Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Doruri / Longing

Am cusut-o cu gandul hoinarind pe dealuri... Peste covoarele de iarba grasa si peste florile pajistilor alpine. Betie a simturilor si liniste binecuvantata picurand in urechi. Ca un balsam... 
Cu ea sub crestet, cerul  ar fi mai tare. Si mai albastru.

Ma pregatesc insa de mare... De Dobrogea mea draga si de verde. De drumurile-i dulci, strajuite de plopi tremuranzi, in bataia vantului uscat. Oare ce povesti voi mai afla acum? Si ce povete, oare, imi va sopti iar la plecare?... Pe curand, mama Dobroge! Pe curand... 





My thoughts were strolling over the hills while making it... Over the rich, abundant carpets of grass, over the flowers of the alpine pastures. Exhilaration of senses and blessed silence dripping in your ears. Like a balm... 
With it under my head, the sky would be more vivid. And bluer.

But I'm preparing for the sea... For my dear Dobrogea and for green. For her mellow roads, guarded by the ancient aspens dancing in the dewless blowing of the wind. What stories will she tell me this time? And what teachings will she offer me when we'll say goodbye again?... Till soon, Mother Dobrogea! Till soon... 






Tudor Gheorghe - Umbra plopilor

Friday, July 13, 2012

Invocand ploaia / Calling down the rain

Zile fierbinti... Soare torid, verde parjolit, albastru intens. Si liniste. Adapostite cine stie unde, pasarile si-au oprit cantul. Si vantul bataia.
Precum odinioara, cand eram copil, m-am trezit inganand incet "Paparuda, ruda / Vino de ne uda..."

Invocand ploaia. Sa ne ude, sa ne curete, sa ne creasca.



Burning days. Torrid sun, scorched green, deep blue. And quietness. Sheltered who knows where, the birds had stopped singing. And the wind had stopped his blowing.
Forgotten incantation, since I was a child, I found myself softly humming "Paparuda, ruda / Vino de ne uda..."

Calling down the rain. To water us, to purge us, to grow us.




... si o inedita versiune a cantecului Paparudei, din Moldova, in interpretarea surorilor Osoianu.

... and an original version of a Paparuda song, from Moldavia area, performed by the Osoianu Sisters.



Detalii:
  • set format din doua suporturi de farfurii 40x29 cm
  • fata din bumbac 100%, spatele din in albastru 
  • buzunar aplicat pentru tacamuri, din in albastru, cu bride decorative 9x13 cm
  • broderie manuala umbrela-curcubeu si picaturi de ploaie stilizate
  • puncte folosite: punct de lantisor, punct de ramurica 
  • pret: 73 lei - Vandut.

Details:
  • set of two double sided placemats 40x29 cm
  • 100% cotton front side, blue linen back side
  • applique blue linen pocket for cutlery, with decorative strips
  • hand embroidered with rainbow-umbrella and fancy rain drops
  • used stitches: stem stitch, chain stitch
  • price: 16.5 euro - Sold.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Soapte de departe / Whispers from afar

Galben aprins a bucurie. Muzica. Vechi radacini din Banatul sarbescMargarete in vant... si mama. Celebrare a soarelui. Celebrare a vietii. Si Aide Jano...




Bright yellow of happiness. Music. Old roots from Serbian BanatDaisies in the wind and... my mother. Solar celebration. Life celebration. And Aide Jano...






Hara - Aide jano

Detalii:
  • suporturi de farfurii din in, dimensiuni 40 x 29 cm
  • buzunar pentru tacamuri, din in, cu bride decorative; dimensiuni 9 x 13 cm
  • broderie manuala cu motiv floral, "margarete", cu ata de bumbac Coats Puppets Perle Cotton no8
  • puncte folosite: stem stictch, chain stitch, fish bone stitch
  • pret:  73 lei - vandut!
Details:
  • linen placemats, 40 x 29 cm
  • 9 x 13 cm linen applique pocket for cutlery, with decorative strips
  • hand embroidered with floral pattern, "daisies", using cotton thread Coats Puppets Perle Cotton no 8
  • used stitches: stem stitch, chain stitch and fish bone stitch
  • price: 16.5 euro - sold!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Intelesuri ascunse / Hidden meanings


Simboluri.
Unele, mai simple, ne vorbesc tuturor deopotriva.
Altele, mai complexe, isi soptesc tainele doar acelora pregatiti sa le primeasca intelepciunea.

Simbolul de mai jos l-am descoperit intr-un articol despre vechi arhetipuri geto-dace si, se pare, se afla sculptat pe poarta sanctuarului de la Sarmizegetusa. Nu i-am deslusit inca soapta, dar am simtit nevoia sa-l reproduc si sa-l dau mai departe...
Pana acum, este cea mai dificila broderie la care am lucrat. Nu datorita complexitatii punctelor de cusatura folosite sau a detaliilor migaloase, ci pentru simplul fapt ca n-am putut coase la ea decat in anumite zile sau momente ale zilei. Si astfel, nu de putine ori, a devenit obositor si dificil sa continuu. Nu am o explicatie pentru asta, insa acum ca e gata, am o mare bucurie ca am incheiat!



Symbols.
Some, simpler, speak to us equally.
Others, more complex, whisper their secrets only to those ready to receive their wisdom. 

I discovered the symbol above in an article I read about Dacian ancient archetypes and, apparently, it's carved on the gate of Sarmizegetusa sanctuary. I haven't managed to understand its whisper yet, but I felt the need to reproduce it and pass it on... 
So far, it's the most difficult embroidery I've made. Not because of the complexity of the stitches I used or the niggling details, but because I could only sew in some days or parts of the day. Thus, pretty often, became hard and weary to continue doing it. I have no explanation for this, but now that's ready, I feel a great joy I've finished it!




simbolul original / the original symbol
foto: http://iulianandrei.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/arhetipuri-simboluri-din-preistoria-noastra/

Detalii:
  • fete de perna decorative, dimensiuni 40 x 40 cm (alte dimensiuni disponibile la cerere)
  • fata din bumbac alb 100%
  • spatele din in albastru / maro 
  • broderie manuala cu ata de bumbac Perle Cotton no 5
  • inchidere cu capse metalice (sau cu fermoar, la cerere) 
  • pret: 97 lei/buc.
Details:
  • 40 x 40 cm decorative pillow cases (other sizes also available upon request)
  • 100% white cotton top and blue/brown linen back
  • hand embroidered with cotton thread Perle Cotton no 5
  • closure: metallic snaps (or zipper, available upon request)
  • price: 21.5 Euro/one pillow case

Saturday, May 12, 2012

no story

nici o poveste pentru broderiile de astazi. doar cateva imagini, o sambata insorita si un cantec. fiti fericiti!
***
no story for today's embroidery. only a few images, a sunny Saturday and a song. be happy!








Francis Cabrel - Je t'aimais, je t'aime et je t'aimerai

Detalii:

  • set format din doua suporturi de masa si doua suporturi de pahar, asortate
  • fata dubla din bumbac 100% cu buzunar pentru tacamuri aplicat
  • broderie manuala "buchet de grau si flori de camp", cu ata de bumbac Coats Perle Cotton no8 si flori din nasturi aplicati
  • puncte folosite: punct de ramurica
  • pret: 86 lei/set - Vandut.


Details:

  • set of two 100% cotton double sided placemats with assorted coasters 
  • decorative applique pocket for cutlery
  • hand embroidery with "wheat and field flowers bouquet" pattern, using cotton thread Coats Perle Cotton no8,  and buttons applique flowers
  • used stitches: stem stitch
  • price: 20.5 euro/set - Sold.


Tuesday, May 1, 2012

A table for two

In the last years I couldn’t help to notice an increasing demand and attention for quality food: bio products and organic fruits and vegetables. Which is a very good thing. Step by step we’re getting closer to what agriculture should be, to what it used to be for us, for our animals and for the lands.
At the same time I couldn’t help to notice an increasing tendency towards sickness. And even though medicine developed a lot, technologically speaking, giving the possibility of tracking down severe diseases in very early stages of evolution, and new drugs are to be found in hospitals and pharmacies, we get sicker and sicker as years go by.
Sure, the factors are numerous: air pollution, radiations, noise pollution, the city hastiness, the apparent lack of time that makes us constantly live in a hurry and so on… But we all want a better life and for that maybe the easiest thing to be changed is our way of feeding.

What we seem not to have noticed yet is that the way we eat and the attitude we have during our meals are just as important as food itself if not more important.
It matters if we are calm and comfortable when we sit down to eat, it matters if we eat consciously and by that be aware of how our meal really tastes, aware of whether we really like it not, aware of the effect it has on our body and aware of whether the kind of food we eat is a necessity for us or not. It matters if we are grateful for the generous gifts of the land or for the sacrifice of the animal who's meat we are consuming. 

If we don’t keep in mind these “minor details” as well, no matter how bio or organic our food is it will always be ineffective. 
It will always be alimentation instead of nourishment.   




Am remarcat in ultimii cativa ani, o tot mai mare cerere si atentie pentru alimente de calitate:  produse bio si fructe si legume organice. Ceea ce este un lucru foarte bun. Ne indreptam astfel incet, incet catre ceea ce ar trebui sa insemne agricultura, catre ceea ce a insemnat agricultura odata. Pentru noi, pentru animalele noastre, pentru pamant.
In acelasi timp, am mai remarcat si o tendinta crescuta catre a ne imbolnavi. Si chiar daca medicina a evoluat mult din punct de vedere tehnologic, oferind posibilitatea depistarii unor boli extrem de grave in stadii incipiente de evolutie, iar noi si noi medicamente pot fi gasite in spitale si farmacii, devenim tot mai bolnavi pe zi ce trece.  
Desigur, factorii sunt numerosi: aerul poluat, radiatii, poluarea fonica, graba neintrerupta a orasului, aparenta lipsa a timpului ce ne determina sa ne traim vietile mereu pe fuga s.a.m.d… Insa cu totii ne dorim o viata mai buna, iar in acest sens, poate cel mai usor lucru de facut este sa ne schimbam obiceiurile alimentare.

Ceea ce insa nu pare ca am fi remarcat inca, este faptul ca modul in care mancam si atitudinea ce-o avem in timpul mesei sunt la fel de importante ca mancarea insasi, daca nu chiar mai importante.
Conteaza daca ne simtim calmi si confortabili cand ne asezam la masa, conteaza daca mancam in mod constient, putand simti astfel adevaratul gust al mancarii, daca aceasta ne place cu adevarat sau nu, ce efect are ea asupra organismului nostru si daca alimentele pe care le mancam ne sunt necesare sau nu. Conteaza daca suntem recunoscatori pentru poamele generoase ale pamantului sau pentru sacrificiul animalului a carui carne o consumam. 

Daca nu vom avea  in vedere si aceste “mici detalii” , indiferent de cat de bio sau organica ne este mancarea, acesta va fi mereu ineficienta.  
Va fi mereu doar alimentatie, nu hranire.  





Detalii:
  • set format din 2 suporturi de masa si 2 suporturi pentru pahar 
  • fata dubla, din bumbac 100%, cu buzunar decorativ pentru tacamuri
  • broderie manuala cu flori de cires stilizate cu ata de bumbac Anchor Perle Cotton no5
  • puncte folosite: punct de ramurica
  • pret: 86 lei/set - oferite cadou.
Details:
  • set of two 100% cotton double sided placemats with assorted coasters 
  • decorative applique pocket for cutlery
  • hand embroidered with fancy cherry blossom pattern, using Anchor Perle Cotton no5 thread
  • used stitches: stem stitch
  • price: 20.5 euro/set - offered.

Yanni - Nightingale

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The reality of a dream

Have you ever fallen into the trap of buying only something that's perfectly finished, flawlessly decorated, even when the thing you bought was not of necessary use for you at the time?
Well, I have to admit, I did. And I think home decor magazines (and not only them) are the perfect bait for such a trap, with all of those pictures lurking you into having "a dream life", a life of luxury even you can now afford... But if you can get a glimpse beyond that "dream life", you realize what you see is often overrated, and in the end the price you have to pay for such a life is... life itself.

What happened with home-made items, no matter how clumsy they're made? What happened with reusing and reshaping old things we don't use anymore? When did we decide effortless is the way for progress, and when are we going to stop lying to ourselves that just because we got that thing into our home in less than 30 minutes, that makes is cheap and affordable?

Well... these are just a few thoughts I have in my mind in the last few days. And because of that, when I shortly visited my favourite fabric shop - it's quite small, but very cosy and the owners are two very nice young ladies - I decided to buy a piece of printed fabric, very cheap just because during printing process,  areas of spread paint appeared here and there. I didn't have something specific in my mind for it, but I particulary liked the floral pattern, of a dark, indigo blue shade.

Later on, I thought: why not pillow cases? The fabric is sturdy, not very soft, so they should get quite nice. I also wanted them with piping edges, so I used in addition for each pillow case: four pieces of white cotton rope, four strips from an old T-shirt and three buttons from an old cardigan..
And the result? Two cheap 40 x 40 cm pillow cases, with floral pattern and buttons enclosure.
Pretty nice, I'd say!







Vi s-a intamplat vreodata sa picati in capcana de a cumpara un lucru doar daca era perfect finisat si impecabil decorat, chiar daca acel lucru nu va era si neaparat necesar la momentul respectiv?
Eu, trebuie sa recunosc, am facut-o. Si cred ca toate revistele de tip “home decor” (dar nu numai) reprezinta momeala perfecta pentru o astfel de capcana, cu toate acele ilustratii ce ne ademenesc catre “o viata de vis”, o viata de lux pe care pana si tu ti-o poti permite acum… Dar daca putem zari macar o clipa in spatele acelei “vieti de vis”, ne putem da seama ca de multe ori produsele sunt supraevaluate si ca, in final, pretul pe care trebuie sa-l platim pentru o astfel de viata este… viata insasi.

Ce s-a intamplat, oare, cu lucrurile facute de noi, indiferent cat de stangace ar fi fost ele? Ce s-a intamplat, oare, cu refolosirea si remodelarea lucrurilor vechi din casa, care nu ne mai sunt de nici un folos? Cand am hotarat ca lipsa efortului reprezinta calea spre progres si cand vom inceta a ne mai minti ca doar pentru ca am obtinut un lucru in mai putin de 30 de minute, aducandu-l acasa, asta il face si ieftin si accesibil?

In fine… astea sunt cateva din gandurile pe care le am in ultimele zile… Si din acest motiv, intr-o scurta vizita prin magazinul meu preferat de tesaturi – un magazine mic, dar foarte primitor, in proprietatea a doua tinere doamne foarte dragute – am hotarat sa cumpar o bucata de material imprimat, foarte ieftin doar pentru ca in urma imprimarii, vopseaua se intinsese pe alocuri. Nu l-am luat pentru ceva anume, insa mi-a placut mult motivul floral, intr-o nuanta inchisa de albastru-indigo.

Ulterior, mi-am zis: de ce nu perne decorative? Materialul este destul de gros, rezistent si nu foarte moale, asa ca ar trebui sa fie tocmai bun. Si pentru ca am vrut sa am si snur pe margini, am mai folosit pentru fiecare fata de perna  4 bucati de sfoara de bumbac, 4 fasii dintr-un vechi tricou de bumbac si 3 nasturi de la un vechi pullover…
Rezultatul?  Doua fete de perna ieftine, de dimensiuni 40 x 40 cm, cu motiv floral si inchidere cu nasturi. Destul de simpatice, zic eu!










Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The orange bird of prosperity... reloaded

Even though I love cooking, I never had an apron till now. When it was imperative to use one, I improvised and put a tea towel instead. But to be honest, most of the time I'm not using anything... and of course, I end up having flour all over myself and my kitchen!
As I said, till now. Because my "orange bird of prosperity" gave me a playful idea: why not making an apron with this pattern? And I did! Yesterday. It was a crazy day: I spent most of my time measuring, and cutting, and sewing and cutting again... and finally, I got a pretty neat and cheerful apron. Here it is!



In ciuda faptului ca imi place mult sa gatesc si deci, mi-ar fi fost necesar, nu am avut niciodata pana acum un sort. Atunci cand am avut neaparat nevoie, am improvizat, folosind un prosop de bucatarie mai mare. In majoritatea cazurilor insa, nu folosesc... si bineanteles ca de fiecare data, sfarsesc prin a ma umple de faina, la fel si bucataria!
Cum spuneam, pana acum. Pentru ca "pasarea portocalie a prosperitatii" mi-a dat o idee buclucasa: ce-ar fi sa-mi fac un sort cu modelul asta? Si mi-am facut! Ieri. A fost o zi nebuna, petrecandu-mi aproape tot timpul masurand si taind, cosand si descosand, apoi iar taind... dar in final, mi-a iesit un sort tare vesel si simpatic. Iata-l!



 linen patch applique with hand embroidered bird / petec de in aplicat, brodat manual



 decorative hand-made buttonhole / butoniera decorativa hand-made



Details:
  • poplin hand-made apron
  • linen patch applique with "orange bird of prosperity" pattern hand embroidery
  • decorative linen belt applique on the edges 
  • two decorative rounded hand blind stitched patches, on the sides
  • button closure

Detalii:
  • sort de poplin hand-made
  • petec de in aplicat, cu broderie manuala "pasarea portocalie a prosperitatii"
  • benzi de in decorative aplicate pe marginile superioara si inferioara
  • doua petece rotunjite surfilate manual, aplicate pe marginile laterale
  • inchidere cu nasturi