les soeurs anglaises: courses in france

Showing posts with label courses in france. Show all posts

Monday, 8 April 2013

.... making a mint......

Despite the unseasonably cold weather we're experiencing (yes, even down here in sunny south west France!), we have been working on our herbs for the new herb garden. We always enjoy offering to participants our tea with fresh mint from the garden and have been taking cuttings from the new growth for several weeks now . We have a very full and busy season this year, but hopefully we won't run out....

So easy to propagate, we are now onto third generation of cuttings this season, which we have rooted in a cool spot in the hall of the Maison de Maitre. If you want to give it a go buy a small pot of mint from the supermarket, then just take several 10cm new shoots from the new growth, remove all the lower leaves and leave together to root in a jar of cool water (refresh the water every few days).

When you have a nice clusters of healthy looking roots, plant up each shoot individually or three to a small pot, leave for a few weeks until the weather is little warmer (yes, it will be warmer one day), and then plant out where you have lots of space to cover. As mint can be a bit of a thug if uncontrolled, we personally like to pot the rooted cuttings up into a much larger pot which we then place in the earth up to the rim; this curtails its unruly behavior somewhat giving other herbs room to breath.

Apart from the mint-steeped tea, it is, of course, quite delicious in salads and eastern cooking. Chop it or leave the leaves whole depending on your taste.

Pea, asparagus and fresh mint tarts

The up side of mint's profligacy is that we don't mind in the least if our friendly hares take a bite or two for hors d'eouvres. There's always plenty more and in fact the "pruning" may very well encourage the rate of growth.

etsy felted hare

Bonne chance!

Thursday, 13 December 2012

.... shopping thoughts....

The find the answer to yesterday's question you needed to trawl through Jone Hallmark's blog and you no doubt discovered how relentlessly creative she is. The month and year that Alice and the Caterpillar appeared was October, 2009

Today's question is about one of our new workshop leaders, a gifted and creative stitcher who already has an enthusiastic and faithful following, both in the UK and abroad.

In her own words, "Surroundings, places, times and memories of both past and present are key factors in my making process. What experiences surround me at the time of making my work is incredibly important to the final result". We're sure that the ambience at Les Soeurs Anglaises will add yet another dimension to her inspirational work and teaching.

In which city, and on which street will you find Jessie Chorley’s J&B Shop?

answer to: katie@lessoeursanglaises.com

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

... one little bird and counting...

The answer to Question 5 is, of course, the amazing Janet Bolton! Lots of correct entries this time, one lucky winner!

So have a go at this one, though it requires some searching.....

In August 2013 Les Soeurs are really looking forward to introducing a fantastic new workshop leader into our fold. Jone Hallmark is a super-talented, eclectic artist and stitcher. You simply can't button-hole her as she is always creating and making something new and wonderful! When she's not drawing or painting or designing fabric or sewing, she's jotting beautiful handwritten notes in one of her to-die-for sketchbooks. Her boundless enthusiasm and articulate encouragement is a joy to work alongside.

Her workshop with us is already beginning to fill up with cognoscenti but we still have a few places left and if you are the first to answer correctly today's question, not only will you win this perfect little bird box she has made specially, but also a 10% discount on her workshop. So here goes:

What month and year did "Alice and the Caterpillar" appear on Jone Hallmark’s blog?

Answer to: katie@lessoeursanglaises.com

Friday, 7 December 2012

...stitchin' time

Clever girls (and boys) for discovering how old Patricia Roberts was when her mother knitted her an inspirational red scarf - she was, of course, only five years old. It was a tense finishing line as the winner was only 60sec ahead of the runner up!

Still, another chance now to be a winner.....

Her event with us next year is already full (with a long waiting list) so sadly, if you win, we won't be able to offer you a discount on her workshop; but we do have a delicious little something she made to give as a *prize, and the winner will also be eligible for a 10% discount on any other workshop he/she chooses to join us for in 2013. And, if you're not a winner you're still eligible for £20 discount on a 2013 workshop where we still have availability.

Question:

In what year did Julie Arkell lead her first workshop for Les Soeurs Anglaises?

Answer to: katie@lessoeursanglaises.com

*please note that the prizes are not necessarily illustrated above.

Thursday, 18 October 2012

...good time in the big smoke.....

Just back from a working fortnight in London and its environs where I met up with two of our workshop leaders for next year, Marion Foale and Rosalind Wyatt.

Marion remains the delightfully petite, pretty and hugely successful designer who through hard work and inspirational design made it to the top fashion tree and has stayed there for almost four decades. In 2009, a retrospective exhibition titled "Foale and Tuffin - Made in England" was held at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London and a book Foale and Tuffin: The Sixties. A Decade in Fashion, was published to coincide with the exhibition, and is still available.

Over coffee we discussed how she plans to lead the workshop here with us next year, which will cover the knitty-gritty of knitting fashion, maximizing her huge industry expertise as well as utilising traditional and cutting edge techniques and yarns - it promises to be an opportunity for knitters of all capabilities to take the seemingly giant step essential when improvising and creating designs, or simply adapting existing patterns to fit.

Later in the week calligrapher/stitcher, Rosalind Wyatt, met me at the V&A to discuss possibilities for a five-day workshop with Les Soeurs Anglaises next September.

Rosalind sharing a cuppa with Price Charles, not the same day......

We are so excited to have this ebullient, gifted artist on board, especially in this our "literary year". Rosalind has taught at the V&A, been featured on BBC Radio 4 and much, much more. Her evocative storytelling and meticulous, seminal pieces celebrate the beauty of words in their every guise - written, painted, collaged, spoken, performed, stitched, even eaten - but her workshop with us will concentrate on the relationship between writing and the needle; combining participants' letters, poems, texts and printed words with inherited or meaningful textiles, giving the new work and an identity and life of its own, the sum offering much more than the combined parts.

The tentative dates for this workshop are 25th-30th September 2013 and Wyatt will be having a two-week residency at Les Soeurs Anglaises, with sole use of the l'Espace studio, prior to the event. So she will be au fait with the traditions, history and textile influences of this part of South West France. We'll shortly be uploading details onto our website, but in the meantime, if you are interested in putting your name on the waiting list, do please let us know ASAP.

Whilst at the V&A I visited their Ballgown Exhibition. Personally, I found it a little disappointing, but was quite smitten by this wonderful knitted swimsuit in their permanent costume collection....

De rigeur n'est pas for the lady traveller: perhaps Marion can sort out a pattern for me!

Look out for the V&A's next exhibition "Hollywood Costume" which start this Friday (19th October). Advertised as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see over 100 of the most iconic costumes in the history of film-making", it looks like a corker, and will be top of my list of things to do when we are over for the Selvedge Fair* next month.

*for more information about how to get a free ticket to the Selvedge Fair, join our mailing list.

Friday, 31 August 2012

...new art, new inspiration....

It won't be long now before we have all the dates confirmed for the workshops next year. We want to get things absolutely perfect before we invite you to join Les Soeurs Anglaises for some inspiration, learning and fun; but whilst you wait, here is work from terrific artists/stitchers that we love. We hope that one or two will make you smile, some make you laugh out loud whilst others...... you might not be quite sure about . Enjoy!