My first bag ever

Only now do I realise I had never made a bag before! This is my first. It was born as a group project. Along the line of our contact and collaboration, each of us had received fabrics hand dyed by Betty (who is extremely talented but alas, does not have a blog). Last year she came up with the idea that we should all make a bag using fabrics we had received from her. And this is mine!

Abia acum imi dau seama ca asta este prima mea geanta. S-a nascut in urma unui proiect de grup. De-a lungul legaturii si colaborarii noastre, fiecare din membrele grupului a primit materiale vopsite de Betty (care este extrem de talentata, dar din pacate nu are blog). Anul trecut, Betty a venit cu ideea sa facem fiecare o geanta folosind materialele primite. Si aceasta este a mea!

When I started working on it I realised I didn't have as much fabric as I thought I had, so I kept the structure the same, but made each square a tad smaller.

Cand am inceput sa lucrez la ea mi-am dat seama ca nu aveam chiar atata material cat crezusm. Asa ca am respectat structura impusa, dar am facut patratele mai mici.

I quilted it on all sides, and used a thick piece of cardboard to keep the bottom flat. I'm curious as to what will happen to it when the bag gets washed, haha.

Am matlasat-o pe toate partile, si am folosit o bucata groasa de carton pentru a pastra fundul drept. Sunt curioasa ce se va intampla cu cartonul cand va fi spalata geanta, haha.

I actually love how it turned out. But my friend took possession of it with an enthusiastic "mine! mine! pleeeease" even before it was finished, so our love affair was short lived.

Chiar imi place cum a iesit. Dar, cu un entuziast "te roooog, da-mi-o mie!", a fost adjudecata inca dinainte sa fie terminata, asa ca povestea noastra de dragoste a fost scurta.

I will soon post a link to the rest of the bags.

O sa pun in curand link-uri spre celelalte genti.

Have a sunny weekend!

Papusi intre ani

These are this year's first dolls. Or last year's last dolls, I'm not sure. I had to finish them by December 31st, as I was meeting the "victim", Mircea, and his sneaky girlfriend, Laura, at the cabin for New Year's.
Acestea sunt primele papusi ale anului. Sau ultimele papusi ale anului trecut, nu-s sigura. A trebuit sa le termin pana in 31 decembrie, pentru ca urma sa ma intalnesc cu "victima", Mircea, si cu prietena lui, Laura, la cabana de Anul Nou.

Why sneaky? Because Mircea's birthday was only on the 6th of Jan, and we had to find a way to justify Laura leaving the cabin with a rather large and festively wrapped box in tow.
Dar a trebuit sa ne furisam, pentru ca ziua de nastere a lui Mircea era abia pe 6 ianuarie, si a trebuit sa gasim o cale de a justifica faptul ca Laura pleaca de la cabana cu o cutie mare si invelita frumos.

But the conspiracy was succesful, the surprise was unspoilt, and I hope my two new friends and their mini-me's will get along well.
Insa conspiratia a avut succes, surpriza n-a fost stricata si sper ca noii mei prieteni si sosiile lor in miniatura se vor intelege bine.

As these are meant to be travelling dolls, I'm looking forward to pictures of them in action!
Si avand in vedere ca acestea sunt papusi calatoare, abia astept sa vad poze cu ei in actiune!

For pics of the freshly-unwrapped dolls, go to Mircea's blog, here.
Pentru poze cu papusile proaspat descoperite, mergei pe blogul lui Mircea, aici.

Xmas Gifts Roundup

Happy New Year everybody! I hope your holidays were at least half as good as mine. I'll start the crafty new year with a round-up of the presents I made for Christmas. Almost everybody received something made by me, and all that did seemed to be rather pleased about it. So here are the products and the proud recipients:

La multi ani tuturor! Sper ca ati avut niste sarbatori cel putin asa de faine ca ale mele.Voi incepe noul an cusatoresc cu o recapitulare a cadourilor pe care le-am facut de Craciun. Aproape toata lumea a primit ceva facut de manuta mea, si se pare ca toti au fost multumiti. Asa ca iata produsele si mandrii lor proprietari:

Scarves and brooches...
Esarfe si brose...
...and their new owners:
...la noul purtator:
...soft cotton hankies with snot already included...
...batiste noi de bumbac cu mucii gata inclusi...
...a very feminine pink neck warmer for skiing...
... un feminin "incalzitor de gat" (are nume in romana?) pentru schiat...
...dignified owls on phone cases...
... bufnite demne pe huse de telefon...
... some lazy pyjamas (the top says "5 more minutes")...
...pijamale lenese...
...spats gone wrong...
...jambiere cusute aiurea...
...everything packaged in little cotton sacks made from an old sheet and embroidered with the receiver's monogram:
... totul ambalat in saculeti de bumbac facuti dintr-un cearsaf vechi si brodati cu monograma celui ce urma sa-l primeasca:
So this was the quick overview of a handmade, eco-friendly, and satisfying Christmas. Hope Santa was generous with you. :)
Cam acesta a fost conturul unui Craciun facut de mana, ecologic si multumitor. Sper ca Mosul a fost generos cu voi toti! :)

New tenant in the house

I have a new tenant in the house! This is the new lamp I bought yesterday from the antique fair. He looked so cute and ugly and pitiful at the same time, that I had to have him. The man who sold it to me said he was made in Austria at the beginning of the 20th century, so that would make him 90-100 years old. Maybe that's why he seems so so tired. Or maybe he's just suffering under the weight of his own kitschiness :)

Am un nou chirias in casa! Aceasta este noua lampa pe care am cumparat-o ieri de la un targ de antichitati. Era asa de dulce si urat si demn de mila in acelasi timp, ca n-am putut sa-l las acolo. Domnul care mi l-a vandut zicea ca piticul a fost facut in Austria la inceputul secolului 20, astfel ca ar avea 90-100 de ani. Poate de-aia pare asa de obosit. Sau poate sufera doar sub povara propriei kitschioshenii :)
Even if his history were all a fake (which is quite possible, I'm no Austrian gnome expert), I would love him no less. He gives the room a very nice mood.

Chiar daca istoria lui ar fi cu totul falsa (ceea ce e foarte posibil, nu ma pricep la pitici austrieci de ceramica), nu l-as iubi mai putin. Ca sa nu mai zicem ca face o atmosfera foarte faina in camera.

The Crafty Christmas Club

Those who know me also know I'm one of those Grinches who don't look forward to Christmas for any reason. This year, however, I am planning to go at least 90% handmade in my gift-giving. So far, the making of presents is progressing nicely, but it's frustrating having to keep my creations secret.

Sooo... I'm pleased to announce I have just been invited to join the above-mentioned blog, where I hope to find inspiration, receive suggestions and share what little I know or have done.
I must admit this is making Christmas just a little bit exciting for me (but don't tell anyone!)

Oh, and those of you who expect presents from me this Xmas..., don't look on this blog, ok?

Chocolate anyone?

This is the result of another group project, entitled "Cafe ou chocolat". It was meant to produce quilts using materials we all received from Smaranda (thank you, they really were lovely!) and keeping to the theme "cafe ou chocolat".

Acesta este rezultatul unui alt proiect de grup, intitulat "Cafe ou chocolat". Acesta a avut scopul de a produce quilturi, folosind materialele primite de la Smaranda (multumim, au fost chiar frumoase!) si pastrand tema, "cafea sau ciocolata".

The choice was easy for me: absolutely chocolate! So this is what came out:

Alegerea a fost usoara pentru mine: absolut ciocolata! Si iata ce a iesit:
An 80x60cm large box of chocolates, which I dedicate to Teodora, without whose black Ikea pillowcase I couldn't have completed this project. Thank you! :)

O cutie de ciocolata de 80x60, pe care i-o dedic Teodorei, fara a carei fata de perna de la Ikea nu as fi reusit sa termin acest proiect.

I cut up said pillowcase in (more or less) equal squares. I then used acrylic fabric paint to make the golden chocolate wrappers:

Am taiat sus-numita fata de perna in patrate mai mult sau mai putin egale. Am folosit apoi vopsea pentru textile pentru a face ambalajele aurii:
When all squares were dry and extremely well ironed, I put the chocolate shapes within each wrapper. I played around until I got the positioning I wanted:

Cand patratele au fost uscate si ras-calcate, am pus formele de ciocolata in interiorul fiecarui ambalaj. M-am jucat pana am ajus la pozitionarea cea mai buna:
I used a double layer of batting underneath each chocolate shape, to make them pop out of the background.

Am folosit un strat dublu de vatelina sub fiecare forma de ciocolata, pentru a le face sa iasa in relief fata de fundal.

After the chocolates were all in place, I proceeded to quilt around the chocolate shapes, in the most uneven and haphazard manner known to (wo)man, and which I will not show you here. Still, the end result was not as bad as I expected.

Dupa ce formele de ciocolata erau toate la locul lor, am purces la matlasarea lor, in cel mai inegal si haotic mod posibil. Cu asta nu va voi arata poze. Totusi, rezultatul final n-a fost chiar asa de rau pe cat ma asteptam.

If you would like to see the other group members' interpretation of the theme, go here.

Daca vreti sa vedeti interpretarile celorlalte membre ale grupului, mergeti aici.

Old debt

It is time for me to finally present the results of a group project involving dolls. Each of the participants recived a surprise pack with materials that she had to incorporate into a doll or softie of her own choosing and design.

E timpul sa va prezint in sarsit rezultatele unui proiect de grup avand ca tema papusile. Fiecare dintre participante a primit un pachet surpriza cu materiale pe care a trebuit sa le incorporeze intr-o papusa sau intr-un animalutz ales si proiectat de ea.

At the end, the creations were revealed and everyone got to see what her materials had turned into. So here goes:

La sfarsit, creatiile au fost dezvaluite si fiecare a avut ocazia de a-si recunoaste materialele si a vedea in ce s-au transformat. Asa ca, iata:

The Mirunosaur made by Miruna:
Mirunozaurul:
Elena's Milixina, set on stealing the heart (and life savings) of old Mr. Cotartza:
Milixina Elenei, hotarata sa-i fure inima (si economiile) domnului Cotartza:

Daniela's ET and his delicate flower:
ET al Danielei, si floricica lui delicata:

Mariana's Dolly:
Dolly a Marianei:
Iulia's cute ladybug:
Buburuza simpatica a Iuliei:
Nusha, Carmina's hilarious hen:
Nusha-gainusha haioasa a Carminei:
My respectable Mos Cotartza:
Respectabilul meu Mos Cotartza:

And the guest star, not part of this project but an active part in the exhibition of Craiova, Cici:
Si invitata surpriza, Cici,care nu a facut parte din acest proiect, dar a jucat un rol important la expozitia de la Craiova:
I hope everyone had fun and realised that making a doll is not rocket science after all. Definitely easier than making a quilt, at least for me! :)

Sper ca tuturor le-a facut placere, si ca toate si-au dat seama ca realizarea unei papusi nu e chiar asa mare lucru. Cu sigurantza e mai simplu decat sa faci un quilt, cel putin pentreu mine! :)