I'm working on a new 1530's Tudor kirtle. The fabric is a wool/rayon blend twill in a woad blue colour. The boning is split reed. I realize that this will affect the way it gets washed somewhat, but I had some around and decided it would be faster to try it, than to figure out where the metal snips are, snip and grind the spring steel bones from the bulk roll. The first picture shows the interlining with the boning channels marked and sewn. I'm lining it with a fairly bright pink linen because I had it and didn't have any lovely blue to match. Not that I mind the pink linen. It's very pretty. Mainly though it's sturdy, where the wool twill has a much softer hand. The second picture shows the kirtle ready to do the side back seams. Then it's sew up the armscyes and attach the skirt. Tomorrow a friend is going to help mark the skirt and put in eyelets on those back/side seams. She is a corset maker by trade and has a nifty machine to set eyelets professionally. While hand sewn eyelets would be the way to go, this is mainly a camp outfit. Since I managed to slice my right index finger open on the apple slicer, this will mean I can actually get the garment done in a timely fashion 'cause right now hand sewing and spinning hurts!

I've been re-potting the tomato plants. I finally got some more potting soil and of course one of the boys decided to tidy up a bit and I think that the milk and juice cartons I'd been saving to use got put in last week's recycling. The seedlings are too big for the little starter packs, but it's still too cold to put them outside. It dropped below freezing last night! Still lots more to go though.

The little chooks are growing. Every time we enlarge the brooder, they grow to fill it up. However, with several days of unseasonably cold weather, wind storms, frost and a few flakes of snow, we have hesitated to enlarge it again over the past weekend just to help them stay warm. In a couple more weeks, they'll be fully feathered and it won't matter so much. They don't seem to be complaining yet. They do seem to want to perch on things. They eat, and eat, and eat, and eat! It's quite amusing going into the coop some times. You know when you wander into a group of people engrossed in conversation and they stop chatting when you come near? Well, the chooks are quietly chirping and fussing amongst themselves and when I go in, the all stop and some run to a corner and the rest just watch and stare at me. I start wondering what sort of chicken conspiracy plans I've interrupted.

I've a new Blueberry bush to plant, a new raspberry, two blackberries and a black current bush to plant. Now to find places for them. If we didn't have all these darned trees, it would be easy but as it is, finding places with enough sun is a little fussy. Nobody here seems to like my idea of pulling half of them down to let in the sun!