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.

Homeward

Yay, finally finished! The first quilt I've completed in the last maybe 4 years. Part of a group project, it involved the use of 4 compulsory pieces of fabric. And it also had to be completed by March 8th, which means I am not late! Unbelievable!

Iee, in sfarsit am terminat! Primul quilt pe care l-am facut in mai bine de 4 ani. Parte a unui proiect de grup, implica folosirea obligatorie a 4 bucati de material. Si trebuia terminat pana in 8 martie, ceea ce inseamna ca nu am intarzia! Incredibil!
Two of the pieces became hills, the third was chopped up and incorporated into the sky, and the one with green became the roof of the house. I also cut out some "ivy" from one of the fabrics. What's a gnome house without ivy, aye?

Doua dintre bucati au devenit dealuri, pe a treia am taiat-o si am incorporat-o in cer, si cea cu verde a devenit acoperisul casei. Din cea roz am decupat si niste iedera. Ce-i o casa de pitic fara iedera, nu?
I quilted cloud outlines and various other incoherent squiggles on the sky:

Pe cer am quiltuit contururi de nori si diverse alte mazgaleli incoerente:
For the big hills, I followed the pattern of the fabric: stipple (with added flowers) for one, spirals for the other.

Pentru dealurile mari am urmat modelul materialului: stipple (cu flori) pentru primul, spirale pentru celalalt.

I've been dreaming of quilting circles like I had seen in many other quilts for a long time. The stones in the road gave me this opportunity. I now feel accomplished: I can quilt that pattern too! And the back didn't even look as disastruous as I had expected.

De mult imi doream sa quiltuiesc cercuri cum mai vazusem in multe quilturi. Pietrele de pe drum mi-au dat in sfarsit posibilitatea. Ma simt implinita acum: pot si eu sa quiltuiesc modelul ala! Si pe dos nici nu arata as dezastruos pe cat ma asteptam.
I left the most important detail of the quilt, the gnome, for last. Not a very wise practical decision, but I kept delaying it because I didn't know how to make it so that it would look like the image in my head. This is what i did eventually:

Am lasat la sfarsit cel mai important delatiu: piticul. N-a fost o idee foarte isteata, dar l-am tot amanat pentru ca nu stiam cum sa-l fac sa arate ca in capul meu. Pana la urma am facut asa:
I drew the outline on a piece of flesh-coloured fabric, and then I ironed adhesive on both sides. Then I cut out clothes and shoes and ironed them over the top.

Am desenat piticul pe o bucata de material de culoarea pielii, apoi am calcat adeziv pe ambele parti. Si apoi am decupat haine pe care le-am lipit peste.
Surprise! Due to a stoopid choice of colours, the gnome was almost invisible. I could have participated in the "Camouflage" project with him.

Surpriza! Datorita unei alegeri proaste a culorilor, piticul meu era aproape invizibil pe fundal. As fi putut participa la proiectul "Camouflage" cu el!
So I stripped him naked and re-clothed him, so that I would keep the colour scheme but provide a bit more contrast.

Asa ca l-am dezbracat si i-am dat alte haine, astfel incat sa pastrez aceeasi gama de culori dar sa creez si un pic de contrast.

And this was the story of my clumsy silly magenta quilt. And he lived happily everafter in his pink ivy-covered house:>
Si asta a fost povestea stangaciului quilt magenta. Si a trait fericit pana la adanci batranete in casa acoperita cu iedera roz :>