Weaving in Crete and Rhodes

When in Chania two years ago I found this shop, Roka Carpets, full of woven goodies and right at the back was a LOOM but the shop was never open.  I would stand at the window and peer in, like "the little match girl".  I eventually learnt that the weaver, Mihalis Manousakis, had had to get a job that paid "real" money to support his young family. 

Roll forward two years and the doors were open and Mihalis's daughter was there looking after the shop on behalf of her stepmother, Anja, who was now the weaver.  Mihalis is working as a scaffolder.

Roka Carpets

Can you see the leather straps in the centre bottom of the photo?  These are the "foot pedals" and they must get develish hard on the back pushing forward and down to make a shed rather than just down as our pedals do.

Roka Carpets

Two strips of cloth being woven simultaneously and paper to separate the projects.   

Roka Carpets

                                                      Bamboo poles as leash sticks.

Roka Carpets

I love the tangle of threads on the centre support of the swift and the tree trunk its resting in.

The Roka patterns are from Minoan time.

One of my questions about Greek weaving has been, why have the traditional looms never been developed to make the weaving easier and why still just using two shafts.  On occasion I saw a four shaft loom but shafts 1&2 and 3&4 were tied together to act as a two shaft loom.  Maybe the answer lies in this article in the Crete gazette where they say

"There was a time on Crete when every house had a loom. Weaving was as essential as cooking. "

Weaving wasn't a fun thing to do or an art form but part of the daily chores.

Before we left home I had read that Kritsa was the centre of weaving on Crete and as this was one of our destinations to meet up with Pete's cousin I was quite excited but, alas, it seems the last weaver had recently passed away and, although several ladies had looms in their houses and were interested in learning weaving there was no one to teach them.

Kritsa

Kritsa - having a go.  My feet weren't far enough up the straps and I didn't get a very good shed.

If you enlarge the pictures you will see on my left on the floor a roll of the fabric (rag weaving in this case) being woven.  I really need another look at this in reality as some is rolled around the beam as its woven then, when there is too much, its still attached but becomes this separate roll.  When the warp is finished it is then cut up into whatever product it will become.  You can see the dear wee lady whose loom it was holding up a runner in the background.  I gathered from her demonstrating that she had a very sore back.

Rhodos museum

What have I been doing?

What have I been doing?  Probably not what I should be.  Lets see, knitting.  I started knitting this jacket

(Vogue pattern) last winter but had to put it aside through the summer as it was just too hot to have so much fabric sitting in my lap.  Picked it up again in the autumn and finished the body but now I find the armhole slits are in the wrong place.  I could graft the slits shut and open for armhole in the middle of the garter stitch band but I just am not interested.  Have gone right off the garment!  Its in the frog pile.

So started knitting this jersy loosely based on a pattern from Rowan magazine.  What's with those plaits?  They'll have to be stitched at the least.  Gone off that too.

So now I'm knitting a jacket for baby Reggie, due in December from bamboo yarn, size 3-6 months with length for the next size up.  I'm enjoying this and it does seem to be proceeding OK.  What are the best seams to use on babywear, anyone?

Weavingwise, I've done about 200 samples [well 8] (a miracle for me) to work out a pattern in Summer and Winter in two layers, joined at one side, with the pattern following through correctly on the reverse side.  This is an order from Pauanesia and the colourways will be chosen by them.  I used scrap yarn for the samples.  Also the more astute will see its not true S & W as I have put alternate thick and thin wool threads in the warp to reduce bulk and the weft is all mohair as I didn't want to use two shuttles with two layers - that would have been too much.  This sample was made to get the fold correct so I threaded the least needed to test.  The bands will be wider and the vertical and horizontal areas equal in the project.  You'll have to put your head on the side, the fold is down the centre.

The shock of so much sampling, and the thought that my dobby loom will be tied up with the above project for some time I quickly designed and put on a warp for three shibori scarves and am weaving my way through them at present.  Will pull up and dye at a later date.

See the diamond and "X" shapes that will hopefully offset by the dye process.

While putting the photos on here I've taken a second look at the knitting and maybe it is worth persevering.  Rather than frog the jacket it could be a blanket!