Bastille Day today, and I have saved three poodles – national dog of France – to celebrate.

I had planned another celebration of the jewel in our crown (aka Liberty), planning to hitchhike another paean to the ever glorious Liberty Tana Lawn ……on the back of somebody else’s national day (Vive la Liberté), but as soon as I typed the title, I found myself humming an unseasonable tune.  On the Fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

Five Golden Retrievers,

Four Collie dogs,

Three French Poodles,

Two Pug dogs,

And a Basset in a Pear Tree.

And with a few gaps, off we go:

Five Golden Retrievers,

Four Collie dogs,

Three French Poodles,

Two Pug Dogs,

and a Basset in a Pear Tree.

Still, I’ve got 6 months to work on that, and today is Poodle Day. The poodles were a gift, in both senses – a commission for a gift, and a gift of a commission.

It’s probably a given that all poodles are born with a superior sense of style, in the same way that all Frenchwomen dress beautifully, and all French children eat their greens, or whatever it is they are meant to do these days. All the same, I still think these three have that whole je ne sais pas thing in spades. This one, in particular, has quite stolen my heart,I think it may be the bootcut flares for legs – although in the end, there very nearly proved to be too much of these for one small rectangle of Liberty print.

Phew, just squeezed them in. One poodle down, two to go.

 

If these 3 canine musketeers have whetted your appetite for a triptych of your own, do head on over to the Commissions Page.