Progress

I made another top.  
Yet another pattern adaptation,  this one didn't take long though. It's geting easier each time.

I wanted to make a slightly floaty blouse in some loively floaty fabric. However, I chickened out of using my fabric, and made it in cheaper fabric instead.    I'm glad I did.

Some things went really really  well.

• This time, I decided to try a different construction method, and it worked.
• My coverstitching worked (mostly)
• The rainbow thread I used for the loopers on both the overlocker and the coverstitch worked  (I love it, and I'm going to be orderig plenty more spools)

And, as always, plenty of learnings

• The sizing was OK, if I'd been using the original fabric. I left the darts in, just didn't sew them , so this hgave me more wearing ease.   It wasn't right with this fabric, I should have sewn the darts (I still might)
• The neckline I drew was far to hight for the style I was going for, and for the gathered neckline.  However, it would work if I had used bust darts,
• I should have used hemming tape to give y hems a crisper edge.

I've got a few more things on 'let's try' list. Firstly, some relatively simple things:

• a squarer neckline, with a view to incorporating a top into a summer dress
• a slashed neckline

Then:

• shirring
• Finish my empire line blueprint, and make a dress from it.

And that leads me on to making some summer dresses,  some fuller skirts (than the ones I made last year).

And go back and finish my trousers.  And some leggings.

The list goes on.

•  

•  
•  
•     I

Sharing a bath

I hoik Gloria off the nest once a day, as I haven't seen her coming out of her own accord. 

Sasha had been complaining about something, non stop, for about twenty minutes.  My neighbour was working from home, so I eventually went out to see what she was complaining about (Sasha, not the neighbour).

I couldn't see anything.  I couldn't see Poppy, so I assumed Poppy must be in the nest box with Gloria and that Sasha wanted to lay.  I tried, unsuccessfully, to catch Sasha.  I gave up. It's too hot to be chasing chooks.

I went back to mulling over my sewing pattern, and Sasha started again.    This time she was sitting n the floor in the run, and she shut up and ran away when I arrived.     I heard some chicken purring,  which is such a lovely sound.

It came from a make-shift dustbath located under one of the Cubes. Poppy and |Gloria were having a happy and contented communal dustbath.  Both girls were purring, and I watched them from a distance so I didn't disturb them.

I tried to work out how old they are. I checked my spreadsheet, and found that the are 5 now!    I perused the spreadsheet looking at all the hens over all the years. 

Our oldest girl, Siouxsie Sioux, is now 8. She still lays occasionally, and she doesn't look her age.   Next are  Norah and Batty, who are now 6.  Then we have Henry and  four of the Harem Girls (who are all from the same hatch, but have various mums) who are 5.   Camilla, Big Bird, and three Harem girls, all five of them Henry's offspring,  are 3. And finally Barbara (daughter of Nora) and a gorgeous Harem girl are now 1 year old. Barbara is the spitting image of Roobarb, who was one of then hens who died in the fox attack


With so many hens of the same age (5), I guess we're going to end up losing a few fairly close together at some point. Hopefully not too soon.

By the way, Sasha has been shut in the Cooler (one of the wooden nest boxes) again.  I'm thinking of changing her name to Hilts*. I've set a timer so I don't forget about her..

(*Steve McQueen's character in The Great Escape)



.

Nuisances

Gloria went broody about a week ago. 

I was a little surprised. Poppy (her sister) is usually the one to go broody first, and Poppy had been showing i'm-thinking-about-going-broody symptoms.  Instead, it's Gloria clamped to the next box.

I'm well aware of the suggestions for "breaking" a broody. Early in my chicken keeping life, I even tried a few of them with varying degrees of success (and failure).   Eventually I accepted that going broody was just something that some hens need to do, and so now we let them get on with it.    We had even considered letting either Poppy or Gloria raise some chicks this year, but we've decided to have a year off chicks.

The downside is the disruption it causes the others in the flock when their favoured egg laying spot is occupied.

No, that's not really true. The downside is the disruption caused when one or two of the remaining flock decide to get very vocal in expressing their annoyance about the nest box hogging.  They complain, loudly and persistently about it.  It's a darned nuisance, and complegtely unnecessary.  We have ample nest boxes: 2 Cubes,  and 2 extra wooden nestboxes.

Sasha and Fay (our Appenzeller and Fayoumi)  start getting very gobby, very early in the morning.      We've been shutting the Cube door at night so that the sounds are muffled, otherwise they just get up and start being gobby in the run.

We've tried letting them out in the run early.  The gobbiness continues, unmuffled.

We've tried letting them out in to the garden.  The gobbiness continues,  even closer to our neighbours.

I've had some success with getting up at stupid o'clock,  hoiking the offending chook(s) out of the back of the Cube and then shutting them in the little wooden nest boxes.  They can't get the height in there to get the volume.   When I do it, I set an alarm for 30 minutes (I don't like to keep them shut in there for too long), so I have to get up again to let them out. 

It does mean that I have to get myself out of bed though, and some mornings.... well, I fail.  I don't sleep through the noise,  I just struggle to get myself up.

As the nights get warmer, and people start sleeping with  their windows open,  I can't take option of lying in bed trying to ignore it option.

I love Sasa, and I love Faye.  They are tiny, funny, silly, chooks. 

At 5.30/6.00 in the morning,  they aren't so lovely.

Small person

My cousin and his lovely wife went away for a week to celebrate a significant birthday.  We looked after their daughter (T), who is 9.  

An interesting week followed.   School, or at least, school rules have changed quite a bit since I was T's age.  I had a pass to enter school grounds, the gate was not unlocked until 8.17,  and was open until 8.40.  I needed adaily pass to permit me to collect my charge at the end of the day,  and her mother and I had visited the school previously so this could all be recorded. .  Homework had to be downloaded from the school's extranet site.   The stuff T was allowed - and not allowed - to take in in her bag was very strict.

I made a spreadsheet to tell me what time to drop her off, what I had to make sure was in her bag for each day,  what time to collect her,  and what after school activities I had to take her to.

It worked well.

I was surprised at the school dress code.  They are uniformed, which is good.  What I wasn't too happy about is that the Girls have to wear skirts in the winter, and summer dresses in the summer/. They are not allowed to wear trousers, unless on religious grounds.  I really think this stinks.   Firstly,  why should girls have to wear skirts/dresses?  Why can't they wear trousers if they want to?   And secondly,  that just makes the girls who wear trousers on religious grounds stand out.   That's not right either.

Still, she's not my daughter, it's not my school, so I didn't say anything.

Getting up in time to be showered before making sure T was up was a shock to the system.  We knew the traffic was going to be bad (major roadworks) but we weren't sure how bad.  Day 1, we arrived and had to sit in the car for 5 minutes before walking to the school gate (there is no parking at the school), and then we still had to wait for the gate to be opened.  Day 2, we left 5 minutes later. Day 3 we intended to leave 5 minutes later still but accidentally left even later...we weren't late but we were later than we liked.     Day 4 and Day 5, we timed it perfectly.

I have no idea how her parents manage with all the after school activities.  We didn't even do them all! Her mum said we didn't have to do any of them, but we did take her to her swimming lesson one day,  and to her horseriding on another.

On the plus side,  my daily step count has been amazing.  And don't my poor feet know it!    I should have taken advantage of it,  but I didn't.. I just stuffed choccy biccies.   Next time, I'll make sure I have healthy snacks ready for me.

I made her a couple of bits while she was here.  Firstly, a little cross-body bag to hold her phone. It has a little zippered purse bit too.

Another day, when she had the sniffles,  I made her a matching zippered tissue pouch to match (but I failed to take a picture).

Finally, I made her a test pair of leggings.  They were OK, but not quite right - so we'll make another pair another time.

She's already invited herself to stay for part of half term, and I'm really pleased that she has.

Prevention

We are so very late doing our first preventative spray of the coops for this year.

Things have been a bit up and down, and it's just got pushed back and back and back.  I decided at the weekend that today (Thursday) would be The Day, unless it was raining.

It didn't rain.  I donned my shower cap (to protect me from drip shilst spraying the inside of the shed roof). It took about 2 and a half hours, and the weather was kind to us.  The shed and the two coops were complely emptied, and checked for signs of red mite.  None, thank goodness.

I used the knapsack sprayer to spray everything with Poultry Shield.   While that was drying, I sprayed the nest boxes, and the bits of the Cube, and the roosting bars.  The poo trays were all cleaned and disinfected,  and the drinkers were sterilised too.  

It was non stop.

By the time I'd done my spraying,  and rinsed and refilled the drinkers,  two of the coops were dry enough to be Stalosaned.  WHile I left that to make sure there wasn't any unseen liquid anywhere,  I put the brushes into a bucket with some Milton.      The Stalosan stayed dry,  so I then Diatomed the corners, the crevices,  and all over the place.   Finally,  I put Aubiose in the poo trays and in the nest boxes (along with a bit more Diatom).   By the time that was done, the shed was dry enough, so more Stalosan,  then Diatom.   The nestboxes went back in (Stalosan and Diatomed),  and then the poo trays.  Then Aubiose.


Last year I bought a couple of powder shakers from Flyte So Fancy, and these worked really well for the Satlosan and Diatom.  I've tried numerous things over the years, and these have worked out the best.

When all was done, we hung up new fly papers in the shed.

I was covered in stuff, but I'm so happy its done.

Just the Garden Girls coops to do now.  Sunday.  Weather permitting.

I've been trying to...to... sort myself out and give myself a bit of a kick to get moving instead of mo[ing.

I bit the bullet, and adapted the Blueprint (A1)  I'd made at my recent sewing retreat to make myself a top with a gathered neckline (instead of a bust dart).  I made it in a stretch fabric and, even  so,  I put the original waist and shoulder darts in.

My dart sewing was spot on,  I was really proud.  Unfortunately, I made a couple of silly errors, and I put it down and left it a day or so before I came back to it and attempted to salvage it.

It came out OK, definitely wearable. Bit baggy - or "tunic style" as I am callinh it - but that was to be expected as I didn't adjust the sizing.  The front , back and sleeve were stuck on to Tailor's Card (along with a fabric sample)  for posterity, and clearly labelled as "A2"

I immediately started working on another adaptation, this time removing the waist darts but to leave everything else the same. I then cut out fabric for a second version,  and waited a day to start construction.   I used the same fabric as the first so I could compare and contrast the fit,  without having different fabric potentially blurring things.

I used my coverstitch machine, and it did a grand job of the hems and the sleeves. 

It also came out well enough to be wearable, so I taped the pieces to card and labelled them as A3.

Of course I'll need to trace them off if I want to use them again,  but that's OK.  If I find a fit I really love I'll make a card template.

My next foray will be another adaptation. This time (probably) a sort of peasant-blouse-style neckline.  I'll use a less stretchy fabric, so I'll probably need to use the A2 version of the bodice and maybe just not sew the darts.  It depends how much ease there will be.

I might wait a day or two.