A French Testimonial

Every group that comes to La Cascade for a refreshing week in the French Countryside, have lots of good things to say. We were particularly grateful to our friend Barbie who wrote us this French Testimonial about her experience and agreed to let us print it to inspire you to come along. Barbie is seen here dyeing a piece of fabric which she later made into a top. She kept us all entertained with her prolific artistic output while on retreat

I absolutely LOVED my trip to France with Rae and Carrie! The expense was well worth it, as it included almost ALL food (breakfast, lunch and dinner), beverages (3 different wines with dinner every night!), all transportation once we got to Toulouse, and the room in the most charming 17th century village!

This trip allowed me to explore an area of France that I never would have been on my own- accessible only by car, we visited lots of little villages off the beaten path. We were able to go to a Saturday Market (and the Festi-Menthe!), view tapestries along with their design and weaving process, visit some castles with incredible views of the valley and the Montagne Noire, a vintage fabric shop, an interior tour of the dam at the start of the Canal du Midi, and meet, learn from, and dye with, the woman who helped revive the Pastel dying process (This is where French Blue comes from!!).

The house that we stayed in was so charming, I loved that it was over 400 years old, but of course had modern bathrooms! Our hostess was a wonderful cook and great conversationalist, and one evening we had a local author come and chat with us about area! The village we stayed in was so small, yet still has a few shops to visit, and a wonderful little park with a spring water fountain!

I am so happy to have had the opportunity to join this trip! Even as an accomplished dressmaker, I tried some new (to me- some are ancient techniques) and different stitching and embellishing techniques, and ended up with several finished mini-projects that I love! Even though we did so much outside of the crafting studio, we really had a lot of time IN the studio to make so many things! It was great to try different paint tools and use them under guidance, and to have lot of materials to play with and make samples!

I can’t wait to go again! 

Barbie

Here are a few photos of other gals and their work in the studio last year. We had a wonderfully exploratory time on the 3rd floor of La Cascade in 2024. Everyone experimented with all the techniques and most focused on one project the last day or two.

Emrie spent much of her time exploring a series of similarly sized presentations of different color combinations and themes.

Connie and Barbie’s daughter Alissa were busy painting and stenciling on clothing to create garments that are uniquely their own.

Won’t you come and find your stitching voice in our studio at La Cascade August 5-12? We would love to have you. Then next year you can write a French Testimonial, too.

Happy Creating, Rae and Carrie