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!

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!