this last photo was taken at the Easter event 2014.

Happy anniversary I say! Have a glass of mead on us!!

Hangarok embroidery

Well, I can't call myself Speedy Gonzalez, but at least this embroidery for my new hangarok is finally done! This just wasn't on the top of my to-do list, however, the finished piece turned out to be quite pretty.

Red & pink

Our daughter started this tape woven band last year. Yes, you read that right: last year.
But at the age of 5 (then 4!) children have a very very short attention span.... so she dropped it after two days. Still, the results aren't bad, I think she did a nice job here.

I dug up this band yesterday and I have found a nice destination for it. She got a nice soft green woolen tunic from someone, as their own child had grown out of it. The tape will go on that tunic!! I have to finish it first though, I will show you the finished items soon. Here's the pattern for you know to use & enjoy.

Hey, it feels good to be blogging again!!

Is it August already??

Goodness, time flies! It has been too long since I last wrote a post. And it is already August again. At the moment I am sewing some new Viking clothes and, as you can see, she has become our cooking specialist. Here we have onion soup with grass and stones. Yes, stones....
Anyway, we're fine and looking forward to another market in Archeon! Pics will follow soon.

The R is done!

The Bayeux initial we have embroidered together is now done! Of course, there is a HUGE deal of creative/poetic license here. I mean, although the Bayeux stitch was used on the Tapestry, an initial like this one was never found. It is therefore highly unlikely, if not impossible, that it was used on the bag of a little 5 y.o. who thinks she is a Viking princess.....

Oh well....

So, the materials we used were: linen fabric and wool yarn (the green is actually hand dyed) and we have used the said Bayeux stitch.

Let me know what you think, I welcome your comments!

Dress becomes tunic

The pink underdress I made for Rùna last year is now a knee length tunic... someone is growing fast!!
So I made some alterations: I made the neckline a bit wider so that she can fit her head through it again and I fortified the seams, after Nille Glaesel's book.

 

  

I also added a nice tape woven trim, made by a friend since I didn't have a lot of time. Things are fine here in Dutch Vikingland by the way, lots of nice events in the near future so watch this space!

Rune's new hood

Dear all,
We are back on track! After months of not blogging I have decided to take an FB break and get creative again! Here are some photos of Rune's new hood, which I bought from Viking Vina and of course I had to add a bit of needlework

It is a Mammen style deer (well I think it's a deer... Rune insists it's a dog...)

The hood is made of two types of wool: orange and yellow wool for the lining. Comfy and warm!

Pouches

Over the past few weeks I made a new sewing pouch for myself. The initial A is of course inspired by the Bayeux tapestry and the pattern comes from this book: http://www.amazon.com/Broderie-viking-Edition-Marie-Catherine-Nob%C3%A9court/dp/2283585082

The book has lovely patterns and this is from a sampler.

Here's the finished version of my new pouch. Naturally the little Viking princess wants one too, now that mine is done, so we spent an hour or so to pick out a pattern and design something especially for her.

On both projects I have used linen fabric and the needlework is done entirely out of wool on my pouch and on Rúna's pouch it is wool combined with linen. It doesn't really matter what you use, as long as you use natural materials (AND fitting with the Viking age). Sewing with little children usually means you will use the colours they like...authentic or not.... ;)

If you look at the alphabet in the book, it's the R and B combined. The tree in the B is too dark to her taste, so we are making pink roses! It is a fun project to do together with her!

Hello Folks,

Well, it has been a while! 2013 started in a wonderful way for us with the Archeon Winter Banquet. Above you see a photo of our little queen having a lot of fun in the snow! She is growing up fast so I am back sewing costumes again for her. It is fun and I am glad to have found the time again to make things for her. The Banquet itself was as usual exquisite! The Archeon chef has performed miracles in the kitchen and inspired me to start cooking historical recipes again myself, but more about that later.

I made several trousers for Rúna to play in, a dress is not the most comfortable garment to play in of course.

To save time I bought a hood for her, she is wearing it here for the Easter Archeon Market. It is dark orange and yellow wool. It is very soft and comfortable to wear.

Buying a hood gave me the time to do some embellishing and I added an Urnes style animal. Rúna thinks it's a deer and I actually thought it was a dog.... Anyway, it in the well-known Bayeux style embroidery of course!

More to come soon!

regards, Arda