Joke of All Trades

Here is a version of the Mammen band, recently completed for a commission. The narrow brocade band was found in an extremely ornate high-status grave in Mammen, Denmark, dated to the 10th century. While the band itself was well-preserved, we don't know for certain what type of garment to which it was affixed. The original was composed of silk and linen thread with silver brocade. Very rich taste! This verison is not brocaded, but instead woven by patten, which was recreated by the amazing Shelagh Lewins. The pattern is done in the "missing hole" technique, attributed to Icelandic tradition but also found in other parts of the world. This technique allows tidbits of the weft thread to show through, and is known for making the weaving process extra unruly! This one is composed of 100% worsted wool, woven with sixteen tablets, and is just shy of two yards in length. I cannot complement the customer's color selection enough-- this is a truly striking assortment and I'...

A new batch of Burrows & Badgers characters ready for the field! These four miniatures are made by Oathsworn and are some of the best sculpts money can buy. The shrew knight, riding a beetle steed, might be one of my favorite minis of all time. I attempted multiple layers of colored wash to give the carapace a green/purple glossy sheen-- it sort of worked, but not as much as I'd hoped. Either way, I'm happy with the look! The cat huntress I based off of my very own Minerva, who I can assure you has a keen eye and never misses her shot. The otter's attire reminded me of a landsknecht, so I went with a landsknecht color scheme. Plate armor squirrel was pretty straightforward-- I have many more squirrels to paint! Can't wait to get this crew on the table!

It has been some time since my last weaving project. A week or two ago, I decided to try a new pattern to get reacquainted with the tablets! This is a reconstruction of a silk band from grave 735 of Birka, dated 9th-10th century. This is not a commonly reproduced piece; my work here is based upon the research of Susanna Broome, who reconstructed this pattern in 2016 after study of the original. To my knowledge, she is the only person to have recr eated a pattern from this find. This band was originally composed of a vegetable thread (probably linen) and silk, but we have no information regarding colors-- only that the inside border was made of vegetable thread and one of the middle tablets is turned in the opposite direction, thus making it reasonable to assume that these thread might have been colored differently than the rest. It is also possible that the band was all one color and the card threaded backwards was an accident... who knows? The original appears to run perpendicular to ...

  This is the story of how a 10-minute piece of scatter terrain turned into a multi-day scratch-built centerpiece. 😂 After building my motte-and-bailey fort, I was on a scratch-building kick with a lot of leftover materials and wanted to make extra pieces for the town which the fort overlooks. I decided to make a "bounty board," where locals post ads for jobs or assistance. I wanted it to look poorly and ramshackle, and quickly made a simple one. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I just wasn't happy with it-- I felt it looked rather bland. So, I posted it into a few groups for advice, and hoo boy did I get some! An astute eye pointed out exactly what was bugging me-- it wasn't weathered. Yep, that's because I used stain instead of paint, and so I completely forgot about the weathering process. But I also got a lot of other ideas from fellow builders: arrows, graffiti, a fallen poster, flowers on the base, a roof, even lighting! So, I decided I was goi...

  Another commission piece I completed recently! I'm pretty fond of this one. The pillbox hat has been worn in many cultures throughout civilization. There is evidence to support its use during the Viking Age after a nearly complete pillbox hat was found at Leens, in modern day Germany, dated to the 9th-10th century. A scrap of fabric that matches the Leens find was also discovered in Hedeby. This pillbox hat is constructed of fine twill wool, and lined with linen. The band is composed of 100% worsted wool, carefully tablet woven after the fascinating and unique Mammen band dated to 10th century Denmark, and sewn in place. Hopefully the recipient likes it as much as I do!