Well, that was fun!

Yesterday was most interesting. We had a 5.0 earthquake simultaneously with a nasty thunderstorm and things were really hopping for a while. I was sitting in my living room at 7:30 pm sewing and listening to the storm blow, when the furniture started moving too. That was a little much for me, actually. We had a bunch of aftershocks throughout the evening and the best one was at 10:30 - it made my bed feel like a hammock swaying in the breeze! The epicenter of the 5.0 was only about 60 km from here, just over the border in Macedonia. The US summer school group who are currently on campus were more than a little freaked out by the whole thing. I told them we aim to provide as many thrills as possible!

Despite everything, I think I'm ready for Winchester. In fact, I'm packed!

High tech, low tech

I saw the new Star Trek movie last night and loved it. It felt true to its roots and made everyone cheer in places, which is one of my signs of a good movie! Listening to the Bulgarian fanboys guffaw at Checkov's accent was priceless as well!

The other good thing that happened yesterday was getting tablets delivered. A while back, I asked a friend who's a woodworker if he could make me some thin, wood tablets for weaving. He said eventually and I left it at that. Well, he showed up at my office yesterday afternoon with thirty! Wow- they are beautifully sanded and finished. His comment was, now do you need a loom? Of course, I said yes. Thanks, Christo!!!

Looking back a bit to Crown Tourney

As part of my A&S 50 challenge, I wanted to at least enter at least one display between now and the end of the challenge. I was a bit reluctant to do so without lots of preparation, which really means I probably would never have done so. But Genevieve "encouraged" me to enter the smocked apron I made for Constanza into the A&S display at Crown Tourney, so I did. My documentation was miniscule because I wrote it on the spot from memory. The whole thing was was fun, so I expect I'll do it again, but with some advance preparation. Here's the result - a lovely thank you for entering!

Rusty today

Nope, not my skills, just the fabric I've been working on. The color, that is! Guy's new tunic is done and looks pretty good, if I do say so. Seems like I've got the neck closing he likes down pat now. It's from Timothy Dawson's booklet about eleventh century men's clothing in the Eastern Roman Empire. You can also see it on his website here. For some reason, the colors are washed out in both of these photos. The rust color is much stronger than this and much closer to the tunic I saw in the Byzantine Museum in Thessaloniki. Too much flash, I guess. Now it just needs some tablet weaving for the cuffs and collar in navy and white to be more like the Museum exhibit. I also think it needs a leather belt, so I put mine in the picture.

New tunic:













Really Old Tunic:











I also finished the embroidery on a set of commercial napkins. They were a freebie with a recent linen purchase. I like leaves....can you tell?

Flowers and "thank-you's"

I took a break from sewing today to shoot some garden pictures. The spring bulbs are all done and the early summer stuff is coming out nicely. Three years ago, my colleague Ivan gave me a peony from his mom's garden. Peonies are notorious for disliking being moved, and often refuse to bloom for ages. Well, this year is it! It has four, big, fat buds and I can hardly wait for them to open! Thanks, Ivan!











There's also columbine everywhere, in loads of colors...











Some white iris,












Johnny-jump-ups that have self-seeded in every corner of the garden,










A foxglove that is also self-seeded and growing inches higher daily,















And the ubiquitous zdravets (or cranesbill geranium) found in every garden in Bulgaria.











I did actually get some sewing done, too. Guy's new tunic is done, except finishing the seams, and I'll do that tonight while I watch TV. Photos when it's all done! I also finished a thank you for a Lady who has been very helpful in finding and sharing music resources for medieval dance. This scissors fob is for her. There's a second "thank you" gift to come for the second Lady who has also been most kind in assisting in the same endeavor, but hers is not yet at the photo stage. I hope to see them both at Winchester, so I need to get the second one finished!

Vacations mean movies - and sewing!

I just saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine and it wasn't nearly as dire as some of the reviewers made it out to be. It was good, start-of-summer fluff and what woman minds looking at Hugh Jackman? The funny part was before the film even started. There were 30 minutes of previews for upcoming films. Really. One quarter of the length of a normal film just for previews! It did let me know that there will be more fun this summer - Angels and Demons, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, another Terminator, and (huzzah!) the new Star Trek flick.

I also got more sewing done - one pair of trews for Guy as per request, following the Levantia pattern. I did go with the optional drawstring waist, rather than belt loops and cord, because that version just screamed "Jed Clampett" to me. Next on the sewing list is a new tunic to go with the trews. It's going to be just the rust color of the one I saw last August in the Byzantine Museum in Thessaloniki.

I love a holiday!

And Bulgaria has lots to celebrate! Yesterday was May Day and the town, despite the drizzle and cool temperatures, was full of people taking time to relax. In front of the university, there were the usually folk and chalga singers and lots of tents full of the summer version of the Christmas village. This means lots of beer and kabapche!

Over in front of the opera house, the Blagoevgrad Brass Band and the opera folks were swinging away to old US pop music (please envision the Loco-motion with a heavy Balkan accent...) and loads of Gershwin favorites. The little kids were everywhere on rollerblades, or scooters, or bikes. My, how the place has changed!

I walked over to the old town to see Petar, the cobbler. He needed to measure me for a pair of turnshoes that I'll get later in the summer. While I was there, a school group stopped by and he played an impromptu concert for them on tambura, tupan, and kaval. You have to love Bulgaria!

The best part of all this is that because May Day was a Friday and St George's Day (May 6 here) is on a Wednesday, the national powers-that-be declared a holiday right through - so I'm on day two of a six day vacation!