Boutis is a very old needlework technique with a long and varied history. Some people think boutis is trapunto quilting, but it isn't and should not be confused with that. Boutis is completely reversible and has only 2 layers of fabric, unlike regular quilting. It requires a skilled needleworker, is durable, and easy to do; however, it is labour intensive but well worth the effort.

Our group has now completed three such needlework adventures but the trip to France was quite spectacular.

We booked a property through the Landmark Trust and which could accommodate our entire group (16) at one site.

Le Moulin de la Tuilerie was the home of the former Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It began as a mill as early as 1500 underwent several changes and a corner stone on the main house is dated 1734.


The Duchess made many renovations in order to accommodate her lifestyle. The couple rented space in Paris but actually owned Le Moulin. She would often send some of her 17 staff into the country to prepare for their many weekend guests at the 'country' home.

It was quite exciting to live in such a wonderful estate and even more exciting to have Madame Marie Christine Flocard, an expert in the boutis technique, come to the house and teach a workshop.

As an added bonus, her personal friend, Kathryn Berenson, came in from Paris and joined us for lunch and an afternoon of stitching and history. Kathryn has recently donated her entire collection of antique pieces to the Quilt Study Centre at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and in fact was speaking there on the weekend of April 1st. She brought her book, and the exhibition books along with her and we had the opportunity to acquire autographed copies. You may have noticed an article in the April/May issue of Quilter's Newsletter magazine. The friend Kathryn refers to in the article is indeed Madame Flocard and she brought along the piece she is working on as mentioned in the magazine article. We were able to see it up close and personal as well as some other pieces brought along for our perusal.

We catered our own four course meals complete with wine pairings in a kitchen to die for and it was truly a memorable experience and one we will not soon forget.

If anyone is interested, you can Google "Landmark Trust" and see pictures of all the properties that" are available for rent. Even if you never use a Landmark property, you might want to purchase the catalogue. It makes a wonderful coffee table book and is a pretty good history book.

Where to next? We're not sure but we do have a member in our guild who is originally from Milan and who could certainly act as an interpreter if we went to Italy? We'll just have to wait and see.