Kittens and Cats and Girls

Our litter of beautiful kittens has all moved on to their new homes. In this difficult and unpredictable time we are living in, these kittens are a welcome diversion and loving addition to the four families that have brought them into their homes and lives. Here is a photo of our neighbor Debbie who adopted one of the kittens to be a sister to her cat Hamish (who came from a litter last summer). Her name is Greta and I saw her today outside watching Debbie rake and Hamish chase leaves. So nice we will be able to see her frequently. Greta is filling a void in Debbie's family's life as their old dog Blue just passed away. So glad we could help.

I must admit, I was not much of a cat lover as a kid. My family always had a dog and it had primo status in the eyes of the family. Mostly I think this was the case because neither my Mom or Dad had grown up with cats. We did have a cat that my sister Lynn brought home one day and after many days of begging, my parents let the cat -- which we named Tabby -- stay. I was always a little fearful of Tabby because of her claws. (What did I know?) Tabby lived to be 23. When she passed away, the mice moved into our house and they have been there ever since. 

I never fully understood the psyche or beauty of cats until we adopted our first cat when we moved into our first house. Her name was Sophie and she was a beautiful brownish grey tortoiseshell cat. 

Sophie wasn't particularly loving and she had a real mind of her own. She frequently stayed out all night hunting and I had to get over the fact that I couldn't control her like I could do with our dogs. Once I got used to having a cat, I wanted another who might be more friendly and sweet. One of my co-workers had a litter of kittens with double paws. Willie was a funny guy but he loved his cats more than life. I asked if I could adopt one of his kittens and he said okay. Madeline was a beautiful tuxedo cat who was actually a Mister so we called him Mr. Madeline. He was a real love and sweetheart of a big boy.  

The Farmer was always a cat lover and his tales of Stubby the cat who had her own stool at the family's table was one of the things that endeared him to me in the beginning. How couldn't you like a family who let the cat sit next to them at dinner? 

Since we have lived at this farm, we have had many cats. Ours are indoor outdoor cats who we count on to help with the vermin. All of them have their own personalities and quirks. 

As a little thing, Julia was always attracted to our cats. I think because of her early motor delays, cats were easier for her to hold and not nearly as jumpy as a Border Collie who could knock her down so easily. There she is with one of her kittens Zoe Sophia. 

Our first Mama Cat was Vera (shown in the painting I did of her above). She was the Mama of Charlie who just passed away last year at 18. That's Charlie and Julia in the photo (by Rikki Snyder) below. 

The Farmer came home one day many years ago and told me that one of our neighbors had a litter of kittens and there was a beautiful medium haired calico. Me, being a color person, I had always wanted a colorful tri-color cat. He knew that. We went to see the kitten but she was spoken for. I put my name on the list if there were ever any more like her. Marilyn called us a couple months later and told us the home had fallen through and if we wanted her, we could have her. She had named her Lily Pons after the opera singer because the kitten was very vocal and loud. 

Lily Pons was a wild one with super intelligent cat instincts. She was a great hunter and would disappear for weeks at a time and I would worry. She would eventually come home and all would be fine. She was a great mama and raised many beautiful kittens. We still have two of her kittens - Tommy and Mittens - who are quite old now. Rosie who is the mama of the current litter is the great grand daughter of Lily Pons. Obviously cat genealogy is a thing here. 

With this latest litter, I thought it would be fun to photograph each of the adoptive families with their kittens. I got as far as two families and then the virus interrupted and I forgot about the task at hand. 

Our friends from Northampton have had their names on the kitten list for several months. The two little girls were so excited when Julia told them their kittens had been born. They came one day - the whole family in kitten headbands. Each girl picked out her own kitten when they were very small. There was such anticipation in their household for their new kitties. They visited once more to see the kittens in a new growth stage. The weeks went by. I think the girls thought the day would never come. 

The two girls had hand drawn kitten count-down calendars in their rooms and sent us photos as the days were X-ed off. They named them Sparky and Jade. As the days counted down, I got more pictures. Here is the series. Can you see the anticipation and excitement building? 

THE DAY FINALLY ARRIVED as you can see in the picture above. I love children's art and was so happy when Laz gifted me with her pictures. 

Here's a photo of Julia with two of our current cats Daisy and Charlotte and Laz and Simone with their new kittens. Precious, aren't they all? Kitten girls for life. Hopefully we will get to see the kittens as they grow up. We know they will all be loved in their 4 new homes. Thanks everyone for putting up with the cat stories. 

Spring, New Fabric for Mom and Make And Decorate Podcast

Spring has been nice and long here in western Mass. The grass is just starting to grow - it isn't long enough to put the sheep on it yet but it will be within a couple weeks. We will need to get the temporary fences set up which is a job. The Farmer isn't very steady on his legs yet -- that will take having the second hip replaced. We are hoping we can find some help with that project -- someone who doesn't mind the ticks that are ravenous this time of year. Yuk. 

I have been working on a project for Mom. She wants to recover her porch furniture and wanted to use one of my fabric designs. Because I can, I designed 4 new colorways for her of my Bird and Flower Pattern - all the while thinking about Mom's lovely screened in porch and the many hours we have spent there together as a family. I designed 4 colorways - light green, brown, leaf green and gold - and then resized the pattern 4 times so that she can pick the colorway and scale she needs for her particular cushions on her couch. 

I have sent the fabric off and I look forward to hearing her choice. I like them all and I think she will be happy with one of them. Once she decides, I will re-do the computer files and order the fabric for her at Spoonflower. I will also put the pattern up for sale in my Spoonflower shop. 

As you can see, Henry had to get into the photo action as cats are bound to do. We have a litter of kittens due soon and we are hoping that Henry is the dad to some of them. He has such a great personality and is a beautiful boy so fingers crossed he did his job. Unlike some male cats I have had, he hasn't been marking territory. I will get him neutered but want to see the type of babies he fathers. He came from an island in Maine so it is good to have some new blood. Like with our sheep, the male is half the progeny. 

Lastly, I want to let you all know that I am on a podcast hosted by Stephanie Socha called Make and Decorate. I taped the interview several weeks ago and it is now available to listen to. Stephanie started her podcast not that long ago and she is such a fun chat. She is a very enthusiastic conversationalist with lots of different interests that we had in common. Stephanie has been an interior decorator for several years, quilts, crochets, sews and hails from the midwest. We talked about all kinds of fun things including quilting, color, fabric, pattern and more. Have a listen here. 

I listen to podcasts a lot while I work on my ceramics and sew. I use the app on my phone or ipad called Stitcher although there are many options for listening including on a browser. There is so much to learn out there. Click here to listen to my interview on Make and Decorate. 

Have a great week everyone!

Big Goings On This Week at the Farm

Wow - what a few weeks it has been. Some weeks are just like that, aren't they? This week, we had a photo crew here for an upcoming feature next year in Country Home Magazine. We shot for two days - moving furniture around, me frantically cleaning where it hadn't been cleaned in years and would show in a photo. Days like these are long and very physical and intellectual all at the same time. I love them but I am always glad when they are over. I worry, worry, worry before but know deep inside it will all work out fine. Once the shoot is over, I collapse. The house is destroyed pretty much and it takes months to find everything again. I always wonder why I say yes but then as the producer who came said when I said "never again" that I will forget all the work and do it again perhaps. 

Above is a look behind the scenes. Just so you know, in every photo shoot I have been involved in, there is shear chaos just set outside the camera lens' reach. Piles of stuff which doesn't look good. The regular stuff of life - piles of paper, batteries, brooms, vacuums, unattractive packaged objects, hammers, nails, tape..... As each room is finished with its close-up, the mess gets shifted again. By the time the shoot is over, it looks like a bomb went off. Good thing my family doesn't mind and is kind of used to what ensues.  

The cool thing about CH coming is that they were here in 2003 for a feature that came out in 2004. You can read that article on my website here. I was surprised that they would want to come back and feature our house again but it has been over a decade and most likely they have new readers - and different readers. And evidently the article back then was very popular. It was fun for me to revisit the photos from back then and see how things in our house had changed - and they have even though I thought they hadn't. 

When I do these shoots, my favorite part is arranging the flowers in all my different vases. I had tons of sunflowers to pick - after they photographed them. Since they wanted to photograph my cutting garden, I didn't want to pick it because my zinnias are a bit scarce. Luckily I have flower growing farmer friends. On Monday, when I should have been cleaning, off I went to see Olivia and Susie at Wingate Farm just over the MA line in NH. Olivia let me pick her garden and gave me left overs from the Saturday farmers market. Thank you Olivia! Here are some of the bouquets I made from their flowers and mine. 

In other news, I'm so excited to share that there is a new article about my work and my new book Crafting A Colorful Home in the Oct/Nov issue of Mary Jane's Farm Magazine. Four pages full of photos and a nice interview. So awesome to be introduced to a new group of readers. Thanks to Carol Hill at MJF for pulling it all together. If you don't know Mary Jane's Farm, you can go to their website here and learn more about their magazine, their products, and the dynamic people behind the brand. Mary Jane Butters writes a great blog too!

The kittens are starting to leave the nest. I have homes for 3 of the 4. If you know of anyone who might like a good farm cat, the gray tabby with the white markings in the photo below is still available. Shoot me an email at kristinnicholasATgmailDOTcom.

I have one free weekend beginning tonight! Yippee! And then my last Getting Stitched on the Farm creative retreat of the 2015 happens next weekend September 26/27. I still have spaces available - it is the only knitting retreat of the year. If you are interested in a last minute great time, check it out here. 

New Arrivals

We have a new litter of four kittens. They were born during the Saturday of the most recent retreat - July 18th. Retreat babies. This is the mother who is named Petunia.

This is Mittens who wants to be the mother. 

For the past couple weeks, Mittens has been moving in on Petunia and her kittens. For a while, we had to watch her closely as she kept plucking them up on her mouth and moving them to the attic away from their real mom. 

Things have finally settled down now and both Mittens and Petunia are mothering the kittens. Hard to believe but the kittens are nursing both females. It seems that Mittens is producing milk and the litter is happy nursing off of both females. They have it made.

This same natural situation happened last summer. At first I was perplexed because I am not much into cat behavior. Now I find it a bit comforting that both the aunt of the kittens and the real mama are both taking care of the litter. It is not unlike how human sisters will step into the role of mama when the real mama is away. Nature is a remarkable thing. 

George and Harry Move On

On Sunday, the new kitty mama to George and Harry came to pick them up. We are so happy that they are going to live on a farm in New Hampshire and help with the rodent population and perhaps herd chickens. Here's a photo of the two of them the morning before they left our farm. 

Such little darlings. It is much quieter here without their tearing around after each other. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Phoebe and Christmas Kitten Love

Popping in today to say hi and share these sweet photos of Petunia grooming Rascal. Awwww.

The house is finally decorated to our liking, the tree is up and some presents are being purchased. I hope you all are enjoying the annual ramp-up to the winter holidays - not getting too wigged out about it all. This too shall pass remember! I missed the Monday Book Giveaway everyone. Sorry about that - I will make it up to you in the New Year!

This Christmas we will be missing our sweet dog Phoebe who passed away quietly the Sunday before Thanksgiving. She was my sweetheart, my sidekick - always by my side when I was working. The house is so much quieter without her - no more morning barking to alert us all of the school bus and UPS truck. We were so lucky to have her as a family member for 15 1/2 years. 

Photo by Rikki Snyder

Photo by Rikki Snyder

A quick note to say that you can purchase my Craftsy Class Stitch It with Wool for $19.99. Have you been wanting to learn Crewel Embroidery? Here's your chance for a sweet deal (regular price is $34.99). Use this link - http://www.craftsy.com/ext/KristinNicholas_holiday to receive the discount on my class and any others you may want to queue up for over the holidays and 2015.

Community

Mittens and the kittens

The word community seems to be such a popular term these days. Here at the farm, we have some real community going on in cat world. We have 2 litters of kittens and 2 moms. The litters have now combined and both the moms take turns nursing the kittens. 

Petunia and the kittens

This sharing of the love, the milk, and the parental responsibilities has really been something to see and learn from for all of us. Human kind should take some lessons from cats.

Be Ready to Smile

I can't stop smiling and laughing. Awesome. Thanks Kay.

Evidently this video can not be seen on ipads and phones. Here is the link to the Youtube page where you all with the mobile technology can watch it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DePFiF-nNoE

Have a great week everyone. Make something.

Put on the Orange, Country Water, and Kittens

Monday was the first day of deer hunting season with shot guns. Bow and arrow season was for the last 6 weeks or so. Our farm is situated next to acres and acres of Massachusetts Fish and Game land and other bits of protected land. I always pay attention to "opening day" because hunters come from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts to our road - especially during the first week of the season. I usually don't take Kate for her walk for the first few days because I don't want her to get hurt. Chances are very slim that anyone would shoot at a black and white dog who is much smaller than a deer but I worry just the same. Today we went out and the hunters are still there. It is rainy, cold and raw. They are hardy fellows out there doing their sport.

Yesterday I spent part of the day dealing with our well - the underground source of the water here at our farmhouse. If you have been here, you understand that water is a problem. This hill and many of the hills around us don't have good supplies, even though down at the bottom of our hill is the Leyden Glen which supplies most of the water for Greenfield MA. We hired Lynde Well Drilling out of Guildford, VT. It was very interesting to watch what they do and find out where our water comes from - 500 feet below the ground. I got a real kick out of Ken, one of the owners who knew most of the people on our road, considering he has fixed everyone's wells, done hydrofracting of the well to increase water supply, and replaced pumps and tanks.  

Winston loving the excitement of people visiting.

Dan and Ken attaching the pipe to the well line to begin removing pump

 

Here's Ken reeling up the plastic piping that holds the electricity in the well onto a giant reel in his truck. The pump was at the bottom - 500 feet down!

One thing I learned that I will pass on. I asked the guys why after it rains buckets and buckets and there is water in the basement, how could it be that we still had water problems. Dan told me that it takes 5 years for the surface water to get down to the bottom level of the well. Fascinating.

 I only write this kind of stuff to help me remember when we did what on our house and when. It also helps to inform any city people reading who have dreams of living in the country of some of the stuff we deal with. It's all part of country life. It isn't cheap to be here - everything seems to cost a few thousand if you ask me. At Thanksgiving, I made the so un-Kristin-like choice to use fake plates and silverware. At that point we were very low on water and I couldn't imagine how the toilets would even flush for the 20 people who were visiting. Thinking of starchy foods sitting on plates for days before I could wash them sounded like a nightmare. Next year, it will be back to china plates and real utensils.

I'm happy to report that Julia had her "best shower ever" last night. Seems we have been limping along for years here with no water pressure and a well that wasn't quite pumping right.  

We have a new litter of kittens that are ready to go. If anyone knows a family who would like a farmbred, friendly mouse-hunting kitty, please contact me. They are ready to go now and I can keep them until closer to Christmas if needed. There are 2 all black kittens and 3 gray tigers - one with some white socks on it. I think some of them will be short hairs and some will be medium length hair.

All of them are highly social and will make great family pets. One of the black ones is quite a scrapper and I'm looking for him to obtain a position as barn cat as I think he is going to be an incredible hunter. 

The kittens were born during the Red Sox run up to the World Series. They are called Boston, Manny, Little Big Pappi, Teddy, and Babe after team members current and past. We will really miss them and are hoping they will find some nice loving homes. The photo below shows the mama Mittens and Manny.

Have a great day everyone!

Three Beautiful Things

1. The zinnias didn't freeze.

2. This kitten..... There are three that look alike....

3. First Moulin Rouge Sunflower of the season......

And if you are a knitter and decorating your home, check this out (via Design*Sponge). 

Happy weekend everyone.

That's Done

I sent off my manuscript last night. Made the deadline by the skin of my teeth. I remember the days of sending huge piles of paper to a publisher for them to then type-set and do the book design. My how publishing has changed. 

They say we are going to a paperless society but for me, I've got to read the print on paper to catch mistakes. I printed this baby out three times and can no longer look at it. I sent it off and now hope they are happy with what I have done. When it gets to a different form (i.e. more designed), I'll find more mistakes, I am sure.

The kitties are getting photogenic. And they are starting to be social with the dogs. This photo of Ness and little Mona - the loudest, most inquisitive kitten - is just so sweet.

I'll try to get some more kitty photos in between the cleaning. Have a great day everyone.

Fleeting Summer Days

Thirteen days until Julia starts her freshman year of high school! Oh my - where has the time gone? Life seems to be buzzing by at an unstoppable blur. I am trying to get over to the Knitted Garden Exhibit at Colorful Stitches in Lenox. Hopefully next week one day. For a preview, check out the Colorful Stitches blog. It is up until Labor Day. 

Photos by Bonnie Burton - Colorful Stitches, Lenox MA

My book is coming along. Here's another reason I couldn't run classes this summer. What a mess - but a creative mess. The stuff that is coming out of this space is pretty fun. Loving my studio so much.

Tomorrow I will be "cooking koftas" at the Amherst Farmers Market - made with our ground lamb. It is supposed to be a beautiful day so I hope to get some new lamb converts. Stop by if you are local. Not local? Pick up the recipe here. 

My friend Brett Bara is doing a crowd funding campaign (indiegogo) for her new "Brooklyn Craft Company." Check it out here if you are curious. There is a video. 

Last night little Miro went off to his new home. It is very quiet here today without that little ball of energy. 

  
His Mama Mittens is not very happy with us. 

On Wednesday evening, Julia and I were sitting on the porch chatting. Petunia came and sat next to us. As the minutes went by, I noticed she seemed to be having contractions. I have never been privledged to sit with a cat as it gave birth - most of our mama cats have given birth in closets away from the dogs and people. Not this time. She pushed and pushed and then screamed. I had never seen or heard that either! I had to pull the first one out as it was breech. It took until 9:30 and 3 more screams. Petunia did it. Three little "tuxedo" kittens and one gray tiger. They all have "double paws." but look like little rats now. 

They are still where she had them and we are watching them nurse and crawl around - all piled up on top of each other as if they were still in the womb. Awesome. I'll keep you posted. In 8 weeks I'll have some kitties available if anyone needs a furry friend. 

Have a great weekend everyone.