New Gloth Doll

Let me present to you my newest acquaintance.
Sa va prezint ultima mea cunostinta.

Born and bred in a cold country of uncertain geographical location (Sadjikistan, some say; life must be pretty depressing there), the future doctor Maselarovic seized the opportunity to come and study dentistry at the prestigious university of Targu Mures, Romania.

Nascut si crescut intr-o tara rece cu locatie geografica incerta (Sadjikistan, spun unii; trebuie ca viata acolo e destul de deprimanta), viitorul doctor Maselarovic n-a ratat sansa de a veni sa studieze stomatologia la prestigioasa universitate din Targu Mures, Romania.

Which he did admirably. However, certain demons from his blurry past, coupled with the continuous struggle of trying to keep sane in a country like Romania, have caused an irreparable split in our friend's personality, as well as significant hair loss.

Ceea ce a facut in mod admirabil. Totusi, anumiti demoni din trecutul lui cetos, impreuna cu lupta continua de a nu innebuni traind intr-o tara ca Romania, au cauzat o ruptura ireparabila in personalitatea prietenului nostru, precum si o cadere semnificativa a parului.
A mental chasm so deep that it can only be reconciled on the nights when Nervan eats copious amounts of icecream, clutching his teddy bear and wearing his fluffy slippers.
Un abis mental atat de adanc incat cele doua parti nu pot fi reconciliate decat atunci cand Nervan mananca inghetata in cantitati industriale, tinandu-si la piept ursuletul si purtandu-si papucii pufosi.
The rest of the time, he's one of two things:
In restul timpului, el e una din doua:

The devoted dentist, gruesomely efficient, viciously determined to fight plaque, completely oblivious to his own troubles and especially to the pain of others...

Dentistul devotat, groaznic de eficient, fioros de hotarat sa lupte cu tartrul, complet surd la propriile dureri, si mai ales la durerile altora...

...or the die-hard supporter of Poli Timisoara, a wild beast dressed in purple, serving no other power than the holy soccer ball.
...sau suporterul infocat al Poli Timisoara, o fiara in mov, nesupus niciunei alte puteri in afara de sfanta minge de fotbal.

If you dare express a liking for another team...
Daca indraznesti sa te declari simpatizant al altei echipe...

or if you dare scream in his practice...
sau daca indraznesti sa tipi in cabinetul lui...

In other news today... Happy New Year!

Holiday Greetings

I and every other creature of rags and buttons living on my domain wish you a warm Christmas and a creative New Year!

Eu si tot restul creaturilor de carpa si nasturi traitoare pe domeniul meu va uram un Craciun cald si un An Nou creativ!

...and then...

...then there was The Tale Factory. That is to say, a weekly radio show with children's stories, now releasing its fourth CD of cute brand new tales. And a great opportunity for me to set up a mini-exhibition of cute brand new dolls. It was so wonderful of them to invite me and my dolls over! We're forever grateful for it.
...apoi a fost Fabrica de Povesti. Adica o emisiune radio saptamanala de povesti pentru copii, care acum a lansat un CD cu povesti dragutze si nou noutze. Si o oportunitate extraordinara pentru mine de a-mi instala o mini-expozitie de papusi dragutze si nou noutze. A fost minunat din partea lor sa ne invite, pe mine si pe papusi. Suntem etern recunoscatori!

Here's me talking to the public. Thinking back now, I have no idea what I said, but my friends think I did well. Phew.
Asta's eu vorbind publicului. Acum ca ma gandesc, habar nu am ce le-am spus, dar prietenii zic ca m-am descurcat bine.
And here's me being interviewed by a nice TV lady. No idea what I said to her either, lucky I am in no danger of seeing myself, as I don't have a TV.

Si asta-s eu intervievata de o doamna dragutza. Nici ei nu stiu ce i-am spus, dar din fericire nu e nici un pericol sa ma vad, de vreme ce n-am TV.

The exhibition was set up in the theatre cafe, on the actual bar! The house sprites seem to have had fun, though:
Papusile le-am agatat in cafeneaua teatrului, direct pe bar! Dar se pare ca pe spiridusii de casa nu i-a deranjat deloc:
Some quieter ones:
Unele mai linistite:
The rowdy cuddlecreeps:
Monstruletii galagiosi:

And the brand new species of Falushtain, which, again, I shall name mucklor in English. The yellow one went home with the bar tender, as comission for selling my dolls in the rest of the week. He now travels around town in the guy's car, must be quite an adventurous life for a muckla!
Si specia nou noutza a Falushtainului, mishumacii. Cel galben a plecat acasa cu barmanul, drept comision pentru ca mi-a vandut papusile in restul saptamanii. Acum se plimba prin oras in masina baiatului, trebuie sa fie o viatza foarte aventuroasa pentru un mishumac!

...and, due to popular demand, a bonus: Carmina trying on some of Iuliana's creations. Iuliana who, you say. Iuliana who I'll talk about in a future post soon :>
...si, datorita vointei poporului, un bonus: Carmina incercand una din creatiile Iulianei. Care Iuliana, va aud spunand. Iuliana despre care voi vorbiintr-un post viitor, cat de curand.

One more order to finish this week and then I'm free as a bird! I only have about 15 Xmas presents left to make... and the house cleaning... but apart from that, nothing at all!
Mai am o comanda de terminat saptamana asta si pe urma sunt libera ca pasarea! Nu mai am decat vreo 15 cadouri de facut...si curatzenia in casa... in rest, nimica-nimicutza!

...and then...

...then it was Bucuresti. Intelligent as I am, I haven't put up the poster here before the actual event. But nevermind; being Transilvanian, I have an excuse.
...apoi a fost Bucuresti. Desteapta ce sunt, n-am pus afisul asta inainte de eveniment. Dar ma rog, avand in vedere ca-s ardeleanca, mi se iarta.
Here is my creepy doll display (I think the display was more horrifying than the dolls), with the dark blue velvet cloud I was so proud of. It fell exactly on top of my head later that afternoon, but you don't need to know that.
Iata standul meu cu papusi morbide (cred ca standul a fost mult mai horror decat papusile), cu norisorul din catifea bleumarin de care eram atat de mandra. Mi-a cazut exact in cap in dupa-masa aia, dar voi nu trebuie sa stiti asta.
I was visited by two lovely ladies from my online quilting group. Thanks again for the smiles and the praise! :)
Am fost vizitata de doua doamne dragutze de pe grupul Peticelul. Multumesc inca o data pentru zambete si pentru laude! :)
Saturday was great, we had people coming through, asking questions, requiring demonstrations and explanations... but Sunday was dead (election day). In the lack of a buying audience, the exhibitors exchanged advice, ideas and little gifts, and there was a lovely creative and cheerful atmosphere. Here are two of my "neighbours", whom I will tell you more about in a next post.
Sambata a fost foarte faina, am trecut oameni pe acolo, au intrebat, au cerut demonstratii si explicatii... in schimb duminica a fost moarta. In lipsa unui public cumparator, expozantii au schimbat intre ei sfaturi, idei si daruri, si atmosfera a fost una vesela si creativa. Iata pe doua dintre "vecinele" mele, despre care va voi vorbi intr-un post viitor.
And here are some things I particularly liked:
Si niste lucruri care mi-au placut in mod deosebit:
All in all, a great experience! I met interesting people, i got wonderful ideas, and I saw beautiful creations.
In total, o experienta foarte faina! Am cunoscut oameni interesanti, am primit idei minunate si am vazut creatii frumoase de tot.

Where do I start!

Hello again!
Servus din nou!

I have awarded myself the luxury of sleeping in for two days in a row, so now I am fresh and ready to show you impressions of my latest adventures in the world of craft.
Mi-am acordat luxul de a dormi pana la 10 in doua zile la rand, si acum sunt odihnita si gata sa va arat impresii din ultimele mele aventuri in lumea lucrului de mana.

I am quite proud of myself for what I have achieved this past month. I manged to stay sane with a full time job, every single minute of time outside the job spent working on the 20 dolls I made, with the sleepless nights, the races between work and bus stations and theatres while carting around bags and boxes full of dolls and pins and scissors and stuff... it was madness. Truth is my trusty elves were an immense help, I hope I find the proper way to thank them soon.

Sunt destul de mandra de ce am realizat in ultima luna. Am reusit sa fac 20 de papusi in timp ce am si lucrat full-time, am pierdut nopti, am fugit de la lucru la statii de bus si inapoi la lucru si la teatru si tot asa, carand dupa mine pungi si cutii cu papusi si tot felu' de alte chestii...a fost nebunie. Adevarul este ca elfii mei devotati m-au ajutat foarte mult. Sper ca voi gasi modul sa le multumesc, cat de curand.

So how about I try to put everything in an approximate chronological order?
Deci, ce-ar fi sa incerc sa pun totul cat de cat in ordine cronologica?

First, there were some mucklor. I haven't even tried to find them a name in English, but they were inspired by Sven Nordqvist's mucklor (forever sorry I haven't bought the books when I had the chance), so I will call them by their Swedish name. They are cute and friendly and we had a good time in our little morning photo shoot.
La inceput au fost mishumacii. Sunt draguti si prietenosi si ne-am distrat de minune la mica noastra sesiune foto de dimineata.

...Then, there was another elf meeting. This time, much to my amazement, they actually worked! Stuff I had planned to do for the night were done in the blink of an eye, leaving time for beer and pranks.

...Apoi a fost o alta adunare de elfi. De data asta, spre marea mea surprindere, chiar au lucrat! Tot ceea ce planuisem sa fie facut in seara aia a fost terminat in doi timpi si trei miscari, si ne-a ramas si timp pentru bere si farse.

...And then...then, there was the last night before leaving for Bucuresti. Luckily, by then I was way too tired to panic. So I proceeded to make price tags for my beauties...
...Si apoi...apoi a fost ultima noapte inainte de plecarea la Bucuresti. Din fericire eram mult prea obosita ca sa ma mai panichez. Asa ca le-am facut etichete frumosilor mei...

...and some colour-coordinated packaging (which I later got compliments for :>)
...si niste ambalaje asortate pentru care am primit complimente mai tarziu.

Once I made sure their hair and clothes were looking the part, I gingerly packaged them for the 300km trip. Here are some pretty worried-looking individuals...
Odata ce m-am asigurat ca parul si hainele lor sunt in ordine, i-am impachetat cu delicatete si i-am pregatit pentru calatoria de 300km. Iata cativa indivizi destul de ingrijorati...

...but the cuddlecreeps didn't care much, they were as happy as ever!
...dar monstruletii erau la fel de fericiti ca intotdeauna!
In the end, it was 1:30am and I proceeded to feel good about finishing all the packing (and not even forgetting my toothbrush in the process!), when it dawned on me with a giant OMG that I had forgotten to make the present I was meant to give the little girl of the family I would be staying with.
In sfarsit, era 1:30 si am inceput sa ma simt bine pentru ca terminasem de impachetat si nici macar nu-mi uitasem periutza de dinti, cand mi-am dat seama ca uitasem sa fac cadoul ce trebuia sa i-l dau fetitei familiei la care urma sa stau.

So it was back to the fabric shelves and the thread drawer and the sewing machine, choosing, measuring, cutting, embroidering, until, 2 more hours later, this was born:
Asa ca, inapoi la rafturile cu materiale, si la sertarul cu atze si la masina de cusut, alegand, masurand, taind, brodand, pana cand, 2 ore mai tarziu, s-a nascut asta:

And after the last heroic feat of the night, I slept a short sleep, woke up, ran to work, then ran to the bus which was to take me to Bucuresti. But that, my lads and lasses, is another story...
Si dupa ultima fapta eroica a noptii, am dormit un somn scurt, m-am trezit, am fugit la lucru, si de la lucru la autobuz, si cu el la Bucuresti. Dar asta, dragi copii, este o alta poveste...

Preview

A picture to make you curious... only because I love how it turned out...
O poza sa va faca curiosi... numai pentru ca imi place cum a iesit...

Green Eyed Monday on a Tuesday

Did it again! This time I'm not a day late, but a week and a day. I had promised Dora I'd post this last week, but I was prevented by a mixture of busy-ness and bad memory.

Iar am comis-o! De data asta nici macar nu am intarziat cu o zi, ci cu o saptamana si o zi. Ii promisesem Dorei ca voi posta asta saptamana trecuta, dar am fost impiedicata de o combinatie de treburi si mamorie proasta.

But here I am today, and with me are some of Dora's lovely creations:some quilted necklaces that are right up my alley. Except I didn't think of them first. Which qualifies them for this week's envy post :D
Dar iata ca azi am reusit, si va prezint cateva din minunatele creatii ale Dorei: niste coliere quiltuite care sunt fix stilul meu. Doar ca nu m-am gandit eu la ele inainte. Ceea ce le califica pentru postul invidios al acestei saptamani :D

In other news, I've been ignoring my blog, and my friends, and my messy wardrobe and spending every little spare minute I have working on dolls. But they will be done soon and then... we shall meet againa!
Altfel, imi ignor blogul, si prietenii, si dulapul dezordonat si folosesc fiecare minutzel liber pe care-l am lucrand la papusi. Dar vor fi gata in curand si apoi ... ne vom reintalni!