I never know

I walk on our peaceful road with my dogs as many times a week as I have time for. Sometimes I do the long walk, sometimes the short. Barely do I ever see a human or an automobile. Even though I am often alone in my thoughts, I am always fascinated with what things I do find.

Sometimes I bring my camera. When I do, it certainly slows my progress because I tend to pay more attention to every little thing when I have it in my hands. Not a bad thing – I’ve just got to have the time to slow down which these days isn’t available. It’s all I can do today, to get to what I have to do, without adding unnecessary things – even though I like to do them.

Last week, when I wasn't quite as frantic, I took a walk without my camera. I was barely 100 yards from the house when I heard a sound I didn't recognize. I thought it was some kind of woodpecker. Upon arriving at the general area of the sound, I looked up and saw some tiny raccoons clinging to a large old maple. I ran back to the house to get my camera, ran back to the tree. By that time, they were almost back in their little hole. Here they are.


Those little guys made my day. I walked further up the road with my mind racing about the little guys. Where was their mom? Were they alone? Did that giant coyote I saw the week before do her in? Were they alone and fending for themselves?

I kept walking up, up, up. I came to the swinging gate. The gate to nowhere. I pass this gate a lot. Sometimes it is creaking. Sometimes it is singing. Sometimes it is gently moving with the breeze. Sometimes it is perfectly still. I doubt the gate has been used in a long time. It's up off the road on a steep slope probably on a patch of earth where the road used to go - before the road was friendly for cows, not cars. Now it swings in the air without a care in the world keeping noone in or out - entertaining me and whoever else is fascinated by this kind of mystery who happens to walk by.


The dogs and I turn around at the top of the hill, me deciding I had better get back to my project at hand - that I have wasted enough time communing with nature. On the way down the hill, just past the swinging gate, I stop at a plant I have been looking at since it sprouted. I thought it was a trillium that hadn't bloomed. I decided to investigate.

This is what I found - a beautiful jack in the pulpit with three incredible blossoms. I am sure I have seen these before in my life - I just can't remember when.

The beautiful blossoms were a lovely dark maroon and cream stripe. The undulating path of the stripes is indescribly gentle and beautiful.


I went home, excited with what I had seen. Glad to have taken a break that day.

A Fiber Filled Weekend

Our little family headed off to Dummerston, VT with friends to meet new friends – M. and Coren and their cashmere goats. What a pleasure. I had never met a cashmere goat in person although I have worn a wee bit of their fiber. Here Juila is feeding one of the mamas some oats. What a nice afternoon. These goats originated in Maine. There's lots to learn about American cashmere goats - although after last summer's goat disaster (see August 8, 2006), I am wary of any goat living here - dairy, mohair or cashmere.


Sunday, we went to the MASS Sheep & Wool Festival and met up with some new and some old friends. It was so much fun meeting Guido of the podcast "It’s a Purl, Man" and his fiance Pumpkin. What fun they are - enthusiastic knitters too! Guido interviewed Julia – which really made her feel special. He asked her about children’s books – quite appropo for a kid who loves reading and books. Then I did a little interview for his podcast also. It was painless and fun.


I got to see the chuppah in progress that Guido and Pumpkin are making for their wedding in October. (That’s it around his neck.) What an amazing thing for a couple to do together– knit a wedding canopy. I can’t wait to see photos! In progress, it was a work of art.

I’ll let you know when the podcast is on line.

Lilac dreams

At this time of year in my garden, there is more blue and purple and pink than any other time. Blues and purples always remind me of the freshness and coolness of spring. I can’t get enough of them. The other day, our old-fashioned lilac started blooming. Behind it was a maple tree which was popping out limey and chartreuse all over. Against the blue sky, it was a beautiful sight.


Knitters often ask me how I put colors together. I've just been doing it for so long now that is hard to think about how I first started. The whole thing is very natural and intuitive. I've written a few articles on color for knitting magazines and you'll find a good color chapter in Colorful Stitchery. Right now, I am thinking about putting together some kind of talk on color that I can set up on my computer and present to interested knitters and designers for a fee.



Nature is one of the easiest places to gather color ideas. I've been taking a lot of photos to document nice color combinations in nature. I will be posting them here on my blog and hopefully translating them into swatches to post too. It's a long range project that I don't have a lot of time for - but I think it will be fun and be a learning tool I can share with knitters and stitchers when I see them in person.



I've found a new blog you might like to read - it's all about color. Here's the link to The ColourLover's blog and website. If you are a color junkie, prepare to spend a bunch of time on this website. Evidently, there are more people fascinated by color than just me. Does anyone out there know any other color blogs?

Cummington is Coming this Weekend

Julia and I will be visiting the local Sheep and Wool Festival on Sunday. For all you Boston fiberholics and knitters, Cummington is a quick drive - about two hours. It is just west of Northampton. "Cummington," as local fiber people call it, is a nice, small-time, family friendly fiber festival - dog trials, sheep shows, and some yarn but not at all crowded. It's all about the kids showing and how much work it takes to be a fiber farmer.

I have a feeling The Farmer is going to be making hay. Yes, it is that time of year already. So much hay to cut, so little time, and a business to run besides. He is hoping that the weather will cooperate and that it can all be put up into round bales and wrapped for sileage successfully. I am, on the other hand, hoping it will rain just enough on Sunday so he will race to get it all taken care of Saturday night.

I have to find a friend to go with if The Farmer can't go - I'm meeting up with Guido from "It's a Purl Man" podcast fame for a quick interview. Julia loves to talk, has been on the radio several times, and would definitely steal the show. I hope it happens because I think podcasting is a great medium .... and with my book coming out in the fall, it might help create a buzz.... I've listened to a bunch of interviews over at Knitcast. But once again, my slow connection lessens my desire to listen to podcasts that are too long. I downloaded an interview of Guido's but had to do it overnite because after 3 hours of downloading it was only 30% finished. All you out there with quick connections, I'm envious.

But then if I had a quick connection, I probably wouldn't be looking at this bucolic sight.


Nor this.


To tell you the truth, it isn't too bucolic nor pastoral - look hard. That sheep is scratching its back on our apple trees. Sheep are so totally destructive. Last week, they were grazing the lawn and The Farmer forgot to remove the Adirondack chairs. You guessed it, they are now a heap of sticks. Outdoor stuff just has a short life around here because of the darn critters. I've got to remember to just keep picking up stuff on the side of the road because anything nice in the yard is toast. Two hundred pounds of sheep times 150 can do a bunch of damage.

Plans Unfurling

I went to my class down at Marji's Ewephoric Weekend in Granby, CT. She had a great crowd of women - from experienced knitters to beginners. I tried out a new class called "The Edge of Color" which was a huge success (it was a class on different kinds of edge treatments). My embroidery on knits class was fun too but not as well attended. I think I need to make the class description a little better. Everyone from the afternoon class wanted to take the morning class after seeing what I taught - but they weren't intrigued by the class description. When I go back next year, I will write a better class description.

I previewed the knit and embroidered projects from Kristin Knits and all the knitters were totally enthusiastic and excited. I thought this was a great sign. I am supposed to see my final pages tonight - which means I'll be reading carefully, quickly to have my eyes glazed over, for days. There's a lot to read and I hope I won't have to make too many corrections. I also have my fingers crossed that I like the lay-outs and the photos and the colors - all the stuff that I have no control over. (That's very difficult for me in case you haven't guessed - I like to control everything aesthetically.)

Sunday we went for a lovely walk in our woods looking for lady slippers. Julia didn't complain at all and actually seemed quite interested in all the plants we were showing her. This is a wonderful development. She didn't fall too many times either. The wildflowers were out in abundance (the bugs weren't), along with the low-bush blueberries. We have to go back this week because there was a carpet of lady slippers that were just in bud.


The Farmer is clearing this particular piece of land he calls Mort's Pony Pasture for the sheep to graze one day. We bought the land from the heirs of an old-time farmer named Mort, hence the name. It borders the home farm where The Farmer and his brothers grew up. The Farmer has such long range vision it amazes me. He started clearing the land over ten years ago when we first bought it. Every once in a while, he goes and cuts a bunch of trees and brush hogs it later. An overgrown scrubby side of hill is now turning into a lovely field in the middle of nowhere.

Working with land isn't much different than knitting a sweater - it's a different set of skills though. It takes the same planning that I do when I design a sweater. It has the organic progression of a sweater - beginning, mistakes, ripping, changes and revisions, a little tweeking. It just takes so much longer - decades, a lifetime. I don't have any knitting projects that have lasted that long but some knitters probably do. I would get too bored and have to move on. Sometimes The Farmer hires a Professional Forester and they walk the woods together, making a plan for the trees, the harvest, and the re-growth of land after the harvest. Planning a pasture takes looking at the topography, similar to going to a yarn store and picking out a fiber and a pattern - deciding what to do with the supplies you have. But with a pasture, you look at the slope of the land, think about erosion, determine the soil quality, decide on the grasses to plant. Then you step back and let nature take its course.

Looking from the outside in, it's fascinating. All this forest and pasture management. I've been around it for years and I still am fascinated. It's amazing what one or two people can do to shape land in a good way. You've just got to have long-term vision. I compare it to putting together a book in my world - it just takes decades longer.

Publishing Yarns

Here's another interesting read about the publishing industry - but this time from Publisher's Weekly. It is a few months old (I think late summer 2006) but will give you insight as to how the publishing world works (or tries to). This article sums up what the NYTimes had to say - that this whole book selling thing is a total crapshoot.

I'm not so sure how I feel to have my professional life be a crapshoot but then I guess I am no different than anyone else. It doesn't take much to lose a job these days, does it? Who was to think the "knitting thing" would have lasted as long as it did? I know it certainly threw everyone in the yarn industry for a loop. These cycles used to come and go. The old timers used to say it was a seven year cycle of up and down. But this boom blew everyone out of the water. I pretty much missed it because I wasn't working in the yarn industry while it was booming with its celebrity induced craziness. But hey, if that's what it took to get young women to pick up the needles, let's find some more celebrities - preferably young since America is disgustingly youth driven - I hear Dakota Fanning knits - she's up and coming, she's very young and talented.

No matter, I think what knitting does for people is great - it gets them to slow down, think about things and re-connect with why anything made by hand is wonderful, to enjoy the process of the making, like people used to. To feel satisfied with a job well done and be able to hold a thing they made in their hand or share it with a friend. And if it also gets knitters together in yarn shops, cafes, bookstores, and subways, all the better. I know that most of my best friends are knitters, stitchers and sewers and that either we met through knitting, yarn or I got them interested.

While we are talking marketing here, this is a good article about Burt's Bees from the NYTimes. I love their stuff and have been buying it for years at the food coop. But I saw it at CVS the other day and this article tells you how and why it is there. But what are they going to do about all the bees dying - this is a big problem here in New England for the honey producers and orchard owners.

Thanks for all the rah! rah! I'll order a book comments yesterday. I truly appreciate it! When Kristin Knits gets closer to publication, I'll be talking the book up and you'll be able to buy it via PayPal on my website or send me a check. I don't want to take anyone's money early for fear of totally messing up my book-keeping. With summer coming, life is going to be crazy and I'm trying to keep it less crazy by not creating extra hassles for myself.

Here's a cute kitty picture to get you through the weekend. I'm off to CT to teach those two classes at the Ewephorbic Knitting Weekend.

So you want to be an author?

For anyone with dreams of writing a book, read this from the NY Times last Sunday, May 13th. And after you read it, know that writing a knitting book will not, I repeat, will not, make you rich with a large advance.

Bubbles burst - I know. But I'm still trying despite the meager income (or lack there of).

p.s. The link will expire in 30 days from publication so read this quickly. It is extremely interesting.

p.p.s. Buying a book direct from me - autographed - will keep the fires burning here on the farm along with the animals and people fed. I'll be offering Kristin Knits to you, my loyal blog readers, along with a free something Amazon will never give you sometime closer to publication in August. If you believe in supporting the little guy, perhaps you'll support me. And by all means, buy the book from your local yarn store to support them too! It is a totally difficult way to make a living - both writing and yarn store-ing. Thanks from all of us.

I never met a green I didn’t like

At this time of year, spring brings the colors I have been craving all winter. I use IPhoto for my photo (dis)organization. All my photos go in by date and when I want to add more, my IMac magically downloads them into the library folder. I often have to search through the library for old photos for a post – something I never got to use on the blog because the opportunity to write about it never arose. Let’s just say it was pretty neutral for quite a few months – lots of cream and brown sheep, beige hay, a brown weather-beaten, manure stained Carhart jacket on The Farmer and a few photos of Julia in her colorful pink coats and mommy-designed sweaters.

If you had ever worked with me, you would know that green is my very favorite color in the world. I can babble on and on about the virtues of green - how it lush, spooky, dreamy, full, moody, cheerful, bountiful, eye-catching, silent...... How green makes the color orange pop. How incredible wild violet blooms look against their heart shaped leaves. How chartreuse is a green that will make almost any color in the world look better. (I've been known to say to many a knitter in a class or yarn store "Why don't you just add a little of this chartreuse there - it will make the whole design pop!")


As you can imagine, I am in pure nirvana here at the farm. Green is literally happening all around me. It is just amazing. Gone are the tans, the greys, the whites. Green is where it is at.

One of my favorite days of the year is when the maple trees outside the kitchen window start unfolding their beautiful pointy shaped leaves. For one single day, they are the meltingly beautiful lime green of spring. It doesn't last long - they start darkening and aging and becoming their regular leafy color. But it happened last week! Today the bugs will start hatching and the leaves will become caterpillar food. Holes will be pierced and the life cycle will continue.

But for today... thank you Spring for making my green dreams come true! As the season fades and summer and fall moves in, the shades of green will become deeper, mellower, and and then fade. I'll still love it.

P.S. The yarn in the green, green grass is of course Julia Wool/Mohair/Alpaca - available at a yarn store near you!

Mother's Day at our Farm

Lily Pons is working hard like all mothers do every day - just trying to do their best for their kids while staying sane themselves.

Come to a Class this weekend in Connecticut with me!

I'm teaching at The Ewephorbic Knitter's Weekend this Saturday May 19th. I'm doing two classes:
Embroidery on Knits in the morning
The Edge of Color in the afternoon
I'll be previewing some of the projects from my new book Kristin Knits!

There are still some openings left. If you are looking for something to do (besides yardwork and spring cleaning), I'd love to have you. There are many other classes being offered. Check here for more information. The phone number is (860)653-9700.

The Ewephorbic Knitting Weekend has been going on for over 13 years. It was begun by Phyllis and Bob Fishberg who owned The Wool Connection in Avon. I taught at the first few weekends and then again last year. It was always a lovely crowd of knitters. The Wool Connection has closed and now Marji at Marji's Yarncrafts in Granby is carrying on the tradition. Marji is holding the classes at the Hunt Glen Clubhouse which is very close to Bradley Airport just north of Hartford.

Hope to see some of you there! Here's a sample of what you'll be able to do after taking the embroidery class.

Four Cute Kittens

Isn't it amazing how cute kittens are? Their momma had just gotten up and they were all milk-drunk. The one on the left is taken but we are still looking for homes for the rest.

Eggs Aplenty

At this time of year, I am always looking for ways to use our hens’ eggs. In the spring, they lay with wild abandon. I deliver them to friend’s houses, leaving them without a note on their front porch, hoping they will find them and won’t step on them. And then I rack my brain for ways we can eat them – fried for breakfast, in an egg salad sandwich (I add sweet relish and capers and it is wonderful), deviled for an old fashioned appetizer, and in a frittata for dinner.

One of my favorite uses for eggs is to make an afternoon batch of popovers. A few years ago I invested in a popover pan and it makes the most beautiful specimens that easily pop out of the pan. I also don't have to fool around with small ramekins or the every other placement in a muffin pan. I like Julia Child’s recipe for popovers from Baking with Julia. It differs from this recipe – it has one extra egg and two tablespoons of melted butter. She suggests whirring it all in a blender and sifting out the lumpy flour. It takes about 3 minutes to make. The hard part is the waiting and not being able to open the oven while they bake.


And then, after the required 45 minutes in the oven, I open it, and there is this sheer magical little thing. It's amazing what a little flour, eggs, butter, and milk can become. I crack it open and the steam escapes. The center is filled with a semi-gooey, eggy goodness. With a little jam and some tea or coffee, it transports me to another place - much slower and saner than the modern world.


There is a local restaurant in Amherst called Judie's which is well known for its eclectic menu featuring popovers. It's worth a visit if you come this way.

Spring is arriving slowly

The grass is finally growing. We're at least two weeks behind the normal growth cycle. We have yet to have any really hot days. The farmer has been waiting so he can start moving around the sheep - splitting them up into different grazing groups and utilizing the feed in different pastures. I love this photo of the grass agains the giant trees and the blue sky. Isn't it amazing how a seed can grow and become such different things?



One group of about sixty sheep, mostly ewes, arrived at our house this past weekend from their winter quarters. It's so nice to have large animals around again. Phoebe and Ness, our Border Collies, are especially happy to have official work to do all day long. It's amazing how they can just fly over an electrified fence so quickly. What agility.


The sheep are as fascinated as I am. "Uh oh! Here she comes again to boss us around."

Details, Details

It's been about details around here this week. Itsy-bitsy little knit stitches translated onto watercolor paper in pretty colors. It is quite painstaking work. My painted stitches are probably five times the size of a real knit stitch. I just can't paint that small. By the end of the day yesterday, my back was hurting and my bottom was sore from sitting so much. But I got it done and it's going out tonight. They will be part of the new book Kristin Knits which should be out in September.


There's been pitiful menus of late - it always happens when a deadline nears. This weekend, I've got to do better. I've even been missing what is going outside and inside - staying so focused on this project. I've even been dreaming about knitting stitches - how they loop through each other. When that happens, I know I need a break!


Yesterday evening, I managed to look at the daffodils that have been putting on their show. With daffodils, it's easy to miss the details.


The kittens are growing and are so much fun. They play like crazy and then crash and burn. This little foot is just too precious.

Back from Detroit

So happy to be home. Takes a couple days to get used to the hum-drum everyday existence that is this farm. Met a great group of women on the set of Shay Pendray's Needlearts Studio who were also being tortured. I love to meet women who share my passion. You can read about the taping here as it speaks for my experience too. Interesting to meet Stefanie Japel, author of Fitted Knits (a.k.a. the Glampyre) as I had read her blog for the first time in the early a.m. on the free computer at the hotel. I found it through a link on the Knitty surprise page which arrived in my morning e-mail. Oh, how I wish I had quick internet access - it is mind boggling to see what is out there.

It was a serendipitous trip as well. I got on the plane in Hartford - late - as is my preference. As I am climbing back to my window seat in the back of the plane, I spy a familiar couple of faces. And then I look - I am sitting next to my old friend Peggy Church, the weaver, formerly from Dunstable, MA, and her husband Warren. I haven't seen them in six years. Needless to say - lots of catching up. I felt bad for the people sitting close to us - boy did they get an ear full if it wasn't plugged into something.

Friday I was sitting at lunch while waiting to go on the set and I met two lovely women who called themselves Chicks with Sticks. Turns out one of them - Mary Ellen - was the sister-in-law of my good friend Jim Doyle who I used to work with at CEY. What a totally small world. They say six degrees of separation and I truly do believe.

The daffodils are blooming finally. One thing nice about this blog is I've got a time frame to judge garden events against - we are two weeks behind last year.


The kittens have also grown. They're ready for solid food. We've named them Fern, Charlotte, Templeton, and Toby - after our favorite characters in Charlotte's Web (except for Toby who is just Toby because). They play hard and sleep hard - just like children.


I'm a day late on my illustration deadline but things are moving along. I hope I finish these illustrations soon. I've got the fine motor stuff to contend with now and I hope I don't mess anything up so I have to start from scratch again.