oh la la la la la la.....

Anyone who lives in France will know that oh la la is an expression more likely to be used  as an equivalent to the English  'Oh noooooo' or 'Oh for goodness sake' than in the saucy seaside postcard way! The more las there are the worse it is! So cutting off the the first piece of my four parter the day before yesterday and in so doing ruining it was definitely an oh la la la la la la moment. (You've got to get the tone of voice right too).   The problem was the warp which shrank more than I was expecting.
So after a test shrinkage strip I'm starting again but with a bit less enthusiasm than the first time around.

The good news however is that I contacted Coats UK last week about the Drima thread. I'd tried before but had no reply - this time however they got back in touch and would you believe it, they are still making it! They said that no shop has ordered it for ages so I'd have to get a haberdasher to order it in for me.  I can't quite believe it - could it be so simple?

Totally unrelated - we are going to Amsterdam for a few days at half term. Apart from the obvious ones has anyone any recommendations of things to do/see there? I've been to Amsterdam but it was such a long time ago and I barely remember it.

Two small tapestries (3 x 3" and 4 x 4") on show at the tour de Montsalès until the 3rd of November. It's the annual show of local artists, amateur and professional and this year we have more exhibitors than ever - 16! You'll find a full list on the 'programme 2013' page of the tower website.

I'm just starting a commission - big for me - 19 x 59 cm in 4 pieces. I never found any Drima extra strong thread even though I just know there's tons of it out there at the back of haberdasher's stockrooms! A tenacious Canadian friend has been scouring Toronto thread and fabric merchants hoping to find a suitable replacement but it's amazing how hard it is. Thread can be strong enough but too thick or thin or often too shiny and slippery.  I'm going to try this new piece using a thread she found which is a bit thicker than I'd like so I'll use it at 14epi instead of my normal 16epi and see how it goes.

In other news, it's Autumn here and my brief spell of melancholy at Summer's end has been dispelled by the sheer beauty of the new season.  Misty mornings, golden light and an abundance of food for the picking - apples, plums, pears and soon there'll be walnuts. We gathered cornell cherries last week and made jam. That felt very hunter/gathery/foragy! A second picking expedition came to an abrupt end when wild boar made their presence felt!