One side complete and some of the massive rocks that had to be removed! The other side looks more problematic.

Barn works resume

Now the winter is coming to an end works on the barn resume. The solar panels will be installed at the end of April so I ll need to hire a digger, and dig a trench the lay the connecting cables to the house, as well as the sewage and water pipes. The main electrical earth also needs to be replaced. Before that, I ve find shed the pointing downstairs and started the job I ve least been looking forward to, creating a new door through the 70 cm thick wall. The walls are built of mud and rock, no mortar so they are incredibly unstable once you start mining through them. The ground outside the barn hasn't been cleared yet, which at least makes access to the door head easier as it's about 18 inches above ground level. Some of the rocks are enormous, so it's just as well! I managed to needle through and install two lintols. Once the ground is removed (June) I can lower the opening to ground level. With so many huge rocks it's going to be difficult try and create two vertical door jambs.

 

Vicious spring fights between blackbirds

 

More double weave experiments

More experiments with doubleweave. This is a weave whereby two layers of cloth are woven simultaneously one above the other. I designed a fabric with two layers of plain weave sandwiching free floating red threads between them. At intervals the cloths are woven together as a single cloth in a series of squares. These also trap the red threads. Between the squares the red thread is either tightbpuffing the two layers apart when it shrinks on washing, or very loose allowing it to free form.

The first sample was at two close a sett, so the red threads were only visible with back light. I widened the sett for a second sample with almost a gauze like structure.

 

I also wove a sample as single cloth with a wool warp, but used the double layers as squares. In the single cloth the wool is tightly held by the warp, but in the more open sett of the double layer it can shrink and create a seersucker effect.

Planning to use this knowledge on a scarf project next.

Tuc de Cos depuis Eylie

 

New yarns

Whilst in London a visit to handweaver's studios and stash to get new yarns....wool, silk and linen mixes plus some novelty yarns and high twist wool.

Sausages

 Sausage making this morning. 2kgs of wild boar and sage, plus 2kgs of Irish bangers (pork)

Guzet

Snow was forecast for friday but in the event it stopped in the Luchonais Pyrenees and never reached the Couserans. 10cm had fallen in the mountains a few days before and with the clear cold weather we decided on an outing. Susie and Sheri completed a circuit around Guzet on foot, Whilst Paula and I skinned up from the Col de la Trappe. 

We met on the summit of Picou for lunch. Before decending to meet Andy who has just had a hip replacement at the café in Guzet.

We even managed to get caught on the station webcam, by the fence preparing for lunch.

A trio of woollen scarves

The first a scarf for me made from homespun and odds and ends.

another with the same draft different yarns...the wool for the warp proved too fragile so I had to end the weaving early - hence the short length!

And another, this time with a stronger cotton warp.

Cap de Bouriex

A walk up Cap de Bouriex today in the old snow. We seemed to be the only ones there, but just below the final summit cone we were joined by a family of wild boar.

 

Chocolate and orange entremet

This year's showstopper cake - 3 days in the making. Genoise sponge soaked in orange liquer syrup, feuilletine and praline, set orange curd, dark chocolate mousse, choclate mirror glaze and pistachios.

More double weave experiments

759 ends to thread and sley

Another experiment with double cloth overlaying different weave structures, this time huck lace over a pointed draft twill - both in cotton. 8/2 for the twill and finer 16/2 for the lace both set at 10 ends/cm (25 epi). The two cloths are joined at intervals in the weave. This didn't work at first so I had to add two more treadles to the draft and cut and re thread about 40 warp ends. Fortunately, the tension wasn't affected noticeable.

After washing, the lace structure has appeared, revealing the colours of the twill below, perhaps not quite as clearly as I had hoped. A very dark cotton or the lace may have helped and next time perhaps more blurred transitions between the colours underneath - maybe an echo weave.

Details of the lace structure (still wet and un-ironed!).

The finished cloth

The twill on the reverse.

 

Bateman scarves

Storm Daragh brought strong winds and snow here. A test for the roof and a break from building for me. Finally finished weaving the Bateman boulevards scarves, just fringes and finishing to do.

Roof works complete

The abutment flashing against Alain's house was not the nightmare I had feared and in the end went up fairly easily and the rendering above looks pretty neat now.

Susie and I managed to haul the last sheets onto the roof with just the two of us. The ridge however was a nightmare to fit as the roof is too steep and slippery to stand astride the ridge. So the only possibility was to be on a rope from one side or other, but with each section of ridge 2m long it was almost impossible for the rope not to squash the piece of  ridge I was trying to position and fix, or the rope to be in the way. Eventually after a day of cursing it was done.

Verges and eaves followed and yesterday the gutters to the rear. Rheinink gutters have a monopoly here, which is a pain as they have to be soldered with expensive equipment. As I've reused the old gutters they're a bit mishapen too, so I ll probably silicon and rivet the sections together when the weather is dryer.

The front gutter will be more difficult as the eaves steps as the building gets wider. It ll have to wait as rain wind and snow are forecast next week. Windows and doors have been ordered, but it ll probably next spring before they arrive.

 

Works on the gable end nearly finished (including the new window) and hopefully the parts arrive tomorrow to allow me to finish the ridge and verge. Maybe by the end of the week things will be watertight.

Roof on!

Work progressed non-stop last week as there was a short weather window at the weekend. On Wednesday I discovered that the roofing supplier Joris Ide had sent the ridge and ridge liner bent to the wrong angle and omitted several keys components.  After frantic phone calls a resupply was promised for Friday. Calls went out for much needed help to lift the panels onto the roof. Things were looking pretty desperate as almost everyone I knew was going to be away that weekend...then Pete Booth came to the rescue! He promised to come with three workaways (Alex, Kat and Rob). Together with Sheri, Michiel and John we had a chance!

At 10.00 we started. I d pre drilled about Two thirds of the panels but there still some prep to do before we could start lifting. I d worked out the sequence of installation and at about 12 we got the first set of three panels up. The scaffolding went up and down many times and it was hard work, but by the end of the day we had 20 of the 24 panels up.  Pete and his helpers thankfully promised to return on Sunday morning to get the last 4 placed. 

The last one was the most complicated and early in the morning I built a sledge that we hauled up the roof carrying the last panel before finally tipping it into place.

 

More supply problems when I discovered Joris Ide had sent the wrong profile fillers for the ridge and I was about 150 stitchers screws short. The company is a shit show! Supply of the profile fillers might take a week or more, so today before the deluge I fitted the flashings against the neighbours house and tried my best to wrap the ridge up. Hopefully it will survive the coming wind, rain and possibly snow!