New Tea Towels in Shop
Hello Colorful Friends!
It's been a trying week here at Leyden Glen Farm. On Tuesday Stella the Blizzard arrived and dumped at least 12 inches of snow on us. The wind was brutal - blowing the snow into huge drifts. I help out at the barns a couple times a day feeding hay and watering the sheep and lambs. The other day I came home to find a lamb we were nursing back to health in our kitchen sitting on the couch. I grabbed my camera quick and caught her in the act - see photo above. Needless to say, if the lamb was well enough to be on the couch, it was time for it to go back to the barn and be a sheep. She is doing fine - learning to nurse off the multi-teat bucket which the other bottle lambs feed off of.
You probably know the term "Mommy Brain." Around here it is "Lambing Brain." It is hard to focus on other things when there is so much going on.
I've been in a bit of a creative slump and trying to work my way out of it. This week, I sewed a mess of Tea Towels printed with my very own textile designs. They are now in my Etsy Shop here. I've included photos of some of them at the end of the newsletter. They will make a nice gift for the upcoming spring holiday season.
This week and next, I will be working on the copy edits for my upcoming book Crafting A Patterned Home. It is the second to the last time I will see it before it goes off to print. Getting scary! It doesn't come out until sometime in 2018. Long process.
Here are some things I found on the web that I think you might find interesting:
• Julia and I made THIS CHOCOLATE CAKE during Blizzard Stella. What a fantastic recipe. We used a traditional buttercream frosting. Yum.
• Just saw this super cute Granny Square Crochet Sweater on Anthro. And look at this Crochet Cardigan.
• These photos from the Indian Festival of Holi which happened last Sunday are amazing. I love that COLOR plays the most important part of the festival -- red (for love and fertility), blue (for Krishna), yellow (for turmeric) and green (for spring)
• An interesting use for wool from the UK called Chimney Sheep! Check it out here. Clever.
• I have recommended The Shepherd's Life by British sheep farmer James Rebanks before. Recently he was in the US for a book tour for his new book A Shepherd's View and he wrote this piece for the Opinion Page of the NY Times. Both Mark and I think it is highly suggested reading.
• This video teaches how to paint horizontal stripes on walls in your home. Really clear instructions. Wish there were videos like this when I was figuring it out 30 years ago! Get stripey.
• Erin and her team at Floret Flower Farm did a virtual video book launch for her new book The Cut Flower Garden. What a great way to launch a book. Fun farm tour and the personalities really shone through on the video. This book is #127 on Amazon, just launched a week ago and is already in its 4th printing. Serious trend folks - the local farmer grown flowers that is. Maybe I will do a video book launch when my next book eventually launches next year. I can dream.
• I just heard about some great tours of India centered around textiles run by Colouricious. They would be a dream trip. They leave from the UK. See photos from the trip on Kim's blog here, here and here.
I hope spring is coming soon to you if you are in the northern hemisphere. It seems like it may never come here but we know it will. Have a great week.
Yours in color and creativity,
Kristin Nicholas
www.kristinnicholas.com
getting-stitched-on-the-farm.blogspot.com/
www.leydenglenlamb.com
A fun video of our farm, our farmhouse, and my family.