Poppy Done

Well, it's done and I don't like the results.  This one I'm going to blame on the directions.  It seems the designer was not familiar with the threads actually in the kit, which resulted in lack of coverage on the border.  The instructions were perfunctory and hard to follow.  The chart was unclear. And I really hated working it.  It's done now, so it's one more piece off my list!  I learned to not start something without proper instructions.

Toppling A Dictator

 In the center of Brasov there is a small park with about three dozen graves.  All of the fallen were killed or injured during the uprising against Ceacescu in 1989-1990.  The youngest is six years old.  This area is revered and taken care of and shows the price of freedom very starkly.

Chips!

The last footprint of the Stephans in Moldova is gone.  Brian left yesterday to be home with his family and start a new assignment in South Carolina.  We will miss them.  Brian, on his last trip back here, brought me four bags of dill pickle chips from Jen.  Andreas immediately appropriated one, leaving me three.  I've been nursing them along, as there's just no way to get them here.

Another Flutter

I've started the second butterfly and I'm almost to the right edge of the piece.  It's not a very  tall piece, so I hope it goes fairly quickly.  I'd like to have several things on my current rotation done before I start the Christmas push in October.

Cthulu Crest

The very first thing I thought when I saw Brasov's city crest was "Cthulu!" The roots of the tree under the crown definitely remind me of this.  Brasov's crest goes back to the middle ages when it was named Kronstadt and was a Saxon enclave.  It was the first town in Romania to embrace the Reformation, too.  I still think it's Cthulu.

Veined

I have the first leaf completely done now and am working on some grapes.  It's even got the inner veins stitched.  Onward!

All About Andreas

My husband's hat and arrows.  

Found A Festival

 Evidently the local meat company in Brasov was celebrating its twentieth anniversary the weekend we were there.  These are some photos of the festival in the old square.  We got to see the trumpeters on the balcony of the old town hall, too, despite not knowing it was going to happen.  They put on a good show.  

Once we got to Brasov, it was a good short vacation.  Getting there was a bit more of an adventure than we wanted.  It included four washed out bridges and a total of six extra hours of driving.

Towering

I have the tower of San Marco square started!  It's real progress, as I'm almost halfway done with this part.

Moldovan Block

I am making this block for a quilt for a group of quilters who live around the world.  Moldova has such colors outside my wheelhouse that I'm kind of at a loss on how to proceed.  I've got welcome and sunflowers and grapes.  I'll put an orthodox cross and something else on it as I go along too.

Balance And Sprayers

 I love old balances.  They're usually so elegant.  This one needs a lot of love.  I think some of the crop sprayers below might still be in regular use.

Political Statement

You have to click on the photo to get it full sized to see the statement on the wall.  It says, "Besarabia e Romania."  This is a slogan you see somewhat often in both Romania and Moldova.  It means "Moldova is Romania."  Besarabia is what Moldova was called until after WWII.  There is a significant population of both Romanians and Moldovans that believe Moldova should be part of Romania.  It was interesting to see the slogan opposite the Marasesti mausoleum and so far west in Romania.

More Feathering

I've been adding more feathering to the peacock itself.

On To The Fourth

I'm now working on the final corner, yay!  It's on the way to being truly done, though I think I will end up spending a couple of weeks beading when the time comes.

Modern-ish Textiles

At the ren faire museum there were a lot of banners - unprotected and touchable.  I got close and took photos of some of them, as they are reproductions.  They show the original banner designs, though.

Mausoleum Rotunda

The Marasesti mausoleum has a second story - a rotunda.  We climbed the spiral stairs (last two photos) to get there.  It's a very pretty, restful place with wonderful mosaics.  The designs are definitely arts and crafts influenced and post-Victorian.

Topiaried

Yay, I have another piece on my challenge done!  This one was fairly easy to do, and I learned a different technique for couching.  Other than that, I know exactly whom it's going to when it's framed.

Swirling Sheepish

I am stitching along on my sheep.  He's got a lot of wool, but some of it swirls.