Viking mythology and all that goes with it

[DragonKeeper]

Sure, I'd be happy to check them out. Happen to know of any for hats? My bald head needs one, and I've only found rather terse descriptions, but no pictures or patterns, i.e. nothing I can work from without just making it up. Haven't had a chance to do much reading lately, been too busy crafting away.

Bates,
There is this one: http://histvarld.historiska.se/histvarld/draekter/vherreman/pdf/dvmmossa.pdf

Heheh same here. I have been working on this Viking embroidery project (a pillowcase) for a few weeks now and I have sacrificed some reading time so that I could work on it because I am determined to finish it by the end of March...so I know the feeling haha.

 

[Bates]

Awesome, thankee much! Not being able to read much Swedish, I'm assuming it's more then likely woolen. Hmm... wonder if a nice goatskin one wouldn't be out of the question, I still have like 3/4s of one left, and don't think it's sturdy enough for the boots I want to make.

Nice chain, Krigloch... dunno where to find anything like that. I'm a simple man, so I make do with a leather thong. Never been big on jewelry, it tends to get in my damn way and annoy if I wear anything more then a ring and necklace.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

well im using a black cord and the knot always slides down the side. kinda annoying

 

[Bates]

http://www.realknots.com/knots/bends.htm
Look for the Carrick Bend. Tie it tightly and it will damn near never come loose. I know you didn't ask, but I prefer leather thongs to metal chains (anything but 24k gold, sterling silver or stainless steel gets destroyed by my sweat really quickly)

 

[DragonKeeper]

English is the only language out of the seven or so I've had to study in school that has more exceptions to the rules than things that follow the rules. It has more borrowed grammar and vocab than the other ones, too. Spanish is simple when it comes to grammar, and most of the vocab is very close to either English or Latin. Having said that, if you want to make it easy to learn languages, you have to start with Latin. Then you have all the foundations to learn all the other ones.

DragonKeeper - something screwed up with my PM function, so I never got your PM. Can I still help you with something? PM me if it's not too late. I'm guessing these may be the patterns from www.historiska.se, right?

Bates, you should look at those patterns, too. I'll PM the addy, but the site has been screwing up for about a week now, so I have to look and see if it's working.-T

The site works now
http://histvarld.historiska.se/histvarld/draekter/draekter.html
I will try PMing you again. I was just wondering if the pages with the dress patterns could be translated from Swedish into English. I can't remember if there was anything else...
Thank you so much for your help! I really appriciate it

English really is a difficult language to learn, even for native English speakers!
It is a funky language indeed.

 

[Bates]

Sweet... You know, T gave me a bookmark to that place once, and then they rearranged the site.
Coincidentally, she gave me the link to the English forum as well. I think I am going to try making a goatskin version of that cap. It will be a Norse rain hat! Plus I'd rather tool leather then embroider, by far.

Oh yeah, someone gave me this link earlier. Nifty stuff. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6338535.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/launch_gms_viking_quest.shtml
That's pretty damn cool, too. My wife says it's like "Oregon Trail, but with vikings."

And on the "more nothing to do with anything" front: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article735078.ece
I found it amusing, if not terribly relevant to the thread, except for the way earlier discussion about blond being the hair color of "good people". Figured one or two of the blond ladies might get a chuckle from it.

 

[Tyra]

Bates, I have used that pattern for hats of all sorts of materials. Theirs is woolen, but very thin wool. I also made one for my husband in leather with a silver fox fur trim. It looks absolutely awesome! Stitching can go on inside or outside on all Norse garments, and this is one of those where it actually looks really nice if you stitch it on the outside in a contrasting colour.

Krigly, that is the same chain Johan has. It is hand made to fit, and I know the guy who makes it. It is expensive as hell and then some. He does do mail order, but dude, it's pricey. I bought a thinner version for my hubby, and big fat Mjöllnir to go on the ring, but those ones do not come with the serpent-style heads. They come with Norse-style ones, though. They are still expensive as fuck, but if you want one anyhow, I can get you the name of the retailer that sold me that one. I cleaned out his store last May. He's a very cool guy, very customer service minded, and I believe he does mail order. I can recommend him, for sure, but I'd hesitate recommending the other dude. I have never bought from him "long distance", and I don't particularly like him. He was very nice to Johan, and gave him an awesome deal, though, but again, Johan was ther in person.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

lol. I dont exactly need that same one. just something that connects at the ends like that.
Dont wanna spend a whole lot because im about to purchase a gun *cracks knuckles* "woot!"

 

[Tyra]

So you're specifically wanting the one with the ring and the two ends that "bite" into the ring then?
The problem with those exact finials and the loop, as I reacall it, is you have two choices: You either get a longer chain that you can pull over your head, or you get a shorter chain that is on you permanently. The deal is, you buy the chain and the Mjöllner, then the manufacturer puts the Mjöllner on the loop then ties the look and the two finials togehter for good. It is an actual knot. Once you're in a short chain, you're in it and you can't get it off w/o cutting it off. Or you can get the longer version, so you can take the whole assembly off, but with each 5 cms of handknotted silver thread added, the price of the piece goes up exponentially. That's another reason I'd not recommend buying it mail order - you sort of have to be there when they guy makes it. If the chain is too long, the Mjöllner ends up sitting on you wrong, too. Since I didn't have my husband with me at the time, I opted for another chain in the end, but it doesn't have that loop thing in your picture. It isn't actually a loop up close, but more of a triangle, because it has to be adjusted to fit the Mjöllner, too. The top part of the Mjöllner is like a straw, so it can't accomodate a circle. It is all ties together, but it pretty much has to be done by a silver smith. That's according to the guy that makes them, who said I could buy all the parts from him, but once I had my hubby with me, we'd have to go to a Canadaian silver smith for him to make the loop-thingy and knot it in place. Kind of hard to explain.
You might be able to get something that suits you, I just wasn't able to, but I ralize that's partially because I have a husband with a big chest. I've been searching for a huge ass hammer that doesn't look like a speck on him for a few years now, and so, I needed a chain that could accomodate such a large hammer. I litterally bought the biggest Mjöllnir on all of Gotland, and it's also very thick, almost 1 cm thickness. You can't just do a pretty little chain with a hammer like that. The same goes for Johan - he's a big tall guy, and regular hammers look like fly shit on him. He needs a chain and a hammer with some size to it.
I can see if I can dig up the addy for that dude's store that did Johan's, but guaranteed, it'll cost you a shit load.

 

[Bates]

Bates, I have used that pattern for hats of all sorts of materials. Theirs is woolen, but very thin wool. I also made one for my husband in leather with a silver fox fur trim. It looks absolutely awesome! Stitching can go on inside or outside on all Norse garments, and this is one of those where it actually looks really nice if you stitch it on the outside in a contrasting colour.

Cool... now you're making me want to go chase down some fur... or kill something furry, but nothing is in season right now. And I'm not that good at curing hides, anyway. Hopefully I have enough left now, I made myself some Coppergate "strap and toggle" style ankle boots out of most of the goatskin, I'll show you when I finish them up. Think I still have enough left to make a hat, too, tho.

He was very nice to Johan, and gave him an awesome deal, though, but again, Johan was ther in person.

Hehe, the advantages of being large and scary looking. I'm sure most people don't look at Johan and think "Hmm, this guy looks like someone who would be fun to fuck with." I run into that a lot with work, people are all rude and pissy when talking to me on the phone, but suddenly become very apologetic and placating when I show up in person. (I'm a repairman) Not that I get upset about it, it's just kinda amusing.

 

[Knarfi]

English also is bassackwards when it comes to structure compared to many other languages too...Ugh it sucks to learn if you're a native English speaker.


I definitely agree with the latin statement though.

To learn a language when you cant speak at all or some african bish language no one ever heared then a latin language like french is in theory the easiest to learn. But, since about every language has something that looks like english, and english is seene everywhere (TV, music etc) English is practicly the easiest to learn i think.

 

[Tyra]

Yeah, bates, one thing, though: Do up a mock hat in fabric first, because the pattern has to be adjusted to suit. You don't want to watse good leather on something that won't fit. The fir makes a good rim, so that rain doesn't go on your face. Second hand stores sell stuff with fur on it for cheap. I have butcherd quite a few leather coats and fur stoles in my day, but I also have some nice shoes, hats and boots to show for it. You can get a pair of boots, a couple of hats and some good leg bindings from one average sized man's leather coat. Price: 7 CAD.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

So you're specifically wanting the one with the ring and the two ends that "bite" into the ring then?
The problem with those exact finials and the loop, as I reacall it, is you have two choices: You either get a longer chain that you can pull over your head, or you get a shorter chain that is on you permanently. The deal is, you buy the chain and the Mjöllner, then the manufacturer puts the Mjöllner on the loop then ties the look and the two finials togehter for good. It is an actual knot. Once you're in a short chain, you're in it and you can't get it off w/o cutting it off. Or you can get the longer version, so you can take the whole assembly off, but with each 5 cms of handknotted silver thread added, the price of the piece goes up exponentially. That's another reason I'd not recommend buying it mail order - you sort of have to be there when they guy makes it. If the chain is too long, the Mjöllner ends up sitting on you wrong, too. Since I didn't have my husband with me at the time, I opted for another chain in the end, but it doesn't have that loop thing in your picture. It isn't actually a loop up close, but more of a triangle, because it has to be adjusted to fit the Mjöllner, too. The top part of the Mjöllner is like a straw, so it can't accomodate a circle. It is all ties together, but it pretty much has to be done by a silver smith. That's according to the guy that makes them, who said I could buy all the parts from him, but once I had my hubby with me, we'd have to go to a Canadaian silver smith for him to make the loop-thingy and knot it in place. Kind of hard to explain.
You might be able to get something that suits you, I just wasn't able to, but I ralize that's partially because I have a husband with a big chest. I've been searching for a huge ass hammer that doesn't look like a speck on him for a few years now, and so, I needed a chain that could accomodate such a large hammer. I litterally bought the biggest Mjöllnir on all of Gotland, and it's also very thick, almost 1 cm thickness. You can't just do a pretty little chain with a hammer like that. The same goes for Johan - he's a big tall guy, and regular hammers look like fly shit on him. He needs a chain and a hammer with some size to it.
I can see if I can dig up the addy for that dude's store that did Johan's, but guaranteed, it'll cost you a shit load.

doesnt even have to be the dragonheads or whatnot. anything that connects to the ring itself. just a normal chain will work.

 

[Bates]

Yeah, bates, one thing, though: Do up a mock hat in fabric first, because the pattern has to be adjusted to suit. You don't want to watse good leather on something that won't fit. The fir makes a good rim, so that rain doesn't go on your face. Second hand stores sell stuff with fur on it for cheap. I have butcherd quite a few leather coats and fur stoles in my day, but I also have some nice shoes, hats and boots to show for it. You can get a pair of boots, a couple of hats and some good leg bindings from one average sized man's leather coat. Price: 7 CAD.

Hmm, I hadn't thought of the second hand shop thing. Most of the work I have been doing has been heavy duty stuff, and I'm just looking for ideas to use up the goatskin I had left from trimming the shield. Have my Coppergate style shoes done, but my camera is dead. Made a few mistakes, but they stay on my feet and keep them off the ground. I'm going to be, well, me, and put another 4 inch "upper upper" onto the shoe, since I really don't like low shoes, and it should make them a bit more decorative.

I ramble about my projects a bit much, sorry. Can't help it, I'm having more fun with it then I have with anything in ages. Viðarr would have a field day in my workshop, hehe.

 

[Tyra]

doesnt even have to be the dragonheads or whatnot. anything that connects to the ring itself. just a normal chain will work.

OK, I'll see if I can dig that dude's card out that sold me my husband's chain and such.
You get what I mean about a Mjöllnir not working on a circle, though, right? It'd have to be a Mjöllnir like mine, with a ring holding it to the chain, rather than the kind that is in your avatar, with a "tube" at the top, or else you'd have to use a triangular loop. Do you get what I am saying, cuz it'd really blow if you bought all the stuff, then figured out what I meant when you got it all and realized you can't actually assemble it... Not that it's any of my bussiness or anything...

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

yeah. I know wha'chu saying yo!
Im using it for this one by the way.

 

[Pessimism]

To learn a language when you cant speak at all or some african bish language no one ever heared then a latin language like french is in theory the easiest to learn. But, since about every language has something that looks like english, and english is seene everywhere (TV, music etc) English is practicly the easiest to learn i think.

what?

 

[DragonKeeper]

yeah. I know wha'chu saying yo!
Im using it for this one by the way.

nevermind...I can see the pic now
I know I have seen terminals like that somewhere, but I cannot remember where. I am buying a chain like that, which is long enough to pull over my head with jump rings at the ends to put the ring through that I already made months ago...so I bypassed the terminals. My mjollnir looks like that and it is not very big and I thought terminals would over power it. Unfortunately the chain is from a local store in Mountain View, CA...so no mail order...sorry dude. You might want to check out local stores that sell beads and imported goods, you might find a knit silver chain.

 

[Tyra]

I can't see the pic either...
I got your PM, DragonKeeper. I'll e-mail as soon as I get a chance to come up for air from the thesis paper (i.e. soon).

 

[Bates]

You know... I think we need a "condensed version" of this thread. There's a ton of good stuff in here, but it's grown huge to the point I don't think anyone but me would actually read through it. Like take the "on topic" posts and make a web page out of them or something like that. I like my information organized.