... hot offer...

Phew, what a scorcher!  After a wet start to our summer we are now experiencing daily temperatures of 32º-36ºC (that's 89º-96ºF) in the shade!  Normally, we don't get as hot here as the French Riviera, though clearly we experience our fair share of hot summers days.  Whilst rainfall levels remain moderate, falling in short showers and thunderstorms, this is also the time when the grass will turn from green to yellow to green again within the space of a week, and the sunflowers that currently surround us have just enough water to keep them blooming before rapidly turning to seed.  Claire Wellesley Smith, our Weekend Workshop leader for October is someone we know is interested in turning shades of green. She teaches extensively, working in adult education, schools, community projects, museums and galleries. Her workshops involve sustainable stitch, repurposed cloth, and traditional techniques. A consumate planter, dyer and stitcher, well known for her beautifully fragile "slow stitch" collages - Claire takes the same principles of balance, connection, sustainability and rhythm initiated around food by the slow movement, which started in the 1980s in Italy and applies it to textile processes - she is  passionate about domestic plants and how to utilise their oft-times hidden hues to colour equally gorgeous vintage textiles for her collages.  Many of the plants she grows herself in her native West Yorkshire, but she's looking forward to sharing with participants the adventures of discovering the autumnal colour variations of warmer climes proliferating in our mature gardens for the Slow Stitch workshop from 7th-10th October. Late summer/early autumn is a particularly good time for nuts, roots and late blooms that offer natural yellows, oranges, blues, reds, greens, browns and greys.   Claire recently had the pleasure of working with Richard and Arron from R&A Collaborations on a film as part of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen project Home Ground. They spent a day with her at her studio and allotment (pretty cold in early February and not many dye plants growing...) and talked about slow, localised craft practices, producing a fascinating insight into Claire's methods. We'd love to fill the studio with stitchers who are particularly interested in natural dying methods that can be employed on a domestic scale,  and we're offering  10% off both Claire Wellesley Smith's and Celia Pym's workshops Just type in the code CWSCP on the booking form to be eligible   We also have one copy of Claire's recently published book, 'Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art', worth £20 ($26) and published by Batsford with wonderful photography by Michael Wicks, to give to the first person to book a place on Claire's workshop with this code.     Earlybird tickets available still for the bi-annual Gigspanner concert we hold here, this year the weekend before Celia Pym's workshop.  So if the idea of some first class music, followed by a few days of quiet B&B accommodation in an amazing location, before moving into the world of stitching, we'd be happy to sort it out for you.  Bring your partner and we'll give you a special rate. Tickets for Concert only And before we melt here's something to make you smile.....

.... enjoy yourself.....

Like us, you might by now be weary of the endless stream of emails flowing into your mailbox in a last-ditch attempt to persuade you to buy, buy buy;  so let me assure you, off that bat, that this newsletter is not one of those.  In fact, if you read to the bottom of the page you will see we have a little competition to keep you amused.  We'd also like to wish you a Happy Holiday wherever you are and however you plan to celebrate, whether you visited Les Soeurs Anglaises earlier this year, have taken part in previous years or simply enjoy reading our newsletters from time to time.  From those who have been our guests, the enduring feedback is that women who knit and sew and make and create are generally more interested in the vintage and recycled, the intrinsic history of found objects, the collected, sometimes-used, fragments of fabrics and ephemera;  not for them the shiny new plastic gismo, the excesses of wrapping paper and last minute panic buys that sit beneath our Christmas trees.

 
photo by Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks

Nothing brought home more to me the joy of repairing and preserving old clothes, than on our recent travels to Japan when we visited the Amuse Museum in Tokyo where they have a permanent exhibition of Boro textiles and clothing; these are patched and re-patched, re-lined, over-stitched and patched again then passed down from generation to generation. Made and preserved by the poor, rural population in the snowy north of Japan who could not afford to buy new when need required, and who had to literally make ends meet by piecing and patching discarded cotton onto existing sets.  Far from being "scruffy" or ugly, the unselfconscious layers and overworking produced clothing of substance and immense beauty.   They are also becoming incredibly collectable (though not by the Japanese it seems) and various patchworkers like Australian, Maria Cook, a participant at Janet Bolton's workshop here last year, have been using Boro pieces long before they became popular, to produce not only her wonderful quilts, but also lined boxes, hand-made books and much, much more.  

  

Nobody personifies a modern twist on Boro better than our ever-popular workshop star, Julie Arkell.  Julie's exhibition and residency at the Ruthin Craft Centre in Wales this autumn, was by all accounts another runaway success (people are still talking about her first show there in 2004) and it coincided with the publication of her second book, which like the exhibition is called. "Away".  I have had the opportunity to read through the book and explore the photographs of Julie's "creatures" at leisure and have been blown away (yet again) by her unique style and extraordinary creativity.  As Susan Roberts says in her book commentary, 'Julie's practice is embedded in the the history of the found;  she treasures old stuff, collecting it first, using it in her work later.  Each fragment brings history, past usage and cultural reference."  Is it, I wonder, Julie who makes the discarded beautiful, or the ephemera itself that inspires Julie? To be discussed.....

  

But just so you don't think we are entirely Christmas party poopers, here is a little last minute festive competition for those with time to spare between now and the New Year.  We have Les Soeurs Anglaises' signature aprons (made to order from a combination of new and vintage fabrics) to give to the first three people to answer the question below correctly.  Please type the word "competition" in the subject line on your entry email, and add your address (and size) in the event that you are one of the lucky winners:

Where was there a Boro Exhbition held in London last Spring?

Good luck and best wishes for the season.
Katie

.... award winning......

So Marion has chosen her winner of Les Soeurs Anglaises' student award for the best Yarn Bombing.  Bien fait  Luise Martin, a student who has just completed her Masters Degree in Knitted Textiles at the Royal College of Art, London.

We were thrilled with all the inventive and beautifully executed submissions from the Textile department and it was a very hard decision for Marion; but everyone felt that Luise was a worthy winner - her work is well thought through and intricately executed - and we look forward to meeting her at Marion's workshop in October (her prize) when she will hopefully be able to integrate some of her off-beat knitting skills with Marion's stylishly original knitting patterns.

Here is Luise's story so far:

"I am half French half German. I trained in Germany first (Berlin) and then at ESAA Duperré, Paris, initially as a textile designer and later as a fashion designer. I gradually became fascinated in the three-dimensional possibilities of knitting, and the fact that you can create texture and shape at the same time with the medium, and I applied for a place at the RCA.  I am delighted to have won this award to work alongside Marion Foale, and the workshop will allow me to combine all my previous training, whilst ideally opening up new possibilities; her technical knowledge of the knitted fashion business and her celebrated sense of style should be hugely useful to any future direction I follow."

We can't wait to see what you produce, Luise, and look forward to welcoming you next month.  Congratulations!

  

... star turn....

If you don't know the work of our workshop leader, Jone Hallmark, you're in for a treat. 

The fab Jone Hallmark herself!

Jone has just finished leading her first five day event with us, Sketchbook Thrillers, and it's been a roller-coaster ride of creativity and innovation for everyone involved.  We had a full house of enthusiastic and multi-talented participants from all over the world and the pace of the workshop was both exhilarating and rewarding; whilst Jone pressed people to experiment outside their comfort zone, the atmosphere was in no way competitive and no-one was pressurised to work harder than they felt able.  Jone has the rare talent of being able to explain and demonstrate multifarious creative techniques whilst encouraging and inspiring with ideas and suggestions - everyone adored both her and her work and we at Les Soeurs are very much hoping that word will get out and we can bring her back next year for another adventure.

Here are a few hot off the press photos of the week in question, the work that was produced and the fun that was had after hours.  If you want to seriously push the boundaries of your stitching and textile skills in an entirely comfortable and supportive atmosphere, this is the workshop for you....

"What a wonderful week I had at your magical home with the most lovely group of women and the most gracious teacher! Thank you so, so much. Your warmth, gracious hospitality and the relaxed, fun energy you express provide the perfect ambiance for a rejuvenating and creative experience."  KL USA

....coming soon.....

With Patricia Roberts' workshop just behind us and Julie Arkell's exciting event a few days away, we are anticipating a full house for Jone Hallmark's Sketchbook Thrillers in mid-August!   (waiting list only now)

Jone is a wonderful all round artist, a brilliant and enthusiastic teacher, and we know that her five days with us will be full of joy and exciting productivity.

Here is Jone working outside her home in the El Paso sunlight - her eclectic stitchings and fascinating journals only touch the surface of her creativity and insatiable curiosity.

 

... a few days to cast off.....

Well, that's more like it!  Correct answers came flooding in for yesterday's question:  For what celebration was Rosalind Wyatt commissioned to stitch on pashmina with the quote from Anais Ninn, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”.  The celebration was to commemorate a significant 25th wedding anniversary.  And what a lucky lady she was.

The name Marion Foale is instantly recognisable by style conscious knitters of a certain age.  Whilst still a student at the Royal College of Art, she achieved the honour of having one of her designs chosen for the Queen and more than thirty years on, she is still regularly zipping across the Atlantic to promote her hugely successful yarn and hand-knits businesses (Marion designs knits for Margaret Howell, amongst others, and her exquisite children's wear can currently be found in their shop in Central London).

So how flattered are we that Marion will be taking time out to run a workshop, Knitting Chapter and Verse,  for us next October!  A long way off you might think, but not surprisingly it is already filling up with knitting aficionados (and dilettantes) who appreciate a rare opportunity when they see it to learn from a master.  

So if you manage to be the first to answer correctly the question below, not only will you win one of Marion's exclusive scarves, but also a 10% reduction on her workshop with us - whilst places remain...

Question 10:

What was the name of Marion Foale’s partner in her famous fashion design business of the 1960s?  

Answer to:  katie@lessoeursanglaises.com