Below is the link to and article that discusses costume albums from 17th century Ottoman Empire.  The images are early 17th century and, despite that, are still used frequently by members of the SCA as documentation so I thought I would pass this one on.

267www.academia.edu/35176385/_Dressing_a_Citys_Demeanour_Ottoman_Costume_Albums_and_the_Portrayal_of_Urban_Identity_in_the_Early_Seventeenth_Century_Textile_History_48_no._2_Nov._2017_248-267

I will note here that the Herjolfsnes finds are dated several hundred years past the Viking Age. However, most of the information on textile production is still highly relevant as the use of dual coated sheep and the warp-weighted loom continued longer in Greenland than it did in many other places.  These books are fantastic for that information alone.  Beyond that, it is also important that Inga Hägg, in her work with the Hedeby textiles and garments, describes the construction of the garments there to be very much like those at Herjolfsnes.  Indeed, Hedeby shows us that the Viking Age Norse had some advanced methods of tailoring such as set-in sleeves, and, with some careful research, the patterns in Medieval Garments can help you to construct items that would fit well into the late Viking Age.  I personally used the books to pattern my first gown which I used for my Beyond the Aprondress class and handout.  ( ​awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/beyond-the-aprondresss ) 

I actually have both of these books in an electronic format, but also own the hard copies as well (and tend to reference those more often than my electronic copies).  They are great reference volumes and I often take Woven Into the Earth to events if I need to illustrate the process of crafting wool in period without taking my own bulky display. 

Because I also like to include some additional resources that fit well with these volumes, I also recommend downloading the two articles below:

Dress, Cloth and the Farmer's Wife by Michele Hayeur Smith:  This article gives additional details on textiles from Greenland, but also provides insightful information into what was being manufactured/used in Iceland at that time.  It can help provide insight into how the Greenland cloth evolved, and this information assist a Viking Age researcher better determine what information in the books above might be unique to Greenland.
www.academia.edu/7441906/Dress_Cloth_and_the_Farmer_s_Wife_Textiles_from_%C3%98_172_Tatsipataa_Greenland_with_Comparative_Data_from_Iceland

The Burgundian Hat from Herjolfsnes Greenland by Michele Hayeur Smith: This study redates one of the hats from Herjolfsnes.  The information given is very fascinated and shows us exactly how precious (and how often reused) cloth was in period.
www.academia.edu/23015256/The_Burgundian_hat_from_Herjolfsnes_Greenland_new_discoveries_new_dates
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This summer and fall have been crazy.  I rarely talk about real life here, as I know that most of my audience came to this page for Viking research, but many still know that we had a long battle, over several years, with acromegaly in my Savannah cat, Nimar.  We lost him at the end of May (and he was a a Champion up to the end and my heart is still very sore over his loss), and shortly after got a new little Savannah girl who we named Siada.  Integrating a new kitten, plus Pennsic prep (including finishing my Beyond the Aprondress class - awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/beyond-the-aprondresss ), work crazies and family illness... well, that means I have been pretty busy.  (And to add to that, we are getting a second Savannah kitten tomorrow morning!)

But, I wanted to make an announcement that on Saturday, November 18, in the Barony of Stierbach, in Atlantia, at the event Holiday Faire, that I will be taking Lady Petra as an apprentice.  She is an amazing person and I very much look forward to this journey!

As for other events on the Horizon, the next one will be Æthelmearc's Kingdom 12th Night!
aethelmearcs12thnight2018.wordpress.com/

I mentioned yesterday that I am working on a very large annotated bibliography.  Actually, it is a bit more than that even, as it will eventually need some sort of database because it breaks down the articles and books by region, timeframe and content.  But as I am doing that, I will also be doing book reviews here.  I don't know about you, but I often browse books and think "I need this one... but not just yet" and then six months later I go to make the purchase only to find out that it is no longer in print and the price on used copies has quadrupled.

My hope is that by adding book (and some article) reviews here that people can better determine what they might need "now" vs. something that they can just ILL later.  These posts will be added to a new category here titled Library.

I also want to share that I have a second blog to chronicle my current life journey with Siada (and her new sibling), and also plan to share more details about all that we went through with Nimar with acromegaly and diabetes in the event that it can help someone else cope with the disease (and his story is included in a separate tab of the blog as well).  If you love to be overwhelmed by cat photos and cat advice, you can find that blog by clicking the image below!
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Research is important to what we do as individuals who strive to recreate the items and processes of the past.  The foundation of our research is our resources.  Often we start small, with a few websites (often built by other members of the SCA), maybe a few museum links, and eventually we end up building whole libraries (often of rare books and articles) in our chose area of interest.

My recommendation is to start organizing it, and keeping track of it, now.  Manage your bibliography in a manner that not only allows you to know what sources you already have, but in a way that allows you to readily search it for quick details that might let you know that a book in your possession already has some of the information you need for a new project.  Make notes about each item that can assist with this.

There are amazing reference managers out there that are free, such as Mendeley, which I personally love.  ( awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/mendeley-for-the-sca-researcher ) But even a spreadsheet would serve the purpose here.  

It is much, much easier to start early, than to start 10 years into it (which is where I am at, and trust me, it is a painful place to be).  I am working on a bibliography (with a focus on Norse textiles and costume) now, that I will eventually share publicly, but I am only 200 items into it and have many, many more to go.

​So yes, it is in your own best interest to start early!

(As I work on this eternal-seeming project, I might be posting some book reviews here, so keep an eye out for those as well!)