Thursday, August 10, 2006

Fabric finds

Today I've been to my favourite fabric store with very cheap linnens (6 USD/m), wools (7 USD/m), cottons, silks. I've been mainly buying silk today for medieval shirts (my husband is going to sew a shirt for our Prince as a feast gift, but more about that in another post ^^), but I also found some nice linnen for my quilted pillowcases (which I'm going to show you very soon, because I have two of them almost ready! ^^).
Here are the three fabrics, each of them is 0,5 m x 1,5 m, and each cost me only 2 USD! ^-^






I also received today the yarn for the August's project for Bag Me KAL:

Since I cannot buy the handles recommended in the pattern I'll be making my own out of wood and leather.

And unfortunately I have to report some problems from the OPAL socks front... The second sock, maybe because I paid more attention not to have ladders, is knitted very tightly and is smaller than the first one (and in fact fits better my foot than the first socks) .
So, I decided to finish this second sock and knit the third one paying as much attention to keeping the yarn tight, so I have two matching socks... And I'm going to frog the first too-big-for-me sock and use the yarn to knit two very short socks, reaching very low below my ankles (in Poland we call them "small feet").
So, all's well that ends well. ^^

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for commenting on my blog, and I'm sorry for taking so long with the sheepskin ink recipee.

    I use a modern textile paint, because it's easier, gives a better result and it's more light proof. But if you want to make it the old way, here's how to do it:

    Cut off 1 kg alder bark from a tree that's going to be cut down anyway. Cut it into pieces and dry it (not in the sun, but in an airy space). This should be done in the spring, and on growing moon.
    When it's dry, chop it into very small pieces. Put it in a tub with enough water to cover it, and place this in a warm spaze, covered with a cloth. A warm bathroom floor is perfect. Stir once in a while. After some days after it's gone sour you boil it in an iron pot for at least 8 hours. Get rid of the bark, and boil the remaining liquid, reducing it until there is 2 dl left.
    Pour this paint on a sterile (boiled) bottle, and close it once it's cold. You can keep it for about one year.

    I hope this was understandable :)

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  2. As for your other question, no, I don't know about any finds of nalbinding shawls from the viking age. On the other hand, we only know about a tiny part of what they used, so who knows. Around here we have very few finds, and almost no textile finds, because of bad conditions for preserving stuff in the ground.
    Anyway, we don't belive in exact copies all the way - I think one should be allowed to adapt the viking craft techniques, and make up your own stuff ;-)

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  3. First of all - No, I'm no expert!! ;-)

    I've actually never made nålbinding socks. But I know there are several ways to do it, and when I'm ready to give it a go, I think I'm going to do it like the "afterthought heel". Just leave a hole, and put in the heel when you're done. Pictures here:
    http://home.arcor.de/bedankbar/english/nadelbinden%20objekte.htm
    Hope this helps, and good luck!

    And I've got great news - the shawl is finished, and I really, really love it, it turned out great! I'll try to get pictures taken some day soon...

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