The Knitting Salon is a small autumn retreat at Château de Borie for knitters who already love the craft and want the rare luxury of several uninterrupted days to make something beautiful. Over five days and four nights, you will learn new techniques from Julie Dubreux, work on a project designed especially for the château, and knit alongside a small group of people who understand why anyone would travel to France to do it.

Led by Julie and hosted by Abby Carter, the retreat alternates three guided workshops with long stretches of relaxed, communal knitting. Julie is on hand for all of it, so a tricky decrease or a colour question never has to wait. The word salon is meant in the old French sense: a gathering with good company, good conversation and something in your hands. Chef James cooks, there is an afternoon out to see a little of southwest France, and nobody is expected to finish anything by Wednesday.

November suits this. The fires are lit, there are baskets of yarn within reach, dinners are long, and nobody needs to be anywhere else.

Julie Dubreux is a knitwear designer and knitting instructor whose love for the knitting community shows in her colourful collaborations with independent dyers around the world, and in a particular fondness for brioche.

Her designs have been published in Pom Pom Quarterly, Laine Magazine and Knit Now UK, and in books including I Knit Paris, My Favourite Things and Homecoming.

An outgoing, dynamic teacher, Julie draws on her experience as a high-school teacher to manage groups of knitters with different levels of ability, so that nobody feels left out and everyone learns something new. Her teaching is patient, friendly and inclusive, and just as much about everyday tips (reading your knitting, understanding what is happening on your needles, trying new things without fear) as about the intricate stuff.

When Julie takes part in a retreat, she takes part fully: the workshops, the open knitting hours and the evenings by the fire. Bring your questions, and bring your needles. She brings a trunk show of her designs.

Château de Borie is both a home and a gathering place, created for people in transition who are seeking creativity, beauty, and meaningful connection.

I’m Abby—an author and abstract painter—and this château grew out of a life shaped by reinvention and an enduring belief in the healing power of creativity.

Set in the countryside of southwest France, Borie is intentionally intimate, rooted in shared meals, conversation, and time well spent. It exists to support renewal, belonging, and the courage to imagine what comes next.