Adhela's Research Midden: August 2025

Saturday, August 30, 2025

Warping on a budget

I'm ready to create my first warp. I'm using a box loom, not an inkle loom. I don't have a warping board, and none of my chairs have straight legs. I could build a warping board, but then (ah yes, the catch) I would have to find a place to put it. So instead I am buying this set of four 12-inch tall clamps to use as a warping system. They are relatively cheap ($27) and are small and easy to store.

I can warp small things like headband trim on my 4-foot wide desk, and larger things, like belts, on my folding 8-foot sewing table. I'll use the 4th clamp on the bookcase behind the sewing table to get another 4 feet of warp. That's the plan, at least. Let's see if it survives contact with reality-- many plans do not!

Friday, August 29, 2025

Varafeldur: the amazing Viking trade cloak

I learned about these minimally processed wool cloaks for the first time today, and I'm really interested in trying to make one, but I've gone down enough rabbit holes for right now. Parking this here so I can find it later!

https://www.ashford.co.nz/threads-of-history-an-icelandic-varafeldur-in-the-south-highlands/

https://youtu.be/HTdmpO5_VNg?si=Y6jFjnSMkeI0eUHJ

https://rebaweaves.com/varafeldur-project-part-one/

https://littlelooms.com/weaving-history-the-varafeldur/

https://robbielafleur.com/2017/05/04/varafeldur-part-3/

Archaeological textiles review issue 63, cited by Robbie lafleur, see article on page 31

https://www.scribd.com/document/726667444/ATR-2021-Nr63

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Free Weaving Pattern Visualizer

I tried several free weaving pattern editors, and found that I didn't really understand enough about weaving to use them. Wups. Finally I found one for my simple needs and beginner level-- Seizenn (https://www.raktres.net/seizenn/#/inkle). So now I've fiddled around with a few design attempts, and settled on a simple 3-color band, 14 strands wide, that I will use as a filet for a veil. The colors echo the colors of the tunic and peplos that I am making, so that will be good. This is a plain weave, no tablets. I've never woven before and need to start somewhere! I'll use my #10 mercerized cotton crochet thread to make a thin fine weave. Wish me luck!!

Rye with a difference

Fascinating! And interesting for those of us doing reenactment baking! Different composition of European rye vs American rye, probably due to the latter's selection as a cover crop rather than a food.

https://modernistcuisine.com/mb/the-difference-between-american-rye-and-european-rye/

Sunday, August 24, 2025

Upcoming Class: University of Atlantia virtual session

I will be teaching a roughly one-hour class on Forgotten Vegetables and Potherbs at the September 21 University of Atlantia online, 12:30 PM PDT. Hope to see you there!

"It wasn't all just cabbages, turnips, and parsnips that got you through the winter and early spring. Skirret, orach, nettles, and purslane, and a host of other things were a vital part of many period diets. What are the glume wheats, and why were they grown so widely and then abandoned? Let's take a tour of what people were eating in England and the low countries in early period times."

A 10-minute talk on Forgotten Vegetables

In one of my other hobbies, I am a Master Gardener in Lane County, Oregon. I recently gave a brief talk at our Edible Gardening group monthly meeting on what people used to grow instead of some of our current favorites.

Anglo-Saxon Beads

So far I've identified a number of beads from Anglo-Saxon grave finds that are plausible for a 6th century migration persona. Now all I have to do (haha) is apply my limited knowledge of lamp working and learn to make them! I see Sue Heaser's new book, Anglo-Saxon beads from 400 AD to 700 AD, in my future. I've been reading her excellent PDF papers on techniques for recreating beads.

Monday, August 4, 2025

Carlin Peas Experiment 2025

Introduction

I wanted to see if field peas (Pisum sativum var. arvense), such as were available in period times, would grow well in Zone 8b Oregon, and whether they tasted significantly different from modern soup peas. I hope to try a number of medieval recipes that may not be well-approximated with standard dried peas. My theory is that the field peas don’t turn to mush like modern soup peas. We will see!

Research

I chose Carlin peas as being a good equivalent for medieval peas– lots of sources of admittedly variable credibility saying they have been grown since the 12th century. Several old stories about them coming from Norway with a Captain Karlin, but nothing verified. [more work tbd]

Seed Saving

Don’t save seeds from pods which have fully or partially twisted open. That trait will encourage pea drop and make drying pods on the vine more susceptible to harvest loss.

I have a concern that there may have been cross pollination between my super sugar snap peas and the Carlin peas. Some portion of the pods had “crowded” peas with flat sides, similar to super sugar snap. The majority of the peas were fully round and barely touching in the pod, which might be characteristic of Carlin peas. I will not save the flat-sided ones for seed, just in case.

Growing Out the Peas

August 4, 2025

Carlin pea update: they shelled out to a little over 2 cups, which should let me try several small-batch recipes. I saved some for next year too.

July 12, 2025

Carlin pea update: I have about half the pods off the vines now, the rest are still drying out. I started this with just 25 peas, of which only 18 sprouted and maybe 15 survived the snail attack. Peas are such a bountiful crop, returning your initial sowing manyfold.

July 9, 2025

Carlin pea update. The pods are starting to dry out! I've taken a few of the driest ones off the vine because I don't know if these peas have a habit of opening up and dropping their precious cargo. I'll be harvesting them as they dry out and checking them every day or two. It looks like we're going to get enough to make a couple of dishes and that's exciting!

June 12, 2025

Carlin pea update: yea verily, we have pods!

May 30, 2025

Carlin peas starting to bloom. They have red and white flowers, very nice.

May 26, 2025

Carlin peas update. A month after planting, they are about 15 in tall. Still look like crazy aliens with curly tentacles!

April 22, 2025

I am trying this year to grow Carlin peas, an old starch pea variety that has been used since medieval times. I've got them started and planted and I'm truly amazed by how different they look from any modern snap, snow, or shelling pea that I have seen. I feel like I'm hatching little aliens in my garden!

April 14, 2025

Planted the Carlin pea starts in one of my raised garden beds, next to a trellis.

March 27, 2025

Soaked the Carlin peas for about 30 minutes, then planted in 3-inch 4-packs, two to each cell. I only have 25 seeds!

January 2024

Researched medieval peas and came up with Carlin peas as a modern equivalent. They are still grown in the UK, but seed import restrictions make it difficult to impossible to source them from overseas. Fortunately I found both US and Canadian sources. I went with an Etsy seller called “44Plants” (https://www.etsy.com/nl/shop/44Plants) and received the seeds in mid-January. Poor garden planning in 2024 meant that I had to wait until the spring of 2025 to start my project.

I also received a bonus pea called “Rejovo” that has been grown in Umbria since antiquity. I chose to only grow one of the Carlin peas at a time, keep it simple.

Prairie Garden Seeds carries Carlins, but were sold out. https://prairiegardenseeds.ca/collections/peas/products/carlin

Sources and Links

Origins & Characteristics

So many of these link to each other and some links I have omitted because of gross misinformation (confusing them with the tropical cultivar “pigeon peas”, etc)

The Fat of the Land: History of Peas (super detailed info)

https://thefatofthelandblog.wordpress.com/tag/history-of-peas/

Peas (much good info on origins and development)

https://www.encyclopedia.com/food/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/peas

What’s cooking: carlin peas

https://www.susanlow.com/post/what-s-cooking-carlin-peas

The revival of the Carlin Pea

https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/what-we-do/citizen-science-and-research/members-experiments/the-revival-of-the-carlin-pea

ALL ABOUT: THE QUEEN CARLIN PEA

https://boldbeanco.com/blogs/news/all-about-the-queen-carlin-pea

Grey, Black, Carling, Pigeon Peas and "Burning the Witch"

https://adambalic.typepad.com/the_art_and_mystery_of_fo/2007/02/left_maple_peas.html