Today I headed off to Dorset and StitchnCraft Beads to teach my Rivoli Roses and had such a lovely day. It's a treat to visit the shop (though I'm not sure my bank balance agrees!) catch up with friends and even finally meet people I have emailed and 'facebooked' for years and years.

Whilst there I managed to do a bit of shopping..all essentials of course.

I originally came across Soutache being used in beadwork when I first taught in France (boy does that bring back some memories!) and was shown some work. Since then I have often thought about it so it has been interesting to see its recent rise in popularity.

So, when I got to StitchnCraft and saw the lovely colours they had available...it was inevitable that I would buy some. I won't get a chance to play with it for at least a month or so but I'm hoping that I can put a new twist on it and I alos have some geometric ideas for it...