My Favorite Bulgarian City

I really fell in love with Plovdiv. You've probably never heard of it, but it's about an hour or so southeast of Sofia. Skip Sofia. Go to Plovdiv. The architecture is amazing, there's plenty of stash to shop for, and it's the only place in Bulgaria we saw where everyone smiles back. Anyway, this top picture is of the Ethnographic Museum. It's chock full of beautiful things, and the building itself is pretty spectacular. All of it was hand painted.

Here's an example of what's inside the Ethnographic Museum. It's a mural of icons. I just thought it was really pretty. For more pictures of the Ethnological Museum and its contents, go here.

Here is a picture of one of Plovdiv's public fountains at night. It's right in front of the headquarters of the local orchestra. I just liked the novelty of it. The weather we had was near perfect, not too hot, not too cold, and not rainy.

This picture is of part of the exterior of the Saints Constantine and Elena church in Plovdiv's Old Town. Both inside and out, the church is covered in hand painted frescoes. They're gorgeous. While we were visiting, there was a baptism going on inside.

I have no idea who the guy is under the pigeon, but it was just sitting there perfectly pleased. There are a bunch of statues and busts in the very wooded public park at the foot of the main shopping road/area downtown.

This mosque was the most prominent we saw in Bulgaria. It's in a central square right next to the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and the main shopping area. The outer area is really detailed wood carvings.

Anyway, I -loved- Plovdiv and feel we didn't spend enough time there. I'd really like to go back. As my companion loads up more pictures, I'll share a few more with you.

One Goes Out...

I actually received this block in Kosovo, but was unable to work much on it while there. So, since I now have a stack of about seven round robin blocks since my return, I thought I'd better get busy! Here's the first one to go out - I sent it today. It's Candji's from the Whatever Goes group. This top picture is the naked block.

I did two motifs. One was a crewelwork flower, all in Appleton wools. The other, the gold, is from some of the fabric I bought in Bulgaria. I thought it looked good against the green. I also did a seam just above the crewel. It went out today. I hope she's happy when she gets it back.

And One Comes Home

When I got home from Kosovo on Thursday, I had a huuuuuge stack of mail to go through. One of the things in the mail was my Asian Nights block. I'd actually forgotten about it. Anyway, it came back gorgeous. I'll probably add a little bit more to it then make it the center of a regular quilt. Thank you to the ladies who worked on it!

Last of the Stash

This is the last of my stash purchases. I got more Alize yarn, including bright cotton and bright bamboo. I just loved the colors. The blue mohair will be done up into another afghan. I wonder if the company has any plans to export to the US. I'd buy it.

Still Hearting Along

As of Friday night, this is my progress on the heart. I hope to mail it out this week, and I think I can keep my goal.

Varna Stash

Sometimes you just turn around and a shop is there. That's what happened several times in Bulgaria with us. The shop I bought this stuff from in Varna was - get this- in the pedestrian underway to cross the road in front of the cathedral. It was a tiny hole in the wall and stocked with trims and yarn, no fabric. In Bulgaria, it's either a trim and yarn shop or a fabric only shop, no mixing! I couldn't even find pins in the fabric shops.

The two skeins of yarn are a local brand and eyelash. I just liked the color and they feel silky smooth. The trims were dirt cheap. I really like the dyed lace on top the best.

I even bought some beads. My companion said that every time I walk into one of these shops in poorer countries, I pay the shop's rent for the week or month. I think he's silly. All the shop keepers were friendly and helpful, even when I didn't speak Bulgarian and they didn't speak English.

Another Bit of Progress

I told you last week I'd made small progress on this. It happened again this week. Most of the progress, even, is to the side. But it's several stitches more toward completion. For some reason, I've been a bit busy.