Winter Work - New Fabric Designs from Kristin Nicholas with Spoonflower

I'm not sure if you noticed but I was a bit absent from this blog during the winter months. The reason for that was that I was trying to better my skills by really working on surface pattern design using my MacBook Pro, Adobe Illustrator and Procreate (on an iPad). It was super time consuming with hours spent looking at my computer screen. I made a lot of patterns and now I feel much more confident that I can design more surface patterns in the future. 

So here is the cool thing - at least I think it is cool. You all know about my new book Crafting A Patterned Home. It is packed with 35 projects that you can make yourself. Techniques include painting, fabric printing, stamping, knitting, crochet, sewing, ceramics and embroidery. There are a whole mess of projects that feature fabric printing with blocks. 

I am realistic and I know that not everyone is going want to spend time printing fabric themselves but they also might the look of hand printed and handpainted fabric. During the winter months I translated many of the hand printed fabrics into digital files. It took a whole mess of time but I did it. I scanned handprinted images and then brought them into Illustrator and built repeat files.

I uploaded those files to Spoonflower and now all of the designs that are featured in my new book Crafting A Patterned Home are now available as fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap. There are almost 30 different types of fabric that you can order these designs on. All have been tested to make sure they print correctly.

Many of the handprinted designs translated into digital repeat files

Here is what the collection looks like on their website. 

Spoonflower prints fabrics, wallpaper and gift wrap. Here are a couple of screenshots showing my designs as wallpaper in their "room setting."

This is the handpainted wallpaper that is featured on the cover of the book.

This is the wallpaper version of the fabric featured on the chair in the kitchen.

Spoonflower also has a sister company called Roostery. They will take any of my fabric designs and make them into all kinds of products - table linens, bed sheets, duvet covers, pillows, throw blankets and more. It really is pretty amazing. I can't say that Roostery is very easy to navigate for my surface design patterns. I have to work harder on figuring that out. But here is their version of my block print tablecloth on a cotton sateen fabric. This project was featured in my kitchen and I hand stamped all the cotton canvas fabric. 

It really is amazing what technology is making available to us. If you can figure out the computer programs, etc. 

You can check out all my fabric designs on Spoonflower on my shop here. 
This is the link to only the fabrics from Crafting A Patterned Home. 

If you were to order any of the products, I highly suggest getting a sample piece before committing to lots of yardage. I order a sample of each design to check it before making it for sale. Each fabric or paper will print slightly different. 

This Past Weekend's Hugely Successful Open House at Leyden Glen Farm

Well, we made it through! We weren't sure what to expect, or even if anyone would come to our first Open Farmhouse/Open Studio Event here on Glen Road in little old Leyden in western Massachusetts. Last week was a whirlwind of activity, decorating the house in a Christmas theme, cleaning it up, making signs, pricing goods, thinking about the traffic flow through our house, figuring out what to sell and where to merchandise it. I was awake for several nights, trying to figure it all out over and over in my mind.

In between it all, I was still glazing pottery. (There is some left and I am working on getting it onto my Etsy shop.)

The kiln had to be unloaded Saturday morning because it was still cooling the night before. These mugs came out warm and pretty much flew out the door. 

I sewed tea towels made out of my own fabric designs. They all sold out by early Saturday afternoon - yippee! Next year I will increase my fabric order and sewing and hopefully schedule my time a little better. I had several late nights which I am still recovering from. I must admit - I am not as young as I used to be and late nights aren't as frequent.

I taught Julia how to use the Clover Pom Pom maker and she made pom poms to sell. She is still counting her riches. Pretty cute. I'm really proud of her because she hasn't been able to do anything like this before. I had to tie the ends so they wouldn't fall apart. And she vacuumed up all the colorful wooly mess in the morning.

My handpainted lampshades and antique lampbases looked fantastic at one end of the living room. 

My friend Deborah set up on our porch. It looked like a textile bazaar full of beautiful rich colors. 

And her incredible handmade jewelry. Exquisite. Across the street, Alicia was displaying and selling her art. I didn't get there for photos unfortunately. In fact, I barely had time to take many here.  

Outside, my neighbor Debbie and her grand-daughter Marissa were making and selling wreaths all day long. It was pretty cool - as people walked in, Debbie would be beginning a wreath. When they left it would be done and they would buy it. We are pretty resourceful here in the country, aren't we? 

At 10 a.m. the first guests arrived. Or should I say that they arrived before as I was still scurrying around and vacuuming. We had a steady flow of guests all day long on Saturday. Many were curious about the decoration of our home, asking lots of questions. I was so happy to be able to share my techniques with them and point them in the direction of my book Crafting A Colorful Home so that they too could replicate the look of our home. (Signed copies of Crafting A Colorful Home is available on my website for Christmas gifts - $27.95 + free shipping.  Makes an awesome Christmas gift if I do say so myself.)

I couldn't believe how far people travelled from. Two women came from California - planning trips around our Open House. Two women drove 6 hours from Syracuse, NY - they had discovered me on Houzz.com. One woman came from Minnesota combining her trip with another event. Three friends (above) came from New Jersey. Many more came from CT. One woman came from PA and many folks came from northern VT, New Hampshire, Boston and eastern Mass. Many locals and further afield western-Mass'ers came too. It was great to meet many new friends and have the support of old friends too. 

In our farmhouse kitchen, my friends helped out with the purchases and wrapping. Here is Clara manning the kitchen island/aka retail sales space. She did a great job on Saturday and Gail and Stephanie were awesome on Sunday. Thanks you all. 

Outside, The Farmer sold our farm-raised lamb (we had to miss the opening day of the Amherst Winter Market - I will be there this Saturday though). On Sunday, The Farmer, Ness and Kate did a herding demo. There was so much interest in the dogs, the sheep, and what it is like to live on a sheep farm. We had several sheep farmers come too - I think they wanted to see what we are doing here. Many of our farming friends and lamb customer friends from the different markets we do supported us also. Here Nessie resting up in the morning before her demo. 

The "puppies" and collies were kept in a fenced in area so they didn't cause havoc. They were a hit and everyone went to see them and say hi. Aren't Beau and Sadie getting big? 

It was an awesome two days. We will probably do it again next year although we will not have the caveat of the Yankee Magazine article which is what prompted me to get this together quickly and do it this year. I know many people came because of the article and I cannot thank Yankee Magazine enough for running the story on our home at Christmastime. 

It was a festive atmosphere and everyone was happy to be here. Some of my yarn industry friends even came to support me. It was an awesome experience all around. And we couldn't have been luckier with the weather - it was sunny and in the 50's. Amazingly warm for early December. 

As I am thinking back on the weekend this morning, I thought - what a nice way for folks to do some Christmas shopping and leave inspired about decorating and color. Certainly beats the mall and all the sameness out there. 

I've been working on listing the remaining pottery on my Etsy Shop which is still on "vacation mode." It is a super time-consuming process but I am chipping away at the photos, the descriptions, the pricing, etc. I'm trying to get it all done by Friday. I'll announce the re-opening of the shop here on the blog, on FB and IG - hopefully sometime on Friday which will give me time to pack and ship orders next week before Christmas.

Tomorrow, I will share some of the easy holiday decorations I threw together for the Open House. Funny thing is, I never decorate this early but this event forced me into it. Except for the tree, we are all set now for the holidays. That will come sometime next week. 

Yikes Stripes! My Readers and I Love Knitting Stripes

I've received a few emails from readers over the past few days. I thought it would be fun to share them with you all. 

Dear Kristin,

When I first leafed through my autographed copy of Crafting a Colorful Home, I knew that I needed to have your striped afghan in my home.  I had been collecting colors of your yarn for years (how did you create an exceptional brown?  I mean it’s just brown!) and I took the enormously generous gift card from my child and their partner to Webs.  I’ve worked on it off and on for many months, and earlier this week I finally finished miles of mattress stitch, and spread it out on my sofa.  

There hasn’t been a sunny day since I finished, but this pic gives you an idea.  Color, entertainment, beauty, I knit it myself, and as an added bonus, I’m going to be warm this winter.  Many thanks!

Anne

Here is the afghan that Anne has finished from my book Crafting A Colorful Home. Outstanding job Anne! It is an heirloom for sure. And from what I hear from Anne - her family is fighting for who gets to snuggle under it. 

Signed copies of my Crafting A Colorful Home book are available here. It will make a great Christmas gift for crafty friends. 

From Patty, a long-time reader and commenter, I got this note.....

Hi Kristin,
Years ago, I could not afford Classic Elite Tapestry. I would buy left overs that were on sale. Those left overs eventually became the attached sweater. Thanks for your inspiration. This sweater one keeps one of my most favorite co-workers warm.

Patty 

I love the sweater Patty made. It looks like something that I could use everyday here in our chilly farmhouse. I love all the crazy colors mixed together! Thanks for sharing Patty. 

And lastly, this is what I have been knitting lately. It is a pair of Christmas Stockings for some little people. These stockings will hang together for many years. I wanted to design them so they looked good together and the kids would be able to know whose was whose. 

They aren't done yet. Must be washed and then I will add some embroidered ornaments to the trees. 

The patterns I used are available on my website here and here.
Or on Ravelry here and here. 
I mixed the two patterns together. Lots of designing options and fun. 

Hope you all are staying calm and taking care to travel safely if you are visiting friends and family. 

Easy DIY How to Print Faux Wallpaper Video by Kristin Nicholas on Houzz.com

Very happy to share with you all today a DIY video that is being featured on the Houzz.com website today. I taped it back in May when Rick and the team were here. 

If the player isn't showing on your device, HERE IS THE LINK for you to watch it. 



This video shows you how I printed the stairwell walls in our colorful farmhouse. I chose to demo this technique because it is so approachable and easy to do. Because we didn't have actual walls to demonstrate on, we used masonite boards. The one thing I forgot to say in the video is ---- If you screw up and your stamped print isn't quite right, you can easily just wipe off the print and try again. I have done this many times. Just make sure your surface is dry before you print again so that the paint doesn't run down your walls. 

Photo Rikki Snyder via Houzz.com

This technique doesn't have to be limited to walls. I used it to stamp the stairs in my studio as shown below. 

Photo Rikki Snyder

It's a quick technique and very inexpensive to do. It makes a great statement too. And you can design your very own motifs. Have fun with it! 

Learn more about decorating your home with handmade color in my book Crafting A Colorful Home available on my website here. Free shipping, bookplate included and free postcards. $27.95. 

A New Summer Project and A Craftsy Sale for the Holiday Weekend

Popping in this 4th of July. It is a rainy sleepy day here. Not the best day for outdoor picnics and gardening. 

First off, I want to share an article that was in the Houston Chronicle about decorating with Red White and Blue all year round. The writer interviewed me because she loved my book. How cool! Check it out here. Here is one of the photos from the article which is Red White and Blue themed from my newest book Crafting a Colorful Home. The new photo in my header above is also from my new book. Both photos by the talented Rikki Snyder. For you all on the 4th of July. Boom Boom! 

Photo by Rikki Snyder from Crafting a Colorful Home

I have been meaning to show you all my new summer project that I will be working on. A couple years ago, I found this chair at a junk store. My original idea was to make a slipcover for it out of one of my fabric designs that I have on Spoonflower. I wanted to get it done for my latest book Crafting A Colorful Home.

Sometimes plans don't happen and I am okay with that. Sometimes it takes me a few years to make an idea gel and actually come to life. 

So this summer it is for this chair. I have the fabric and I am going to print it myself and then embroider the fabric. I will be sewing a slipcover out of said printed and embroidered linen fabric. I have never made a slipcover for a chair before. My last experience with slipcovers was in the 1980's when I made 13 cushions for my grandmother's wicker set. 

I must say, I have felt a bit timid about making slipcovers - always preferring to pay someone to do it for me. But since I don't have the funds, I'm going to do it myself. It could take a year, considering I am printing and embroidering the fabric. But it is going to happen eventually. 

I feel like I can do it because I have been watching a fantastic Craftsy class called Custom Fit Slipcovers with Cherie Killilea. I've watched Custom Fit Slipcovers a couple times now and I think I can do it. Kind of excited to give it a try. Whenever I get the embroidery done. 

Here is a photo of draping the pattern for the back of the chair. 

This photo shows making the pattern for the cushion of the chair. 

My plan is to print both of these pieces and then embroider them while I am sitting at the Farmers Markets this summer. Maybe I will get to the printing today! I hope so. I can't wait to dig into this project and see how pretty my slipcovered chair comes out. Long range project for sure. 

This weekend, Craftsy is having a sale for all their classes. $19.99 for any class. Check out my Stitch It With Wool: Crewel Embroidery or perhaps the Custom Fit Slipcovers class. Use the following link to receive the sale price on any Craftsy Class you buy. (I will get a small percentage of the sale and you will help keep this little old farm running.)

http://www.craftsy.com/ext/KristinNicholas_holiday

Have a Happy Creative 4th of July fellow Americans! Good weekend to all of you.

Our Farmhouse Live on YouTube + An IPPY

Check out the video that is now live on Houzz.com's YouTube Channel. You can watch it here below or via this link. 

If you know anyone who might enjoy seeing our colorful home and critters, PLEASE share it with them. It will be fun to watch the numbers go up as time goes by.

Thanks everyone for helping me spread the colorful word around the world. 

I just found out that my newest book Crafting a Colorful Home has won a Gold Medal from the Independent Publishers Association in the Home and Garden Category! It is called an IPPY. Wow. Thank you Roost Books, my publisher, for entering the book and believing in my work.  

The Green Room - My Tile Inspired Faux Wallpaper

Photo by Rikki Snyder via Houzz.com

Several years ago, before the world really caught on to the internet, there were shelter magazines. Remember them? Back in 2003, I had contacted Country Home, one of my favorite decorating magazines about the way I had decorated our 1751 farmhouse with hand-painted decorations. They fell in love with our home and set up a date for a photo shoot. Shortly before the shoot, I decided to act upon an idea I had been dreaming of for a long-time - a faux wallpaper treatment in our "green room."

If I were to do this treatment now - in the days of popular DIY culture and "show everyone everything you make and do on Instagram" I would have better photos. But I don't - I have the ones I shot on a film camera in 2003 as I was working on my wall treatment. I just stumbled upon them when I was cleaning things up here before my class in May and thought you all might be interested. Apologies for the lack than stellar photos. 

I have always loved wallpaper. My tastes go towards very expensive ones made with several screens. Like these. They are beyond my budget. What's a girl to do but paint it herself. The room was already painted a mossy green. 

I began with one of my favorite source books for pattern ideas - Auguste Racinet's Sourcebook of Historic Ornament. I paged through all the incredible historic designs and settled upon a motif which looked to me like it came from the gorgeous marble tile floors in Venice, Italy. (I have a very beat up paperback version of this book printed by Dover Publications a long time ago. It looks to have been re-done by Taschen here.) 

From this illustration, I designed my own wallpaper design. Instead of printing it, I thought it would be easiest to make cardboard templates to trace around. This would give me repeating shapes that were all the same size (as opposed to my mural in the dining room which was painted freehand). I drew out the designs on graph paper. I traced the designs onto some Fedex cardboard envelopes because they were in the closet and handy. As you can see in the photo below, I simplified the tile inspiration pattern quite a bit. 

I began at the corner of the room. Using a long level, I drew a plumb line so that my cross motif would be straight all the way down the wall. Using a plain old pencil, I traced around the cross (former Fedex envelope) template. With red acrylic paint, I painted all the crosses. 

Next up was the square shape that had projecting triangles. The little triangles fit right inside the the pointy end of the crosses so it made alignment quite easy. For this motif placement and all the remaining motifs, I just eyeballed their placement. Once again, I traced around the shape and then filled them in with an apricot color acrylic paint that I mixed. 

The next part of the design was the circle motif that went over the square. I decided to alternate the colors between turquoise and butter yellow. 

Lastly I added the triangled cross motif on top of each circle. I do not have an in-progress shot of that step. 

Once all the colors were painted, I outlined each motif using a large "liner brush" with black acrylic paint. I love using liner brushes because you can vary the pressure on the brush and make a line that has variations in it. 

Here is the finished "wallpaper."

Here you can see it once I got some artwork and accessories placed. 

Here are two more photos by Rikki Snyder as the "Green Room" looks now. 

I still am very happy with the way this project turned out and I have no plans to change it. I love the warm and rich colors. In the winter, when we use this room most, it is so cosy and enveloping. I know this is because of the colors I used, the design, the fabrics used on the furniture and the collection of books that is on one of the walls. The woodstove doesn't hurt either! 

You can find many DIY projects - from painting, printing, fabric, knitting, embroidery, and more - in my book Crafting a Colorful Home. It is available signed on my website here. I am still offering FREE SHIPPING, a free Kristin illustrated bookplate and a set of postcards all free when you order from me.  

To see more of our colorful farmhouse, check it out on the Houzz.com website here. 

Colorful Things + Some Thoughts

How are you all? I hope your week is going well. I'm looking forward to the weekend when I have my first Saturday free since November. There is a 3 week break between the Farmers Markets so I will actually maybe have time to go to the library and do some of the things Saturdays are for. We are also looking forward to the Easter holiday when we will see my family. 

This week between helping with the farm, I've been working on building up a kiln load of pottery, plates, and bowls to fire. I have never written about making pottery here on the blog. That is because I haven't done it since before Julia was born! Last fall, I started to dig out my old bisqueware and earthenware blanks that have been stored in our dirt basement. Many kiln loads later, I have begun decorating them with underglazes. I'm still working out the kinks and have a ways to go. It is really fun to be painting and decorating ceramics again - playing with patterns and colors. This summer I hope to get my wheel spinning again in one of our little sheds - once I clean it out. 

Earthenware vases by me from the 90's Photo Rikki Snyder

I must say I do feel a bit pigeonholed as to what and who people think I am. I know many of you come here for the knitting but frankly that has been a bit sparse lately. I've been much more into the decorative aspects of Crewel Embroidery and in secret, my ceramics. Time to bring that out of the closet! I have always been an artist who has worked in many disciplines - knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery, painting, pottery, photography, cooking..... I guess you could call it Art ADHD with the common theme of color. But for my career, I have been mostly known for my knitting and yarn since that is where my longtime paid job was and the focus of most of my books. I'm going to have to work very hard to get out of the pigeonhole and I do not know if it is even possible. It will be a steep, long climb I fear. 

Photo by Rikki Snyder of tablesetting of my pottery from the 90's

Lately, I have mostly been in book launch mode - as if you didn't know if you are a regular blog reader! As with any period of time when a book launches - like Crafting a Colorful Home did in January - any author has to put a huge amount of work and time and effort into promoting their book. Over the last few weeks, I have been reaching out to editors, hoping I can secure some more press for the book. Although my publisher has a publicist that is doing the same, I feel, as an author, that I too have to give it a go at generating more enthusiasm and interest in the book that I worked so hard on. And I am very realistic -- I know that any publisher has to support their newest book and that after the initial launch, they turn their attention to the next title. It is a hard reality to swallow as an author but it is the truth. 

So here is where you all could help. Did you buy or see Crafting A Colorful Home? Did you like it? Would you tell a friend about it for me? If you borrowed it from your library, maybe you could recommend it to fellow library goers? And if you have the time and like to write, a few more reviews on Amazon would be great. Although I have been so happy to have shipped as many books as I have, it would be nice if there were a few more comments on Amazon to generate a bit of on-line excitement. In the general scheme of things, that is where books are sold now.  

That's it for today. I hope your week is going well. I hope I can finish enough work to fill up the kiln this week or next. I'll keep you posted. 

Links You Might Like! + 9 Years + Bonus CACH Photos

I just realized that this little blog has just passed its 9th year anniversary. Wow. I went back to read my first post to see how I began. You can read it too. I cannot believe I am still at it. I have no time to reflect on this anniversary today but maybe I will in the near future. What I do really appreciate is that you each take the time out of your busy day to read what I have to write and share. 

We are severely still lacking in the color department here in western Massachusetts. I think it is my colorful, cosy home that has helped me to make it through this winter. Today was a beautiful day - the sun was shining and it was bright and clear. Such a nice change from the winter we have had. 

I am totally inspired by this article on British potter Prue Piper. Oh, how I hope I get to do some pottery again soon! 

Every Thursday for the past 15 years or so, I have gone to the general store in Bernardston to pick up the New York Times. Why? So I can read the "HOME" section. Well that is no more because the NYTimes has discontinued it. Booooooo NYT. :-( You can read about this here. 

Our food scene here in western Massachusetts was written up on the Huffington Post. Check it out here. 

Rikki Snyder - the photographer of my new book Crafting a Colorful Home - has put a blog post up with lots of outtakes of photos we took that didn't get used or were cropped so that many details were missing (in print). Check it out here and thanks Rikki! 

Here are a few of the outtakes that Rikki took of our home for Crafting A Colorful Home that didn't appear in the book.  You can still order signed copies of the book from me on my website. I am still offering the postcards and the Kristin bookplates. $27.95 and FREE FREIGHT! Here is the link to my website.

This chair came from my mother-in-law and it serves as an extra seat in the library. I'd like to re-cover it again someday. The curtain is actually a piece of Uzbekistan embroidery. The engravings are antique and I have collected them over the years. Most have something to do with sheep, dogs, fiber animals and knitting. The mural on the wall is by me. 

Photo by Rikki Snyder 

This is the little Jotul woodstove that warms us all winter. I love wood heat. The wood engravings above the mantelpiece were done by Randy Miller, a New Hampshire wood engraver. Such a talented guy. I discovered that he sells his prints on-line. His images are of agricultural and small town scenes. Our collection includes from left to right:
Border Collie (this collie looks so much like Kate)
Shakers Mowing
Sheep Talk
Town and Country Scene (not available on his website)

On the mantel, I have a piece of needlepoint from Uzbekistan. You can see more on Susan Mellor's site here. 

Photo by Rikki Snyder 

This is a scene in our kitchen. I love British teacups and have a nice collection. Just so you know, the counter is never that clear. There is always stuff all over it. Aren't those zinnias pretty? Summer will come again soon. 

This is a scene in the kitchen at our old wood table. The tea set is Fiestaware that I have picked up at Brimfield over the years. It is great for photo shoots because of the colors and the shape. I made the cushions for our kitchen chairs. (I include instructions for making chair pads in Crafting A Colorful Home. I used fabric I had printed at Spoonflower from my own designs that were done in Adobe Illustrator. The theme is sunflowers of course. You can buy the fabric too. Here is the link to all my prints on Spoonflower. 

Photo by Rikki Snyder 

I hope you all are having a good week. Mud season is arriving here soon.