Spring is Slowly Arriving.....

Here at our farm in western Massachusetts

Hello Colorful Friends:

There are small signs of spring and the coming warmer months popping up here at our farm in western Massachusetts. The daffodils are up and some are blooming. Little bulbous plants are begining to bloom. I planted a couple hundred bulbs last fall and now I am hoping they too will bloom.

This Saturday the 18th (and for the next 30-ish weeks), I’ll be at Opening Day of the Amherst Farmers Market. I’m looking forward to seeing folks after a winter of being rather cooped up and trying to keep warm. It was a long, very cold winter. I’m going to be firing my kiln this week and will be bringing some of these pots to the market.

Lambing is almost finished for the year. We’ve had a few more lambs the past couple weeks including the cutest set of triplets. Two of the triplets are in the photo below. One is a bottle lamb (ewes only have two teats) and it always greets us with enthusiastic baaaahhhhhhs wanting some sustenance to fill up its tummy. They are growing quickly considering how tiny they were when they were born.

The first born lambs are really growing. They are so playful - running and butting heads and generally acting like teenagers.

I’m glad winter has finally subsided. This week, they say we might hit 80 degrees, which if I am honest, is going to be a bit of a shock. Soon, the sheep will move out to pasture. I’m trying to figure out what to do with my garden situation. At this point in my life, I don’t want to overdo it and make too much work for myself. And besides, I’ve got lots of pottery to make and decorate and tea towels to design which is where my creative efforts are leading me.

Some Good Links for you after a long, long winter……

• If you are of a certain age, you probably know this fabric. It was designed by Susan Collier - one half of the sister design team Collier Campbell. Susan passed away in 2011 at the age of 72 but her sister Sarah Campbel is still working in London designing and teaching surface design at the age of 80. Their work is being featured in a retrospective exhibit called Paint, Pattern, Print at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London until September 13, 2026. If you are a fan of Liberty fabrics, you will recognize many of the featured designs. Here’s a fabulous article about Sarah Campbell from the World of Interiors.

• If you are looking for inspiration as you grow older, here is a feature on five women artists and designers who continued creating art and work up until the end of their lives.

• Over the past several years, I’ve found a new love in growing geraniums in pots. Every autumn, I drag all the pots inside and keep them alive in various windows. I love that they bloom all year long and that they really aren’t fussy. They prefer to be on the dry side making them perfect for folks like me who forget to water house plants frequently. This article by Cath Kidston gives a nice introduction to geranium care.

• Last year, I went on a de-accessioning jag of my bookshelves. I will admit — it was so difficult to do but I have run out of bookshelves and there are teetering piles in every room of the house. This article made me feel a bit better. And honestly, if a house doesn’t have books, I feel it is really missing something.

• I must admit that I had never thought about unraveling a store bought sweater to re-use the yarn. This excellent article tells you how to do it and why you and I might want to think about attempting it.

• In my last newsletter, I featured a helpful article about AI and the changing world as we will experience. Many of you read it and commented back to me on its helpfulness. Here is another helpful article to help you navigate the internet without AI ruling your searches. This article is written by a librarian. I always marvel that librarians have all the answers. This article lets us regular folks in to one of their secrets for finding information.

• Lastly, here is a trailer for the movie The Sheep Detectives releasing May 8th. Looks entertaining…..

That’s it for today. I hope you are welcoming spring and the arrival of color and flowers wherever you are. Maybe I will meet you at the Amherst Farmers Market some Saturday this season.

Colorfully yours,

Kristin Nicholas