If you're looking for a nice exhibition to visit, you might want to go to Halberstadt. In the Domschatz there, you can see the special exhibition "Stoffe mittelalterlicher Vogelwelten" until October: 

You can find more information here on the website. 

The European Textile Forum has been in the planning for a longer while than usual this year, due to the - again - scarcity regarding catering possibilities in the lovely place that we usually hang out in. After a certain point in the year, this makes me more and more anxious. The Forum, after all, is a full week, and the people who participate have to plan for this week in advance - taking off work, for most, and this should be done well in advance for most people. So I've been biting my nails for a few weeks now (figuratively, but still).

To my very great relief and utter delight, it looks like this is being resolved now, and hopefully I can do the final calculations soon, and all things will be set into motion. 

Resolving this, just like the last time, was done by asking what feels like a gazillion of people. I am, in general, of the opinion that most problems can be solved by finding the right people. This, however, can take time. A large network usually helps, but even then you have to ask everyone (or what feels like everyone) and hope that they have someone in their network, and that said person will come back to you.

Of course I didn't only ask my friends and colleagues, I also wrote to a number of different possible people or institutions that could have been an option. And this is where I'm actually rather disappointed, as there were some companies who are offering meals for companies or institutions (so they are obviously professionals in that regard), but my inquiries never got an answer. Not even a short "sorry, we don't do that kind of thing". I know that there's no right to getting a reply (and I have a few dark spots on my vest myself, when a request or mail just fell behind and then was forgotten at some point - and if that was one of yours, I'm sorry, I do try hard to answer to every mail, but sometimes I do fail) but it is getting harder, after a while, when you ask people and instead of a "no" there's just... silence.

But enough complaining - I am a very happy woman today! (And if you're interested, there's more info on textileforum.org, where there will also soon be the CfP and the registration form and so on. Focus topic of the year is "knots", which means that I will face one of my arch-problems, because I am fantastically bad at remembering knots with only a very few exceptions...)

So this was a little longer blog absence than planned - all went fairly well, but then in the attempt of catching up on other things and getting stuff done that was delayed last week, "start blogging again" somehow fell by the way.

So. Current state of things: Possible solution for the big Textile Forum food question (please keep your fingers crossed for me, or whatever you do in your cultural circle). Future model figurine for an exhibition in an art museum has arrived (as yet unpacked, because I managed to not throw out but somehow piss off my back with a stupid move when bouldering, and though it's okay again now, we didn't get around to unpacking today because we had to run errands and then make a fresh batch of cat food.) New batch of cat food is made and now freezing in the freezer. I have a desire to eat chocolate. The cat has a desire to eat her cat food.

She's also a little under the weather, because she had to go for a checkup to the vet today, and unfortunately taking her blood pressure was much more stressful than anticipated. She was a little unwell yesterday already (we don't know why, but then she's well above 20 years old, so she has all right in the world to feel a little off for no particular reason) and now she has a stress-induced bladder infection. Sigh. It's been a longish while since that happened the last time, and we hope it will be over soon again. She'll get probiotics for the next few weeks as soon as these arrive to help with her other digestive issues, and lots of fluid to rinse the system back to okay-ness.

Also, the Alpirsbach hose is almost finished; only thing left are the feet and a few small finishing touches (such as the last pair of eyelets). It was a joy to make, even though it was a joy that sometimes felt very daring and exciting. Marie and I are thinking (yes, also dangerous, I know) that we should write down some stuff about the project so others can read it and hopefully enjoy our shenanigans with us. (I've also realised today that it might be something for the next NESAT. We'll see.)

Also also, the website needs some work before the next bigger update, and it might be... interesting. Fortunately there's no real hurry, so I can look at all the bits and pieces bit by bit and figure out how to handle it.

Rest of this week will hopefully be spent finishing the hose, tweaking the website thing some more, and (uuuh it's that time of year) preparing the next quarterly taxes.

For tonight, though: Chocolate, and hanging out with the cat and the Most Patient Husband of Them All.

After yesterday's public holiday, I'm getting ready to go up to Berlin for the "Wolltag" in Düppel on Sunday, where I will be spinning on the Great Wheel. Most things are pre-packed and sorted already, and the rest will be done tomorrow, and put in the car and then I'll be off.

And then I'll be off the blog for a few days to visit my parents, so regular posts should resume on Monday a week after...

Inbetween cutting and stitching, and the usual background noise of emails and complaining cats and such, I finished the last few rows on the sprang piece this morning, and now it's blocking.

It was not quite a complete success: There's still a few rows too few and a little too much length in the piece, but at least there's not too many mistakes and the two halves are quite similar in length. Phew. 

So now it can dry in peace and quiet while I am wrangling other linen (that of the hose, of course). And then there's bits of linen somewhere waiting to be turned into a cap Lengberg-Style! 

I've started cutting and sewing for the Alpirsbach project... and it's definitely interesting!

This was a test seam I made before starting on the real one, after cutting the first leg. That was really hard work; fortunately the fabric is much more cooperative being sewn than being cut! 

So. There has been drawing, and thinking, and staring at photos, and cutting out, and pushing bits of paper around, and then drawing on larger pieces of paper, and more cutting out, and more arranging and re-arranging and cutting other bits and then, finally, drawing lines with charcoal around the pieces of paper. 

In general, I am no fan at all of paper patterns - I prefer the construction right on the fabric and play it by ear method. But in this case, where the aim is to get close to the original and there's not much prior experience on my side on how to place pattern bits, and with limited amounts of fabric (easily enough to do this, but not enough to botch the cutting! The fantastic fabric, by the way, was woven by the equally fantastic Marie Ekstedt Bjersing, and it was such a lovely experience to follow her process.)

Well. There you go.

Most of the bits line up very nicely to leave some few but not-too-small leftover pieces from where to cut the foot bits. Not pictured here are the possibly necessary toe parts for the feet of the hose, and the surely necessary small triangles for the ankle area. All the rest... is there. Now I only need to cut.

But first... chocolate. And a deep breath. And potentially a night's sleep, and then, then - cutting!