Summer Sunflower Linocut Experimentation
Hello Colorful Friends!
We are in the home stretch to the end of summer. It has been incredibly hot and humid here at the farm. Yesterday we got some much needed rain. I think the sunflowers in the garden have grown 6 inches today.
The second Creative Retreat of the year here at Leyden Glen Farm was a couple weeks ago. I taught Fabric Printing on Day One and on Day Two we did Embroidery on our hand-printed fabrics. You can read about it and see lots of photos on my blog here and here. The students made some incredible projects. It is fun to follow their progress as they continue work on their projects on their Instagram accounts.
I began another embroidery project on a piece of hand-printed linen. It is a perfect summer project - easy to carry and not too hot to work on. (I sell all kinds of supplies for embroidery on my website HERE.)
This week I have been fooling around with linocuts. Here's a sunflower block I made. I'm going to do more of these. They are lots of fun to make. I plan to print fabric with them.
Here are some tests on different colors of fabrics.
There is still time to register for the last Creative Retreat of 2016. It features Color, Knitting, Steeking, and Embroidery on Knits:
• September 24-25 - Color + Embroidery for Knitters + Crocheters - 6 spaces are currently available. There are 1 and 2 day options.
More information on my website here. I provide morning snacks, lunch and beverages but dinner and lodging are on your own. Here's info for that:
"Where To Stay"
"Where To Eat"
Textile designer extraordinaire Kaffe Fassett has a new book coming out in September called Bold Blooms. I review it on my blog. AND there is a giveaway contest there too which ends Monday at 11:59 p.m. EST. Check it out here.
Here are some things that I have found interesting this week:
• A photographer named Kevin Horan has been taking a series of incredible portraits of sheep and goats. Check it out here.
• Check out these incredible photos of Ukranian women wearing traditional style headdresses made of flowers and pom poms. Their traditional folk style clothing is amazing too. Flowers, embroidery, and traditional clothing all rolled into one photo. Gorgeous.
• Love these new fabrics from Rifle Paper Company.
• It's pickling time. I'm making classic Bread and Butter Pickles. Julia is making Lacto-Fermented Pickles.
• More pom poms via Selvedge Magazine. You know I can't get enough pom poms. Check out my video to make your own Pom Pom Garland - a perfect project for summer days.
• I just discovered a British company called deVol Kitchens that makes gorgeous kitchens including handmade ceramic sinks. Check them out here.
• Last newsletter I mentioned an essay written by Grace Bonney entitled "The White Wall Controversy." I forgot the link so here it is this week.
My best for a colorful and creative end of summer ahead.
Kristin Nicholas
A fun video of our farm, our farmhouse, and my family. A good preview for sure if you are thinking of coming to my Creative Knitting Retreat this September.