Knitting, crochet and textile holidays in France

Happy New Year!
Back to blogging at last with a revised list of dates for workshops and retreats in 2012

For full details visit www.knittingholidaysinfrance.com

If you live in France and would like to attend on a daily basis without the full board please contact sueculligan@gmail.com for prices.

The venue

Courtyard at La Verderie

La Verderie is the home of knitting designer Sue Culligan and is situated in South West France, close to the towns of Cognac and Saintes. Sue runs regular residential workshops for 4/5 guests and knitting retreats for up to 5/6 guests in the comfortable old farmhouse in the heart of rural France. The workshops are led by expert tutors and cater for all skill levels, with small groups allowing for one to one tuition. For a more relaxing holiday the knitting retreats are designed for single travellers or small groups where like-minded people can enjoy each others company and swop knitting tips and patterns. There is no scheduled tuition on the retreats, but Sue is on hand to offer help and advice with any knitting problems. The full board at La Verderie includes delicious meals cooked with local produce and plenty of wine. Outings to colourful markets, elegant chateaux and French yarn shops are included in the holiday.

We are happy to accommodate two or more guests for a Knitting Retreat on alternative dates to the ones suggested below. Please email sueculligan@gmail.com with suggested dates.

2012 workshops and retreats

22^nd-28^th March - Knitting Design Workshop at La Verderie with tutor Debbie Abrahams

£425 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£70 single room supplement) (FULLY BOOKED)

11^th-16^th April – Knitting Basics Workshop at La Verderie with tutor Sue Culligan

£295 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£70 single room supplement)

(5 spaces available)

25^th – 30^th April – Knitting Retreat at La Verderie

£225 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£70 single room supplement)

(3 spaces available)

NEW CROCHET WORKSHOP WITH TUTOR JANE CROWFOOT

Colourwork Crochet

5^th – 12^th May - Crochet Design workshop at La Verderie with tutor Jane Crowfoot

£425 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£70 single room supplement)

(4 spaces available)

24^th – 29^th June – Knitting Retreat at La Verderie

£225 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£70 single room supplement)

(FULLY BOOKED)

16^th – 22^nd September – Knitting and Crochet design workshop with tutors Jane Crowfoot and Debbie Abrahams at Chateau St Julien l’Ars, Poitiers, France

£725 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£100 single room supplement)

(FULLY BOOKED)

TEXTILE WORKSHOP - BONDAWEB FOR BEGINNERS WITH TUTOR KIM THITTICHAI

Bondaweb for Beginners

26^th September – 1^st October – Hot Textiles workshop – Bondaweb for beginners with tutor Kim Thittichai at La Verderie

£425 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£70 single room supplement)

(4 spaces available)

TEXTILE WORKSHOP LUSCIOUS LAYERS WITH TUTOR KIM THITTICHAI

Luscious Layers

3^rd – 8^th October – Hot Textiles workshop – Luscious Layers with tutor Kim Thittichai at La Verderie

£425 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£70 single room supplement)

(3 spaces available)

Visit Kim's blog to see more of her amazing work

21^st-26^th October – Knitting Retreat at La Verderie

£225 per head based on two sharing a twin room (£70 single room supplement)

(5 spaces available)

The cost of the holidays includes full board with wine, workshops (if applicable), selected materials for the workshops, 10% discount on any purchases made from KnitKits during the holiday, visits to local towns and transfers from *local airports or stations.

*La Verderie – La Rochelle airport or Angouleme station (return transfers from Bordeaux or Poitiers can be arranged for a supplement of £15)

*Chateau St Julien – Poitiers airport or station (return transfers from La Rochelle or Bordeaux can be arranged for a supplement of £20)

NOT INCLUDED: your travel to France, refreshments on outings and entrance fees to museums, exhibitions etc.

Local market stalls

Sample programme for knitting retreat at La Verderie

Day of arrival	Arrive at Angouleme/La Rochelle/Bordeaux/Poitiers Transfer to La Verderie, meet your fellow guests over aperitif’s followed by dinner.
Day 1	A relaxing day at la Verderie with your knitting. Explore the local lanes by foot or bicycle, browse through the library of knitting books and be wined and dined in style.
Day 2	Optional visit to the massive street market at Rouillac (27th of every month). This bustling market is held once a month and takes over the whole town. The stalls include everything ranging from live animals, regional food and drink, clothing, haberdashery, buttons, yarn, homewares, plants and flowers.
Day 3	Relaxing morning with your knitting. Afternoon visit to the Alpaca farm near Ruffec. Meet the gentle herd of Alpaca’s and purchase the luxurious soft yarn, gorgeous woven shawls, duvets and pillows.
Day 4	Optional visit to Chateau Roche Courbon. This beautiful Chateau is known locally as the sleeping beauty’s castle. The ornate interior has painted beams and furniture dating back to the 17th century. The formal French gardens pre-date those at Versailles and feature terraces, geometrical flower gardens and lawns, fountains and a small lake. Return to La Verderie for a late and leisurely Sunday lunch and more knitting.
Day of Departure	Return transfers to your chosen airport or railway station.

Arts and crafts exhibition at La Verderie

The Open House at the weekend was a great success and a marvellous exercise in cleaning and tidying the house!

We had 18 exhibitors showing a mix of paintings, cards, photography, wood turning and textiles plus some beautiful tagines from Morocco (a big thank you to Wendy and Jeff for feeding us all weekend!) and some bargain furnishing fabrics supplied by Darren. Not to mention the scrumptious cakes, scones and pasties made by Katrina and Barbara. A very, very bad weekend for the diet.....!

It is an upheaval at home as we used the downstairs bedroom, living room and barn, however the success has urged me on to transform the barn into a permanent gallery by next Easter.

We managed to raise over 700 euros for the Poppy appeal and I think most of the artists went away happy with their take.

The last day of the Crochet workshop at La Verderie

Culli sets off with Cath and Jane for Angouleme station at 6.45 am, I got up to wave them off and do a bit of tidying up. The rest of us had a leisurely breakfast and a brisk walk with the dogs, the first heavy frost of the autumn has left the fields sparkling white which makes me think I need to spend the rest of the weekend moving the geraniums and banana plants.

Cognac market

We are taking Jenny and Kevin to Cognac station and then on to Bordeaux with Linda for her flight back to Oslo. A little last minute shopping in Cognac, cheese at the market for Linda to take back to Norway (extra wrapping to prevent it escaping in her suitcase) and Kevin and Jenny buy some beautifully packaged chocolates to take back as gifts.

The cheese stall

After a quick beer in the sunshine we wander back to the car through the lovely park, home to the Cognac Blues Festival, held in July every year, before dropping Kevin and Jenny at the station followed by the drive down to Bordeaux airport with Linda. 

The entrance to the park

Culli and I made a compulsory visit to Ikea in Bordeaux on the way home for picture frames, candles and light bulbs then back home to collapse in front of the TV.
The workshop was a great success, being the first one here at La Verderie I was a little nervous about it, but I think the venue worked well. Having such a small group is fantastic as each guest can expect one to one tuition from the tutor and the resulting work was way and above all expectations. Now, I just need to pin Jane down and decide on some dates for next year!

Crochet workshop at La Verderie - day 5

Friday is the last full day, the plan is to crochet most of the day and then go into Cognac for a wander late afternoon.
Everyone is keen to finish their projects, the concentration is intense and not a sound to be heard. Kevin and Linda decide to escape the pressure and go for a bike ride around the lanes after lunch, the rest of us decide we cannot tear ourselves away from the crochet, so the trip to Cognac is cancelled.

Cath modelling her crochet hat

After a brisk walk with the dogs around the vineyard it is the final photo session. The results are fantastic, I think we have all achieved our goals for the week.

Jenny's landscape

Kevin's flowers

Cath's chunky hat (not the Japanese one...)

Cath's sampler

Linda's flower bed

my Christmas fir cone, or is it a Christmas tree..?

my lampshade, an ongoing project I think

After the final dinner of chicken tagine, baked spicy aubergine with couscous and golden croissant pudding everyone collapsed in a heap. Cath and Jane have an early start on Saturday so early to bed for all.

Crochet workshop at La Verderie - day 4

Everyone voted for a whole day with their crochet and only set foot outside for a dog walk and hunt for fresh walnuts in the afternoon.

The amount that everyone has achieved in just a few days is amazing, Jane has been very patient and on hand to answer every question and demonstrate techniques.

Linda's crochet flower bed is growing quickly, by the end of the day she has the basic shape and is ready to complete the borders and flowers.

Kevin is creating the most gorgeous flower design, adding new pieces as he goes along to create a cushion cover.

Jenny is adding spirals to her landscape to create beautiful swirling clouds and sky.

Cath is working on her project of patchwork squares, each one using a different crochet technique.
I am plodding along with my lampshade cover, the chevrons are growing and tomorrow beads and bobbles!

Crochet workshop at La Verderie - day 3

Wednesday morning is a compulsory trip to the market in St Jean. It is a bright sunny day again, but cold. Winter boots and a jacket for the first time this autumn. The market is very quiet with no queues, a brief tour of the town    and a coffee in the sun at the back of the market, followed by a trip to LeClerc for a few more provisions. Then back home for lunch of prawns and salad.

Working on Dorset buttons

The afternoon was spent making Dorset buttons and starting work on our projects. I have had an idea for giant Dorset buttons using curtain rings and they work! I think they could become quite addictive, just managed to work the foundation row for my lampshade. Cath has completed a hat, but not the Japanese one yet, Linda is creating the most beautiful piece of freeform crochet from her image of the flower bed in Saintes.

Linda's project

Giant Dorset buttons

Tension square for my lampshade

Crochet workshop at La Verderie

We are into the third day of the crochet workshop and all is going well.

Crochet Techniques

The four guests and tutor Jane arrived with no delays on Sunday afternoon to a gorgeous hot sunny day. Monday was a quick reminder on crochet techniques, going through the stitches and writing out charts. For me having a workshop here at home is fantastic as I actually have the time to join in, so perhaps by the end of the week I will finally get to grips with it.
The small group works well as Jane is able to give everyone individual attention to suit various skill levels. Linda (English but lives in Norway), can already crochet beautifully but is keen to learn how to create her own designs, brother and sister Kevin and Jenny are keen to improve their crochet and experiment with shapes, texture and colour, Cath and I just want to watch the stitches flow evenly..........., but after just one day things are looking good, we have all completed something! Linda's beautiful coaster is put to use immediately, sadly my rather small, pathetic one was appreciated mostly by Be Bop who decided to try and eat it.

Linda's beaded coaster

Tuesday morning, early breakfast and a trip to Saintes. We parked in the centre of town on a sunny but chilly morning and walked up to the Roman amphitheatre, too early for the shop but took a few snaps before a coach load of tourists arrived, then a quick visit to St Eutrope at the top of the hill and back down through the market to the shops.

The Roman Amphitheatre in Saintes

First visit of course to the yarn shop, where Kevin and Jenny bought some beautiful buttons then into a new shop with the most gorgeous cushions, throws, bags and bits, a definite one to revisit for Christmas gifts. A quick coffee, missed the haby shop by 5 minutes (how is it that after living in France for 8 years I still forget that shops close for lunch!), some magazines for inspiration then back home for lunch.
In the afternoon we started to think about stitches, colours and swatches for our chosen projects.
We all have different goals. Linda wants to make her own design and found her inspiration from the beautiful flower beds outside the Palais de Justice in Saintes, Jenny wants to understand crochet patterns, Kevin wants to design a cushion, Cath wants to understand and complete her Japanese crochet hat pattern and I want to crochet a lampshade, my original inspiration was a huge ceramic plate at the museum in Saintes but Jane has now taught us to work chevrons and bobbles so a change of plan, I think.

Section of a colourful wall hanging in St Eutrope