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April & May 09
A lot was achieved during these months. The bed platform was fitted by Glyn and Vesko's
lads, who also finished off the gable ends. We completed the external plaster, culminating
in four coats of limewash, which we mixed with pigment to achieve a 'mellow yellow', with a
contrasting colour for the tree.
We then resumed work inside and started on the internal clay plaster. We discovered that
Bulgarian villages usually have a clay pit on their outskirts and Hotnitsa is no exception.
This meant that we were able to source our clay locally, although this did involve many trips
to the clay pit, where we dug out the essentials for each day - hard work, especially as
temperatures increased. This clay was then sieved and mixed with sand, water and
chopped straw. By the time we'd done all this, we invariably needed a cup of tea before
starting to apply the stuff to the walls!
We applied two coats - the first one was particularly difficult as it had to be rubbed
thoroughly into the straw in order to provide a key for the second coat. It was also quite
dispiriting to cover our lovely straw walls with mud. However, this was definitely worth it
as the second coat went on very smoothly and now looks quite beautiful (even if we say so
ourselves). The lovely Martha helped out with the limewash and clay plaster; her
smoothing abilities are definitely second to none!
Back
A lot was achieved during these months. The bed platform was fitted by Glyn and Vesko's
lads, who also finished off the gable ends. We completed the external plaster, culminating
in four coats of limewash, which we mixed with pigment to achieve a 'mellow yellow', with a
contrasting colour for the tree.
We then resumed work inside and started on the internal clay plaster. We discovered that
Bulgarian villages usually have a clay pit on their outskirts and Hotnitsa is no exception.
This meant that we were able to source our clay locally, although this did involve many trips
to the clay pit, where we dug out the essentials for each day - hard work, especially as
temperatures increased. This clay was then sieved and mixed with sand, water and
chopped straw. By the time we'd done all this, we invariably needed a cup of tea before
starting to apply the stuff to the walls!
We applied two coats - the first one was particularly difficult as it had to be rubbed
thoroughly into the straw in order to provide a key for the second coat. It was also quite
dispiriting to cover our lovely straw walls with mud. However, this was definitely worth it
as the second coat went on very smoothly and now looks quite beautiful (even if we say so
ourselves). The lovely Martha helped out with the limewash and clay plaster; her
smoothing abilities are definitely second to none!
Back
| Beginnings of a bed platform |
| Cassie & Allan demonstrating that it's possible to stand up on bed platform |
| Cobbed tree before lime & limewash were applied |
| After a couple of coats of limewash |
| After four coats of limewash & contrasting colour for tree |
| Another view (because we like it so much!) |
| Clay after sieving and ready to be mixed with water, sand and straw |
| First internal coat of clay on gable end |
| Internal second coat completed, showing shelves and niches |
| Niche and wheat stalk design by Cassie |
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