Roses and Diamonds Slipcovered Chair

Hello Colorful Friends!

I have had a busy few weeks since I last wrote you. I held my last Creative Retreat of 2016 here at Leyden Glen Farm. It focused on Knitting, Embroidery on Knits and Color. It was a lovely, if very small, group of knitters and we enjoyed each other's company so much.

Last week, Rikki Snyder came for 2 days and we shot several projects that will be featured in my upcoming book Crafting a Patterned Home. Here is a sneak peek of Rikki shooting in my new Pottery Throwing She Shed. Those two days were jam packed with creativity and physical work. Gail Callahan, aka The Kangaroo Dyer, helped out one day - thanks Gail. (Check out her new website here.)

Something hysterical happened towards the end of the second day of the shoot. You can read about it on this blog post here - it is towards the end and it involves sheep.

I am getting closer to my deadline for the manuscript. The next couple weeks will be full of making and writing. I hope I get it all done. Deadlines really make me tick. I find huge surges in my creativity as I realize that it is getting to the last minute to make and do. I have several projects that I have had the ideas for floating around in my head for years that will hopefully come to fruition. What about you? Do you love or loathe deadlines? Would love to hear.

Here is a sneak peek of a Paisley Motif I have been printing. I love a good paisley.

Did you notice the header photograph above? My friend Kimberly Chagnon of Kim's Upsholstery (an on-line upholstery teaching site) made me a slipcover for the wing chair in our kitchen. I ordered the linen/cotton canvas from Spoonflower. The fabric is designed by me! I love how it turned out. I also have the fabric in 3 other color ways. Check it out here. If you don't know what Spoonflower is, it is a digital fabric printing company that offers designers the ability to design their own fabric and have it printed onto fabric, wallpaper and wrapping paper. As a designer, one can offer your own designs for sale to the public. When a buyer orders any fabric from Spoonflower, the designer will receive a small commission. They have many beautiful fabrics available and can even print on removable wallpaper and wrapping paper.

Here are some interesting things that I have found this week:

• There is an interesting discussion on Houzz about using books as decoration. Check it out here. Me? I do use books for decoration in almost all the rooms of my house. They are all books I have acquired over the years. When I walk into a house without books, I always wonder how the inhabitants survive.

• Speaking of books, I think I may have to put this book on Estonian Knitting on my Christmas Wish List. . You can read a Book Review about it on Kate Davies' blog here.

• I love these blue kitchens.

• It is Wool Week in Great Britain. There is even a Wool Bnb in London. Check it out here.

• We had our first frost. Although some of my flowers survived, I am looking towards a flowerless year ahead. Abigail Ahearn from London sells some pretty amazing fake flowers. Check them out here. I wonder if anyone in the US is doing something like this.

• Speaking of flowers, Floret Flower Farm in Washington State is now selling fall planting bulbs and (soon) seeds mail-order. They have a lovely website and blog too.

Yours in color and creativity,

Kristin Nicholas

It's not too early to think about knitting some Christmas Stockings. Check out my colorful patterns here and here.

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.