hand stretched linen

I've been working on these tulips and freesia's on a linen canvas that I stretched and gesso'd myself.  The tooth is much coarser than the ones I buy, so I thought it might be a bit of a challenge to work on, sucking the paint in and all, but actually it surprised me.  It was springy and resilient.  It is a non standard size (18 1/2 x 18 1/2")...hubby built the stretcher frame. 
I am normally a pretty lazy artist; I cant be bothered to stretch my own canvas's on a regular basis.  It takes quite a bit of wrist strength, which I am sorely lacking.  I suppose it's a cheaper alternative, but the time involved has to be considered too.  And I'd rather be painting.
These tulips and freesias were fresh last week when I began, but this evening when I went back to it, they were really starting to wane.
Here's Holly and I on Friday night...celebrating our weekend.