March News from Kristin Nicholas Designs
Hello Colorful Friends!
OMG, what a few weeks it has been since I last wrote. As we sit here in this new reality, you reading this on your phone or computer in a possibly self-imposed state of homebound hours, I am thinking about all of you wonderful creative folks who have supported me over the years. I do not have any sage words of advice as we all navigate the new normal. Each evening The Farmer and I watch the news and look at each other and say "We are living history." I've got nine chickens in the freezer, one 12 pack of toilet paper, a gallon of milk and we are hoping for the best.
Life goes on at the farm. The sheep are still lambing. It's been a long and steady lambing season. Now, the yearlings are beginning to lamb. When I arrived at the barn yesterday, I found this brand new mama and lamb. An older lamb was trying to steal the colostrum from the new mama. I tucked the lamb and mama into a pen and in a few minutes, she was up and nursing - getting those all important antibodies that the colostrum provides.
I just received my sample prints of my new tea towels for the upcoming Farmers Market Season. I'll share them with you in my next newsletter. It took me 3 weeks to get the designs done and I'm hoping they will sell. I always order more colors than I will print because when printed, they look quite different than the computer screen.
Julia and I were planning on visiting my Mom for her spring break but we cancelled our trip. We are staying close to home. Her college is closed for the rest of the semester. It is almost the end of sugaring season here in western Massachusetts. The grass is starting to show hints of green. The deer are out grazing every evening. I can tell the sheep are starting to yearn for fresh green grass.
In knitting news, I've been knitting the Farmer and his animals from my World Knits Pattern Collection. They are part of this pattern - The Eclectic Gift Collection. Available on Ravelry here and on my website here.
I wrote a funny post about Farmer knitting here. I am planning to blog a bit more this week. I hope it will help distract you from the news. I also find that in this time of uncertainty, the one good thing you can do for yourself and family is cook good meals and create something with your hands that will bring you some peace and distraction. I'm going to be working on my knitted farm and I will share it over on my blog. I took out 4 DVDs from the library of an oldie but goodie Monarch of The Glen.
Because you may be homebound more than normal, may I suggest some of my online classes. On Creativebug, I teach 4 knitting classes where you can actually see me knitting and follow along. New to Fair Isle Knitting? A beginner's Fair Isle Hat is a great place to start. Check it out here.
I also teach a fantastic class on Crewel Embroidery called Stitch It With Wool over on the Craftsy/Bluprint site. All the supplies (which are difficult to find) are available on my website here.
Here are some good links I have discovered.
• Interesting article about wearing older clothing over on The Guardian. The Farmer and I are so with these folks although I do splurge on new undies.
• This colorful patterned furniture is handmade and decorated with dyed rye straw. Incredible.
• Textile artist Mandy Pattulo visited the Gees Bend quilts at the Turner Contemporary Museum in the UK and posted lots of photos. I have never seen some of these stunning quilts.
• I just discovered the incredible decorated farmhouses of central Sweden. Check out a 4 minute video here and learn more about them here. See more photos here. Stunning!
• Amy Azzarito has a new book out called The Elements of Home. There is a good Book Review about it here. Sounds really interesting to me.
• I enjoyed this blog post by Jon Katz bringing some reason to the current situation.
• This by Austin Kleon about working from home.
Our latest litter of kittens is almost ready to fly the coop. Here are 4 of the 5 sleeping on a wooly blanket in the kitchen. Pretty soon they won't fit on the chair. These four look just like their Daddy Henry. Here's a short video of them playing with ribbons hanging from a door knob.
Stay safe everyone. Keep your family close. I am thinking of you all. Would love to hear how you are coping.
Yours in color and creativity,
Kristin Nicholas
PS. Below I have included the 15 World Knits PDF Downloads along with links to blog posts about them and where to purchase. Thanks so much for your incredible support of my work.
Ethnic Gift Collection Blog Post HERE
Purchase from my website here
or on Ravelry here
Inspired Interiors Blog Post Here
Purchase from my website here
or on Ravelry here
Wild Wooly Headgear blog post here
Purchase on my website here
or on Ravelry here
Brilliant Bags blog post here
Order on my website here
or on Ravelry here
Warm Wooly Wraps blog post here
Order on my website here
or on Ravelry here
Vivaciously Vibrant Vests
Order on my website here
or on Ravelry here
Whimsical Tea Cozies
Order on my website here
or on Ravelry here
Magnificent Mittens Blog Post here
Purchase from my website here
or from Ravelry here
Magical Mocassins blog post here
Order on my website here
or on Ravely here
Marvelous Mukluks blog post here
Purchase on my website here
or on Ravelry here
Moroccan Fedoras blog post here
Order from my website here
or from Ravelry here
Outlandishly Happy Gloves blog post
Purchase from my website here
or from Ravelry here
Ferociously Funny Socks blog post
Purchase from my website here
or on Ravelry here
Peruvian Ch'ulla blog post
Order from my website here
or from Ravelry here
Andean Inspired Dolls blog post here
Order on my website here
or on Ravelry 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.