New Workshops for 2010

I am just putting up the list of workshop dates for 2010, we have some great subjects and some more Saturday dates. If there is anyone out there wanting to Learn to Knit (or you know anyone who wants to), our next workshop is just what you need. Tutor Anne Makepeace will take you through all the basics of knitting, and start you off on a pattern for a cushion cover. The one day course is on Thursday 3rd September 09 and the charge of £44 includes materials a yummy lunch and 10% discount on purchases made on the day.

This is another workshop photo from St Julien, the furniture at Kangaroo isn't as posh but the workshops are just as good.

Back to normal life

It seems very strange to go back to cooking for just two! We arrived home from the Chateau on Sunday afternoon and collapsed, but I managed to revive myself enough to see Bruce Springsteen (my all time hero) at Glastonbury and Status Quo who were the first live band I ever saw on Hastings Pier of all places! Monday was spent ploughing through thousands of emails and making updates to the website.
Today is the start of the summer sale. We have 15% off everything for a limited period, just enter the code 15OFF at the checkout. I am still clearing stock before I have to do the annual stock take at the end of the month and of course making room for the gorgeous new winter yarns. Rowan magazine 46 (autumn/winter edition) is due out in just two weeks time, look out for the next newsletter for details.
I am also trying to confirm the tutors and dates for the next workshop in France, this will be on the website and in a newsletter asap!

and even more projects from Exploring Colour

More projects from Exploring Colour

The projects from Exploring Colour

The results from the 'Exploring Colour Workshop' were fantastic, we had a real mix of skill levels in the guests ranging from sisters Fiona and Bronwen who had only recently started knitting (not that you would have guessed) to Mary who was on her second knitting holiday with us and had been knitting all her life, Felicity who must have been to nearly every possible Rowan workshop and Toril who being Norwegian had to knit from an early age just to keep warm.

Saturday at the Chateau

We have an outing to Chauvigny for the market today. The first car load sets off at 8 am on the dot, I go on the last trip to get some shopping in the market. Chauvigny is a mediaeval town in two parts, the market is in the newer bit which is built on the river, to visit the old part of the town you can climb up the winding steps to the top of the hill and can visit the beautiful church which has painted friezes that are just perfect for fairisle and intarsia projects. Culli and I wander around the market, one of the first stalls we come to is the haberdashery one and guess who we find - the whole group rummaging through the button box. I love this stall, some of the buttons are just fantastic - you could spend a fortune and some of us did! The market is great with lots of colourful stalls selling everything you could possible want. I Bought some mussels and prawns for tonight's paella and some yummy looking strawberries and raspberries for pavlova (and of course some buttons...). Back to base for lunch followed by the final workshop, which was how to finish off the projects and an introduction to mattress stitch for those that didn't know. At last - show and tell, everyone lays out their projects, a few finished and some not quite. But a fantastic effort from all and apologies to any that I haven't included in the photos, I know I didn't manage to get them all. When asked to sum up the week these were some of the comments - 'Naught Mallory Towers girls go mad knitting in France: yarn, sun, buttons, wine and patisserie' by Yolie, 'this week has been truly inspirational, dedicated, good humoured and generous tutors, first class hospitality and delightful company' Suzanne (see Suzanne and Yolie's blog glittyknittykitty), 'delightful and brilliant' Gloria (Gloria is Connie's mum and comes from Texas and brilliant is her new word for the week), 'Thank you for a glimpse of what heaven might be' Mary Leeson, 'Fantastic in all aspects, when's the next one?' Chris, 'what a wonderful week of knitting, what wonderful women and wonderful creations, the best holiday I have ever had' Natalie. Back to the terrace and more Kir, we have a little prize-giving ceremony. Instead of choosing the four best projects of the week we ask the guests to vote for the person they think most deserves to win a prize and put the names in the hat. Felicity, Toril, Natalie and Chris were the four names drawn. Sarah, Emma and I all received some beautiful gifts and a bottle of whisky and bubbly for Culli - thank you everyone for your generosity and for being such good guests! For the first time in the week I actually managed to sit down and eat with everyone, was a total slut and left most of the clearing up in the kitchen for the next day and carried on chatting until the early hours of the morning sitting outside in candlelight and smothered with Toril's mosquito cream. It was a great week all round, just need to get that date booked for next year! Culli arrived back from the gig at 2.45, I knew that neither of us would feel like doing the clearing up in the morning.

Friday at the Chateau

Another morning workshop with free afternoon, the pressure is on to get projects finished for the show and tell tomorrow afternoon and sparks are flying from the needles and hooks. I go for a wander around the beautiful grounds of the chateau and take yet more photos, the tiles are in the downstairs sitting room, I just love the colour and will one day use the design in a project. It is Culli's last night helping me cook as he is off to somewhere near Jarnac to play a gig tomorrow night (see the Bedrock band here!). After supper he makes his customary speech with statistics for the week, to sum it up this group are very abstemious having drunk far less wine than the last two groups, however I think they may catch up by the end of tomorrow........., they certainly win all prizes for the quantity of cups of tea, thank goodness for the urn and constant supply of hot water. Supper is Lamb Tagine, Salmon au Poivre or aubergine and chickpea casserole. I am sensible and have a reasonably early night.