Mary Valante
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medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Mary Valante
@medievalmaryq.bsky.social
1.6K followers 560 following 1.5K posts
Appalachian academic. Medievalist. Mom. Maker-in-training. Vikings/Women/Labor/ Identity. Chaotic good gnomish bard. She/her. Per uni attorneys: "'opinions expressed here are my own' so it is clear" I am "not representing an official university position.
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medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Here in NC Trump won, but so did Stein (gov), Hunt (Lt gov), Jackson (AG) and Green (state superintendent). There was a lot of energy from DEMs, yet Trump won our crucial 16 electoral college votes. What happened in '24 is complex, but I think O'Toole is close to right about where we are now.
From the Raleigh News & Observer after the election, a breakdown of counties that voted for Trump, that voted for Harris (and Josh Stein for governor), and fourteen counties that split their tickets and voted for Trump and Stein.
November 1, 2025 at 3:58 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Myself and my Hooch in 2018. Now I've got something awesome in common with Gov Walz and it's making my weekend.
Me as Pennywise, and my very silly doggo, looking pretty bewildered, in a yellow raincoat with a red baloon tied to his collar.
October 31, 2025 at 11:24 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
In my modern overshot weave, the ground is tabby, the twill design supplements it, but again could be pulled out and the cloth would remain intact. I don't need an outline stitch because I weave a line of tabby between every line of the twill pattern.
On a floor loom, tha vertical warp threads are light green, and the ground is tabby weave on the same color. The pattern appears in a row of purple, a row of teal green, and a row of purple. A close-up of a bit of the purple row. There is an "X" in the enter, and the arms of the "X" form a half circle that joins with the next "X" to form a full circle, which rings a sort of rounded equal armed cross with a circle in the center
October 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Viking Age weavers used a supplemental weft technique for tapestries. In the 11th/12th century Överhogdal tapestry the background is tabby, the ship outlined in a soumak stitch and filled with tabby. If we pull out the ship yarn, the cloth would remain, because the ship is supplemental to the whole.
A Viking ship, woven as part of a tapestry. The ship is woven in blue yarn with rusted red outline. There is a square sail and six "people" that look that pegs on the ship; they are orange with cream "heads," all outlined in blue.
October 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
As Nero's economic policies caused inflation to skyrocket and he set impossible taxes on the provinces, governors rebelled and the Senate, finally, turned on him, declaring him a public enemy. He tried to flee more than once, and then ordered his secretary to kill him.
A golden coin issued by Nero. The front shows the Emperor's head in profile, the reverse shows the colossus statue of himself, with the su god's crown made of radiating light.
October 22, 2025 at 4:17 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
On my mind today: the Emperor Nero's Golden House. Pliny the Elder, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio all suggest that Nero may have had a massive fire set, one that destroyed homes and more near the Circus, in order to clear the space. They could be wrong, but many at the time believed it was true.
Hubert Robert's 1785 painting "The Fire of Rome." It shows a distant fire burning brightly at night, with a shadowed bridge, temple and people in the foreground.
October 22, 2025 at 4:17 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Who's solving the Louvre robbery?

Right answers only
October 20, 2025 at 3:37 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Belated Friday #WeavingLikeAViking. Not that overshot was a Viking-Age technique, but other forms of supplemental weft were so I'm going with it.
Light green yarn as the warp tied onto the loom. The weft features a light green backdrop with a wife horizontal stripe of a vibrant purple design that leaps out visually.
October 20, 2025 at 1:54 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
I couldn't find a frog costume locally. We adapt.
Me, in an inflatible dinosaur costume, skipping off to our local No Kings protest.
October 18, 2025 at 5:47 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Yellow jewelweed, and I'm told it's an excellent native pollinator. It certainly is pretty.
Green leaves abound with three bright yellow flowers clearly visible
October 10, 2025 at 2:13 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Irish politics for Americans.

Anyone in the mood for a nice, normal political scandal? There's a presidential election happening in Ireland. If you don't know, Irish presidents don't run the place, taoiseachs do that. The wildly popular outgoing president is a poet, academic, and dog-lover.
Michael D. Higgins, in a suit and standing on the lawn in front of his official state residence, adresses the press at a microphone. His very large Bernese Mountain dog is pawing at his leg and sticking his nose inside the president's jacket, but the president is unfazed as he pets his dog while continuing to speak
October 7, 2025 at 4:24 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
A year ago today, just a few days after Hurricane Helene, and the same walk today.
A paved walking path alongside a small river. A wooden fence is in pieces, the grass is all flattened on direction, and severe damage to the riverbank is clearly visible on the other side of the water. There's a lot of brown grass and dirt that's been dumped from when the river overflowed its banks during the storm. A view of the river through bright green plants and the far bank is in much better shape than a year ago.
October 4, 2025 at 2:20 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Next project mystery
Light green yarn wrapped around the pegs of a warping board The yarn if off the warping biard here, and the organized threads are in a daisy chain. Three cones of yarn: the light green, a teal green, and vivid purple
September 21, 2025 at 1:38 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Quality puppy content.
A beautiful black and white husky, sprawled partly on her bed and partly on the floor, sleeps soundly with her tongue just sticking out between her teeth.
September 21, 2025 at 3:59 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Starting a new project and learning something new. A day late posting Friday's #WeavingLikeAViking
Fine green yarn on a warping board. At the top, the fibers cross on an "X" pattern called the "lease." I'll use this later to move the yarn to the loom. The same yarn lower down on the warping board -- which isn't a board but a bunch on pegs on a frame. I can wind many yards of yarn around the pegs so they won't tangle, and I'll have everything ready to warp the loom. On this part of the frame I've been counting off 20 strands at a time, because my project will require 20 warp ends per inch on the loom.
September 13, 2025 at 2:12 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Finished the first of two Robin Hood bags. Friday #WeavingLikeAViking
A rectangular bag woven in greens and browns and some oranges The lining fabric of the bag is... Robin Hood themed! Here you can see a bow and a feathered cap
September 5, 2025 at 7:57 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
In case this helps you recover from the... rest?
Map of the Viking diaspora and trade routes. I've had it in powerpoints going back 10+ years so I'm not certain of its origin, but it's a rare map, showing North America, Europe, Africa, and western Asia.
September 2, 2025 at 1:37 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Only one. And she's really not even a puppy anymore. Róisín Dubh, my dark Rosaleen is my colleen.
Róisín as a tiny puppy in a tine pink harness, looking at you with her bright brown eyes. Róisín, hardly a puppy even though she acts like one, lying on a rug with a paw across her nose but still looking right at you, little flirt.
September 1, 2025 at 3:05 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
It was ONE puppy and as it happens she is not a doodle.
She's much bigger now, but my little black and white puppy rocking her life in a tiny pink harness that wouldn't fit her leg now. She's looking up at the camera with bright brown eyes and ears up.
September 1, 2025 at 2:54 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Post a meme made by you:
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson from the Banshees of Inisheerin. The men are seated at a picnic table outside a pub, each with a pint glass of Guinness in front of him, and the coastline and sea behind them. In the film, Farrell's character wants to know why Gleeson has abandoned their friendship, and Gleeson tells him "I just don't like you no more." In my meme, I am Colin Farrell and Gleeson is my gallbladder, which had very suddenly decided it just didn't like me no more.
August 30, 2025 at 4:44 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
It's off the loom now, and the second pic is my not-yet-executed plan. The band is my own tablet weaving, so Friday #WeavingLikeAViking continues!
Approximately 12" by 62", the image is a long weaving of green and orange bands, similar in shape to a scarf. Now folded into the shape I plan to sew, the "scarf" is now a 12" by 12" bag, mostly green with two narrow orange bands and a wide orange band that works as a front flap for the bag. Near the "bag" and positioned as its shoulder strap is a tablet woven band with the same orange and green.
August 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Not Friday and not #WeavingLikeAViking but I'm pleased with how it's going. It's only my second time playing with rosepath patterns and my first time on a floor loom with it.
Threads on a loom. The warp is green and white and beige and gold. The weft is a textured pattern of wide dark green stripes and very norrow orange stripes. Threads on a loom. The warp is green and white and beige and gold. The weft is a textured pattern of a wide stripe of ornage and a wide stripe of less textured dark green.
August 5, 2025 at 2:24 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Met this lovely in person at Leed's, Alex Makin's reconstruction of Cuthbert's maniple. She isn't on BlueSky, but you can find her on Insta talking about medieval textiles. For details on Cuthbert: alexandramakin.com/2019/11/20/c...
Hand embroidered reconstruction of the early English maniple found in St Cuthbert's tomb. All thread was handspun and dyed, except the gold thread, which is actually gold thread. The image depicts a saint, likely Cuthbert, standing with a hand raised in blessing and bird near his ears. There are floral designs and some Latin text
July 12, 2025 at 10:40 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Waiting for my flight to the UK to attend Leeds, talk about my weird obsession with these tiny artefacts, and learn loads from all the textile experts who will be there!
Pin beaters at Waterford? Looks like it! Pin beaters, needles, what's even happening here??
July 6, 2025 at 8:37 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
#WeavingLikeAViking
Warp threads in red, yellow and blue tied to a peg Blue weft thread wrapped around a popsicle stick The woven band, on the loom, showing parallel zigzag lines in red, yellow, blue, yellow, repeat.
July 1, 2025 at 9:08 PM