It's been really busy here over the last few weeks, we're moving house and had a lovely holiday in France over the half term holiday.
I'm off to Hampton Court on Saturday and it looks like it's all set fair for a sunny day so I'm planning my picnic and looking forward to another lovely day with Rachel and Owen. I'm not sure how much stitching I will be doing as I think my Jacobean Crewelwork piece is almost finished! I'll be seeking Rachel and Owens advice to find out if everything is up to RSN standards, if I need to rework any of it or add any further elements, but if not, ta dah! I will then be on to mounting which fills me with dread I have to admit. It's so important for a piece to be well mounted, as it can really spoke all the effort you have put in to making it if the mounting is careless or sloppy. I know this from many years of mounting bobbin lace where there are some pieces I wish I had taken more time over, and some I'm really proud of. So watch this space. Here's the nearly finished piece- and I'd be really interested in other peoples views as I can mostly see what I don't like!
I'm also going to be asking Rachel and Owen about my next piece. I can't quite decide whether to go for blackwork or canvaswork but I think I've decided I want to use one of my holiday photos of lighthouses or carrelets from the Gironde.
Perhaps one of these photos will be suitable......
Arriving at our holiday home in the Charente Maritime this week, the sense of relaxation and contentment was immediate. We've stayed here before a few times, in fact that was one of the reasons for coming this year as we needed something stress-free and easy. I love this house- it's an old grande-dame of a French villa, and it's a happy house. It's not perfectly decorated and the furniture is the most mish- mashed mixture of secondhand French flea market finds you have ever seen. It's creaky and quirky and what I would call well-loved. It's also light with huge high ceilings and a five minute walk from one of my favourite places in the whole wide world - the Plage des Nonnes.
Something about this lovely house makes it a happy place for our family. I think it's just the perfect place for our family holidays- close to the beach and town for morning croissants. It's got a great garden with a huge table for al fresco BBQ suppers accompanied by copious quantities of local pineau and wine. And the house is forgiving enough to cope with the battering of an energetic enthusiastic,rumble tumble, sandy family. It's imperfect but makes the perfect place for us to unwind and relax. I will be first in the queue if the owners ever want to sell!
I've brought some stitching with me and I will be hunting around for some images for future RSN projects. One of the particular features of this area I hope to be able to capture are the carrelets- local fishing huts on stilts. I have hundreds of photos of them at home but I will be on the look-out for new ones!
Here's one from yesterday afternoon- with the Phare (lighthouse) of St George's de Didonne in the background. I originally thought canvas work but there may be blackwork potential for these images as well. I'd welcome ideas as I find the design part the hardest part of the course!
