Much later than I thought it would be… here comes part 2!

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But first I would like to tell you something. I could start with a lot of excuses, like I’ve done many times before (e.g. too much at school, haven’t had time and so on), but this time I won’t. Just this morning I came to a realisation concerning this blog, and I will come to that in a moment. The last two years I’ve got a really bad conscience when I’ve been thinking of the blog. Not for my own sake, but for yours. I’ve been wanting to do so much better than I’ve done, I have set my standards so high that I’ve even refrained from blogging because I wan’t the product to be perfect.

Today, the first day up after being bedridden for a week with a high fever, I suddenly realised that the reason for me not blogging isn’t because I don’t have time. It is because I haven’t taken the time. And I have realised that it is time to stop lying to myself and pretend like it’s because of the former. I need to be honest with both myself and you readers and say that the reason that I haven’t taken the time to blog is because it’s not fun anymore. Researching is fun. Sewing is fun. Reenactment is fun! Blogging… not so much anymore.

I’m not saying that I will stop blogging. I will problably continue with the few posts a year that I have managed these last years, but I hope that now that I’ve come clean to myself that I will be able to start over and find the fun again. Because this is a big part of my identity – to share knowledge. I am still very passionate about that! So please bear with me until I find my spirit, and THANK YOU everyone who reads my blog everyday. I see you in the statistics, and I am so thankful for all of you (and I am surprised that you are so many that come to my place every day!).

Now to the post! 😀

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Last time we took a look at my hair kit. Now the time has come for the rest of my boxes.

The sewing box

My sewing box is a plain bentwood box that I got as a part of a set. Anna Attiliani bought it for me in Italy.

The content of this box – as you could guess by the title – is my sewing stuff. Not all of it is period! I have some “modern” things like a pair of scissors that have an old look which I use for cutting fabric, as my period pair have dissapeared. Normally I try to hide the modern stuff under the lid when I’m at events, but here I thought I wouln’t ‘hide my flaws’ so to say. 😉

1 – A smoothing stone in green glass, bought from Åsa & Martin at http://www.textilverkstad.se/ I have a similar, antique, one as well, and they look a lot like this one from Kalmar, now at Historiska Museet in Stockholm.
2 – Thread reels with thread, both linen and worsted thread. One reel has filament silk from Devere Yarns.
3 – This reel I got as a gift, it is made by Francesco Betti. This one is filled with machine-made, real-silk gimp.
4 – A needle case based on a find from London, made by my friend Martin. In this case I have my modern needles that I don’t want tourists to see.
5 – Rosary that I made many years ago. I have a fancier one now, but this one I use for my lower class persona.
6 – Handmade snips, that I use for cutting threads and small pieces of fabric.
7 – My period needles and pins. Most of them are made from some kind of copper alloy, but a couple of the needles are made of iron.
8 – Thimble and thimble ring.
9 – Beeswax for the linen thread. One piece is the butt from a wax candle, the other one I have molded myself.
10 –   A sandstone whetstone for sharpening the needles. I’m not sure if this is period for 14th century, and I have some slate that I’ve picked on a geology excursion that I might use instead… Need to reseach that ^_^
11 – Those modern stuff… The scissors, linen thread, and worsted thread that I’ve bought from Historical Textiles a couple of years ago.

The Cathrin boxes

These are the boxes I got as gifts from Cathrin. They also contain things related to my hair, which isn’t surprising at all considering I have a lot of hair… 😉

Thi big box only contain a few things, and among them also the small box.

1 – A big, rectangular, silk veil.
2 –  Flax braid, for using in different hairstyles, like in this post.
3 – A small wooden box containing the hair powder from the Trotula, which I have written about here.

4 – A very small ceramic jug bought at Middelaldercentret in which I keep rose water during events.
5 – The other Cathrin box. It contains my rings (made by Annie Rosén and Historiska Fynd), U-pins based on several finds from both Sweden and London made by Annie Rosén, Lisa Hjelmqvist, and myself. Decorative pins for my veils together with less fancy ones for the Birgitta cap that aren’t seen.

And that was the content of my boxes! I’m still interested to see the content of your boxes, so if you would like to share it with me with the hashtag #whatsinmyboxes I would be more than happy!

This summer I won’t have time or money to go to more than perhaps one reenactment event, as I’m going to Iceland two months for my Master’s thesis in Geology (happy, lucky me!). I still plan to make some garments, and to take photos of what I’ve made, and perhaps I’ll write about them here. I hope you hang around for the future!