Found in the Sump Pump

I'll continue with the house tour next week. For today I'll wish you all a great holiday weekend. Eat some good farm-raised veggies and maybe a grilled leg of lamb. I put up a new recipe on our brand spanking new LEYDEN GLEN LAMB WEBSITE here!

Look what I found in the sump pump a couple weeks ago when I was cleaning out the basement freezers...... Nat and Cole are the black and white guys. Mia and Brie are the tortoiseshell girls.

Very good thing we didn't get a lot of rain. They are turning into sweet lovable kitties.

The Living Room

Here's another peek into our farmhouse courtesy of Rikki Snyder and Houzz. This wall of bookcases is at the west end of our long living room. The bookcase was here when we moved in and was probably added to the room in the late 1940's when a local architect from Greenfield named Jimmy Britton bought our farmhouse to use as a summer house for his wife and 5 children. (Greenfield is only 8 miles away!) Mr. Britton is a local legend in old house circles in these parts. He was evidently involved in the creation of Historic Deerfield and many of the details he added are similar to those at Historic Deerfield. Mr. Britton is probably the reason our house is still standing because it was evidently in rather poor shape when he bought it. He had to replace much of the fieldstone foundation with cement and all the windows. He added an ell to the east side of the house which I will show you tomorrow. We are lucky he kept much of the original feeling of the original 1751 cape style home. Our home has an original large center chimney fireplace with working fireplaces in the three main downstairs rooms and the original domed bread oven which we use to make our own wood fired pizza.

Our Living Room by Photographer Rikki Snyder

I painted the bookcases a bright green color when we first moved in. I'm sure Mr. Britton was rolling over in his grave. It looks rather bright in the photo but when you are actually here in the room, it does not read as bright. It is full of books on textiles, animals, and farming - no surprise. The hanging lanterns in the window were a gift from my friend Sally. The lamp in the window is one of my own painted lampshades. The lamp on the left needs to be fixed and if I can just find someone to do it I will be happy. We decided to leave it in the picture because it was so quirky looking. The orange cashmere throw on the chair on the left is from my book Colorful Stitchery.

Our Living Room by Photographer Rikki Snyder

The photo above is a little detail shot. The typewriter was my Dad's. He used to send me notes when I was at college that he pounded out on this thing. He would also include a check. I can still hear the clicking of the keys. The photo on the right are portraits of Mark's parents Betty and Norman from the 1940's. I never knew Norman because he died when Mark was young. The desk is from an antique store in Northfield. I just got it. I have been looking for this desk for at least ten years and it finally appeared. I used some of the advance from my upcoming book to buy it. I always buy a little something for our house with an advance so that I can say "Oh yeah, that desk is the sunflower book." Otherwise the money disappears into the ether.

Our Living Room by Photographer Rikki Snyder

Immediately to the left of the bookcase is this wall. I painted the wood paneling using a dragging technique. I painted a base of yellow and then using thinned olive colored oil paint, I dragged the second color on top. I forgot to paint the outlet cover. Oh well. The chest is from my Aunt Jennie. It was an ugly color oak when I got it and so I painted it this gorgeous shade of red with glossy oil paint. I love it. The lampshade is another I painted. The base I had assembled by a local guy out of old lamp pieces I collected at flea markets and antique stores. The two oil paintings are by me. The pig was the first pig I raised - her name was Pinky and because she fed us, I thought she deserved to live on in our home as art.

The Staircase by Photographer Rikki Snyder

At the other end of the living room is this stairwell that goes to the second floor. That is handsome Ziggy there on the stair tread. I did a colorwashing treatment to make the mottled turquoise background on the wall - there are probably 5 colors layered on that wall all put on with old toweling. To make the green stripes, I put up two pieces of blue painters tape an inch apart and then stippled the green between it. To make the flower and the leaf shapes, I used kid's fun foam mounted on insulation board. I have a tutorial for this technique (on fabric though) here on the blog. The stair treads were colorwashed too - this time using latex paint and building up 3 colors of paint over a primer. I need to re-do them - one day. The little chair came from Mark's parents and the painting is by me of amaranth from the garden.

Thanks again Rikki for taking the photos! Hope you all are enjoying the sneak peek.

Our "Eclectic Farmhouse" on Houzz

A few Saturdays ago, two photographers who I met when they were attending the local Hallmark Institute of Photography revisited the farm to do a photo shoot for the on-line interior decorating magazine Houzz. It was such a pleasure to work with these two young women. Rikki Snyder was doing the photos and Sarah Zimmerman was assisting her (Sarah shoots weddings and portraits mostly).

Our cozy library by Rikki Snyder Photographer

They moved quickly around the house, working in tandem. I love watching photographers work. 

Our cozy library by Rikki Snyder Photographer

The best thing is that the photos will be available on the Houzz website to inspire other interior decorators - whether professional or hobbyists. Check it out here. I'll be posting more of the photos this week. I would like to personally recommend Rikki to any of you needing product, food or interior photography. She is young and incredibly serious about her photography. Check out her website and blog here. She will travel and is based about an hour outside of NYC. Thank you Rikki for using your eye to take such lovely photos.

Back to School + a New Color By Kristin Handknitting Pattern

It's Back to School time here in North America and every family I know is making the trip to the local office supply store to stock up on pens, pencils, notebooks, paper and whatever else their kid needs. It's an exciting time of year but one which wrenches your heart as a parent seeing your child get on the school bus for the first trip of the year or dropping a child off at college for their freshman year. School starts here for Julia next week so we will be back to the normal rushing around after the somewhat relaxed days of summer. 

As a knitter and designer, I always think of what kind of knitting project can be made to travel with a child as they leave the nest. You don't want something too big and embarrassing but you do want it to remind the kid of the knitter who made it for them and the love they have for the recipient. Yes, I'm getting gushy here but it is that time of year.... all this moving on. 

Up at Walker Farm in Dummerston, VT, the clever staff decorates their "check-writing pens" with giant silk flowers so they can keep the pens from walking away. They always make me smile when I give them my money. A couple weeks ago I had one of those "a-ha" moments and thought up this Felted Pen + Pencil Cosy Project. Not a lot of time to knit, felt, photograph, and write the pattern before school started but I have been working like a mad woman. Here you have my latest Handknitting Pattern......

 

Knit in my brand new Color By Kristin and suitable for pens and pencils.....

With erasers or not...... Are they not so cute?

 

The pattern includes 4 different flower tops and of course, I used my new yarn Color By Kristin.....

Complete felting instructions included. This is a great project for kids and teachers' gifts so you might want to get a jump on your Holiday Gift Gift Knitting too. If you are a beginning knitter or know some kids who are just starting out with needles and yarn, I know they too could make these.

You can buy the pattern for $3.50 from my Ravelry store by clicking the "BUY NOW" button below. You do not need to be a Ravelry member nor even use Paypal.  Less than a capuccino and you will be all set for hours of gift knitting fun! 

As always, I thank you all for supporting my knitwear designs and my family. Have a great late summer weekend! Eat some corn!

All things are difficult before they are easy.....

On my studio wall I have this quote:

All things are difficult before they are easy. 

Italian Proverb

It's one of my favorite sayings. I try to remember it but I fail miserably often. I stitched it on a pillow which was featured in my book Colorful Stitchery....

Photo by Kevin Kennefick

(You see the second pillow says "creativity comes out of chaos" - another favorite saying of mine.....) 

After my August Knitting Retreats wound down, I kicked myself in the butt and decided to actually do something I have been thinking about for at least a decade. I love handmade pottery (made some myself at one time) and antique jugs, vases, pitchers, plates. Our farmhouse is decorated with all kinds and for me, there is nothing like drinking a cup of coffee or tea from a handmade or antique mug.  Sadly, they don't always survive. I have been saving every single broken plate, cup, and bowl hoping to one day do pique assiette. It has always seemed rather daunting....

The Italian Proverb I quoted above is so true. I've gotten good at certain crafts and techniques but trying something new is always a bit of a stretch for anyone. After seeing how much fun my students had with their lampshades, the painting and the act of learning something new, I took the leap. It started like this - a pile of broken junk and a hammer and tile nippers. A few good books listed at the end of this post were helpful but until I finished the first garden pot, I really didn't feel confident.

With a hammer and some tile nippers it starts to look like this...

Then I applied the acrylic adhesive (sometimes known as "mastic") - first to the pot with a putty knife, then to the back of the shards with the same putty knife. I actually found that my artist's palette knife I usually use for oil painting was incredibly helpful and I will  use it when I make more pique assiette pots. I worked a section at a time - approximately 1/3 of the bottom of the pot is finished below. I set it to dry overnight.... then worked the next section.

With this first pot, my plan was to break up different bowls and plates and make them into stripes up the side of the pot. This was a good plan but turned into a nightmare because I was going for color (no surprise) and many of my shards were concave not convex. I did it anyway. Before grouting you must wait 24 hours for the mastic to dry. There is a lot of waiting in this project.

Terra cotta pot before grouting

I used a premixed gray colored grout and built up over the sharp edges of the concave pieces of tile. No clue how this will last the test of time but it is a start. I had to work it in sections and the grouting happened over a total week of drying and waiting and fitting it into my day. Here is the finished pot - without flowers of course. If I was smarter, I would have begun with a smaller pot but then I'm me.

My plan is to make a couple new pots for the garden each summer. We shall see if that happens. Some good plans go awry. At any rate, I'll share the second one I am working on when it gets finished. Some helpful books follow in case anyone else is nutty like me saving their broken plates and bowls in their basement too.

Making Mosaics by Leslie Dierks
Making Bits and Pieces Mosaics for the Home by Marlene Hurley Marshall

Monday Morning Fun

A fun video from the LYS Knitknack in Maplewood, NJ. Love the intergenerational flavor of this video. 

Sing, dance, knit and crochet on during one of the last weeks of summer everyone.

Cannot Let This Day Pass

Happy 100th BIrthday Julia from Google and everyone here at our farm too!

 

This post at BrainPickings is very interesting - especially to someone involved in publishing. I love this Julia quote lifted from this article and from "As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto":

"HELL AND DAMNATION, is all I can say. WHY DID WE EVER DECIDE TO DO THIS ANYWAY? But I can’t think of doing anything else, can you?"  

from a letter from Julia Child to Avis DeVoto.

That is something I say to myself all the time. Glad to see that I am not the only one who feels or has felt that way. I often think about what avenue Julia would take now in the digital world. Did you see this produced by PBS? A little long but fun.

Some other good links for you today:

Love this site. Gorgeous Welsh Blankets and beautiful plaids.

This is a good article for everyone to read, especially parents heading into the new school year.

Give Me "Culture"

We don't have a lot of time in the summer months (much less any other time of year) to do things as a family unit. Julia was busy with summer school the entire month of July and now this current week. Last week was our only chance to maybe do something together - all three of us. No time or resources for overnight trips to faraway places. We had to fit our "vacation" into a day. Since I was planning the day, I got to choose. Me, I went for a bit of culture. The family said yes and the day was set aside. No moving sheep. No taking care of the garden. No book stuff. No blog. No nothing.

French's home Chesterwood

Off we went to the Berkshires in search of "Chesterwood." I am a sucker for old homes, especially those owned by artistic kinds of people. Lucky for us, Chesterwood is now owned by The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the home and studio are open to the public. This home was built by and owned by Daniel Chester French who was a prolific sculptor of the early 20th century. You know his work - yes, you do - even if you don't think you know a darn bit about sculpture. He sculpted Abraham Lincoln for the DC Lincoln Memorial. See - you do know. 

 (All photos from National Trust website colorized in Camera+ App for iPhone - photos are not allowed inside and it was raining so I didn't take any of my own.)

French's studio in the evening

 

I really do love to visit homes of people who made art that endures. We are very fortunate that these places exist. So many of them could have been bulldozed or left to rot into the ground because of lack of funds and foresight. Daniel Chester French's family home is not that big. It is left as he left it - preserved by his only daughter Margaret who gave it to the National Trust. 

Hydrangeas blooming - perfect spot for a wedding

My favorite part of the house was the corinthian columns in the hall which were topped with corn. Oh how fabulous - combining the image of corn, grain and the farming life with a gorgeous column in the hall in this agrarian farming area. The story goes that his studio took a real life cast of shucked corn and they then casted several of them to build the column. Unfortunately you cannot take photos in this home and I cannot find anything on the internet to document these gorgeous columns. I drew this in Photoshop for all of you so you would have a visual.

Illustration by moi, corn image from here

Daniel Chester French's studio is just to die for. It is very tall, well illuminated, and full of small scale models of many of the sculptures that French is famous for. The guide answered all the questions, explaining the sculpting and casting process of his work including his partnership with the Piccirilli Brothers in New York who had immigrated from Italy. Our guide told us that half of French's fee for the Lincoln Memorial actually went to the Picccirilli Brothers company who upscaled French's model to the enormous size as it sits in Washington DC. It took 28 blocks of Georgia White marble, weighing 150 tons, to create the famous 19-foot statue. The Piccirilli Bros also carved the Lions in front of the NY Public Library. Sadly, this type of art and talent has pretty much disappeared from the world now.

The most memorable feature of the studio is the railroad tracks that are hidden in the floor inside the studio. When needed, the side of the building opened up and the current sculpture in work could be rolled outside to be observed in real light from varying distances. Wow! is about all I can say. 

Inside of the studio - look at those windows!

After the visit to Daniel's house, we headed off to Lenox and eat ice cream and visit "The Taste of Lenox" at Coloful Stitches which is in my opinion, one of the most gorgeous yarn stores in the world.

 

I interviewed Bonnie Burton, the creator of this great display here on this post. I guess it was a day of sculpture... this part, Bonnie's knitting sculpture. If you get a chance - go visit Colorful Stitches just to take a look at her intriguing knitted food art display. Awesome! And all the yarn too - a visual and sensual feast for all.

My favorite part of the display is the hot dog with mustard and relish and potato chips. 

Hope you and your family are all enjoying the last days as summer before school starts up again and life resumes its normal hectic pace. And don't forget to eat some corn!

Catching Up

Summer is slipping away, isn't it? I won't miss the heat but I will miss the slightly lazy days and the "no school bus rush" of summer mornings. I'm playing catch-up on all kinds of projects that are past due as I was otherwise occupied with preparing for the Knitting Retreats here at the farm. 

My garden is starting to take off. I'm a late gardener, not really getting out and making it happen until June and July. On Monday, I planted 3 more rows of sunflowers. No, it isn't too late, even without a greenhouse. I planted varieties that will bloom in 50 to 60 days so that puts me into October for bouquets in the house. Sunflowers make the dwindling days of warmth more acceptable.

All of the kitties have moved on to other knitters' homes except for Delilah, the little calico. I have heard from all the new cat mamas and so far, so good. We do miss them. I love this photo of one of the black kitties sitting amongst the colorful chair and table legs on our porch. I must look like another world looking up from such a spot.

Good day everyone!

Beautiful Flowers and More

Had a great group of nine knitters for a fun Color and Flower Class here at the farm. 

 

Here's what they made! Gorgeous!

 

The kitties charmed them.

 

Tammy, one of the students, wrote about the class here on her blog "Life and Yarn or Yarn and Life." I'm working on the September 15th Fair Isle and Steeking One Day Class. Sign on up for my newsletter (top of right sidebar) if you want to learn more about the project we are making once I have it sorted out. A fun day of knitting and chatting with kindred spirits here at our farm.

Our friends Missy and Casey of Old Friends Farm in Amherst and crew grow these beautiful lisianthus. They resemble roses but also come in this gorgeous blue-purple shade. What a great cut flower. They continue to grow and bloom in the vase - each stalk has several blooms that keep on going. These are still going and they are close to two weeks old. 

How did I miss this "Creativity Series" over on WhipUp? Probably too busy working on a project and washing the floors. Looks like I should take it slow and read a post a day. Especially like the interesting post by Ann Shayne about her foray into the world of self-publishing.

There is a Color By Kristin Booklet and Yarn Giveaway over on Craft Gossip today. Sign on up!

Nice article on the friendship between the late Marion Cunningham and Alice Waters via David Lebovitz.

Sunday on our Road - Alicia Hunsicker Open Studio

My neighbor Alicia is a fine artist specializing in oils. Her work has a mystical quality to it. I have watched Alicia's style morph and grow over the past 12 years that we have lived across from each other. Her attention to detail, shading, translucence is amazing. We are both artists - each working in different disciplines. And we are both moms juggling work and mothering two amazing kids - my Julia and Alicia's eleven year old Ben.

Kaboom by Alicia Hunsicker

Alicia is constantly looking for learning opportunities to help her work grow. She doesn't let her lack of money stop her. I find this so refreshing. Bad economy - she doesn't let that get her down. A couple years ago she went on a trip to China and presented her "eye project."

Alicia Hunsicker Eye Portrait

This year, she has been invited to an artist residency in Austria. She has to raise the funds for the travel. Alicia is fearless - something I wish I was more sometimes. She has started a "kickstarter" campaign to raise her travel expenses. And on Sunday she is hosting an open studio.

Need something to do on a gorgeous summer Sunday afternoon. Take a ride to our road here in Leyden. Visit Alicia's studio and stop over at our Lamb Shack and pick up some frozen grass fed lamb. Directions are here. I'll be around if you want to say hi.

Kitties Flying the Nest and Fall Yarn News

Two of our sweet little kitties - Chloe and Spike - have moved on. We are missing them big time as are their littermates and their mama. I know they are in a great new home but it is always an adjustment for all of us. I miss the patter of the little 8 little feet.

Check out Susan B. Anderson's new Monkey Socks made out of my Regia Garden Effects in the color Holiday here on her blog. Susan is such an amazingly prolific knitter and designer. I can't wait for her next book.

photo by Susan B. Anderson

Here's the back-cover of the fall Interweave Knits - featuring an ad for Color By Kristin. (Thanks Elaine for the heads-up!) The photo shoot for the two new books was here at the farm in April. That's Ness and Kate at the lower left of the photo. They loved all the excitement created by the photo shoot crew. The books and yarn should be arriving at your local yarn store soon. Look for it!

Lisa Allen Lambert, a writer and knitter, has a nice post about color and flowers in her garden and a review of three of her favorite books about gardening. I was reading away and then found a mention of my new Color by Kristin and a Quarters Cap she has made. Thanks Lisa!

Weekend Class Wrap-Up - Day Two

Day Two of the first 2012 "Getting Stitched on the Farm" Retreats revolved around knitting and crocheting sunflowers. On the day of the class, how appropos that my first sunflower in my garden began to bloom. This plant was a self-seeded one that seems to be a cross of a Sungold type.

The students were assigned "homework" so that we all had something to begin with. They arrived with lots of petals and leaves, ready to build their very own creations. The nice thing about these kinds of flower projects is that it is okay to mix knit and crochet together in one piece. All morning we made different types of centers - both knit and crochet, stems, and more petals.

Upstairs five of the kittens were taking a nap in a pile. So cute.

Shortly after a lovely lunch (thank you Cynthia!), we loaded the flowers into my washing machine and felted them. Although the flowers look fine unfelted, I really do prefer how the felting softens the fabric and makes the flower look more sculptural. Below are Mary's flowers tacked onto a "Knitter's Block." Do you know about the Knitter's Block? It is a very cool set of blocking boards developed by Julie Weisenberger. All the ladies had Knitter's Blocks with them. They swear by them.

I was so happy that they all brought the sunflower pillows they finished after last year's class. Since the knitters were here last summer, they had added more embroidery and the edging. They looked lovely on the floor of my studio. You can buy this pattern if you can't get to a knitting retreat at our farm on my website here or on Ravelry here.

Here are the fruits of their labors. What a beautiful and colorful array of projects. 

 

Smiles all around in this photo shortly before everyone departed.

Here is the lampshade Ann painted already installed at Black Sheep Yarn Shop in Cockeysville, MD. Check it out if you are local to MD. They will also be stocking my new yarn Color By Kristin.

What a delightful and lively group of knitters. This upcoming week, I've got a group coming for my first one day retreat of the season. Busy week here.