A few bits of stock

A pretty antique French nightdress, embroidered in palest blue, with monogram 'RB' - now sold

 

A remnant of tweedy woollen fabric in blue, green and brown, one piece sold, one left

Sage-green and white French mattress ticking, once used as a simple curtain - now sold

Beautiful pelmet, with green and blue passementerie tassels - now sold

An antique linen nightshirt with tie-neck - now sold
 

A morceau of 1930s floral cotton, a bit faded and marked but perfect for a little sewing project
 - now sold

'Captive Unicorn' - a 20th century wallhanging, from the series of famous tapestries at the Cloisters, New York. - now sold

A few little pieces of my fabrics - just to prove to mysef that I have returned to work and started listing the mountain of linen and textiles in my stock room.

Under house arrest...

Well, no not really - it's just we can't easily get out of the house because we are getting new drains/sewage system in our village, and now it's our turn to have the digger chew up the road outside.

Please excuse the lichen on the gates - it has been very wet this winter!  They will be re-painted when the work is done and the weather improves.
 

Doesn't it all look dismal...

Look at the road outside - the top layer has been scraped away - took them about ten minutes with a machine

They have promised that we'll be tidied up afterwards - in fact, we are supposed to be getting new pavements and if rumour has it, raised flower islands.

I just want to get out of the gates!

  

Felix shaking a leg

This is Felix, aka FatBoyFat, in the snow.  He has a rather odd way of walking in that he shakes the snow off each paw in turn - takes him ages to cross the garden...

 

Some sheep photos

I have been asked for some photos of our sheep, so John, here are some from earlier in 2012, showing the new lambs.  Incidentally, to those who ask 'how can you tell when a ewe is ready to lamb?' just look at the photo of Bleat's rear end...not very delicate I know, but a very good indicator!

People also ask 'how can you eat those adorable lambs?' but by the time autumn comes and those male lambs have grown into teenage rams, we really do want to wave them goodbye - too many macho male hormones flying around.

 
This area has a shelter - they have two others deeper into the field area - but is near the gate where we feed and water, so the girls, being quite sociable sheep, like to come and settle down in the afternoon sun for a snooze while the lambs play 'King of the Castle'.

Last year, even by April, there was hardly any grass and we were worried we'd be feeding pellets all year.  Then, the Limousin rain arrived and it poured down for weeks!

Wonder what the weather will be like in 2013?

Sales of 2012

Just a few little textile things I sold in 2012 - now getting set to start on my new stock for 2013.

FatBoyFat aka Felix

I thought I would show you why I don't get as much work done as I should - our cat Felix, otherwise known as FatBoyFat - for obvious reasons - he is SO fat!

It doesn't matter whatever I am doing, he will insist on hanging around, sometimes just sleeping, sometimes just being a pest...the disembodied head is just Felix asleep on my monitor.

 

This is Felix in his favourite place - keeping an eye on me working at the computer

But the bathroom hand-basin is just as good a place as any other...

  

One minute after this, he fell in.

 Soaked through, he likes to be dried with a warm towel

 

Sitting in the rain, under cover of the bird table

 

He has taken over the dog's bed - of course!

 

and my office chair.

so you see, it's a wonder I get any work done at all - I can't resist taking photos - a great time waster!

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!