Open studio

Our Easter Exhibition at La Verderie was a gentle start to the season with not exactly hoards of visitors but a steady flow.

John's beautifully renovated clocks were a great success, the bells, chimes and cuckoos echoed around the barn and garden all weekend. Judith sold loads of her lovely greetings cards and I did well on tea and cakes, having just discovered that with my new cooker I can finally cook scones!
We ended the weekend with curry for 16 of us on Sunday evening in the garden.

Christmas Open House

painting by Pamela Slater

Our Open Studio at the beginning of November went well with lots of new visitors. We had the usual disgusting weather on the Saturday, leaving the car park opposite a sea of mud, but plenty of people braved the elements and tea, coffee and cream teas were readily consumed.

kilims for sale

the gallery at La Verderie

On the Sunday in a moment of madness I decided to do Sunday Roast in two sittings, so we fed 8 at lunch time and 17 in the evening, in between making tea and coffee and keeping an eye on the gallery!

Sunday roast

Next Open Studio dates - Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th April, see details here
The gallery at La Verderie is now a greenhouse for the winter.
The following weekend we were at Le Logis de la Courade for a Christmas market. Culli and I had the use of a huge barn for our 'art gallery' which was fantastic.

the gallery at le logis de la Courade

There were some lovely stalls selling homemade cakes, chutneys, honey, Christmas decs, soaps, cards, brocante and clothing, plus a pamper session offering Indian head massage - a great day out. I possibly spent more than I took as I ended up buying three gorgeous Christmas baubles ranging in size from large to enormous.

Christmas baubles

Hoping to persuade Vicki to organise another event next year.

Christmas Open House

We are having an Open Studio at La Verderie the weekend of 9th and 10th November, open from 10 am to 4 pm on both days.

Come and stock up on your Christmas gifts - woodturning by Culli and Roger Slater, paintings by Suzanne Thorne, Pamela Slater, Doris Murray, Judith Ryde, Margaret Pearce and Don Thompson, textiles, knitwear, patchwork, embroidery, kilims, furniture, knitting accessories, Christmas cards and decorations.
For further details email sue

Supporting the Poppy Appeal

Art in France

We have a new website for the painting and woodturning courses in France. www.artinfrance.co.uk is under way, with new images and info being added every day.
The painting courses tutored by Pamela Slater will look at all aspects of drawing and painting using mixed media. The classes will cater for all skill levels, with snall groups allowing for one-to-one tuition.
The woodturning courses tutored by Roger Slater are for beginners to intermediate, with a maximum of only three guests in a group it is a great introduction to this beautiful craft.
for further information on any of the courses email sueculligan@gmail.com

Knitting and Crochet workshop with Jane Crowfoot

We have a new workshop date for 2013. Jane is going to tutor a residential workshop in France at La Verderie, from 9th - 15th June 2013. The workshop is going to cover knitting and crochet and will cater for all skill levels. Guests can choose to design their own project from scratch or work on a kit provided by Jane. One-to-one tuition will be available throughout the course with a small group of just 4 residential guests.

The cost of the holiday includes all workshops, materials, full board, outings to local towns and transfers to La Verderie from La Rochelle or Angouleme. For further details email sueculligan@gmail.com or visit www.knittingholidaysinfrance.com

Crochet workshop in France - days 4, 5 and 6

Wednesday starts off damp and cloudy, Cath goes for an early morning run on her own and I take the dogs out on my own, however after breakfast the clouds begin to clear.

A bar at Le Vieux Port in La Rochelle

We continue with our crochet project until late morning then all bundle in the car for a visit to La Rochelle.
The sun is shining and the first visit is to a bar in Le Vieux Port for a refreshing drink, followed by a wander around the beautiful shops hidden in shady cloisters in the ancient town.

The Patisserie

The window displays are fantastic, whether it is shoes, cakes, clothes or kitchen gadgets, but amazingly no purchases were made.

Shopping in La Rochelle

A trip to the beach for Cath to swim, however the tide was out and the long walk across the sand was not appealing, we sit at the cafe with ice creams and coffee watching the sun worshippers.

The beach at La Rochelle

Back to La Verderie for the compulsory evening dog walk, and as it is such a warm balmy evening supper of chicken kebabs and couscous in the garden.

Walking through the woods

Thursday promises to be hot and sunny so Cath, Sue and I take Bix and Be Bop out for an early walk then a whole day of crochet in the garden, the pressure is on to finish the cushions by Friday evening. Another beautiful warm evening so we have supper of roasted red peppers and seafood pies in the garden and sit there for ages watching the moths flit around the lights.

The woods at La Verderie

A shady corner

Roasted red pepper with cherry tomatoes and anchovy

Friday is the last day, it is hard to believe how fast the week has gone by. After the early morning walk and breakfast we go into Saintes for a little retail therapy, starting at the yarn shop then into the lovely little shop a few doors along which sells gorgeous clothing, bags, quilts, jewellery and homewares.

Salad Nicoise

Back to La Verderie for lunch of Salad Nicoise then the race is on to finish the projects. Sue completes her cushion cover first, closely followed by Jane then Cath. I have failed miserably with half a back to complete, my only excuse being the time spent in the kitchen preparing meals, however, it has been the most brilliant workshop and I can finally say that I think I have at last mastered the art of crochet. Jane has been very patient and helpful to all three of us.

Sue's cushion - back

Sue's cushion - front

Jane's cushion - back

Jane's cushion - front

Cath's cushion - back

Cath's cushion - front

There is a threat of thunderstorms but we have the final supper in the garden, paella followed by cherries in cognac with chocolate brownies and ice cream. An early start tomorrow for the return trips from Angouleme and Bordeaux.

Knitting Retreat in France

The April knitting retreat at La Verderie is up and running and everyone seems happy in spite of the weather. I went down to Bordeaux yesterday to pick up Jane and daughter Hannah on the early flight from Luton, we went into Bordeaux for a compulsory visit to La Droguerie for some inspiration and a quick drool over the yarns, Jane bought one of their wonderful pattern books for children (an English version which I didn't know they sold). After that a leisurely coffee then a wander through the massive spring market that had food stalls (delicious sausages in baguettes for lunch) a brocante and plants. Back to the airport to collect Jane (G) and then the drive back to La Verderie.

A quick walk with the dogs in between showers, then Culli went off to Angouleme to collect Maureen. Jane G has brought three knitting projects with her, Hannah started a new one as soon as she arrived as she is keen to try fairisle, Jane F is ready to start a project from her new book and Maureen has a scarf project on the go. After apero's and supper everyone retired to bed early having been up since the crack of dawn.

Knitting Basics workshop, final day

By the end of Sunday morning most of the patches on the bags were finished and the ends sewn in, time for a lesson on pinning and blocking followed by a long leisurely lunch in the garden then back to knitting bases for the bags. A demo on picking up and knitting stitches and how to make a neat finish around the neck of a sweater, then the final leg of knitting the sides and strap for the bags.

Monday was the last day of the workshop and at lunch-time everyone had completed their bags except for  sewing up the side seams. Considering this was meant to be a workshop for beginner's I think the results were absolutely fantastic. The knitting basics workshop is mainly for encouragement and convincing students that they can go on to knit just about anything, as they all left clutching yarn and patterns, enthusiastically looking forward to the next project hopefully I have achieved just that (but will they sew up the final seams on the bags I wonder....?)

Culli and I drove Liz and Barbara back to Bordeaux airport with a quick detour into Ikea on the way back for light bulbs and a new rug for the sitting-room. Today it is back to catching up on emails, pattern checking and a  new window for the kitchen so currently every work surface is covered in junk, I should be painting window frames and doors but it is freezing cold and raining and there is a huge pile of laundry to be done....... Looking forward to the next knitting retreat already, but with just a week to go there is a lot to be done.

It's snowing in La Verderie

I realise that most of the UK is covered in a blanket of snow, but it is quite a novelty at La Verderie. It's only the second time in 8 years that we have had snow that looks like it is here to stay and the last time was about 5 years ago which was the first time some of the younger children in our little hamlet had ever seen snow. Being snowed in could be good for the book, if I can't go anywhere I will have to sit and work on it, we have logs, wine and a freezer full of food.........

A day out in Norwich

Culli had to meet a client in Norwich last week, so I went along for the ride and knitted my way from La Verderie all the way to Norwich. It was a fairly frantic couple of days but good to see everyone and I love Norwich. It has a beautiful cathedral and fantastic shops, wish I could have spent more time there. Then back to Hove in the evening to help Ross celebrate his birthday with cheesecake made by Bash and Poppy.

Entrance to the Cathedral Close