Alafaire made it to Italy and was put into the hands of her new owner, Walter Alvarez, at his 70th birthday celebration in Coldigioco, a little contrada in the hills above Ancona, Italy.

First look!

Walter and Sandro after the first tune was played! Many tunes followed.

Alafaire is a Strad model. Completed on September 23, 2010, she is traveling east to her new home. These are the custom fittings of fruitwood and a chinrest of olive.

New fittings for Alafaire. The chinrest is olive.

Sitting here in LaRoche sur Foron, France, and about to travel to Ancona, Italy, I realize that Cremona is essentially on the way and we have free time. A no-brainer. Ted, Sharry, Dan and I will stop in and take a look at the Cremonese Strad that my last two or three fiddles were based on. It's kind of like cold calling for a salesman-knock and hope. Great adventure.

Currently there are two new fiddles waiting for homes as Lasley & Russ Violins in Downtown Ballard, Seattle. They are the darker two in the picture just below this entry.

Fiorenza is halfway through the varnish process. The figure of the maple is more prominent now and it's time to put some color on, just as soon as the previous coat of varnish dries.

A closer look.

This is an adaptation of the Alberti clamp that prevents the weight of the clamp from pulling the bass bar, or whatever else you might be clamping, out of the alignment you intended. 

First view of the first fiddle tags.