The family created a small museum in a traditional wood home near the entrance to the village, with a guesthouse on the second floor. Ms. Berbecaru’s daughter, Ioana Pop, who speaks English, helps with guests. A family was already in the guesthouse so I was taken to the home of Maria Goldean, who lives in a quaint vine-covered cottage with her husband and has a more modern cinder block home on the property for travelers.

After I settled in, Mrs. Pop took me on a stroll through the village to look for weavers. Stops at two homes were disappointing; one of the women was no longer weaving and the other had put her loom away until winter. Discouraged, we decided to try just one more home, where we were greeted by Ioana Petreus, who was sitting on a bench outside her house spinning wool. She had been out all day foraging for mushrooms and her daughter was at the loom inside. The leaves, bark, nut shells and onion skins used to dye the yarn sat near her loom. She was one of Ms. Berbecara’s students, and typically weaves traditional patterns. For $15, I bought a placemat-size wall hanging that featured scenes from village life.

The next day, after a visit to a wooden church in the center of Botiza, notable for the eerie painting of “Death” on the back of its entry door, I drove north to Ieud in search of the Ples Museum, set in a 200-year-old homestead and said to display an array of items from a woman’s dowry.

It turned out to be the best day of the trip. Since it was a holiday, women gathered at the small museum to chat after services at Ieud’s Church on the Hill, also known as “The Birth of the Mother of God” church , built in 1364. According to its literature, it is the oldest wooden church in Romania. The museum, which is down the hill from the church, is filled with hand-woven rugs and blankets, embroidered cloths, hand-painted plates and other handiwork. An old wooden loom dominates the room, its parts worn smooth from years of use. Next to the loom, a doll the size of a toddler stands in a wooden contraption designed to keep a child contained within reach; behind that is a cradle that can be rocked by a pedal next to those on the loom.