With only just over a week to go before our first event of the season, Janet Bolton's ever-popular five day workshop, Narrative Stitches,  (6th-12th May), one of the participants has had to drop out due to ill-health and a place has become available for someone fast on their feet.  If you're travelling from the UK, Ryanair flights are still remarkably cheap, as are some of the last minute booked flights from the US and Australia; so if you think you might be able to act quickly, we are offering a huge £400 discount on the regular price of £2050 ($3000) for a standard room, inclusive of everything except your travel to France and spending money! 
 

  
Last year with Janet Bolton at Les Soeurs Anglaises
 

And in case we've never mentioned it before, May is THE best time of year dans les jardins de Les Soeurs Anglaises.  With south west France exploding with late spring promise, we have over 60 peony plants all about to burst into flower; the many wisterias blooms are just a little ahead of them as are some of the magnolias.  Fresh organic vegetables are already available and the swimming pools will be open and should be warm enough to take a dip.

In our experience, last minute breaks are often the most exciting and rewarding, especially with a teacher of Janet's calibre, and Carol our transport coordinator would be happy to help in any way she can with travel arrangements.
 

If you are interested in joining us for this event, contact us as soon as possible.

 

 

.... a place in the sun.......?

In October of every year we notify our long list of Janet Bolton and Julie Arkell enthusiasts of their dates for the following year's workshops here, and within a very short time all places are filled.  However, altered circumstances sometimes mean that participants have to pull out, and disappointed as we are that guests we were looking forward to meeting will no longer be able to join us, it does mean a couple of people will now have the unexpected but guaranteed pleasure of being taught by either Janet (Narrative Stitches) in May, or Julie (Toys), at the beginning of June.  Spaces are for luxury accommodation only, but cheap flights are still available (the Euro is weak so more spending power whilst you are here).   For more details contact Susie as soon as possible so she can pencil you in.

               

But if you're looking for an opportunity to work quietly on your own project, away from the hurly burly of domestic chores and family responsibilities, our Bring Your Own Project week at the end of September may be just your cup of tea.  You'll have first class accommodation, shared use of our inspirational studio space, breakfasts and evening meals, transport as well as an optional daily Iyengar Yoga class.  We'll leave the rest up to your imagination.

 

If you haven't seen the latest copy of Uppercase Magazine we recommend you drop everything and run out to buy one immediately as this issue is all about textiles!  My initial training was as a Graphic Designer, and I have long been besotted with typefaces, fonts and scripts.  Add to this a fascination about the weaving process and hand-loom tapestry and Sarah Swett, whose extraordinary work is featured in the magazine, presses all the right buttons.   My only attempt at a tapestry a very long time ago was a spectacular failure so it may be that this variation of weaving is a) impossible to do on a hand loom, and b) difficult to teach over a five-day workshop; but wouldn't it would be great if we could persuade Sarah (or maybe you can recommend another suitable teacher?) to come over next year to lead a workshop?  We'll keep you posted!

     

As a postscript, there may be one or two of you who'd like to join us for an exclusive Yoga event at the end of June, designed for beginner, intermediate and advanced students.  This five-day intensive (with all the leisure attractions that our venue offers, plus a salon therapist available for treatments) is to be led by Liz Bolton of Silver Yoga, who trained as a teacher after 15 years as a Iyengar Yoga practitioner;  anyone interested in joining us at this beautiful time of year should contact me as soon as possible for more details as places are already filling up.

That's all for now folks
Katie

.... did you know?.....

So did you know that coming up in Paris this month (goodness, are we in March already!) is a small but delightful textile fair called Aiguille en Fete Pro situated at the Porte de Versaille?  Not as commercial as some of the larger exhibitions we may be used to in London or the big cities, but well worth a visit for that reason, especially if you fancy a jolly in Paris before the spring crowds arrive.  In the past, my favourite regular exhibitor has been Craftica - not the most hi-tech or sophisticated company in the world but come an exhibition and they throw off their gloves and have buckets of one-off fabrics, left-over rolls and general haberdashery to thrill the enthusiastic stitcher, whether you be a dressmaker or patchworker.  Booking my train ticket now....

The extraordinary (and sometimes unsettling) crochet work of Cecile Dachary will also be on display at Aiguille.  I have long been an admirer of her work, and hope to have her lead a workshop for us one day.

As some of you keen knitters may have noted, this October we will be hosting the first Åsa Tricosa workshop.  Åsa Soderman has a wonderful blog chock-a-block full of brilliant knitting tips, patterns, mixes of colour and news, all illustrated with her impressively clear and beautiful photographs;  her joie de vivrepractically jumps off the screen.  You can find her latest, exquisitely stylish design - Ma Non Troppo, which, I believe translates as "but not too much" - uses her specialist, top-down technique, and can be found on Ravelry.  Seamlessly Clever, her workshop with us, has steadily been filling up as aficionados of her work get word, but we still have a couple of places remaining if you move fast.

  

For those of you more interested in mixed textiles and stitching, a place on Janet Bolton's workshop, Narrative Stitches, has become available.  Janet's workshop is always very popular so do contact Susie as quickly as possible to find out what accommodation option is available if you are interested.  Janet's latest book, Fabric Pictures, has recently gone to print and can be pre-ordered on Amazon. We suggest you put it on your Wish List as copies run out very quickly and soon become collector's items.

On the subject of fabric, I came across an interesting Californian cooperative of young and exciting textile designers called Cotton and Steel whose designs are probably more accessible to purchase if you live in the States.  However, well worth a visit to their website to get an idea of their unusual cotton prints and feel sure they would export to Europe if postage and tax aren't too prohibitive.
.

Happy March mending.

.... 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

.....possibilities.....

In case the last message slipped through your fingers (or landed straight into you spam file!), we thought you would like to know that our calendar for 2015 is now confirmed and ready to view on our website.   We are thrilled with the new line-up; a combination of popular previous workshop leaders, together with a few highly recommended new craftist/teachers whom we've admired for a long time.  We hope you're as delighted at the prospect as us and we look forward to welcoming back some previous participants as well as new guests in the New Year.   Here goes.....

 Janet Bolton:  NARRATIVE STITCHES  6th-12th May
Julie Arkell:  TOYS  3rd-9th June
India Flint:  BEING (T)HERE  23rd-29th August
Ray Stitch: Dressmaking Retreat 6th-12 September
Asa Soderman of Asa Tricosa:  SEAMLESSLY CLEVER  14th-20th October

 Please note that there has been some confusion with the dates for the Asa Tricosa
workshop.  It is in October NOT November

It's quite a line up and we're delighted by the range of creative textile opportunities we've put together. If you feel like simply working on a project (or two) of your own in the incredible light and space of our beautiful studio but with all the accommodation options of a regular workshop, there is an opportunity to join a group of like-minded artist/crafters at the end of September for a week of Open Studio / Yoga.  You'll discover a lot more dates and details and information about the venue if you haven't joined us before on our website.  

Meanwhile, you might be interested in a new website we've come across called Botanica Tinctoria, a Candian company that sells trimmings and threads in a wide range of beautiful and fast colours. 

The carefully curated collection of trimmings includes ribbons, tapes, broderie anglaise and rick rack as well as high quality perle and 6-strand embroidery threads in 14 natural colours which are all sourced from traditional dye plants such as indigo and madder. I'm particularly tempted by the cotton voile.....Yummy!

Some of us are now off to Japan (with our knitting, of course) for four weeks of textile research and a much-needed break after a full-on summer season.  But we'll still be open for bookings and you can, of course, contact us directly if anything needs clarifying - we're always happy to help.

ready, steady, ready...

Hurrah!  We are delighted to announce that Les Soeurs Anglaises' NEW CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2015 is available to view on our website and you can now book a place on one of our exciting textile workshops planned for next year.      The ever-popular, gentle but abundantly creative Janet Bolton will be returning to lead another of her superb stitched collage events, as will the ebullient and inspirational Julie Arkell whose workshops are always sell-outs. To keep things fresh we have also invited a few delightful new workshop leaders to join us next year, including  the Internationally acclaimed  dyer and stitcher, India Flint, (who will be flying in from Australia to lead her first ever event for us); the captivatingly stylish and original knitwear designer Åsa Söderman (of Åsa Tricosa fame who will be  following in the massively experience footsteps of knitwear designer, Marion Foale, and will be teaching her own version of the Ziggurat technique). And finally the dynamic duo, Gen and Rachel, from Ray Stitch haberdashery, situated in London's fashionable Islington, who will leading a much-requested Dressmaking Retreat for both beginners and more advanced dressmakers. It's quite a line up and we're delighted by the range of creative textile opportunities we've put together.  If, however, you feel like simply working on a project (or two) of your own in the incredible light and space of our beautiful studio, there is an opportunity to join a group of like-minded artist/crafters at the end of September for a week of Open Studio / Yoga. You'll discover a lot more dates and details and information about the venue if you haven't joined us before on our website, as well as booking forms, but do contact us directly if anything needs clarifying - we're always happy to help. Meanwhile, we look forward to meeting some of you next year! Katie Susie Carol

....Janet Bolton been and gone...

We have just had the most wonderful workshop with the eternally creative Janet Bolton;  a full house of enthusiastic stitchers were given her undivided attention for five fabulous days and some of the results can be seen below. 

We always enjoy hosting our workshops, but Janet takes the whole experience up a notch, sharing her experience and offcuts of fabrics with equal generosity.  We are already planning a return visit from her in May next year, so do let us know if you would like to add your name to the waiting list.

At the end of September, the lovely Rosalind Wyatt will be returning to give her second stitched calligraphy workshop with us, GRAFTED WORDS.  In the most recent issue of   Crafts Magazine Ros was asked to give her advice to would-be artists and crafters:

"Don't be too precious about your work.  People are going to copy you but actually that's OK, just stay ahead of them.  I believe that if your work is good and you keep developing, those copiers will be left behind.  I see it as a compliment rather than being threatened by it. The other thing I've discovered is not to force you creativity.  You have to work really hard and be committed, but be holistic in your approach because, for me anyway, it's alive path.  Often being creative means not being creative but just downing tools and resting.  If that means gong for a walk when things aren't happening, do that.  I meditate daily because I find it's a good way of clearing the slate and I go on retreat every year."

If you're a regular blog reader you might be interested in popping over to Nancy Edmunds' Hen House Studio from time to time.   Nancy lives on a farm in Oregon, USA and her regular posts are full of colour and general stitchery.  Through her we are offering a 10% discount if you book for Rosalind's workshop - we only have two places left, so don't delay!

... more goodies ...

We are slowly stitching the Textile Jigsaw of Words together - a long and delicate job, leaving not much time for blogs - and in the meantime, here are a few more examples  of the beautiful contributions:

 Geraldine Field

Sue Hill

Danielle Hanson

Christine Green

Ali Dawson

Rachel Ross

Thank you ladies.

.... and the winner is.....

At last!  All the workshop leaders have chosen their favourite jigsaw submissions and the majority verdict is that Claire Sounes' three beautifully executed and creative pieces made her a worthy winner. We are extremely grateful for the seventy plus entries from all over the world - we know how much thought and hard work was involved in thinking through and then creating each piece.  Everyone entered the spirit of the competition and we anticipate a beautiful final quilt (though it might be some months before it is completed);  our plan then is to auction it to raise funds for the Cambodian Childrens Fund

AS you can imagine, it was a tremendously difficult task for the workshop leaders to choose their favourite piece as there were so many brilliant submissions, but the three that Claire submitted  reached the finishing post with a majority of one vote! and she will be joining us for one of our workshops later this year.  Over the next few weeks, however, we will be posting photographs of many of the other submissions and cataloguing our progress with the quilt.  We very much hope that you have had as much fun as we have collaborating with this project.

.... last minute bag buys....

We're fortunate to have one of the best and largest brocantes/vide greniers as a monthly visitor to our local village and yesterday it was choc-a-block full of goodies as usual.  

Meanwhile, we've been busy putting together the goody bags for our reception next week, and fortunately had left enough space for some of the lovely vintage haberdashery items we found at the brocante.  We thought you'd like to see some of them, especially if you're planning to join us for the Raystitch Reception on Monday, 14th April!!  We still have a few places open for the morning and afternoon sessions if you haven't replied yet, but don't delay in contacting us if you like the look of our purchases below!

Don't forget that our workshop leaders will be judging our Textile Jigsaw of Words competition at the Reception.  There's still just enough time to make one or two and post them to us; surely worth the haste when you could win a free place on a Les Soeurs Anglaises' workshop?