... 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

...let's drink to that...

Yesterday's question was posted later than normal to give our American cousins a chance of winning. The answer to the question, in which city and on which street is Jessie Chorley's shop, is Columbia Road, London.

As participants you may be staying in a beautiful area of S W France, but part of the promise we give at Les Soeurs Anglaises is that not only will you learn or improve a skill you love, but that we will take you on a gastronomic journey through each day.

Whilst there is generally meat or fish on offer, our menus are culled from an array of influences from the Mediterranean to the Far East and are generally worked around delicious organic fruit and vegetables that arrive, whenever possible, fresh from our own potager (we scatter herbs and garlic around with abandon).  Mike Armitage, Katie's husband, ran the popular Interesting Wine Club in London for years and hand-picks all the wines served and if you take oenology a tad more seriously then you’ll be able to check out some of the wines from his fabulous cellar. 

Talking of wines brings us to our Question 8 and the prize will be a charming  hand made small fruit bowl made especially for us, with our hare motif (see below):

Who is the celebrated wine critic who participated in the Gastronmic Weekend at Les Soeurs Anglaises in 2007 in aid of The Cambodian Childrens Trust and what the age of the oldest Champagne served (year) at the event? 

answer to:  katie@lessoeursanglaises.com

...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.

...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.