Friday, December 21, 2012

Winter in 3R

Winter has finally hit 3R, and it ain't cheap with the snow!

Today is the 2nd snowstorm of the week. We are supposed to get up to 25 cm of snow, adding to the other 25 cm we received on earlier this week. All the schools are closed, which means that most people can start their vacations a little earlier. The university clinic where I started to work last week is also closed, so I took the opportunity to work from home.

The view from our home office
Too bad the wind and the snow flakes are not visible! 
Our backyard


Snow removal services came twice this morning
All I want to do is to eat hot soup...
...feeling warm while looking at this beautiful mess
I love snow! It finally means that the darkness is gone, and that from now on, we get this rich winter light which can be found nowhere else and that gives me so much energy. All I want to do now is to decorate the house and bake.

I will hopefully have something to show the next time I write! I'm almost done with the first skirt I've sewn, and it has been fitted by my teacher, so I'm ready to hem it by hand. My goal is to wear it on Monday for Christmas with a sweater I knitted.

I hope I'll write back before Monday, but if I don't, I wish you very happy holidays!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Gyimes

Well, December s proving to be as unproductive than November so far. Except for the house which is getting a little bit more homey.
Bedroom, almost, almost there. 
The floors are done, some of the closets are semi-organised, and we now have doors on all our rooms. This is what our bedroom now looks like. I swear, I sleep better now that it looks and feels like a real bedroom.

Since I have nothing interesting to show that I've made, and also, I've been home sick for 2 days, which is considerably limiting my intellectual capacities, here are a few pictures of my trip to Romania, this time from a region called Gyimes, which is probably the most beautiful place in the world, in my opinion.

One of my friends from Montreal introduced me to that Gyimes family over 10 years ago now, and I have been trying to go back each time I was in Romania, but it is difficult as this region is very remote and it takes a lot of time to make it there. It has been so interesting to see the kids grow, the technology (cell phones) arrive, and everything evolve from one year to the other. I know 4 generations of that family, and the differences between each of them are huge, as it is the case in the whole country.

Discussing weaving techniques

Breathtaking Gyimes

My friend's grandmother traditional house

My friends' homemade pickles and alcohol

My friends' mother house, where nobody lives (the housing situation in that family is still a mystery to me...)

Every single centimetre of this house is covered with woven, embroidered or crocheted  textile. 

The armoire

More textiles exposed

Even the old radio has its own decoration

And if you don't have room anymore, just put them in layers!

Visiting a relative's house. 

So many woven pieces. 
I would love to go back and be able to spend time to learn how they weave. My friend's daughter got married last year, and I didn't see anything handmade in her house. It went so fast from her mother's generation to hers! But who am I to say anything, my own mother has been knitting for her whole life in front of me, and I only started myself a few years ago, when I found an interesting project to do.

Hoping to be back soon, whenever I get something going, or with more pictures of my recent trip!


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Wake me up when November ends...

I'm a fall girl. Fall is ma favourite season. I love the colours, I love the weather (most of the time), I love that it is not too hot, not too cold, I love that I get to wear real clothes, but without having to add a few kilos of winter gear of top of them, I love beets and carrots, I love soups, I love to add a warm blanket on my bed.

Except for this year.

Somehow, I missed fall this year. Is it because of our  trip, which took place when fall is at its best here? I feel I didn't see the colours, I did not take advantage of the weekends to have a long walk in a park or in the nearby forest (if there is one advantage of living in 3R, it's the nearby forests!).

That's pretty much as much colours as I saw - leaves from our neighbours the friars invading our   backyard...
Meanwhile, the last few weeks have been spent running around between the different jobs, and for the Farmers' circle, which is organizing a Christmas fair next week.  I've also been going to bed as early as 8:15 pm whenever it was possible. And despite the running around, I have not been productive at all. That is not something I enjoy.


I'm not sure I told you about kind of finishing my Peasy on the way to the airport last month? It's only kind of finished, because I've been able to wear it (I sewed the seams together, because I forgot a buttons hole, and I was not able to find any buttons that I like that are the right size, and I don't think I would ever wear that cardigan open anyway, because of the shape of its collar, but at the same time, I like that it looks like a cardigan, and not a sweater. So I was able to wear it a few times during my trip, but I was asked by an 18 year old if it was not a little too short, and so I have decided that I need to lengthen it. And find buttons. Sight. Eventually. 

No knitting at all happened in November, except for a start of a swatch this morning while I was waiting for a blood test at the hospital. It's for Fuse, which I am hoping to start sometimes soon. However, I can't seem to concentrate enough to get it right. The blood test was for my thyroid, so hopefully the concentration level will improve soon (and I should be able to go back to sleep at my normal 10 pm). 
5 rows, done several times each
The yarn is Berroco Blackstone Tweed in wintry mix. 

I kept going to my sewing class (I love it, but I am not very good at that either, I'm afraid). 

This is a the beginning of the class several weeks ago, as I was doing my homework at home
First steps of the skirt
This is what it looks like as of yesterday. After my teacher had to redo most of it because I had a big accident with the overlock and cut off part of it. I'm a bit behind my classmates, and it's not only because of this incident, or because I went away on vacations. Friday is supposed to be my pilates-sewing-laundry-cleaning day, but I have not been able to work only 4 days a week (as I am supposed) since I started that class. I'm hoping it will happen this week, because I still have a lot to do if I want to wear it this year!
a little bit more advanced
At the same time we are sewing a skirt with our teacher, she asked that we sew one (same model) by ourselves so we practice what we learn. I have been able to cut the pieces for the 2nd one last night, this is what the material looks like. I think it will be cute this summer (it's cotton).
Next skirt
On the house side...

Last few feet of the last room...
There is so little left to do (this + a few closets). I think I can see the light at the end of the floor tunnel. I can start thinking about other things, such as closet organisation and lighting.

Talking about lighting, I think I will reuse this authentic 70's (?) fixture, I see it everywhere (in this colour!) in design blogs. It will look perfect in our walk-in/guests room:


I hope to have something truly completed soon for the next time I write!
Tourlou!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Brasov ethnographic museum

I don't have much to say this week, I didn't knit at all, because I was too busy doing my sewing homework.
So instead, I'm going to post a few pictures I took at the Brasov ethnographic museum, in Romania. That's a lot of pictures, I hope you enjoy!


The permanent exhibition is titled Textile heritage, and that's exactly what it was, a journey through all the textiles traditions that are handed down from generation to generation.

Woven veil. I'm not really there yet...

Thing to work with linen

There is no doubt that I fell in love with textiles while visiting Romania. I visited countless "nice rooms", filed with textiles woven, sewn or embroidered by women I met. Visiting ethnographic museum is almost like a pilgrimage for me.









I think that some friends who are wondering how to weave a belt will enjoy this picture! 





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weaving pattern



So many details

ribbon loom
 This was the most intriguing piece of the museum. It was huge!
The patterns are entered on a cardboard

And here is the result

It's still working!

Sample





There were several short videos of ladies showing their art, here it is Hardhanger

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I hope you enjoyed. Don't hesitate to write comments if you have questions. I bought the book of the exhibition, and it is in French, so I'll probably be able to find the answers easily! More pictures of the "textile trip" coming soon!