The Other Finished Temari

This is the other temari I finished. It's a bit more elaborate and I also used Valdani perle 8 on it, this time a brown variegated.

It's also got the polyester thread base, which was still slippery. Both of these will be given in June, just before my friend leaves Kosovo for good. I just had to finish them before I left so I didn't have to mail them.

Bulgaria's Stone Forest

About ten miles west of Varna, just off the highway back to Sofia, there's a natural geological formation. We visited it, and here are some pictures. It's the Stone Forest, and it's a national heritage spot in Bulgaria.

Even though there's sand underfoot in these pictures, the surrounding area is tree-dotted meadow. The "forest" runs about three kilometers by half a kilometer and a road straddles it. They say these rock formations were made just like stalactites and stalagmites and then the cave just fell in and eroded around them while they stayed in place.

The guide/money collector (entrance was less than two euros each) gave us a New Age spiel about the energy of the rocks and their spiritual healing power. Needless to say, we didn't fall for that. We did, however, take lots of pictures of lizards and flowers. Those aren't on flickr yet, though. Anyway, if you get to the Varna area, do visit. It's impressive.

An Actual Finish

My host is leaving Kosovo in July, and he needs to give gifts to his local employees. I offered to make temaris. This past week, I finished two! Here's the first. I made large interlaced kikus at the poles.

The ball is shiny because I used polyester thread to wind it. I -don't- recommend this unless you have a lot of patience for slippage. The stitching is with a Valdani perle 8 and Petite Treasure Braid. Considering, I think it came out pretty well. The locals don't have any kind of tradition like this, so we're hoping they'll like it more due to the novelty factor.

Yarn from Sofia

My first yarn shop in Bulgaria introduced me to a brand I've never heard of before - Alize. I bought its mohair blend, which I'm turning into an afghan. It's got great loft and a very luxurious feel. What's better is the price was about $4 a skein ... for mohair ...

The smaller balls are all perle cotton. They were about a euro each. I really like the colors, but haven't used them yet.

Working on the Second Half

The second half is begun. Now I get to do strips the other way, in green and ivories. At least it'll be done soon.

So Close!

I made progress on the measles/wild cherries project this week. The top is done but for the outer line of simple stitches. Still, though, I've been so busy with other things I haven't been able to stitch much. I'd hoped to finish this before I left, but it looks like I'll finish it back in the States, since I leave on Wednesday.

Trims from Plovdiv

I found a needlework shop in Plovdiv! It had cross stitch supplies and a whole bunch of trims, walls of them. The prices were mismarked, so I didn't buy as much as I should have. This is what I did buy, though. A meter of each - and the total cost under ten euros!