Autumn is drawing in

Well we can’t complain, we’ve had a super Indian summer but all good things come to an end eventually and while the sun is still shining and the sky is a deep deep blue, there’s a nip in the air and a chill in the breeze now. What is sooo frustrating for me is that while there are a hundred jobs I should be doing in the garden before the rains come, I have dreadful pain in my left leg and several different anti inflamatories and pain killers later – nothing seems to be working. It’s not sciatica and a week in bed didn’t improve it so it’s unlikely to be muscular, next step is seeing the spacialist on the 9 Nov after my return from seeing mum in England.

So what to do if not gardening? I can only work on the website for so many hours in the day and standing still kills so even the ironing is being done sitting down – time I think, to get on with a recently found interest in patchwork. I joined a French Patch group a couple of years ago to try to improve my spoken French and it seemed an ideal subject as I’ve always been handy with a needle. To say I am overwhelmed by their talent and size of their projects is an understatement, from the smallest pin cushions to the king sized quilts, their work is exquisite. As I tend to be a bit too busy in summer to do much I’ve only a few finished pieces to my name and 2 of those went as gifts to friends. I’ve just completed a wall hanging in a method called ‘crazy’ and it is really addictive. You just keep adding embelishements and embroidery over a crazy paving structure of different fabrics, lace and anything else you can get hold of. It’s difficult to know when to stop or even to want to.

I’ve also finished (bar the border) a massive hanging which I found to do on the internet and involved downloading a patch a month which was a great way to start as it didn’t overwhelm a beginner like me with its size. One of my winter projects is to get the border done and hang it in one of the gites twin bedrooms to brighten it up.

One of my French friends Catherine is an avid patch artist and produces wonderful items which regularly humble me with their beauty and intricacy. She recently finished an amazing piece made with hundreds of tiny patches created with a reverse appliqué technique, really incredible stuff. She has been doing patch for years but I doubt I will ever rise to her ability or patience.

I can’t say my conversation skills have vastly improved but I have found a great interest for those dark winter evenings and met a lovely group of ladies who couldn’t have been more welcoming and friendly. If you haven’t been to France before, don’t let the bad press the French receive put you off, they are a wonderfully warm, friendly, helpful, polite and patient lot and so long as you make a bit of an effort to at least say ‘bonjour’ they repay that a hundredfold. Say bonjour on your next holiday by staying here in our gites and get the comforts of home with the excitement of a new country thrown in. If patch is your thing, there’s a huge show in Nantes every April that I was lucky enough to go to on my birthday this year, we even met Kaffe Fasset so well known for his vibrant colour designs. Another great event in Loire Atlantique.