and even more projects from Exploring Colour

More projects from Exploring Colour

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.

Thursday at the Chateau

Sadly Caroline has to leave early to go back to work today, so we have the group photo then all wave her off as Culli drives her to the airport. Just a morning workshop today with a free afternoon. Everyone is engrossed in their projects, a few cushion covers and lots of knitted bags. Supper is meant to be early to allow time for an evening workshop, but in a mad moment I had decided to do roast pork with dauphinois potatoes, normally not a problem but forgot about the temperamental cooker! Finally served up the roast and pasta with roasted veg about half an hour late. The thunderstorm is brewing, the evening workshop on embellishments is going well, Sarah has given me a lovely corsage made with Kidsilk Haze and fabric. The first few crashes of thunder echo around the chateau, Yolie has a ringside view in the library sitting in a comfy chair with her feet on the windowsill watching the lightning, the rain is short and sharp and clears the air, leaving a gorgeous fresh smell of wet grass and bruised roses.

Wednesday at the Chateau

Wished I had gone to bed before 1 am! Never mind another busy day ahead and soon get into the swing of things, still a beautiful sunny day but there is a threat of thunderstorms. Today everyone starts on their project, with a bit of fairisle and intarsia tuition to start them off. The workshops are very relaxed and although this one is meant to be all day, the guests can come and go as they want, disappear to find a comfy sofa or go and sit and knit in the sunshine. Sarah and Emma are great, always on hand to provide useful hints and tips and tons of inspiration. The menu for tonight is Cassoulet, Fish Pie or Roast Peppers stuffed with lentils and feta cheese. Culli has taken it upon himself to encourage the guests to drink more, I think he is worried that they are being a little timid - I am thinking great we won't need to buy any more wine, but looks like I could be wrong, they are rising to the challenge! Mary is doing an impromptu lesson on sock knitting for any that don't know how.

Exploring Colour Workshop

Only three days to go to the workshop at Chateau St Julien - I am buried under a mound of course notes. The workshops look fabulous, I hope I have time to escape the kitchen and go to some of them and to get a bit of knitting done. I am taking Noro Mini Knits Two and some odds and ends of Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden to make some gloves and hats for Christmas presents. I made the first batch of chocolate brownies last night for Sunday (if they last 'til then....), and have a few other meals ready in the freezer. Really looking forward to meeting all the new guests, we have four repeat visitors from last year and one from the year before so it will be lovely to see them again. The weather here in France is beautiful at the moment, hot and sunny with a bit of breeze. Culli and I head off for the Chateau on Saturday so that we are reasonably organised for all the arrivals on Sunday. I am hoping to keep the blog up to date every day next week with reports of the workshop, so watch this space....!

Show and tell

On the last morning all the guests were encouraged to display the designs they had been working on through the week. The work that had been produced was fantastic, with such a variety of inspiration and design ranging from structured garment shaping, knitted bags to textured wall hangings.

Principles of Design workshop

The workshops were held on the first floor of the chateau in a light and airy room with triple aspect windows overlooking the beautiful grounds, this room is linked to a sitting room with large sofas where guests can knit in comfort.