Purrfect Thread Keepers from Lili-Rose in Albi, France

Lili-Rose in Albi, France sent me images of her hand-painted threadkeepers and frankly I couldn't keep them to myself - so here you are. They are the neatest accessories and would make perfect gifts for the holiday season. And there are no language problems if you are not a Francophone, the website is in English. Just click here to visit.

Actually Albi is on my list of places to revisit in 2012. Home to the Albigenses, famous for their total suppression and annihilation in the Albigensian Crusades of the 13th century, details of which you can read in the superbly written Montaillou by Emmanuel La Roy Ladurie.

And Albi is a UNESCO World Heritage site with the most astonishing brick-built Cathedral - which, as coincidence would have it, was a great inspiration to Sir Edward Maufe, architect of our cathedral in Guildford. And as coincidence would further have it - I had lunch with his two grand-daughters just today. We were talking more about the work of Edward's wife, Lady Maufe, who founded the Broderers' Guild of Guildford Cathedral and was responsible for the design of many of the textiles in use in the Cathedral. Lady Maufe was also a director of Heal's the London furnishing and design store on Tottenham Court Road. And as coincidence would continue, the Maufe family, were originally Muff of Brown, Muff of Bradford, the store to shop, sometimes called the Harrods of the North, when I was a child. So we had a great deal to share and lunch was long and delightful. Now I need a good threadkeeper to hang this long yarn on!