A holiday to create in France

As you enter the winding lane that leads to the mill you feel the real world and its stresses slipping away. This is a place that works magic on tired minds and stressed bodies restoring calm, balance and a sense of peace. Sitting quietly in 20 acres of completely private grounds on the banks of the River Dronne. Le Moulin de Larcy has been lovingly restored by Anita and Simon to create three stylish apartment suites, each brimming with character and luxury.

Because of the peace and tranquility that the mill offers this is also the perfect place to learn the magic of textiles with the old adage of “ whilst the hands are busy the mind is still”. The inspiration all around you at the mill is the perfect place to learn new ways and techniques in textiles. You will work with likeminded people in a beautiful environment.

WORKSHOPS
The workshops will be run at the Le Moulin De Larcy in a beautiful airy large studio. We have designed two four-day workshops, which allow you to really investigate the techniques and develop your work. The workshops are about giving you the confidence to learn and develop not only the practical techniques but also your own creativity. Both are ideal for beginners or for those who would like to develop further.

COLOURING FABRIC AND KANTHA STITCH - 7th April - 12th April
The first two days of the workshop will be learning to silk paint and block print on cotton. We will use inspiration from our beautiful surroundings. The final two days of your workshop you will use the fabric you have created to make a kantha quilt, which is a technique from Bangladesh and traditionally, used to stitch old saris together. The technique creates beautiful simple texture.

FELT MAKING AND PEG LOOM WEAVING - 14th April - 19th April
The first two days of this workshop we will explore the wonderful world of wet felt making. Working with merino wool tops and you will learn to make flat felt, nuno felt and 3d felt. The final two days will be spent learning to peg loom weave – one of the oldest and simplest ways to weave. We will be working on a double loom so that we can work both a chunky weave ideal for rugs and a finer weave for bags or cushions

YOUR HOST
Simon and Anita Black (from Yorkshire and South Africa!) have restored the buildings and the estate to create the most beautiful place. In 2009 the mill was selected by Michelin to appear in their prestigious French Guide. The listings in the Michelin Guides are entirely at the discretion and cost of the Michelin organisation, so a very great compliment to them both. Anita is a very very fine cook, using lots of produce from her vegetable garden and milk from the local cows!

YOUR TEACHER
Deborah Harwood owns The Textile Space in Charlton, West Sussex where she runs textile workshops and continues her own work. Deborah started sewing twelve years ago and went on to do her BA in Textile Art at Winchester School of Art. This year Deborah won Sussex Woman of the Year in Arts.