Blog has moved

I've decided to set up a new blog called Tramontane Design, the name of my new etsy shop. So to read it, please look here: http://tramontanedesigns.blogspot.com/

Etsy shop

I have finally got my act together and I'm making a few bits so that I can set up an etsy shop. I have no idea if it will work or not, but I'll give it a go. Initially I'm going to sell accessories, in particular for kids and I know that there's lots of competition out there. Hopefully I will be able to expand into other areas, like selling children's books (when I get round to finishing the illustrations for the couple I've started) and also cards and invitation design. I also have some ideas (helped by my son) for soft toys. I have to get organised with my sewing machine which is currently in storage. It's complicated because it means reorganising the house in order to create a space to work. And I also have to try to remember how to use it - it's been a while.

The accessories are a start. And I'm so excited about it. I hope that I'll get at least one sale!

How does your garden grow?

I heard a terrifying report on the radio this week. It was about food in France (but I'm sure that it could apply to most countries). There was a long list of facts and I only retained a few, so here are some of them. A high percentage of herbes de provence come from Eastern Europe. Every year, following tests, a significant percentage of virgin olive oil is found to be 50% sunflower oil. Although French bakers are required by law to make their own bread, there is no obligation concerning other products they sell, so some buy factory-made (additive-stuffed) croissants and heat them up. Some potatoes are treated with up to 27 chemicals. There were other facts about fruit and vegetables being full of chemicals which is the thing that worries me most. We all try to eat more fruit and veg and what if that means we are just pumping more chemicals in our bodies? Buy local and buy organic seems to be the answer, but then there is the cost implication.

When we put our spuds into our vegetable garden a couple of weeks ago, we moaned about the work - was it really worth it, were we saving money? But now I'm glad. Having said that the weather is being really strange at the moment, following hot sun we have snow today. So we are praying that our spuds will make it.

We've decided to wait until the Autumn to plant more fruit trees. We've found a really good nursery who stocks many local varieties so we'll buy more apple trees, pears, plums and maybe a walnut. We'll get advice because our climate is so different from all around. That's typical of this area, a whole load of micro-climates. We cannot rely on the meteo report as our village doesn't fit it at all.

Not a usual Monday - ça tombe bien.

Today is not a usual Monday. First of all it is the school hols so no getting up early(-ish). Ça tombe bien, as we say here, because I have a cold, a really bad one and the fourth this year. So I could at least stay in bed a bit longer, even though I was woken at the usual hour by a little gremlin.

My lessons were cancelled today; well, I cancelled this morning's as I was in no fit state to get up and teach for two hours. This afternoon I had a one-hour lesson booked but my pupil phoned to cancel as he was ill. Ça tombe bien.

The weather is lovely today with the threat of rain tomorrow, so this afternoon I can sit outside and knit. I am trying to come up with my first design but it involves sketching ideas and knitting and unpicking swatches and I am too impatient. I just want to get on with it. The preparatory stages seem so tedious but they are very necessary. It helps to work in the sun (ça tombe bien).

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I have been thinking for a while that I should start one but have been unsure as to whether my life is interesting enough and my writing eloquent enough. But now I have taken the plunge and will have to learn as I go along.

I really wanted a place to share my passion for knitting and other crafts as well as being able to post images of my creations in order to get feedback. As many of my projects are in the early stages that will have to come later. In the meantime, a little more about me...

I am an English lass living in France with my artist husband and 2 kids. We moved here four years ago (having bought our house 4 years previously and tried to be sensible by taking time to prepare for our new life). I make a living through teaching English to the local French and French to the many local English as well as doing some translation and also design (websites, leaflets, books). One thing I have learned is that you have to be able to multi-task here in order to make a living. So that's what we do. It allows us to have a more laid-back life, spend more time with the kids and live out in the countryside. It doesn't mean that life has no pressures, there are always things to deal with, but we are content here.

So that's me and I look forward to sharing more with you and also receiving your comments.