Late June News from Kristin Nicholas Designs
Hello Colorful Friends!
Gee - we have had a crazy summer here at our Leyden Glen Farm. I haven't had time to get a newsletter out since June. I'll try to fill you in on some of it.
The biggest obstacle of the summer has been that my husband Mark - aka The Farmer - had his left hip replaced in the middle of July. He has been in a lot of pain for many, many months and was looking forward to the surgery. It went well but he has been very slow to heal. Needless to say, he hasn't been able to take care of the sheep at all. He still cannot walk without a cane and it will be several months of recovery. Although the pain is gone in his new hip, he is left with his second hip that also has to be replaced. He will be meeting with his surgeon within the next two weeks and will talk about a second replacement.
His surgery has meant that I have been left to care for the sheep as best as I can. I have some help from a couple of local guys who are good with the tractor and can climb and maneuver in the barn with more agility than this almost 60 year old woman. My neighbors have stepped in to help me when the sheep have escaped their fences. I call all these kind folks my Farm Angels. It is all quite overwhelming and I could write a book about all the trials and tribulations that my summer has been. I'm not new to sheep farming by any means - I have been living with it for 34 plus years - BUT this is the first time Mark has had to step back and let me be "in charge" such as it is.
In the midst of all the sheep chaos, I have hosted 2 weekend long Creative Retreats here at our farm. You can read about them over on my blog here. Click each title for a link to the post which highlights what students did. We have done Fabric Printing and Embroidery, Ceramic Tile Painting, Decorative Furniture Painting, and Fabric Stamping.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING CREATIVE KNITTING RETREATS -
After much consideration, I have decided that this September's Knitting Retreat will be the last knitting retreat I will teach. If you have always wanted to take a knitting class with me here at the farm, please come this September as there will be no more.
SEE THIS PAGE ON MY WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO AND TO SIGN UP. Come for both days and the price is $375.
September 23 - Color for Knitters and Crocheters and Embroidery on Knit/Crochet $199
September 24 - Crazy Swatch Afghan $199
Back in June, I travelled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to Google's offices. I was invited to give a talk about my new book Crafting A Patterned Home. My Talk at Google is now live! I have embedded it below or you can watch it on Youtube on the Talks at Google Channel here. Thanks so much to David for asking and organizing it. It has got to be one of the most memorable moments of my career. And I got "major Mom points" from Julia as I brought her with me.
Copies of my new book Crafting A Patterned Home are still available HERE on my website. Freebies included plus FREE SHIPPING. $24.95 My family and I appreciate your support. Truly we do.
Thanks to everyone who answered my call for a book review on Amazon. There are 46 good reviews so far. If you would like to leave one, I would appreciate it.
So that is it here from the farm. I haven't had a lot of time to spend on the internet. Here are some links I have found that you too might enjoy.
• Somehow I want to get here this fall. Only 3 hours away. I'm hoping.
• I made this Yellow Squash Soup and it was delicious. I have a real glut of Summer Squash this year - a welcome thing. (via Ann Wood.)
• Have you seen these cute sheep bowls and sheep glasses? Sweet.
• After all my farming trials and tribulations the past few weeks, I got a real kick out of this article. It looks pastoral from the outside but farming is anything but.
• This restaurant is getting quite the buzz. Considering it is in the middle of nowhere.
Thank you for reading. Enjoy the rest of your summer.
Yours in color and creativity,
Kristin Nicholas
www.kristinnicholas.com
getting-stitched-on-the-farm.blogspot.com/
Here is a video of my Talk at Google. I went to Cambridge, Massachusetts and spoke at their offices there in late June.
Crazy Quilt Swatch Afghan September 23
Embroidery on Knits September 22
Small class size adds intimate learning experiences!
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.