Things Textiley in Greece: Fibres and Fabrics - Old and New

Goats on the road, every afternoon - milking time. 

The huge variety of goat cheeses and other dairy products was a gourmet's delight while travelling around Greece. Each village seems to have its own bacterial cultures producing distinctively different cheeses. It was the same with the many different fermented drinks. The fermented honey mead drink served warm on a cold rainy day was my favourite.

I was reminded of how standardized and limited the range of the bulk of commercially available food has become in North America.

Goat meat dishes were on the menu in most places and in the antique shops, I saw many goat hair textiles, often combined with wool. I suspect the goat has been a key item in the Greek economy for centuries.

The oldest textile in Greece has been found in the Church of Saint Sophia.

These ribbons were made between the 2nd half of the 14th century and up to the 1st half of the 16th century. Using gilded silver threads and metal beads they were woven on a tablet loom and embroidered in satin stitch.

Processing Silk

Local silk production went on during the Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods - 320AD to the 1800s.

Notice the elegant Kelpht guard watching over the work.

'Metaxi present and past'

A new textile installation. The title plays with the 2 meanings of metaxi - 'silk' and 'between'.

It refers to the "unknown princess" whose clothing and hair was found when her grave in the church of Saint Sophia was excavated. 

Currently on display in the Museum of Mystras are her silk undergarment and her silk outer garment, remnants of her leather shoes and her hair still tied up and decorated in a variety of silk laces. These silk garments plus the history of silk production was the inspiration for this contemporary art installation. 'The 3D arrangement of yarns form linear patterns and reshapes the structure of the dress, reconstructing an immaterial and ethereal female figure.'

'By using yarn as a raw material, the weaving of a cultural bridge is achieved. A bridge that connects notionally the historical weaving position of women in the development of history and cultural meaning through a colourful path between past and present.'

The history of Greek textiles is long and interwoven with every aspect their culture.

Things Textiley in Greece: Peloponnese Peninsula Traditional Costumes

Vocha, Corinthia, Greece, early 20th century

Layers of wool and cotton heavily embroidered. Silver ornament.

Belesi, Argolid, Greece, early 20th century

The heavily embroidered red vest is all the more eye-catching when worn with the white over-vest.

The many different types of embroidery reflect the many outside influences over Greece's long history.

Turkish influences in style, techniques and materials.

Both men's and women's garments were densely embroidered...

....while in some areas they were elegantly simple.

Women's costume from Hydra in the 20th century.

The wide -sleeved blouse with the fitted, woollen, embroidered jacket are elements seen in the current Evzone guard uniform I looked at in the previous post.

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Man's dress 'Kanavista' of the Argolid plain, Peloponnese, early 20th century.

I'm sorry about the quality of this image because I just love this garment.

It looks simple but close inspection shows the masterful use of a plaid material. 

The padded areas over the shoulders and across the chest and the ease of movement allowed by the pleated skirt suggest it is derived from a working garment or a garment worn in battle.

And I thought different coloured buttons on a garment was a contemporary thing.

The many layers of multi-directional pieces would add strength and warmth to the fabric

Bridal costume, Argos, Peloponnese, 19th century

This is an interesting bridal costume because it showcases so many different fabrics, embroidery techniques and threads all on one garment.

Apron: Appliqued ribbon, rick rack and lace.

Pin tucks, lace inserts and ribbon rosettes.

Machine made.

Cross stitch on cotton and woollen fabrics.

Blackwork in running stitches and whitework using satin stitches.

Densely worked wool on wool in a variety of stitches.

Hand embroidered.

Is the bride showcasing her embroidery and dressmaking skills?

Modern Greeks dressed to be outside for a cold winter's afternoon on a public holiday.

Greece in Winter - 2016 Family Holiday

We looked up

We looked down

We climbed

We looked up

We looked down

We climbed

We walked and walked

And once some of us ran - on the first Olympic track, ever

We fact checked

And every evening we warmed up, sampled unique Greek drinks and talked about what we had seen that day.

We roamed Athens for a few days then drove around the Peloponnese Peninsula for 10 days.

Greece is having a quieter than normal winter with colder than normal weather so we often had the famous sites and the hotels to ourselves.

It was a wonderful family time in a unique part of the world.

Things Textiley in Greece - 12 Parts of the Greek Evzone Guard Uniform

Here is one of those pesky tourists standing beside one of the famed Greek Evzone - guards of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the president's mansion, dressed in his Sunday uniform.

To join this elite division of guards one has to be over 6' 1.3"/1.87m tall.

The guard's uniform evolved from the Klephts' traditional clothing. 

The Klephts were Greeks who avoided Turkish rule by escaping to live in the rugged mountains. While surviving as thieves they formed the core of the resistance to the Ottoman occupation of Greece and with Greek independence became national heroes. 

Costumes in the Nafplion Museum.

Of the 12 parts of the uniform, the most striking and symbolic is the kilt-like skirt - the fustanella. Made of a 98'/30m length of cotton, each soldier irons in 400 pleats then his partner helps him to belt it to his waist. The 400 pleats symbolise the 400 years the Greeks endured Ottoman occupation.

The blue and white waist fringe, also held in place by the belt, are colours symbolising the modern Greek nation, the colours also in the national flag.

Over a white cotton long-sleeved shirt is worn another white shirt - the ypodetes - with its very wide long sleeves that billow out as the soldier marches.

The scarlet, wool fez - the farion - has a long black silk tassel. The soldier's aim is to hold his body upright while marching to avoid tangling the silk tassel.

The waistcoat - the fermeli - is densely hand embroidered wool. Traditional designs are worked in white and gilt thread. One of the coded messages in the embroidery is the military rank of the wearer.

Silk tassel garters, 2 types - the epiksclides and the anaspastos -  hold in place 2 pairs of white woollen stockings - the periskclides.

A rifle with a bayonet is part of the uniform.

The red, leather clogs - the tsarouchia - have a pointed toe adorned with a black pompom. One source says the pompom is to keep water out of the hand sewn join where the 3 pieces of leather meet at the toe. It is also known as a place to hide a small blade.

Each clog has 60 nails embedded in the sole and a horseshoe-like metal plate on the heel. Apart from making the clogs very heavy, up to 7 lbs, the nails help the soldier from slipping on the stone tiles. As a group of soldiers raise their right legs high then strike the ground forcefully with their clogs it is said to make a sound of war.

This year our family holiday was spent in Greece.

Backyard Project: Multi-function Propagation Room East Wall

The east wall of the Propagation Room serves several important functions.

At one end it is attached to the house so that it and the house are part of the deer fence.

It supports a roof that is accessible from inside the house. 

This wall has helped change the structure from a deck that was stuck onto the house, which we removed, to a room where we transition from the inside to the outside.

Josh making sure the wall is straight.

This east wall is also part of the ventilation system for the plants growing in the room. 

Air can easily pass through the punched metal screen wall.

The east wall also provides structural support for the propagation table inside the room.

The wall also provides shelter and privacy to the patio on the other side of it.

It is also the place where the gate slides back out of the way when we want to enter the garden, more on that when the gate is built.

The many functions of this one wall of the propagation room show how well integrated it is into the overall design of this area of our Backyard Project.

BackYard Project: The Big Pour Happens on a Snowy Day

The Big Pour Day

Taylor and a Pumper Truck crew member.

Earlier in the week Josh and Taylor worked on constructing the formwork for the concrete walls of the Garden Sheds and yard.

At the end of each day, when the construction site was quiet, I would walk around the now defined spaces. It was the first time I could see exactly where each shed is located and I could visualise a clearer picture of how I would use the space.

During the week the temperatures dropped and we got a sprinkle of snow.

Josh and Taylor had to cover the formwork to keep rain and snow from filling the wall spaces.

Early one morning this appeared at the front door.

It was another City Concrete Pumping truck only this one had the pump pipe attached to a large, folded-up crane.

While Josh and Taylor cleared away all of the plastic covers....

...the pump truck operator set up the truck.

Four legs came out of the sides to rest on squares of wood.

The legs lengthened to lift the truck wheels up off the ground. My guess is it was so the truck wouldn't bounce around on the rubber tires when it lifted the load. Or maybe the legs had to be that long to make the truck bed level because the driveway is sloped.

The operator buckled on his remote controller and started unfolding the crane.

Here he is dressed for the cold day with his high-vis safety gear on over top.

He is guiding the crane up to its full height in between the trees.

The cement truck arrived and backed up the driveway...

...to couple up with the back of the pumper truck.

The cement was pumped up the white hose on the crane and into the flexible, dangling black hose with its end crimped closed.

The crane was guided up over the garage while the crew stood ready.

And the cement pour began. 

Teamwork - The crane, hose and cement flow controller, the cement hose guide, the lookout on the left....

...the air pocket removers.

While Josh (left) holds the weight of the suction pump hose motor Taylor (right) pushes the suction end in and out of the freshly poured cement to remove the largest air pockets.

That was The Big Pour Day.