..... sew much patching .....

There's never been a better time to join us for a last-minute-workshop and it's really not too late.  We've just checked out Ryanair and end-of-season flights are being offered at just over £30 each way from Stansted or East Midlands to Bergerac where we, of course, will pick you up and drive you through the late September sunshine to this amazing area of France.  We're very keen to make Celia Pym's first visit with us a rip-roaring success so we''ll even throw in a free night's B&B if you need to stay an extra night.   CELIA PYM's Mending, Darning and Knitting Workshop Wednesday, 21st to Tuesday, 27th September 5 Days / 6 Nights As one of our favourite workshop leaders, Julie Arkell, says:  "The early days of autumn bring many pleasures. One on the top of my list would be a workshop with Celia Pym at Les Soeurs Anglaises in the French countryside at a particularly beautiful time of the year.  Celia's work is amazing, and the opportunity to work alongside her, discovering her techniques and sharing stories about the history of textiles and their repairs, in such beautiful surroundings, is an experience hard to miss.  I feel very envious of anyone who is planning to join this event at one of my favourite venues." While invisible mending is keeping tailors and seamstresses busy around the world, Celia Pym – a London-based artist, knitter and darner — specialises in visible repairs. Using white yarn on a blue Norwegian jumper and yellow on a pair of blue jeans, Celia’s handiwork celebrates wear and tear.  Finding solutions other than throwing away clothes isn't just environmentally friendly. “I love seeing damage and holes,” Celia says. “Making mending invisible doesn’t make sense for me: things happen, stuff changes, holes appear. Let the darning grow into the old bit so that the garment can be seen to change and age.”   Through ‘The Catalogue of Holes’, an ongoing project that she began in 2007, Celia mends strangers’ clothes. Recording the items through descriptive ‘mend slips’ and sometimes photographs, has led to exhibitions at the Royal College of Art and beyond. “I find it is a way to get to important conversations quickly, with strangers,” Celia says. “As we look at and examine the garment and discuss work to be done, all sorts of stories come out. Sometimes the most important part is talking about their sweater's history.” Book now for Celia's workshop (we still have 2 places available) and we guarantee you'll not only get lost in the art of giving new life to beloved items - clothes, haberdashery, household fabrics - you thought were beyond repair, but you'll also have an opportunity to slow down, enjoy the fabulous space, light and atmosphere of early autumn in South West France before the winter months set in.   Autumn at Les Soeurs Anglaises won't come around again for at least another year.    And if October seems like a better time to get away from it all, one place has also become available on Claire Wellesley Smith's Weekend Workshop here from 7th-10th. Don't tarry if you can join us...... Katie x "Don't chase the butterfly.  Mend your garden and let the butterfly come!"

.... bring a partner for free .....

Those Romans really could nail an attitude with just a word or two, as illustrated by their maxim, Carpe Diem. Let's face it, life is way too short to sit around listening to the increasingly raucous Brexit canvassing when you could be out there getting on with your life, learning something new and expanding your network of like-minded crafters/friends.  Now is exactly the right time to get away for a weekend of sitting blissfully unconstrained by "in" or "out" questions, whilst learning innovative knitting skills from someone who understands the important restorative joy of creating with style and colour.    Åsa Söderman's Knitting Masterclass  here at the end of this month (April) will provide the perfect break from it all, and with this in mind we'd like to make an eleventh hour proposal to our European followers (or from further afield if you're feeling adventurous):  If you book and pay for a luxury room ("B" with twin or double beds) and can persuade a non-participant friend or partner to just tag along for a taste of the good life they can experience the quiet joy of sitting around the pool reading a book or taking long walks in the beautiful countryside of South West France, free of charge, whilst you get on with the knitting job at hand.*  The only expense would be their travel to our local airport (Bergerac) or train station (Angoulème) - and having just checked out Ryanair, flights are still looking incredibly cheap.  Local transport, accommodation and all food for them would be included in the offer! Don't delay though..... email usASAP as we only have two rooms now available and we hate disappointing.   *Price includes a shared twin/double luxury room, local transport, all meals and the Knitting Masterclass workshop for 1 person.  Offer open until Thursday, 21st April 2016 only. KNITTING MASTERCLASS with Asa Tricosa 30th April / 1st May 2016 Suitable for intermediate & advanced knitters Following Åsa's Knitting Masterclass we will be welcoming back the lovely Julie Arkell.  One of our participants has had to drop out for health reasons so we can offer a place on her workshop here 1st-7th June.   No need to go on about Julie and her workshops - she's one of the most creative and generous and popular workshop leaders around.  Contact us for accommodation options now available. All the best Katie

7 things we've loved this month: How To Be A Craftivist: the art of gentle protest.  Sarah Corbett, creator of the Craftivist Collective, has published her second inspirational book on how to change the world one stitch at a time. A very good reason to visit Australia, The Craft Sessions website based in the Yarra Valley Estate, Victoria, offer a myriad of mouthwatering textile workshops. We've long admired Alabama Chanin's view of the fashion business and her Aria organic cotton, nylon and elastic socks are the perfect spring accessory.   Dawn Nicol's website is full of calligraphy treats both free and not so free.  Visit her website for 10 Hand Lettering Practice Workshops and sign up for her newsletter If you're a fan of Theo Jansen's exquisite beach Strandbeests then you'll be as excited as us to find you can now purchase small model versions to make at home.  We know several men in my family whose birthday presents are now sorted.  Forget the birthdays, we want to make one ourselves! We love the esprit de coeur of these two ladies, as well as the Maltese musician Ozzy Lino who began to sing along with them on a Frankfurt train last week.  Now that's community! Our bold and beautiful Silver Yoga workshop leader, Lizi Bolton who also happens to be one of Les Soeurs, is currently walking from the Dead Sea to Petra in Jordan, to raise funds for Cambodian Children's Fund UK, a children's charity we have supported for over 5 years. If you'd like to make a donation you can do so at Just Giving.

.... textile jigsaw quilt auction.....

You may remember that earlier this year Les Soeurs Anglaises mounted a competition to win a place on one of our popular workshops (see previous blog).  Interested participants were asked to submit a jigsaw shaped patchwork piece, stitched with inspirational wording, to be made up into a quilt – the finished quilt to be auctioned to raise funds for the Cambodian Children’s Fund, an amazing charity based in Phnom Penh that provides life-changing education, nourishment and healing to vulnerable children from some of Cambodia’s most destitute communities, most of whom live on the rubbish tips around the city.

With a prize worth over £1000 on offer and a great cause at the heart of it, the skilfully stitched ‘jigsaw’ pieces by textile artists from all over the world started to pour in, and once our workshop leaders had chosen the winning piece (not an easy decision) at our Ray Stitch Reception back in April, Les Soeurs had the task of sewing all the pieces together into the one beautiful quilt.  We then backed it with cotton and lined it with vintage French linen and the unique finished quilt, incorporating every one of the wonderful submissions, is now available for auction on eBay.  For the next ten days only, you can add your bid to win this amazing one-off, textile jigsaw - which would look equally good covering a favourite bed or decorating a wall - and at the same time help raise a substantial sum for CCF.

Backed in vintage French linen by Les Soeurs the quilt measures 110cms by 160cms 

    

We'll be posting developments and letting you know the final amount raised, but meanwhile, thank you to everyone who contributed to this beautiful piece - for their hard work and creativity.  Inspirational!

We'll ask be announcing our new website, with all the workshop dates for next year, very shortly.  There will be a few surprises, new faces, and unusual developments, so make sure you watch this space!

….. christmas quiz day seven…..

The days seem to be speeding up and so do your answers to our competition questions.   Literally dozens of you guessed - correctly - that yesterday's fab little squares are the handiwork of super-knitter and designer, Marion Foale who will be leading her second workshop (due to popular demand!), Knitted Jewels, next October.  

Maybe Sunday's puzzle won't be so easy, though the workshop leader whose work is featured below has led a hugely successful event for us in the past, and will be returning next year with something a little different.   

In fact, she is so multi-talented that it's almost impossible to pigeon-hole her with one illustration; we're hoping you'll need to do your homework to find the answer to

Who drew these wonderful festive birds and symbols?

... and then there was Julie.......

One thing we have discovered over the past few years is that when Julie Arkell joins us to lead a workshop there is never a dull moment!   So nothing new then at this year's, Bring a Story, Tell a Story, Make a Story.

Twelve participants travelled in from all over the world (though mostly Australasia this time, it seemed) on a sunny afternoon in June for five days of the Arkell treatment.  Before long they were cutting and stitching and sticking and papier mache-ing to their hearts' content, collating their memories and putting together their own "stories".   

Happy stitchers finding their own space and time

Silent concentration bathed in sunshine

A quiet moment for Julie beside the pool

Scouring our secret brocante for treasures

Julie and Bronwyn showing off their finery before dinner

Marie demonstrating her story-telling techniques

Our very own maison de maitre illustrated by Kelly 

The beautiful prayer for the hares, created, styled and dressed by Tracey

Julie admiring Anna's rabbits

Breakfast time at Les Soeurs

Getting ready for the Show and Tell on the last day

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

.... Lizz Harding and her composite March Hare!  

The diversity and skill demonstrated in the numerous submissions made it difficult for Billie Jean Spille, our judge, to make a decision (it tooke her a few days), but she finally chose Lizz's hare for her demonstration of an assortment of creative skills - papier mache, knitting, sewing, painting and much more - to produce a delightfully animated effort full of fun. 

But many thanks to all of you who sent in photographs of your personal March Hares;  they were all wonderful, no two the same.  Well done, Lizz, to win against such stiff competition and we all look forward to meeting you as a guest on one of our workshops next year.

Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting the numerous submissions and later in the year we may develop the theme of Les Soeurs Anglaises' mascot hare to offer another competition.  Watch this space.......

....cool winter light.....

When you can stop shivering for a moment, this cold weather definitely has it's charms.  Here are some photographs to lift your spirits and few suggestions on how to fill your time indoors.

Spend time tucked away sewing beautiful paper clothes.  These were made by 

Micheline of Betty and Bing.  And here is what she says.....

"I grew up loving paper, antiques and pretty things. I love paper because it carries ideas. Ideas about anything and everything shared through pictures or words or, in the best case scenario, both. Antiques because they hold stories. Without uttering a single word they talk of different times and different ways of thinking. And pretty things because I believe life is lived in the details. Surrounding yourself with things that appeal to your senses seems to be the easiest way to bring joy into your everyday life."

Paper and textiles, combined with stitched calligraphy, are also an integral part of our Rosalind Wyatt's, magic.    "My recent work is exploring ‘writing with a needle’ copying the handwriting of a letter into stitch onto a garment; handwritten letters reveal the personality of the letter writer in a most immediate manner, and often that document reveals part of a more complex ‘story’ of that person. By combining the lettering, stitch and garment, that story can be brought to life."  

We have a few places left on Rosalind's September Workshop with us which offers an opportunity to work intensively alongside this award-winning artist, sharing her unique creativity and learning how to combine the written and printed word using a playful approach whilst you progress from ideas towards stitch.  You'' be encouraged to think outside the box, developing a greater depth of individuality that will open up new creative opportunities.

  

Of course, it's never too cold to read a good book......   Our favourite writer at the moment is Ron Carlson.  Well, he would be wouldn't he as we've read everything he has in print and invited him to lead a workshop, The Inside Story, here at the end of July.  Carlson was born in Logan, Utah, and grew up in Salt Lake City. He received a masters degree in English from the University of Utah  and became professor of English at Arizona State University, and then director of its Creative Writing Programme. Carlson currently teaches at the University of California, Irvine. His last two novels, Five Skies and TheSignal have won international praise and we greatly look forward to hosting the first European workshop of this gentle artist of the written word.  

 You could go for a bicycle ride (not for the faint-hearted)....

Or simply have forty winks somewhere warm.

And talking of warmth, I personally like to snuggle up in front of a roaring fire and knit. I've just finished one of these shawls in a beautiful grey cashmere - I cannot for the life of me remember where I found the pattern, but it's incredibly simple to knit, had oodles of compliments since completion and if anyone is interested I would be happy to send them a pdf of the instructions (or maybe you know where the pattern is from??).

Katie