Garters for a prima donna

This is a hint for one of the costumes I'll be making over fall and winter. It's very big and very pink, and that's all I'm going to say for now. I won't really need garters, because they won't show, but I wanted them nevertheless.

Rococo garters are simple to make. There are several examples with embroidered phrases, from poetry to cheeky quotes. I found inspiration in this tutorial and laughed heartily when I found this geeky one. However I sewed the embroidered panel directly on top of the satin band to avoid seams that could unravel easily.

Cotton emrboidery thread and fabric, satin band in polyester, sewing thread in silk.

I had to improvise a little - my embroidery hoop lies waiting for me at my aunt's,
half the country away.

It's a sad thing to confess to, but I'm a sucker for small projects that give instant gratification. This took me a couple of hours, and now they only need a little ironing to get rid of the pin holes left in the fabric, and they're ready to go!

Gjallarstadir Viking Market

I moved into student housing in Oslo a few weeks ago and as chance would have it, the person in charge of the house I live in happens not only to be a fellow viking - he belongs to the same viking group I've just joined. There are vikings popping up everywhere around me, and it's amazing. Yay for friends I won't bore with my talk of VIKINGS!

Gjallarstadir was the most relaxed market I've been to so far. I got to say hello to a few of my new vikings (and then hide from them because they were scary...).

My viking clothes arrived at my new place the day before market. I celebrated the 
end of this painful separation by wearing all. of. the. jewellery.

I'd brought a civilian to the market and we originally planned to leave when it closed around six. But a few minutes before closing time, we happened to meet a few people we sat down with and we ended up not leaving before half past eight, after sharing mead, sausages, stories and I got to pet their dog. I'm a shy person, so whenever I start talking with strangers out of nowhere it's like magic.

A lot of the viking enthusiasts my age come to markets only during opening times, and it's so sad. The viking fun happens when the normal people are gone - the mood at market after closing time is the best thing ever and I can't explain it, it's a thing that has to be experienced.

brb joining the Night's Watch.

Gjallarstadir was the last market for this season and since many of the foreign sellers pack up shop now, I got an enormous sheepskin for 600 NOK. Bargain! I named it Børre and it's super floofy! I just hope it'll stop smelling like sheep so I can stand to snuggle in it. Hopefully I can sleep on it next time I camp at market.

This is my first market where I haven't bought shiny pretties or sewing stuff. This time my loot consists of food and a few rabbit furs from a nice seller. The sausage is hand-made, with moose and deer meat and chantarelles. Heaven. And that piece of meat is dried horsemeat.

In addition I bought some cherry honey for autumn tea and a dried reindeer heart that I gifted to my civilian as thanks for driving me to market. I can't start to say how pleased I am with the fact that I was able to give away a dried heart as heartfelt thanks and not have the recipient freak out. (She's a really cool lady.)

Dwarf lady

In April I had a tiny photoshoot with Sylvilel, one of my roomies. There have been some changes in my costume since December - I donated my armbracers to the cinema because I had a fit of I-HATE-THESE-THINGS-I-MADE... my comfy dwarf-sweater was left with a friend of mine that lives in Oslo and I haven't gotten around to restyling the beard after I rinsed it for glue.

Please ignore the houses in the background and the fact that I am shamefully beardless, and instead feast yer eyes on my beautiful sledgehammer.

I know I am a nightmare to work with because I only stand still like two seconds at a time, and I'm easily distracted by EVERYTHING. Sylvilel is an incredibly patient photographer.

I am very pleased with how the sledgehammer turned out. I lost count over how many times I painted and repainted it, but the time was well spent, it tricked a hobby smith into thinking it was real.

My preciousss.