Alles unter Kontrolle.

This Friday and Saturday were busy days, like the rest of last week, with a long stint of tent-sewing and tent woodwork. But on Sunday, we spent most of the day relaxing - going on a nice little cycling tour in the very, very fine weather, doing some garden work, having coffee and relaxing with friends on the lawn. And today, I'm making a little trip to Bamberg to bring back some (slightly over-)due books to the library. And then I will start doing the preparations and packing for Freienfels...

because the TGV, friends? It's finished. Done. Complete.

Well, technically and if you want to be very strict, there are a few hems that could still be done, but none in acute danger of fraying (selvedges rule!), and there's one optional peg loop that I could still attach, but for all practical purposes, the TGV is done and finished. And I'm not going to be very strict in this case, so neither should you. We made the last closure attachment stitches on Sunday evening, after the relaxing day, and this means that it took eight days from the first cut to the last stitch. Seven full days, if you count that we didn't start before noon and didn't really work most of Sunday to finish. I would not have believed that possible when I started, and that the tent is now finished makes me go "whoa hooray!" every five seconds or so. Though I can also say that it would have been much, much harder to stay on it without the wonderful support and sewing help that I received, and I'm not planning to pull a stunt (I'd say "Kraftakt" in German, which might be translated as "tour de force") like that again soon.

But now, I have a tent. Heavy cotton canvas, absolutely and positively totally waterproof (you could make buckets from this stuff), sewn all by hand with waxed linen thread, in saddler's stitch.


The front opens up completely, right up to the ridgepole.



The apses are more or less half-round, and they are not constructed of equal-size pieces. That also means that the apse bell tips reach further down towards the back, looking unusual but - I think - elegant.


The tent is comfortably high enough for me to stand in, and my sleeping place will just fit into one of the apses, leaving the second one free for wares and market stuff.


And the front awning comes down to close the tent, of course.


What is still missing on this picture? Right. The closures. And that is how they look:


There you are. One tent, coming right up!