I'm taking the rest of the week off from blogging to concentrate purely on boxing the remainder of the chaos here. If all goes well and according to plan, we'll move over to our new flat on Monday. Because the telephone will, in all probability, not move over with us right away but take at least till Tuesday, blogging will hopefully resume next midweek. If not, well, something has not worked out - or I felt such an urge to blog that I found another place to do it.

Meanwhile, here's a really bad knitter's joke.

What does a pirate knitter like best? ... Black Purls.

I am slowly but surely surrounding myself with boxes filled with stuff - books, textile implements, more books, resources and materials, more books, tools, cloth, and even more books*. It is a weird-looking mix of order and chaos: a jumble of things on heaps to be sorted out, books still in shelves (almost none left in the study, though), things that are pre-packed in boxes anyways, and the big newly-filled boxes stacked on top of each other, slowly filling up freshly cleared space where shelves were.**

Yes, that sounds like an upcoming move - we will move into a bigger flat, since my stuff seems to have exploded (or maybe "popcorned") during the last months. This is largely connected to my acquiring some exhibition stuff (which includes two dress mannequins) and to the growth of the market stall and its assortment of goods, but also to such slightly mad ventures as the spinning experiment (which resulted in my having about 105 spindles now instead of five, and two more rather large boxes to stash). All this has led to the apartment being too small, and offering too little storage space.

So we will move, but stay in this very nice and quiet part of Erlangen. I will have a nice, large study/work room with no roof slope taking away space for shelf storage or moving around in the room, and enough space to actually do tailoring work in there without feeling cramped. And it is a ground floor flat - hooray for not having to lug so much stuff down from second storey when going to a medieval event!


* Yes, I'm a book junkie. And that is especially true for books on archaeological stuff, textiles foremost, of course. Book buying binges when in museum or exhibition bookstores is a very common quirk of archaeologists, and I'm no exception to that rule. Which means that not only do I have lots of books, I have lots of really seriously heavy books, because most catalogues are printed on thick, glossy, heavy high-quality paper...
** Compared to stacking books on the floor until stack height is still just stable, shelves are a much more compact way of storing (we found this out when emptying a shelf to re-build it with an additional bit a while ago), but even shelf storage cannot beat boxes filled with books and stacked up high. Much less convenient for actual reading, though!

With the hype for all things medieval, there have also been quite a few boardgames with medievally themed topics or artwork. And with the huge games fair in Essen just past, there is a new one in the range - the game "after" Ken Follett's sequel to Pillars of the Earth (which usually means loosely connected to the book topic). That book is, in German, called "Tore der Welt" (doors of the world), quite a different title from "World without End", and the game title matches the book title.

Well, I don't read medieval-themed historical novels anymore (the last I read actually was Pillars, when I had just started studying medieval archaeology), but I'm game to play medieval-themed games. Maybe that is because it is harder to put huge, garish mistakes into game descriptions, and maybe it's just because I like good board games. Especially those that are typical German-style board games (and isn't it amazing they name a whole genre for us Germans, and such a nice one as well?). I didn't manage to play the Pillars game when it came out (I think last year), but this year's Follett I did play, and all four of us playing had a good time. It is a nice game, with good artwork and good, functioning game mechanism, including some fun details: You have to pay taxes, feed your family and show that you are a good christian after each of the four "chapters". The chapters contain different events and give each player six chances on action. Those are selected using your twelve action cards - but you have to discard one of the remaining cards when playing the one you selected. This, for us, sometimes led to more thinking about "what shall I discard" than "what am I going to do now" - quite unusual, and quite dastardly in a very nice and amusing way. For once, you can't blame luck if you don't have the action you would need anymore! Every player also has an "event card" to play each turn, giving him or her some much-needed income and sometimes a second income, but every other player gets something as well. What everyone gets is depending on how the card is placed on the board - another simple, but nice and well-fitting mechanism.

Altogether, I did like the game quite a lot. It is already available, but only in the German version for now, so tough luck for all of you who would like to play it but don't read German. (One competent translator, though, should be enough - you only need to read the rules and the event cards, there is no need to read for choices.) But since the Pillars game (which has also gotten good critiques from those around me who played it) has been translated and is offered in the US, there should be good chances that it will cross the great salty puddle, too.

We spent the weekend doing something totally unrelated to medieval garments for a change, by going to a small townlet in the Franconian Forest (the German Wikipedia article is much better, if you can read German), quite close to where I grew up, and spent Sunday in this region doing a lot of eating and some bicycling on a trip to Hell and back.

If you now wonder what we were up to: We participated in the 7th "Frankenwald Radmarathon", a yearly event where you can cycle up to 250 km, going up lots of inclines out of valleys and back down into valleys. The event is amazingly well organised, and it seems as if 2300 cyclists are no problem at all for all the organisers and helpers - everybody is friendly, relaxed and helpful. The tour includes several larger roads (Bundesstraßen), and there are helpers from the fire brigades who even stop the cars so that the cyclists can roll through smoothly, without stopping. That really feels like being very, very important. The landscape is absolutely amazing, with forests, fields, little creeks, and many quiet roads where you hear nothing but the wind singing in your ears and the tires singing on the road. There are also lots and lots of food, starting with coffee and cake on Saturday, continuing with all-you-can-eat pasta (with sauce Bolognese) on the evening to fill up reserves, there's a breakfast buffet on Sunday morning (you can start tucking in at 5 o'clock there), and after the start at 7 o'clock, there's a stop every 30 km or so where you can re-fill your bottles, have a rest and eat and drink. They call it "Germany's only all-inclusive bicycle marathon", and it really is all-inclusive. We even joked that it's just eating, with the buffet tables spread a bit apart so you can have room for more food again. One of the "food stops" is in a place called "Hölle" - the German word for hell. (Where, incidentally, one of the sponsors is located: "Höllensprudel".)

In addition to all the food and drink and the beautiful landscape, with wild forests and houses all covered in schist shindles, the organisers and helpers manage to turn the whole event into one gigantic party. There's show dancing, music, music and cheering people in Stockheim when the peloton rushes over a large roadbridge for the start in the morning, and there are commentators at start, goal and on the steepest climb 10 km before the goal. And there are spectators dotted all along the road: People sitting on the sidewalk in lawn-chairs and watching, people watching from their gardens or balcony or out of their windows. On top of the last steep hill, there's a "fan mile" with a bunch of people cheering, shouting, photographing, making lots of noise to help motivate the cyclists, and one of the obligatory professional photographers making a picture of all those creeping uphill (about 1,5 km with up to 17% incline).

All together, it is a wonderful event - beautiful views, interesting routes, wonderful food and a great party. And we'll be sure to go to Hell again next year in August!

Today is an exception to my normal posting rules, since you are finding mostly German text here - it's the info for the workshops at Cave Gladium. Our idea was to offer a learning space and opportunity at the Cave, since that is a time and place where lots of living history people are already together, so travel costs and extra organisation time for the participants would be really, really low.

Since the info about the workshops seems to have gotten a little lost in the forum pages at the Cave website, I'm posting the description here again. So if you are interested in attending a show fighting workshop, or would like to learn how to dye with plants, or how to forge a knife, or how to weave 3/1 twill on tablets without counting and sticking to a pre-made pattern, or learn a few new loop-braiding patterns, you can Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.. At least the forging and textile workshops should also be possible in English, if there should be any language problems.


Schaukampf - aber richtig
Unter diesem Motto freuen wir uns, in diesem Jahr einen Workshop anbieten zu können, der zeigt, dass es nicht einer blutigen Nase und ein paar ausgeschlagener Zähne bedarf, um auf höchstem Niveau einen Zweikampf zum Besten zu geben. Dabei werden alle Aspekte der Sicherheit und Erhaltung der eigenen Gesundheit beachtet, ohne damit der Begeisterung der Mitwirkenden und der Zuschauer Abbruch zu tun.
An drei Tagen werden die Grundlagen des unbewaffneten Kampfes, Fallen und Rollen bis hin zum Schwertkampf vermittelt. Das Ergebnis wird am Ende des Workshops in einer kleinen Choreographie dem Publikum präsentiert.
Voraussetzungen: Es ist durchaus hilfreich, wenn der Teilnehmer bzw. die Teilnehmerin über eine durchschnittliche körperliche Fitness verfügt und schon einmal ein Schwert in der Hand gehalten hat.
Mitzubringen sind: sportliche Kleidung, festes Schuhwerk (Trainingswaffen werden gestellt)
Kursgebühr: 140,- € pro Person
Zeiten: Freitag: 16 bis 20 Uhr
Samstag: 9 bis 12 Uhr
Sonntag: 9 bis 12 Uhr

Brettchenweben mal anders
Keine Lust mehr, einem festgeschriebenen Schnurbindungsmuster zu folgen? Neugierig, was sich mit Brettchenweberei und einem ganz einfachen Aufzug alles anfangen lässt? Im Workshop webt jede/jeder ein Band zum spielerischen Ausprobieren in zwei kontrastierenden Farben. Der Kettaufzug lässt verschiedene Diagonalenmuster und Köperbindung zu, die mit etwas Hintergrundwissen zu den Grundlagen der Köperbindung frei kombiniert werden können.
Voraussetzungen: Der Kurs ist kein Anfängerkurs, sondern richtet sich an Brettchenweberinnen und -weber, die bereits etwas Erfahrung gesammelt haben.
Mitzubringen: Zum Aufziehen der Kette werden helles und dunkles Garn benötigt; empfehlenswert sind nicht zu dünne Webgarne, etwa in Stärke von Sockenwolle. Das helle und das dunkle Garn sollten jeweils auf zwei Knäuel gleicher Größe aufgeteilt werden, weil dies den Aufzug stark vereinfacht. Pro Knäuel werden mindestens 25 m Lauflänge benötigt (reicht für eine zwei Meter lange Kette). Mitzubringen sind außerdem, falls vorhanden, 12 Vierlochbrettchen.
Kursgebühr: 70,- € pro Person (ganztägig)
Material bei Bedarf bitte vorbestellen
Zeiten: Samstag 15.08.2009

Schmieden bei David Schütze
Der Einsteigerkurs ist für Menschen geeignet, die von der historischen Technik der Metallverarbeitung fasziniert sind, sich aber bisher nicht aktiv damit beschäftigt haben. Vorkenntnisse sind nicht erforderlich. Werkzeug- und Materialkunde werden ebenso vermittelt, wie die grundlegenden Techniken des Schmiedens und ein kurzer Einblick in die Geschichte des Handwerks. Die Teilnehmer stellen ein einfaches Messer selbst her.
Voraussetzungen: Einsteigerkurs (keine Vorkenntnisse notwendig)
Fortgeschrittenenkurs (mit Vorkenntnissen)
Mitzubringen sind: --
Kursgebühr: 140,- € pro Person (Einsteiger)
210,- € pro Person (Einsteiger)
incl. Material, Werkzeug und Versicherung
Zeiten: Samstag 15.08.2009

Färben bei Sabine Ringenberg
Pflanzenfarbe ist ein faszinierendes Thema. Wie wird sie auf der Faser haltbar gemacht? Welche Unterschiede gibt es beim Färben von Seide, Wolle oder Leinen? Auf diese Fragen gibt der Einsteigerkurs von Sabine Ringenberg Antwort. Mit selbst gesammelten Pflanzen wird die eigene Wolle oder Seide gefärbt. Dabei werden die gängigsten Beizverfahren ebenso behandelt, wie die Nachbehandlung und weitere Verarbeitung des Färbeguts. Vorkenntnisse sind nicht erforderlich.
Voraussetzungen: Einsteigerkurs
Mitzubringen sind: Eigene Wolle kann gefärbt werden
Kursgebühr: 85,- € pro Person (eintägig)
zzgl. Färbegut
Zeiten: Samstag 15.08.2009, Beginn 09.00 Uhr
Sonntag 16.08.2009, Beginn 09.00 Uhr

Fingerschlaufenflechten
Flechten mit Schlaufen statt mit einzelnen Fäden hat in den letzten Jahren an Bekanntheit gewonnen - ist aber immer noch nicht sehr verbreitet. In dem Kurs werden verschiedene Flechtvarianten, zum alleine oder gemeinsam Flechten, erlernt und geübt.
Voraussetzungen: Einsteigerkurs
Mitzubringen sind: ---
Kursgebühr: 45,- € pro Person (halbtägig)
incl. Material
Zeiten: Sonntag 16.08.2009, Beginn 09.00 Uhr

A few days ago (yes, I'm slow) I stumbled over the video of Susan Boyle singing "I dreamed a dream" in the talent show "Britain's Got Talent". In the following days, I read a bit about her (not so much to find) and Paul Potts, her predecessor-in-spirit. And this whole thing got me thinking about dreams and dreams come true.

As far as I can see, Susan Boyle tried to get onto stage seriously for ages. It was not her first public act, nor was it her first try for fame - she already appeared on another TV show some time earlier (but with no success). Now the media are in disagreement whether she can really sing or not, whether she is a nice lady or a bitchy person, whether she is loved because she's a singing nobody shooting to fame or because she's a star that just had to wait a long time to be born. And I just read an article by Spiegel Online (german news thingie) saying it's all a mass media super-hype and like Paul Pott, she won't make it after her first few weeks of fame.

I think the important thing is not whether Paul Pott or Susan Boyle will remain successful - or even stars - for a long time. The important lesson, for me, is that both had a dream and tried to make it come true. Only time will tell how well somebody shooting to fame can adapt to the new surroundings and the new style of life, and nobody knows whether Paul and Susan will one day regret their successful appearance on the talent show.

But that's always the thing with dreams, or with great plans: that nobody knows how it will turn out in the end. You just have to decide whether you want to risk failure or whether you prefer to go on dreaming forever. And once you have decided, you "just" need that dash of luck for a go.

And then? Once your dream is live, you can't stop. You can't let go, and you'll never be safe again. As long as it is only a dream, it's easy to forget about the little hitches in the process, the bad times, the sorrows, the dangers. You just imagine the upsides and maybe daydream about how you handle things, competent and sure the whole time. The dream come live might be a different thing entirely, and you will probably face aspects that you had not wanted. And because you can fail when living the dream, it is not safe anymore. You are not safe anymore.

The bigger the dream, the bigger might failure be. My dream was a lot smaller (and easier) - I only wanted to find out things about medieval garments. To find out how they were made, how it all connects, why medieval clothes look like they do. As stupid as that might sound, writing my thesis was fulfilling my dream. It hasn't brought me to fame, it won't make me rich (unless I win the lottery), but it made me very, very happy. When I started out, I met with a lot of sceptical comments and looks, and people even outright told me that a project like this wouldn't work. Still, it did. There's much left to find out about, and there always will, because clothing is so variegated and multifaceted, and there's so little left that we will always have to speculate - but I made my try, I feel it was successful, and my work will serve as help or starting point for others, which is an incredibly wonderful thing to achieve.

I had a dream, and I had a chance to go at it - I was incredibly lucky in having so much support, moral and financial, for my try. It took some time, and I'm not sure how it will all turn out in the end, but I feel very privileged because I could give it all a try. It could have gone totally and utterly bad, though, and something can still happen and cause trouble. And as long as my book, and therefore, the dream-come-true exists, something can always happen - maybe somebody finds out that everything I have written is complete and utter bullshit (which would be science, but unpleasant for me nevertheless). So in that aspect, I'll never be safe again. And I'll gladly give up this safety as a price to be paid, for my dream coming live. I'm happy with how it all turned out.

For Susan Boyle, I hope that she will be happy with her dream come live - that she will adapt to the new situation and still stay herself. That she won't regret her shot at fame and a singer's career, however it might turn out. And that she is willing to pay the price for a dream coming into existence.

Today is one of those days... where I just can't think of anything interesting to blog about. And maybe that is due to my decision to do money-related things today - finish off my taxes and take care of some other odds and ends.

So, for your amusement and mine, here is a half-related picture. In German, "Kohle" originally means coal or charcoal, but it is also used colloqiual to mean "money" (or dough, if you prefer the English colloquialism).

So here's a picture of me harvesting coal from a small charcoal kiln I ran together with some friends a few years ago. Making coal like that is quite a bit of work, but it's also a huge lot of fun! The coal in the basket I hold is the last remnant harvested, that is why there is so much straw mixed in.



It's dirty, dusty work, and that is why I am veiled like that. Coal is a good thing to have, but coal dust in the lungs not necessarily so...