another rainbow cot quilt

I have managed to get the overall rainbow effect better this time!
This is a hand-painted, pure silk dupion cot quilt with personalised embroidery - available to order for 110 euros. Now to get the website up and running....

Duckpond!

The excavation of the pond is complete, now to use up the metres of black plastic we have disinterred from around the garden. This stuff is not waterproof or big enough to be a liner, but it will protect a liner from stones beneath (we hope). The ducks are intellectually challenged by the steps into their current pond arrangements. Three have worked out how to step up into the water (most times) but the other two just look on in puzzled interest
Watch this space for a flotilla of happy ducks in a day or two.

cot quilts in silk

To compliment the knitted cot quilts that Pete is trying to get launched, I have started to make patchwork quilts in pure silk, with hand-painted patches plus room for a machine-embroidered panel to personalise the quilt. These are two prototypes:

The animals are outlined in a bronze 'gutta' but I think something darker would look better. This is a small, pram size and will sell for about 90 euros (including machine embroidery).

This bigger quilt is a cot size and the rainbow patches didn't come out quite as I hoped. I have put the gîte name and date of our first guests on the panel, and I will use it on the cot we have in the gîte.
I am now making another of these, but have painted the rainbows in narrower stripes on a full quilt size piece of silk, and will cut out the piece to give two quilts-worth of rainbow patches. I am also going to use a darker blue for the plain squares. Photos to follow soon.

Now the gîte really is finished AND inspected AND passed for inclusion in the Brittany Ferries brochure next year we can get on with other stuff again at last - there IS life after Gîte!

chicks at one month

The chicks shown in the last posting are now exactly one month old. In the end we got eight that survived. They are now reaching that tatty gangly teenage stage and Mrs Broody is having to keep a constant watch out for them as they are inclined to wander off on their own. They are enjoying the freedom of being out of the chicken shed ....
because we have acquired some Indian Runner ducks, and they need to be kept in a few days before being let out. I have always been fascinated by Indian Runners since I saw a picture of them many years ago. The two small ones (Linford & Sally - think about it) we got first, and I doubt they are true runners. The three bigger dark ones are undoubtedly Indian Runners and very handsome they are too. There are two ducks and a drake (who is called Jackson, tho' I dont know if he can hurdle yet). Suggestions please for names of the two girls - only criterion is must be a runner of some sort (Hev & Yvette??). We are planning a duckpond in the walled hangar area. They are coping with a cattle drinking trough at the moment.

THe tomatoes are flourishing in the tiny greenhouse, as well as aubergines and peppers. I suspect we may have a case of blight, so toms may come to nought. The sweetcorn outside is sprouting beautifully but has to be fenced from the chooks.

The potager has given us crops of potatoes, rocket, radishes, lettuce and peas already. The beetroot, carrots & turnips are swelling nicely. I have recently sown or transplanted runner beans which are romping up their strings and broccoli, both normal and purple sprouting. Only the parsnips and spinach have been a bit of a disappointment. I think things were too dry/cold to get them to germinate properly. Our culinary high point recently was a spanish omelet with our own fresh eggs, potatoes and peas, with a home-grown salad.