The Saga of the Twice Made Quilt

I promised you the story of how this quilt came to be, so here it is. This was the largest quilt I've ever made (130cm x 190cm) and also my first man-quilt.
V-am promis povestea facerii acestui quilt, deci iat-o. Asta a fost cel mai mare quilt pe care l-am facut pana acum (130x190), precum si primul quilt de barbati.

I had the idea in a flash of genius: hey, I could stencil those little dancing people he likes so much on some fabric, then turn the fabric into a quilt! His favourite colour combination being green and black, I went to search for some green fabric. The one below was the only green I could find that was cotton, and large enough. I wasn't crazy about the shade, but I figured it might look different once it was covered in LDPs (= little dancing people).
Ideea mi-a venit intr-o strafulgerare de geniu: hei, as putea picta omuletii aia care-i plac asa de mult pe un material, iar apoi sa fac un quilt din material! Combinatia lui preferata fiind verde cu negru, am plecat in cautare de verde. Singurul verde pe care l-am gasit si care sa fie si bumbac si destul de mare a fost cel de mai jos. Nu ma omoram dupa nuanta, dar m-am gandit ca va arata altfel odata ce va fi acoperit cu ODi (omuleti dansand).

I had a forest green fabric paint which looked quite nice, and I made stencils out of a plastic cover from one of my uni folders (what, it was all I had on hand at the time). And I started painting.
Aveam o vopsea pt textile de un verde-brad care arata bine; am facut sabloane din coperta de plastic a unui dosar pe care-l folosesc la scoala (ce, aia aveam la indemana!). Si m-am apucat de pictat.

1270 done, 2348 to go....
1270 gata, mai am 2348...

To be fair, I estimate about 5 LDPs per block, so that would mean I stencilled approximately 250 of them.
Pentru corectitudine, am estimat cam 5 ODi per bloc, deci asta ar insemna ca am pictat cam 250 in total.

As we all know, Murphy never sleeps! I soon ran out of fabric paint. I ran to the store to get some more, but it was that exact shade that they had run out of. I decided to take the next closest shade. I mean, it was just one number down, how different could it be? This different!
Dupa cum stim, Murphy nu doarme niciodata! Mi s-a terminat repede vopseaua pt textile. Am fugit la magazin sa mai iau dar exact nuanta aia n-o mai aveau. Am luat nuanta cea mai apropiata. In fond, era diferenta de doar un numar, cate de diferita putea sa fie? Asa de diferita!

I mixed it with white and yellow and brown and light green and blue and purple in an attempt to get it closer to the original shade, but what I ended up with was a sort of rancid furry mold colour. Oh well, I went on with it, waiting to see what it would look like when cut into blocks. I ended up with blocks that had both shades, and some blocks that had only one of the shades:
Am amestecat-o cu alb si galben su maro si verde deschis si albastru si mov in incercarea de a o aduce mai aproape de nuanta originala, dar am ajuns la o culoare de mucegai blanos ranced. Ma rog, am mers mai departe, hotarata sa vad cum va arata odata ce mterialul va fi taiat in blocuri. Mi-au iesit blocuri cu ambele nuante, si blocuri care aveau doar una din nuante:

I laid out the blocks on the bed...
Am pus blocurile pe pat...

...and YUCK! Nothing worked: the three greens smashed together, with the black border, it all looked awful to me. There was no way I would offer this as a birthday present. Maybe to a half-blind dog to sleep on.
...si BLEAH! Nimic nu se potrivea: trei nuante de verde trantite impreuna, cu marginea neagra, arata groaznic. N-aveam cum sa ofer asa ceva drept cadou de zi de nastere. Poate unui caine pe jumate orb, sa doarma pe el.

Not sure what to do, I left it aside and went to look for fabric for the other presents.
Nu stiam ce sa fac, asa ca l-am pus deoparte si am plecat sa caut materiale pentru celelalte cadouri.

And what do I find? A huge, oh-so-soft sheet in the perfect shade of green! I'm sure Murphy was snickering down at me while I was standing in the shop, wandering if I should laugh, swear or just buy the damn sheet. I bought it.
Si ce gasesc? Un cearsaf mare, super-moale, in nuanta perfecta de verde! Cred ca Murphy se prapadea de ras in timp ce eu stateam in magazin, intrebandu-ma daca sa rad, sa injur sau sa cumpar naibii materialul. L-am cumparat.

So off come two more plastic folder covers, to be turned into larger stencils, and the process begins again. This time, though, I decided to pre-cut the blocks and only put one large LDP in the middle of each, to save me some time. Also, no more green paint. Black will do, thank you very much. Here's what the first blocks looked like:
Asa ca sunt sacrificate inca doua coperte de dosare, pentru a fi transformate in sabloane mai mari, si procesul reincepe. Insa de data asta am decis sa tai blocurile dinainte si sa pun numai cate un OD mare in mijlocul fiecarui bloc, ca sa mai economisesc timp. De data asta fara vopsea verde, e bine si negru. Iata cum au iesit primele blocuri:

Excited about the obvious improvement, I almost forgot the drudgery of having painted and ironed another 45 LFDPs (little friggin dancing people). I got some pretty well aligned seams too:
Entuziasmata de imbunatatirea evidenta, aproape am uitat efortul si plictiseala de a fi pictat inca 45 de OND (omuletii naibii dansand). Am nimerit si cusaturile destul de aliniate:

Being such a large quilt. I had nowhere to stretch it out in my house. So off I went to take over the landlady's porch: (don't worry, I swept and mopped it 3 times before laying out the quilt)
Fiind un quilt asa de mare, n-aveam unde sa-l intind in casa. Asa ca am ocupat terasa gazdei: (fiti fara grija, am maturat si am mopuit de 3 ori inainte sa-l intind)

Sandwich, pin, quilt, border and the quilt was done in the nick of time.
Straturi, ace de siguranta, quiltuit, margine, si quiltul a fost gata la tzanc.

End results:

• a much improved night's sleep
• lots of leftover rancid mold coloured paint
• lots of ugly LDP quilt blocks I don't know what to do with. Any suggestions?
  
• most of my uni folders now have no covers
• I don't want to see another LFDP for a long long time
• painting polka dots on a square of fabric suddenly doesn't seem such a big feat anymore

Rezultate finale:

• un somn imbunatatit
• o gramada de vopsea de culoarea mucegaiului blanos ramasa
• o gramada de blocuri urate cu OD ramase, si cu care nu stiu ce sa fac. Sugestii?
  
• majoritatea dosarelor mele de la faculta nu mai au coperta
• nu vreau sa mai vad nici un omulet dansand pentru foarte foarte multa vreme
• brusc, pictatul de buline pe un patrat de material nu mi se mai pare asa mare lucru

Green Monday

Dear hypothetical readers,
Dragi cititori ipotetici,

As I've been discovering more and more crafty awesomeness in the blog world of late, I have decided to revive the Monday of envy.
De vreme ce in ultima vreme tot descopar minunatii in lumea blogurilor, m-am decis sa reinviu lunea invidiei.

Today's envy target: Tilly and her buttons :)
Tinta de azi a invidiei: Tilly si nasturii ei :)

Reason for envy: I'm never going to be able to make such professional-looking clothes
Motiv de invidie: Niciodata n-o sa fiu in stare sa fac haine care sa arate asa de profesional cusute.

She didn't even discover this hobby that long ago, and look what she can do already!
Nici macar nu si-a descoperit hobby-ul asta foarte demult, si deja uite ce stie sa faca!

I mean look at this! Pockets lined with pretty fabrics, and truckloads of buttonholes, and scalloped edges and....
Pe bune! Buzunare captusite cu materiale frumoase, si stive de butoniere si margini rotunjite si...

Not to mention she's so cute.
Ca sa nu mai zic ca-i draguta foc.
Darn!
La naiba!

Little people dancing on my brain

Somebody used to complain of the thermal inadequacy of the bedding available at my humbe abode.
Cineva se tot plangea de ineficienta asternuturilor puse la dispozitie in umila mea casa.

Somebody also fell (a little bit obsessively) in love with the design of a plate belonging to our friends.
Cineva s-a indragostit de asemena (un pic obsesiv) de modelul de pe o farfurie a unor prieteni.

So I, the generous, creative, patient and thoughtful person that I am, had the brilliant idea to combine the wish and the complaint into one dancing-people-themed birthday present.
Asa ca eu, persoana generoasa, creativa, rabdatoare si grijulie care sunt, am avut ideea geniala de a combina dorinta si reclamatia intr-un cadou pe tema "omuleti dansand".

I started from the design on the plate, turned it into stencils of various sizes, and stenciled the living daylights out of everything that came my way. Thus, somebody received the following:

Am inceput de la modelul de pe farfurie, pe care l-am transformat in sabloane de diferite marimi, dupa care am pictat tot ce mi-a picat in mana. Astfel, cineva a primit urmatoarele:

A little-dancing-people quilt. This is actually the second one I made, as I hated the first version. I will give you the entire saga in a future post.
Un quilt cu omuleti dansand. Asta e de fapt al doilea quilt facut, nu mi-a placut deloc prima versiune. O sa va povestesc toata saga intr-un post viitor.

A little-dancing-people cup. This was funny. I handed it to him casually to drink from, he uses it just as casually and, about an hour later, goes "wow, check out that awesome cup! Where did that come from!?" Duh! Talk about a man's spirit of observation!

O cana cu omuleti dansand. La asta m-am distrat. I-am dat-o foarte nonsalant sa bea din ea, el bea la fel de nonsalant si, dupa vreo ora, zice "uau, fii atent ce cana faina! Asta de unde-i?!" Poftim! Spirit de observatie de barbat!

A little-dancing-people scarf:
Un fular/ esarfa cu omuleti dansand:
...as well as other things which (miraculously!) did not have any dancing people on them.
...precum si alte chestii care (in mod miraculos!) n-au omuleti dansand pe ele.

After a silly beer-and-popcorn party, somebody had a very good birthday sleep:
Dupa un chef zapacit cu popcorn si bere, cineva a dormit foarte bine:

The making of a friend

Last month I caught up with an old friend from highschool, come to spend a holiday in Romania, together with her English husband and in-laws. And it was a lovely holiday, except for the car crash they had on the very last day. They were not very seriously injured, but the accident kept everyone in the country longer than previously planned.

Luna trecuta m-am intalnit cu o veche prietena din liceu, venita in vacanta in Romania, cu sotul si socrii ei englezi. Si a fost o vacanta minunata, cu exceptia accidentului de masina din ultima zi. N-au fost raniti foarte grav, dar accidentul i-a tinut in tara mai mult decat era planificat.

Which gave me the chance to spend more time with Maureen, who is a quilter! Can you imagine that? A real, flesh-and-blood quilter, who owns sewing machines and buys fabrics, organises tea parties and is part of several (several!) quilting and embroidery clubs. Such a character might sound like a myth to someone living in a country with no fabric shops and no "quilt" in the dictionary. But mark my words, my crafty Romanian sisters, they do exist!

Ceea ce mi-a dat ocazia sa petrec mai mult timp cu Maureen, care face quilturi! Puteti sa va imaginati asa ceva? O persoana in carne si oase, care are masini de cusut si cumpara materiale si organizeaza serate englezeti si face marte din mai multe (mai multe) cluburi de quilt si broderie. Asa ceva ar putea parea un mit celor ce locuiesc intr-o tara fara magazine de materiale si fara cuvantul "quilt" in dictionar. Dar luati aminte la vorbele mele, exista!

She was kind enough to spend an afternoon at my place, and we talked and talked. I actually used words like "mitre" and "bias binding" and "applique", words which I knew but had never uttered in my life, for lack of anyone who would understand them.

A fost draguta si a petrecut o dupa amiaza la mine acasa, si am vorbit intr-una. Am apucat sa folosesc cuvinte cum ar fi "mitre" si "bias binding" si "applique", cuvinte pe care le stiam dar pe care nu le-am rostit niciodata in viata mea, pentru ca nu aveam cui.

Talking to her for a few hours was a sensory overload that only reading 5 new craft magazines at the same time could give you.
Vorbind cu ea cateva ore m-am simtit de parca as fi citit 5 reviste de craft noi, toate in acelasi timp.

This miracle made me decide to revive my Green Monday, so from now on I'll do a post every Monday, expressing my envy towards those more craftily endowed or fortunate than me. All in good humour, though! :) (more or less).

Acest miracol m-a determinat sa hotarast reinvierea Lunilor Verzi, asa ca de acum inainte voi posta in fiecare luni, exprimandu-mi invidia fata de cei/cele mai inzestrate sau mai norocoase decat mine din punct de vedere al craftului. Totul in mod amical, desigur! (mai mult sau mai putin).

In the beginning, there were pyjamas

It all started with pyjamas. I needed some. I found these and instantly loved the design and colour.
Totul a inceput cu pijamaua. Imi trebuia una. Am gasit-o pe asta si mi-a placut imediat modelul si culoarea.

But, while walking home after having bought my new happy pretty jammies, I had...
Dar, in timp ce ma intorceam acasa cu proaspat cumparata pijama, am avut...

Revelation 1: Hey, this fabric is way too nice to only be worn in the dark. Is there a way to turn this into something wearable outdoors too?
Revelatia 1: Hei, materialul asta e prea fain ca sa fie purtat numai pe intuneric. Oare exista vreo cale de a transforma pijamaua asta in ceva purtabil si afara?

It turns out there was, and this lead the way to my first ever refashion: the PJ dress!
Se pare ca a existat, si asta a condus la prima mea transformare vestimentara: rochia pijama!

I chopped the pants up and re-assembled them into skirt panels, shortened the top, added some lace and satin here and there, as well as a tulle underskirt and I was quite pleased with the result!
Am taiat pantalonii si i-am reasamblat in segmente de fusta, am scurtat maioul, am adaugat niste dantela si satin pe ici pe colo, precum si un jupon de tulle, si am fost foarte satisfacuta de rezultat!

This first success lead to...
Acest prim succes a condus la...

Revelation 2: Hey, I can do this refashioning thing too! Let the dull and the ill-fitting come to me, and do not hinder them.
Revelatia 2: Hei, se pare ca pot si eu sa fac chestia asta cu transformatu'! Lasati plicticoasele si nepotrivitele sa vina la mine!

I saw my shopping horizons instantly broadened: now I could buy things that didn't quite fit, simply because I loved the fabric. I could always turn the item into something else. So I got onto my second ever refashion. I had had this shirt for a while, thinking I would use the fabric for a quilt or doll dress. It was blah: bulky, uncomfortable and not very flattering, with the hippie pointed collar and all:

Mi-am vazut orizonturile comerciale largite instantaneu: acum pot cumpara si lucruri care nu-mi sunt bune, doar pentru ca-mi place materialul. Pot oricand sa transform un obiect de imbracaminte in altceva. Asa ca m-am apucat de a doua transformare. Aveam camasa asta de o vreme, gandindu-ma ca voi folosi materialul intr-un quilt sau o rochita pentru papusi. Era bla: mare, incomoda, si cu un guler ascutit, hippie:
So I cut and pinned and rounded and almost dislocated a shoulder in the process of trying to work on the back of the shirt while actually wearing it, but I finally ended up with this:

Asa ca am taiat si am prins cu ace si am rotunjit si aproape mi-am dislocat un umar in procesul de a lucra la spatele camasii in timp ce o purtam. Dar in final mi-a iesit asta:
Short puff sleeves (I think that's what they're called), rounded collar (that was a lot of work to transform!) and a more fitted waist. Easy to integrate in a respectable teacher's outfit:

Maneci scurte, guler rotunjit (am lucrat la ala, nu gluma!) si o talie mai stransa. Usor de incorporat intr-o tinuta de profa respectabila:
And thus begin my clothes-altering adventures.
Si iata cum incep aventurile mele pe taramul transformarii hainelor.

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful frenship... :)