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I finished the second of three parts of embroidery on this last week and started on the third and final part. It's coming along well, but I'm really displeased with the lack of customer service of Carol Tinson of Heirloom Embroideries. When we signed up for the class, we were told that we'd have her on a forum to help us and that each part would be mailed on the first of the month. The final part, the part that gives finishing instructions and materials, supposedly was mailed on Thursday instead of June first. There was no communication from Carol for six weeks. She's been pretty much absent during the whole mystery on the boards.I can take neglect. I can even take delays in mailing. What I cannot take is a complete lack of communication as exhibited by this designer. Although I like the design, there are other mysteries out there by other designers who actually inform their customers of hiccups and delays. When she did get onto the boards on Thursday and told us that it was mailed out, her tone was not one of apology but of whining and "poor, pitiful me" type stuff. I don't buy from designers or sign up for classes to have designers treat their businesses as coffee klatches. Not interested, don't care. I will not be purchasing from this designer again.
The course, by the way, was prepaid and she was good about communication before it started. I counsel anyone who is interested in doing a course with this designer to think long and hard and know, going in, that there won't be much support and there will probably be delays and possibly even not finishing of the course.
It's done! I managed to complete this Group Correspondence Course on time. I'll be sending it to Rissa next week. Everyone here loves it. I see some flaws, but I learned a lot. The lower picture was taken yesterday evening before I finished. I just got up this morning and worked on it until about noon. Today's been a rainy day in Normandy, so it was a good day to stay home. This makes finish number five of my 25 project challenge. I'm so happy it's complete! I'd been feeling (again) like I'd not been making much progress.
Since Lynn requested it, here's some of what we saw inside. The Normandy Museum isn't an art museum - it documents the life and culture of Normandy. There are a lot of results of archaeological digs and several pieces of farm equipment. The statue here is a mother goddess from the Gallic era, influenced by Rome ( I think the sign said ~200 BCE). It was in pieces and they put it back together. 
The lace here is the only piece they had being put together. There are other pieces (a really pretty wedding dress), but this is all I got a picture of. This same room also had a collection of hats - the kinds of hats different villages used. All were very fine cotton voile starched stiff with lace additions. I couldn't imagine why some of the shapes were used, though. One looked almost like a duck sitting on someone's head.
My husband loves old furniture, so I took a picture of this for him. He'll probably incorporate some of this into one of his designs (in his meager spare time, he makes furniture). It's a pretty chest that looks like it was once in a church, possibly to hold the candles.
I really liked the design on this cidre jug. Cidre and calvados are the two drinks of Normandy. Cidre comes in two types - dry an sweet. Sweet tastes like drinking an apple pie. Dry (brut) is better. Calvados is rotgut until it finally starts smoothing out after aging at least oh ... twenty years?
I really liked the design on this GalloRoman brooch dug up in Normandy. I might use its pattern to design something.
My son and I went to Caen yesterday to the Normandy Museum to work on my Legacy scholarship from the EGA. It's in the Ducal Chateau - originally built by William of Normandy (yes, the 1066 William). The walls rise about fifty feet above the town center and there are several buildings inside. It was all rebuilt after World War Two. 
As you can see, the French have a penchant for ignoring handicapped access. Their stairs are steep and there's no way to get around them. Makes a pretty scary picture! 
This is the entrance to the chateau area. Rather imposing.
I -think- this is the Abbaye aux Hommes. Whatever it is, it's just across the street from the chateau walls and it caught my interest.
I've been able to make some progress on this. The thread feels good in my hands and I like watching the pattern take form. What's better is I haven't had to stitch any with the honeydew until today. The honeydew, to me, is a filling color. It's pretty enough on its own, but the pattern's darker colors are more dominant to me. Someone is already done with part six of this - it's in the yahoogroup photos. It's gorgeous. I still think this color background is the best for it.
