Read about my new summer project.
Hello Colorful Friends:
AHHHHH summer. We are thick in the middle of it here in western Massachusetts. Boy does it fly by as we fit in normal life with all that summer offers. Julia is turning 17 tomorrow! She is enjoying her summer off - sleeping late and reading book after book - even if it is on her cellphone. She has figured out the library's interlibrary loan system for audio, digital, and regular books. She is reading all the time. Until 2 in the morning. She has discovered biographies and memoirs. I love to see her so excited about books. (Some of my favorite books are below - Photo by Rikki Snyder.)
When I was a little girl, we used to visit my Mom's Mom and Dad in the Hudson Valley of NY. My grandma Helen - who we called Hon - was rather prim and proper and we were to be on our best behavior always. I was not a wild child and I was the oldest daughter so I was always looking out for my other sisters - hoping they wouldn't break the rules and (now I know) embarrass my parents.
The absolute best thing about visiting my grandparent's house was the porch swing. It was smooth white leather and huge and hung on 4 chains suspended from the wainscotted ceiling. My sisters and I loved to swing on that swing and I'm sure my Mom was just hoping we didn't get it going fast and hard enough to push the side of the porch away.
I have not really thought much about that swing until I saw this article on the web about porch swings. It makes me re-assess the design of my porch and wonder if there is room for one of our own. Maybe someday.
I have just started a new project - I am going to make a slipcover for a chair I bought at a junk store. I have been taking a fantastic class by Cherie Killilea How to Slipcover A Chair class over on Craftsy. Use this link to check out the class too.
Before I make my slipcover, I hand-printed my orange linen. I chose some simple shapes - ovals and circles. You can see the color testing I did of the inks on the header bar above. I am using Neopaque Fabric Paints from Jacquard. You can find them here.
And now I am going to embroider the handprinted fabric. Stay tuned for my progress. It may take me a long time but it is fun to have a long-term project ahead of me.
My garden is coming along. I'm in massive mulching mode now. Grow, grow, grow little plants!
You can check out a new video up on the Houzz.com website where I do a quick HOW-TO demonstrating how I painted my Colorful Stairwell. Check it out on this page. The How-To Video will play right after the main video OR you can click on it to watch it. (Sorry, no embed code that works right now! It isn't up on YouTube.)
I taught a fantastic Fabric Printing Retreat here at the farm this weekend. You can read about it over on my blog here. In a couple weeks, I am hosting a Crewel Embroidery Retreat. You can still come. Check it out here.
Here are some interesting things I found on the web recently.
• Did you know Paypal has been split off from Ebay and is now a separately publicly traded company with the ticker symbol PYPL? I like to follow the business world even if I'm not much of an investor. My favorite show is NPR's Marketplace.
• There is a fantastic post over on the Floret Flower blog about cutting flowers with tips for longer vase life. Check it out here.
• Via Abby Glassenberg, I learned about this artist who combines line drawings with embroidery. Beautiful.
• Sweet corn is just coming in. I think this Corn and Rice Salad sounds delish.
With Colorful Best Wishes,
Kristin Nicholas
p.s. In case you missed it - A few short weeks ago, a film crew was here from California to film me and my family and our colorful home. The resulting video is now on YouTube. If you know of anyone who might enjoy watching the video, please pass on the link.
https://youtu.be/4TI9SRIVJNg
Here is the link to share with your friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TI9SRIVJNg