2023 has sometimes been a really shitty year. Cancer and everything that comes with a treatment has made our business year … different and sometimes a little less energetic than usual years. Initially, we didn’t think we’d be able to make an Advent calendar. But… we got feeling and therefore we will make some posts when we feel like it. So it will be a Random Advent calendar.
Hope you think it’s ok?!
We start with a decorative textile.
Some textiles are a bit cooler than others. This is a brocaded tabby Swedish “krabbasnår” preserved in the medieval church of Roslagsbro. It has been incredibly nice when it was new. But what makes it really special is that it has a set that tells you that it is woven in a different type of loom than a treadle loom. A warp weigh loom or a tapestry loom. Warp in 2-plied linen/hemp thread, pattern in 2-plied wool yarn, in various colors.
The dating needs to be done on stylistic grounds and it is difficult to determine how old the fabric is because this type of pattern forms have been used for quite a long time. But the mix of colors and the asymmetric pattern sings medieval to us. The choice of loom type in combination with the pattern makes us think that the weave belongs in the Middle Ages.
Read about it in the database.
Photos: Historical Textiles CC BY 4.0
/ Maria Neijman and Amica Sundström
Done the cancer thing (stage 3 breast cancer). It sucks. Hope you ae feeling better soonest.
Fuck Cancer! Let’s fight it with old textiles
Dear Maria and Amica, your advent calendars are wonderful whether they do something every day or whether they are random! Knowing how much work goes into a blog article about a textile piece, I’ve always been amazed about what you did in previous years. Very happy to get a random calendar from you, and I hope you have a lovely advent time and will get a non-shitty, wonderful next year!
<3
Thank you