Happy Spring from Kristin Nicholas Designs
Hello Colorful Friends!
September has been flying by here in western Massachusetts. We are towards the end of the growing season. The sunflowers are at their peak now, the winter squash is curing, and the nights are beginning to feel chilly. I do love this time of year - even if I am dreading the ice and snow that will be coming soon. There is the solace and warmth of the wood stove in the evenings though.
I have just written a new blog post loaded with photos of the beautiful sunflowers I grow in my garden every year here at our farm. Check out the photos here over on my blog. Each flower and plant is a miracle that grows from a small seed less than 1/2".
It is breeding season for our sheep. The ewes are in different fields near our farm. Each individual flock needs its own ram so that there will be lambs come January. Here is a photo of the sheep at the top of the hill just after we introduced a new ram to the girls. You can see him on the left side of the photo. He weighs almost twice as much as the ewes do.
My husband Mark, aka The Farmer, has recovered remarkably well from his second hip replacement surgery via the anterior method. He has been able to do most of the farm chores that had become so difficult for him. He was even able to wrestle this 300 pound ram and we got him loaded onto the trailer earlier this week. He is so happy to be feeling better and is looking forward to his next 20 years of farming.
In the last newsletter I introduced my Instagram Self-Challenge 100 Days of Vases - #100daysofvases. I'm happy to report I haven't missed a day. (Actually I am amazed at myself -- self discipline and organization are not one of my strong points.) I suppose the immediacy and instant publishing is a good thing for someone like me. Thank you to all of you have commented, liked and cheered me on. It means a lot to me. You can follow this challenge on Instagram here and on my Kristin Nicholas Designs Facebook Page here.
My little pottery shed has seen a lot of action this summer with all the making I have been doing. If you are wondering why I'm making all these pots, it is in preparation for next weekend's North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival in Orange, MA September 28/29 where I am having a booth. I'll be selling my pots, my books, and my tea towels and I'm hoping for a good show. The Garlic and Arts Festival draws a big crowd. The goal of the Festival is to celebrate years of fun, farms, families, food and community-building through art and music. Maybe I will see some of you there. The festival on September 28/29 is located just off Route 2 and there are excellent parking and shuttle bus services. More info here.
Mark and I continue to sell our lamb, my pottery and tea towels at the Amherst Farmers Market every Saturday from 7:30 to 1:30. I have been thrilled to meet several readers of this newsletter and Instagram friends at the market who have come to buy vases and lamb. The market continues until the weekend before Thanksgiving so maybe I will see you there.
For all of you who live far from western Massachusetts, I will be selling my ceramics on-line this fall. Right now I am concentrating on production but don't worry - they will be available if you are interested. I will announce the Shop Update first here on this newsletter so stay tuned. The vase below is a wall vase that I made especially for our downstairs bathroom to corral all of Julia's beauty accessories. It works great as a flower display too.
OMG - I just proof-read this and I realize there is not a stitch about knitting, sewing or embroidery. So sorry friends - pottery is all I can think about now. But maybe a little 4 footed friend needs a new sweater for fall. Pattern comes in 8 sizes and is available on my website here or on Ravelry here. I hope to have some new knitting content for you soon. In the meantime, my PDF patterns are available here.
You can follow my 100 Days of Vases project on Instagram here or on my Kristin Nicholas Designs Facebook page here.
Lastly - if you have gotten this far - my friends and I will be having my Annual Holiday Open House November 30 and December 1st. Mark your calendar if you want to save the date to come.
Here are some good links I have found. I'm sorry the list is a bit short this time but I've been too busy making pots to spend much time on the internet.
• This short 6 minute video on Alexander Girard is inspiring.
• Tender Buttons - the iconic button store in NYC - has closed. Here is a article about it.
• At the V&A in London there is an exhibit called The Ingenious Mr Leman: Designing Spitalfields Silks. If you won't be in London before October 20th, check out the article about this talented silk textile designer here on the blog Spitalfields Life. Mr. Leman's silks are "vibrant and inventive designs of the earliest complete patterns for woven silks known to survive" according to the V&A. I am continually inspired by them. I hope someone writes a book about them so I can hold the designs in my hands.
• Artist, blogger, television craft personality and maker Julie Fei-Fan Balzer has all kinds of crafting successes. Here she writes about one of her failures. I think it is good to share the good with the not so good. (Thanks Darby for the initial intro to Julie.)
• September is Hydrocephalus Awareness Month. Our daughter Julia was born with this life threatening condition 21 years ago. She had her first brain surgery at 3 days and has had many since. One in 1000 babies are born with hydrocephalus. This Dad is raising awareness in a unique way. You can watch a short video about his project here.
Podcasts to listen to:
• An interview with the "Life Is Good" guys on How I Built This here.
• A short podcast with Martha Stewart.
Hope to see some of you at the Garlic Festival next weekend September 28/29. More info here.
Yours in color and creativity,
Kristin Nicholas
p.s. Visit my Instagram here. Or see me once in a while on Facebook here.
Here is a video of my Talk at Google. I went to Cambridge, Massachusetts and spoke at their offices there in late June.
A fun video of our farm, our farmhouse, and my family. Our farm is located 2 hours from Boston and 3 1/2 hours from NYC. We are at the northern most part of western Massachusetts bordering Vermont. Our farm is 15 minutes off of Route 91, the north/south highway connecting Montreal to NYC.