As you know, this is the title of a magazine from Australia, that has "broderie traditionelle" mostly - I don't do a lot of this, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to take two days off work for workshops with Susan O'Connor, who designs the most beautiful things for them. The classes were Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and I wouldn't have missed a minute.

Thursday we did monogramming, whitework with a monogram in raised stem stitch, beautiful. Friday was thread painting, and Susan went out and bought pears for us to draw and stitch, so everyone has their own, instead of just copying hers. Today was stumpwork, which I have never tried before, but it is just lovely. I think I have now overcome my satin stitch phobia, it was quite good working padded satin stitch in one thread of stranded cotton. So I have three things to finish now, of course! I did also succumb to a kit for madeira embroidery, which I have always wanted to try.

Of course I am tired after three days of classes, especially as there were transport strikes on Thursday and Friday - in fact, I couldn't have gone to work those days anyway. There will be more in November, but thankfully I will be in Cyprus by then. I heard during the week that I can definitely go as planned. So now I have to think of packing and so on...

The best thing about the three days was that I met some lovely ladies, and we will keep in touch as well, everyone was very keen to do this. Today's class was the biggest, and we had a woman who has published two magazines and a book on ribbon embroidery and two who teach, also two from the Netherlands! Some people had come from Brittany, Normandy and Aix-en-Provence as well. And so many nationalities, at my table today there was a Canadian married to an Englishman, a Frenchwoman married to a Vietnamese and a French Vietnamese woman married to a German. The latter was nearly a beginner, who recently started stitching because she loves her garden and nature. The lady whose husband is Vietnamese - they met while they were both doing doctorates at the Sorbonne - told me she did many types of embroidery and said one of her favourites was hedebo, did I know it? Well, of course I had brought my hedebo runner for show and tell!

Now I am off to bed, because I really am dog-tired....... tomorrow I'm not getting up before 10!