Julia and Her Cousins in My Quarters Caps

A few posts ago, I introduced The Quarters Cap, a new design that is available exclusively on my website as a PDF download. It's a really easy project knit in garter stitch with an easy to learn short row technique which shapes the crown of the hat made in my Julia Yarn. By using four different colors of Julia, the cap makes a swirl design at the center that is really pretty. I've been knitting these caps like crazy - they are the perfect project to take along and do when I have a few minutes between appointments. I started with caps for my teenage nephews (which were a huge hit - see the post below) and then moved onto the nieces. The day after Thanksgiving, I gave one to each of my nieces designed especially to match their winter coats. Here's what each of my sweet nieces looks like in their cap.

Olivia just turned 17 and she and I share the same birthday. Olivia is really busy with school and learning to drive right now but she likes to knit, sew, and do all kinds of crafts when her schedule isn't over-booked. She's a blue girl through and through. Her cap used Lady's Mantle NHJ3961, Lupine Blue 5178, Spring Green NHJ5185, and Aqua Fog NHJ4013.


Celia just turned 16 and she loves to knit, bake and is up for learning any craft. She is also a really good basketball player. I love how the hot pink and red shades look with her beautiful auburn hair. Her Quarters Cap used Fuschia NHJ2624, Gourd NHJ1784, and Geranium NHJ6085.


Camille is turning 14 just before Christmas. She is an awesome athlete and her sport of choice is ice hockey! She is so sweet and especially good with helping Julia keep up whenever the cousins go on a woodland adventure. Her Quarters Cap used Lady's Mantle NHJ3961, Anemone NHJ9235, Persimmon NHJ0121, and Geranium NHJ6085.


Lillian is 9 and loves to sing! She has her Christmas Choral Concert coming up next weekend and we're hoping to go and listen to her. Her Quarters Cap used Berry Berry NHJ0124, Rock Henna NHJ2230, Dusk NHJ1505, and Dried Lavender NHJ8126.


Here's the new Quarters Cap I have made for Julia. It uses three colors - the striped section is made using Spring Green NHJ5185 and Steel Grey NHJ0122 and the solid section uses Fuschia NHJ2624.



Here are all the cousins and Julia standing amongst some birch trees in the woods of New Hampshire near my sister's house. What fun they were to take photos of. The girls were so cute - when I told them it was time for a group shot, they picked the spot. All the bright colors look lovely amongst the grayish background, don't they?

You can buy my Quarters Cap Pattern on my website here and knit some up quickly for all the special people in your life for a holiday gift. The pattern is sized for babies, kids and adults. For yarn amount and sizing information, see the Julia Page on my website. For all you locals, don't forget that Webs is carrying my Julia now in the store and on-line.

Thanksgiving Day 2009

From our flock......

to yours.....

may you enjoy a lovely Thanksgiving Day wherever you are.


Thank you to all of you for reading and sharing in our lives on the farm and your lives hither and yon.

A Free Early Christmas Gift for All of You (OR What You Can Do While You Are Recovering From Turkey)

Here's a little project I designed for the Newsletter Readers of the t.v. show I am on PBS called Knit and Crochet Today/Now. Each issue of the television show's newsletter features a free project and a show "expert" connection. I'm the featured "expert" this week. I was asked to design an easy project and the Snowflake Embroidered Ornament Set is what I came up with.

The set includes two snowflake ornaments - one crocheted and the other knitted. I used my Julia Wool/Mohair/Alpaca Yarn in Spring Green, Natural and Geranium, of course. I think they would also be fun in many different colors. You'll need some Elmer's Glue and some cardstock to mount them on.

I knit and crocheted all of these in one night so you can tell this isn't the hardest of projects. The embroidery was completed on all six ornaments in less than an hour.

Download The Snowflake Ornament Collection now and make a few of them while you are recovering from your Thanksgiving Turkey dinner!

Crafty Ideas for Thanksgiving Weekend

Our farmhouse is the site for the annual Nicholas Thanksgiving Feast. As many Nicholas-related family members as can get here come and we celebrate my favorite holiday by eating, walking, and taking an old-fashioned hayride. I cook the turkeys and everyone else contributes one of their specialties. The worst part for me is cleaning the house before they all arrive!

The day after Thanksgiving, my sisters, Mom, the brother-in-laws and all the cousins descend upon my sister Nancy's house in New Hampshire. We spend the day eating left-over turkey, taking walks, talking, laughing, and doing a craft project together. Last year, we all sat around making little birch houses.

I loved seeing the spin all the kids put on it. It truly was a day to remember, as every holiday is. This year, my sister Laurie has something up her sleeve for us to make. Can't wait to see it! Last year I did a Tutorial on My Birch Houses which you can find here. Maybe your family will make a Birch Cottage on the day after Thanksgiving. You'd better get collecting natural materials soon!


FYI - the glittery animals are just made by applying glue and glitter to little plastic animals you can find at kids toy stores.

The Blog Tour Continues and Introducing THE QUARTERS CAP - a new PDF Downloadable Pattern from Kristin

First off today, I'd like to thank Wendy Johnson of the immensely popular WendyKnits blog for participating in the Blog Tour for Color By Kristin. Wendy is also the author of the popular Socks from the Toe Up. and has a new book coming out next spring called Toe Up Socks for Every Body. Wendy asked me some interesting questions about how I developed the Julia Yarn. And she did a very thorough review of the book. Wendy has two copies of the book available in a drawing, so check out the post here. Thank you Wendy!

And thank you to all of you who have been ordering my new book signed by me through my on-line shop. I can't tell you how much buying direct from me helps us keep this little farm a-running. But please, if you have a local yarn or bookstore selling the book, pleeeeeeaase buy it from them! They need your business more than ever in these difficult economic times!

Now onto what's new here on the farm. I've been busy doing a bit of designing and desktop publishing. Actually, the designing and knitting has been done for eons - it's the desktop publishing that has been done of late. For the past couple years, I've had some lonely little patterns for sale on my website as PDF downloads. I have meant to add to the colletion but life has been too busy. It's only now that the Farmer's Markets are over for the season and that I am not working on another book that I have had time to learn Adobe Indesign and really get my on-line pattern shop going.



Just in time for holiday knitting, I'd like to introduce The Quarters Cap, now available in my shop for immediate down-load. This is the greatest little cap. Here's why you might want to knit one for family and friends for the holidays.

1. The Quarters Cap is knit back in forth in garter stitch with clever and EASY short row shaping to create the crown of the hat.

2. It is sized in 4 sizes - from Baby to Adults.

3. This is one of the most addicting projects I have ever designed. I think I have knit about 10 of these so far! I can't stop! Neither will you be able to....

4. The Quarters Cap is a great stash buster. I knit it with odds and ends of my Julia Worsted Weight yarn.

5. It is a colorful project, but not too hard or colorful for those color-shy knitters.

6. Teenage boys love this hat! My nephews (that's them in the photo) came from Brazil last Christmas without a warm hat. I knit these for them over the Christmas holiday and they never left the house without them. And you probably all know what a hard nut to crack teenage boys are!


7. The Quarters Cap can be knit color-blocked in 4 colors or striped in 2, 3 or more colors. Your imagination is the limit.

8. Men love this hat or let's just say The Farmer loves it. It isn't too tight because the garter stitch stretches out comfortably around the skull.


9. Little girls love this hat - just ask my Julia.


So, hop on over to my shop and order yourself up a copy of this pattern. It is $4.50 and only available here on my site www.kristinnicholas.com.

Thank you!

p.s. The pattern has been proofed by my fabulous tech-editor Lori and is professionally designed and published.

Judith Jones at the Odyssey Tonight November 20, 2009

Julia and I will be going to meet Judith Jones at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley tonight at 7 p.m. Will anyone else be there? She'll be signing copies of her new book The Pleasures of Cooking for One. Did you know she raises beef cattle at her farm in Vermont??? She does.

I'm sure they would ship you a copy if you want a signed copy for a friend for the holidays.

Colorful Feet from Color By Kristin

First off, let me thank the lovely Anne of Knitspot for being part of my blog book tour. You can read her review of my book and an interview she did with me over on her blog post today. It seems that Anne is heading to is a big knitting retreat on the other side of "the hill" in Williamstown that I was not aware of organized by the brilliant Clara of Knitters Review who also has a new book out. (The Hill is the mountain range between here and there commonly referred to as "the Berkshires.") Oh, I am so out of the loop and in my own little world.... Maybe I will get to go one day.

That said, back to my world. I know knitters are starting to think about Christmas gifts and what they can make quickly for all their special people in their lives. Which leads me to the lastest project from Color by Kristin -- The Family of Slipper Socks.

Here's the back-story on this project..... When I was a little girl, my grandmother always made us Christmas presents - handmade nightgowns, crochet vests, lace choker necklaces with embroidered beads. Gram wasn't much of a knitter - in fact if you asked her, she would say she couldn't knit. And she really didn't knit much at all - except for one particular pattern for garter stitch slipper socks. I remember the first year Gram knit me a pair of her pom pom trimmed slipper socks for Christmas in a beautiful maroon color to match my bathrobe. I put them on and didn't take them off.... Every night, I wore them to bed and I credit those slipper socks for my habit of always wearing socks in bed! I loved them to death.

Many years ago, when I was working for TYC, I went on a yarn buying trip to Greece. It was a whirlwind trip full of adventures and misadventures (so much so that it could be an entire chapter in that memoir of mine.... just joking about the memoir). I had the chance to visit produce and bric-a-brac markets and pick up Greek made crafts. At one of the stalls in the antique market, I found 3 pairs of ancient, handspun, moth-eaten slippers.

I snapped them up, brought them back to the States and quickly stashed them in my freezer for safe keeping (so the moths in the US don't get at them). These handknit slippers are one of my favorite things in my textile collection, I must say.

Those Greek Slipper Socks are shown above. Knit at about 9 stitches to the inch out of very tightly handspun wool, I always wonder who made them. The other thing I wonder about it how they survived so long. They really are beautiful little works of knitting art.

For Color By Kristin, I wanted to include an easy version of The Greek Slipper Socks, designed at a friendly gauge of 5 stitches to the inch in my Julia Wool. This project is given in 5 sizes from infant to man's average. Surely you have a loved one who would like a pair of these to snuggle in all winter long! The project begins with garter stitch for half its length - what could be easier! Then it moves on to a little bit of colorwork. I finish the toe with a very easy what I call "mitten shaped tip" that works beautifully on a project like this. I could see adding a giant multi-colored pom pom to a pair of these. For the book project though, I wanted to keep it simple so that it wouldn't be too intimidating for newbie color knitters! Below are 3 of the slipper socks I knit for the book.


And lo and behold when I went to the mailbox the other day, I had a package waiting for me from my friend Therese Inverso. I love Therese's packages - they are always filled with some little textile treasure that she thinks I should add to my collection. In her latest envelope was two pairs of slipper socks. A red and white pair....

And an orange and black pair.

Both of them have little bits of embroidery on them. They seem to be knit of a handspun wool. Therese said her friend Camille knit them for her. Camille is from Iran. Don't you like the center point shaping and the band of colorwork around the upper sole? How lovely. And how lucky am I? Thanks so much Therese!

So you see, the slipper sock thing goes around the world, doesn't it? Make up a pair or two for a Christmas gift if you can fit it in. In fact, I think I'll try to make my little Miss Julia a pair. Poor kid - she's like the cobbler's children with barely a handknit item anymore, now that she is getting bigger.

Enjoy the day! And all of you knitters on the other side of "the hill," have a great time with Clara and crew! As always, don't forget you can order a signed copy of my book from my shop or purchase it at your local yarn store.

Planet Purl Tonight and Deborah The Jewel

Time is very short for me today. I have a deadline looming and I am behind. What else is new here at Leyden Glen Farm? Don't forget to call into the Planet Purl interview with me tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. I would love to talk to you. You can find the information on the post below.

There's a lovely post about my friend Deborah Newton, the Author and Knitwear Designer, over on this lovely blog Knitting New England. Since I have no time to write today, I would love to point you over there. And yes, Deborah is the Jewel. She has been a friend of mine since my early days at Classic Elite. Deborah is one talented designer, illustrator, and genuinely lovely person. Pick up her book Designing Knitwear because it must be in EVERY knitter's collection!

Happy Day!

p.s. Thanks to Marly at Yarn Thing for the interview last night on her call-in radio show. It went nicely and I'm beginning to understand the call-in thing. Whew!

Susan's Itty Bitty Cuteness

One of the nice things about doing books is that I frequently get to meet other authors at special knitting events such as trade shows and places like the Knit-Out and the giant Stitches Conventions. A couple of years ago I was invited to dinner to help promote my Kristin Knits book by the publisher Storey Books. Storey is owned by the giant publishing house Workman Publishing and so the dinner was a joint event with authors from all of Workman's publishing houses attending. We were in southern California in the winter which is a treat for me because it was warmish and there were flowers blooming in January.

I never know how these dinners are going to go. At this point in my career, I just go along and think about how I can promote my current project to get the book distributor to believe in my book and sell it. Going out to dinner with clients you don't know is always a challenge, no matter what industry. Sometimes I sit there thinking what I can say to entertain the person next to me. It can be a real struggle. And then sometimes there is serendipity as there was a couple years ago when I was asked to sit next to Susan Anderson, an author from Artisan (another Workman division).

I had seen Susan's beautiful books in the Itty Bitty Series published by Artisan. I had never heard of her and frankly wondered where this extremely talented designer had come from - basically out of the blue. Susan and I talked and talked and had a great dinner. I found out she was a mom to four kids and that she had a real passion for knitting and any kind of craft. She also told me her secret to getting everything accomplished was that she got up very early in the wee hours of the morning and knit! It was a delightful dinner, much to my surprise, and I had made a new friend in the knitting world. We frequently correspond now and we see each other at different trade and consumer shows.

Over the past couple years, we have both been working on new projects for upcoming books. I catch up with her once in a while and read her great blog. It was a nice day last week when I received a copy of her new book Itty Bitty Toys from her publisher Artisan.
As usual, Susan's new book is incredibly delightful. It is chock full of super cute knitted toys. As I turned the page, one toy was cuter than the next. I'll start out with Susan's rendition of "The Princess in the Pea." I've chosen this one because she used my Julia Yarn. Besides the "Princess" Susan knit several little mattresses and an amazingly cute little pea pod full of peas. How sweet!
My favorite projects from Susan's book are farm themed. No surprise there, right. Here's her adorable little lamb. I love the clodhopper feet she put on him, don't you? This little pink piggie is totally huggable for little ones. To me, he seems like a cross between a baby doll and a farm animal. Susan got his nose and big ears just right!
But I think my favorite project from the book is this reversible "cat and mouse." I can just imagine a little one spending hours flipping the toy from side to side. And it would be a great plaything to help a child develop their manual dexterity.
So, if you have any little ones in your life right now, run right out and buy this book! You'll have hours of creative knitting ahead of you. Even if you don't have little ones, knitting one of these little toys will make you smile. Check out Susan's blog now for a schedule of her upcoming events. Artisan is sending her on a Book Tour and she may be coming to a yarn or book store near you. I guarantee you will love to meet the lovely and talented Susan B. Anderson.

Live Interviews with Kristin this Tuesday and Wednesday

I'm doing TWO live audio interviews this week via the internet. I'm not sure how all this works but some of you may know and are way more tech savvy than me. I'll be using my corded telephone in my studio to talk to you all - just picture that!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 17TH
10 p.m. to 11 p.m EASTERN Time
Yarn Thing with Marly Bird on Blog Talk Radio

Or feel free to call 347.539.5589 during the broadcast to ask a question.
Marly says the Chat Room opens 15 minutes before airtime.

Click here to listen or call in.
The show is also available as a podcast later via ITunes.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 18TH
8 p.m. Eastern Time
I'll be a guest on Planet Purl doing another live interview.

Click here to listen in or join in that chat.

I'll admit that I am such a newbie on this type of thing. I've been on many a podcast but they have always been taped. I'm happy to be learning about this "new" way to get the word out about my books, yarn, and work. Feel free to call in and ask me about my knitting, art, farm, or whatever!

Thanks to Tara at Soho for organizing all of it!

The Running of the Sheep

Well, not exactly. Let me explain. Grazing was pretty much finished on the hill high above our farmhouse. Lambs are expected in December. It is almost Thanksgiving. It was time to think about moving our flock of 200 plus sheep closer to their winter lambing headquarters at our greenhouse barn in Bernardston. That barn is 4 about miles from where the sheep have been currenting grazing. The Farmer had made arrangements to have the sheep graze a large field closer to the greenhouse barn where pasture was still available.

Sunday was a beautiful day - warm and sunny after a miserable rainy Saturday. We made a quick decision to move the sheep. We could have rented a trailer but that would have cost a fortune. Instead, I got on the phone and called some friends. We needed a truck to slow down traffic ahead of the sheep. Yes, Mitch would do that. We needed a truck at the end of the sheep parade to buffer traffic impatient motorists anxious to get past and to pick up straggling helpers. Alice would do that. We needed another car to block the road so the sheep wouldn't take a left onto Eden Trail. Lynn would do that.

Along with all these adults came a gaggle of kids. I promised their parents the kids would be tired out, sleep well, and have fun time. And so off we went.

The Farmer and his trusty dogs left the house before the helpers arrived. He drove off to start the move, impatient to get the job done so there would be time to set up the fence before dark. By the time my posse of people got to the appointed meeting spot, there were no sheep, dogs or Farmer. We drove on and met up with him about a mile and a half down the road in a big field. The sheep were quietly grazing. It was time to get them moving.

The grass was tasty and they didn't want to leave. With the help of kids, parents, and mostly the dogs, they moved across the field. The big challenge was to get them up an embankment and onto the road in the right direction. After a few false starts, they began heading the way we needed them to go.


Sheep are followers. Once the flock started moving in mass, there was no where to go but up the hill. Off they went with Lynn's car blocking the way.


They turned the corner and we were on our way. You would probably be surprised by how fast sheep can move when they want to. They ran along at a fast clip - kids in hot pursuit, most of the adults hanging behind.


This driveway looked too good - off they went up it much to the neighbor's surprise.


The dogs rounded them back down the hill and they were off on the road again.


It was straight shot for awhile. We met a giant truck. The sheep just moved on by. Hope he wasn't in a hurry!


Down, down, down the hill we went. Here's the hairpin turn. The sheep and dogs were flying and all the kids were struggling to keep up. Never mind the grown-ups.


There was beginning to be a traffic pile-up. Oh well, you never know what you will run into around here.


Below the hairpin turn, the land flattens out to gorgeous green pastures and hayland. As predicted, the sheep thought it was too good to be true. At least it gave the traffic behind us a chance to pass by.


That's The Farmer trying to move the flock off the field. Surely there is a dog right there behind all those sheep.


We got them off the field, Eeyore the Donkey in tow.


Another lovely green field that was too good to pass up. That's this winter's haylage for the dairy cows down the hill in the big white marshmallows.


Boys will be boys - the bales were irresitable for a bit of jumping.

We were getting close but they just didn't want to go in the gate. Into the woods they went. After a few moments with some gentle prodding they turned back around.


Finally, they were where they are to spend the next couple weeks or so until the grass is done.

And here's the little team of helpers who had a great time.


What a fun way to spend a Sunday fall afternoon.