Spring pink

March has been a beautiful and fun month; it included a trip to London and the arrival of spring blossoms, birdsong and the tiniest of new leaves.

My winter outdoor flower ensemble still looks fresh after three months, but I'm looking forward to replacing it with hydrangeas, basil and thyme very soon.

I love putting on my pink coat this time of year; it never fails to put a spring into my steps. Wearing it here with a Sous l'Egide de Mars CSGM and a pair of houndstooth trousers I found at the Ines de la Fressange boutique when in Paris in January. While standing at the checkout, a tall and beautiful, casually dressed woman came strolling in ... it turned out to be Ines de la Fressange herself. She was absolutely lovely and friendly and also signed my trousers. What a wonderful encounter!

As you may know, I've been captivated by arts and crafts and embroidery for a while, so when I saw that Eppie Thomson from the Fabled Thread was holding a workshop at the Ham Yard hotel, I had to go! I stayed at my happy place in London, the Number Sixteen in South Kensington. It is in such a pretty area; here, a fabulously decorated house on Walton Street, just across the road from the flagship store of the British interior designer Andrew Martin.

(for more London pictures, go to one of my favourite Instagram pages:  www.instagram.com/magnoliawalks)

At the workshop, we were asked to choose our embroidery floss and backing material before embarking on figuring out a design. I thought this was such an interesting approach to free-style embroidery; it broke up the process into small chunks, making each step manageable without thinking too much about the next. 

It only occurred to me later that the colours and fabric I chose were an exact match to my outfit. Subconscious decisions like this happen so often; at least half the scarves in my collection must have been chosen that way.

In the past few days, I walked the dogs in a t-shirt or light sweater, and it seems that our coat season is coming to an end. I loved wearing it often as I could!

My room at Number Sixteen

Outdoor seating area - more pink and green

Back at home progress - "Le Duck-Soleil"

Pretty for spring ... the new ZigZag Collection with fabrics by Andrew Martin (also available in light grey and lava, view the collection here)

February recap ... because of the workshop excitement, I forgot to post pictures of the lovely weekend we spent at the beach in early February. The weather was sunny and mild, and it felt like summer. We stayed at the Plage Palace by the Costes brothers; it is just wonderful to have it close by. For this reason, it is also an ideal place for anyone to stay the night before attending one of my workshops! 

Looking forward to more adventures! 

Have a beautiful and happy spring season, everyone xxx

As usual, this post does not contain sponsored content, paid advertising or affiliate links, nor collaborations with the brands mentioned.

Ines de la Fressange shop: here

The Fabled Thread on Instagram: here

Hotel Number Sixteen: here

Hotel Plage Palace here

MaiTai Collection ZigZag inserts: here

Workshop!

 Hosting a workshop has been forever on my mind as it is a much more personal way to share the things I post about, and it is such fun to do projects with a small group of people. With the completion of my workspace, I can finally embark on developing my own workshop, which I am so happy to announce today. 

I chose "olives" for the theme, as they symbolise the South of France where I live. Different themes will follow over time! 

This post is an overview of what to expect. To book or to find out more, please click here.

Looking forward to meeting you in person! 

We start the day by getting together at 10am over coffee and tea, then embark on the projects outlined for the day. We make olive bread and tapenade, create napkin rings with olive twigs and embroider a decorative olive twig detail onto a table napkin.

The embroidery stitch is adapted for beginners, and there's no worry about not having enough time to complete your work ... you will take all the materials required to finish your creation at home with you.

For lunch, we'll enjoy our freshly baked olive bread with soup, a selection of salads and lovely French cheeses, refreshing beverages and local wines. A homemade dessert will follow and be served with coffee or tea. 

Depending on the weather, the luncheon will take place alfresco in our tranquil courtyard or the beautifully furnished MaiTai Collection showroom.

After lunch, we will start on scarf tying. You can bring a couple of your favourite scarves so that we can explore a variety of ways to wear them and how to showcase specific parts of their design. You can also ask for how-tos on specific knots. The workshop finishes at 4 pm.

Trip suggestion

Why not combine the workshop with a trip to the South of France and visit several places at once? Discover my favourite hotels and restaurants in Aix-en-Provence, the Camargue, Marseille and the Mediterranean Sea ... all within a 1h45 drive from us. I have created a travel blog with pictures, descriptions, info and an interactive map that lets you plan your itinerary. Click here or on the image below to check it out!