SSS'11 - Autumn is Coming

Days 19 to 24

Day 19: If it weren't for SSS'11, this is one of the two items I would have worn all summer long. Soft, comfy and though I am not very fond of gray colors, I should admit, that they are so easy to combine:


Day 20: Cold and rain all day, a bit of a shock wave after the hot weeks. I love these warm autumn colors, this combination of tunic and skirt seems promising for the autumn (that is, if I can make myself wear skirts and not jeans :)


Day 21: The refashioned top quickly became a permanent in my wardrobe. And cross-stitching - I feel the urge to go back to it, but knitting is still occupying most of my free time, and I plan on sewing too ... If only days were longer ...


Day 22: The notorious Vogue Capecho by Norah Gaughan. I wonder where I went wrong with this bolero, would a different yarn (cotton-viscose or cotton-acrylic comes to mind immediately) been more suitable? But I LOVE the color:


Day 23: Fun day, I blogged about it earlier. Frenchy is just the sweater for such fun activities:


Day 24: The linen shrug. Yes, this is the second item I could wear to death, so versatile and comfy. Last year this was almost the only thing I wore all summer long :)

SSS'11 - Hot September Days

Days 13 to 18

Day 13: The Old Gold Crocheted Top from Lion Brand Yarn free patterns.
I should really wear this top more often, I don't know why I didn't take it to Greece, it seems quite appropriate for seaside walks:


Day 14: I sew this top for the evening after the wedding of my best friend Elly (that's 15 years ago), sort of in a hurry and the sewing work is not very neat. The buttons, however, were a lucky inspiration - the bosom of the top (Burda pattern) turned too big for me and I decided to make a small inside pleat with buttons in front. I like it like that and as I find tailored blouses to be my favorite, I wear it a lot. The pants are Italian Motivi, sadly a bit too tight and almost never worn, I believe next summer they'll be my daughter's:


Day 15: The first day of the school year - a kind of holiday for parents all over Bulgaria. Both of our children this year study at the Sofia High School of Mathematics, one of the most prestigious schools in the country. I'm so proud of them both! For the morning I put on my Quanun cardigan, but I had to take it off during the opening ceremony, as the day turned out quite hot:


Day 16: Kim Hargreaves and Simply Red - a comfortable everyday sweater, probably a tiny bit too simple:


Day 17: Kim Hargreaves again and Arielle - this one I love more:


Day 18: My oldest self-sewn dress - made some 18 years ago and worn quite a lot. I still like it as a house dress, as I find it flattering :)

Postcards from Greece

The Northern Aegean seaside, with the mountain slopes running into the sea, is sooo beautiful, that being there felt like living within a postcard. I just couldn't stop myself from taking pictures.
This is my current wallpaper:

Ancient Argilos

Some 6 km after the Lion of Amphipolis, which is part of 4th century BC funerary sculpture in honor of one of the generals of Alexander the Great and 10 km before Asprovalta a sign indicates the ongoing excavations of the ancient city of Argilos.
The site is still not open for public viewing, no guides or information, other than that available on the internet is provided and the access is not easy, which made our excursion to the ruins quite exciting. Armed with a printing of pictures and descriptions of what is to be seen there, we stopped the car by the side of the road and roamed the hill of Palaiokastro. The place is so picturesque - a green hill with slopes, reaching the sea, that no wonder the ancients chose it for their city. I would gladly live there too.
The excavations have revealed the basis of several buildings, cobbled streets and a major agricultural building on the top of the hill, which was quite impressive. What struck me most about these ancient folks, however, was their sewage system. Medieval Europeans were in the habit of emptying their night pots on the streets, while the old Greeks had pipes to every house, all of which connected to a bigger pipe along the main street and down to the sea. Here's some more I found on the Internet:

The literary tradition dates the foundation of Argilos to 655/654 B.C. which makes Argilos the earliest Greek colony on the Thracian coast. Argilos occupied a privileged area and thus benefited from the trading activities along the Strymona and probably also from the gold mines of the Pangeion. The city enjoyed economic prosperity, at least until the foundation of Amphipolis in 437 B.C. Herodotus says that in 480, after crossing the Strymona, the Persian king Xerxès stopped at Argilos and forced its inhabitants into his army. After the Persian defeat, Argilos became member of the first Athenian confederation, paying 1,5 talents, a sum that proves that it was a rich city. But the foundation of Amphipolis, which took control of the trade along the Strymona, brought an end to this. Thucydides tells us that some Argilians took part in this foundation but that the relations between the two cities quickly deteriorated and, during the Peloponnesian war, the Argilians joined with the Spartan general Brasidas to attack Amphipolis. An inscription from the temple of Asklepios in Epidauros attests that Argilos was an independent city during the 4th century. Like other colonies in the area, the city was conquered by the Macedonian king Philip II in 357 B.C. Historians thought that the city was then abandoned, but excavations have brought to light an important agricultural settlement on the acropolis, which dates to the years 350-200 B.C. No roman or byzantine ruins have been uncovered.

The Colors of Greece

Golden yellow and olive green - a gorgeous combination -
as seen from the window of our car.
Northern Greece in early September:

SSS'11 - The Greek Days

Day 7 to Day 12

For our vacation in Greece I packed only a few knit items - Gaby's Joy, three of my cardigans, my Arielle sweater and the black hat. The weather was hot, for the greater part of our time we bathed in the sun and wore our cardigans extensively in the evenings.