As promised, I am launching one of two new blogs in addition to my original one. To be honest, I felt my original blog was simply too scattered. Parenting and ministry ... textile research, costume recreation and diaper sewing ... gardening and whole foods cooking ... these were simply too many topics for the coherence of one blog.
You may be wondering why I chose 'Edoras to me my "home" for textile research. Well, I'll be honest: I am a fantasy buff. And, as an archaeology major, I am very interested in any effort to represent ancient cultures (or fantasy cultures borrowed from real-life societies) believably. When I first saw the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I assumed that the costume designer used polyester-based textiles to wardrobe the enormous cast of leads and extras. I mean, why bother being authentic when no one will see the difference from the screen?
To my surprise and delight (as I was researching LOTR costumes for a personal project), it turns out that she adhered strictly to the textiles available to the European peoples on which Tolkien based his Middle Earth societies. Wool, silk, linen (flaxseed), and leather: these were the only fibers (that I know of) used (aside from the occasion hidden zipper, which frankly blows me away after all that effort!)
Meanwhile, the Rohirrim are a people very close to my heart. Based on the Celts of my ancestry, the horse-masters of Middle Earth were nothing if not practical. They took pride in their heritage and even the commoners expressed that pride with touches of knotwork and tartan in their homespun wool tunics. The thought gave me a real appreciation for my own ancestors and really got me wondering: how did the Celts diaper their babies? How did the women pull off long skirts with the practicality of being able to work, run, ride, and fight without getting tangled up? How did they maximize their limited resources for all kinds of weather and activity?
In our world of gross excess, it's a staggering thought ... So, as I explore the world of costume research, cloth diapering, and everything else that seems to remotely fall under the category, please bear with me. As I said, the people of Rohan were extremely practical: they used what they had. So if at times my postings seem a tad "off-topic," I may simply be upcycling in the spirit of their creative ingenuity.
