Bonjour Le Camping....

We had a lovely half-term in France on the Ile De Noirmoutier.....the days were long, sunny and got warmer as the week went on. We had a treat too, staying in one of these tents rather than having to set up our own. We have learnt to our cost that France is always further away than we plan, often getting stuck in some detour around a town which holds us up.

So this year, we went for one that came fully equipped and didn't need putting up as dusk falls and the rain clouds open.

This was how close we were to the beach and sea.....I had forgotten to take my 'camping fish mobile' so had to make one there, a cross I was willing to bare. They look lovely swinging in the breeze and I like to think they bring some luck - wishful thinking most of the time, but this week worked a treat.

Step out of the tent and this is the view, the boats just bob about, don't really see who owns them. This time of year the area is famous for shell fish and the campers in the 'know' go out every low tide with rakes and a basket collecting their lunch or dinner. They spend the whole summer months on the site and probably get annoyed with the pesky English interrupting their holiday this week.

We spent a couple of hours on the other side of the Island one evening watching the sunset. This was about 10 0'clock and rather lovely...

We also managed our first family frisby session, Smallest bean No.3 is now old enough to catch and throw the frisby and we did manage a whole round a couple of times - a Charles Family First :-)

Oh and did I mention my stitching? Inspired by a recent vintage purchase and my new camping fish, I cut out 9 squares of felt and embroidered them with fish. The colours of fish matched the felt and I just swapped them over to create and balance the design. I often suggest this simple technique to my stitching learners and it works well most of the time.

I used a paper template and an air fading pen to work out the design and then space the stitches by eye, still work in progress as we speak, but I hope to finnish it off soon.