Today was a slightly earlier start than usual so that we had time to go to the Bergere de France shop on the outskirts of Saintes, and then into the town to visit the market and have a
wander round before coming back to Le Vieux Monastere for lunch. I enjoyed looking at all the yarns in the Bergere de France shop but didn’t buy anything this year, although several of our group did take good advantage of their summer sale. Saintes is a town with a lot of Roman remains, here is a view of the cathedral as seen through the triumphal arch:

The market is alongside the cathedral and is mostly food, with some very good looking fruit and veg and lots of interesting cheeses.

After the market we wandered along to the Abbey aux Dames (I think I have remembered the name right) and found these lovely flowers growing at the base of one of the walls.

On the way back to base we stopped to take some photos of where we were staying from across the fields. So here is my attempt at being artistic.

In the afternoon we were back in the workshop, working on whichever project we wanted to from the week. I finished my first Knit One Below mitten:

Joanne finished her Entrelac cowl to match her beret.

Nicole finished her coffee pot cover with some lovely buttons she bought in Saintes.

I finished my Entrelac cowl – I am looking forward to wearing it this winter.

And Sue finished her beret.

At the end of the afternoon everyone laid out the pieces they had been working on through the week, so that we could go round and admire them with a glass of fizz in hand. It was a wonderful opportunity to see all the beautiful things everyone had created, and to thank Graham and Christine for being such great hosts.

Here is everyone’s work:

Mine:

Myra’s:

Celia’s:

Pat’s:

Maggie’s:

Joanne’s:

Elisabeth’s:

Nicole’s:

Fiona’s:

Sue’s:

Ruth’s:

Val’s:

Ursula’s:

Avril’s:

I love seeing the diversity and creativity. Everyone has started from the same ingredients but has brought their own personality to their knitting. What a lot of gorgeous things!

I had a wonderful time, a lovely week with such talented and interesting students. There are still some places available on the French Treats holiday this September. Fiona will be teaching broadly the same programme as we have been doing this week. Also there will be another holiday next June. The dates and subjects to be covered haven’t been finalised yet but it will probably be the
second week in June. I am very biased, but would encourage you to sign up, partly because it is great fun! And partly because if there are enough participants I can go again as teaching assistant 🙂