Hexagon Update, Remembrance, + A Video How To on How I Seam the Crocheted Hexagons into a Blanket

When I began my Hexagon Crochet Afghan, I thought it would take me a couple years to finish. I have surprised myself. It is rolling along - thanks to all the sports watching during the Olympics. And to the Oscars. I'm deep into the sewing together phase of the project now. 

The afghan has gotten mighty big. It is a bit unwieldy to handle and it is tricky to see how and where to attach new pieces. I moved the furniture in the living room to the walls and I've got a big open space on the floor to check on my progress. During the Oscars the other night, I sewed and sewed and sewed. And then I had to rip a bit. I couldn't figure out why pieces weren't fitting correctly. It was looking a bit wonky. 

And then I discovered it - one of the hexagons was 7 sided - a heptagon. It wasn't  6 sided at all and it was throwing things off. Rip rip rip and re-sew. It is going better now. 

And here I thought I might finish it during the Oscars. Not a prayer. As it is now, it will take several more nights of sewing. 

I haven't made a project like this in a long time. Lately the things I have been making have been projects that don't take days and days and days and evenings (unless you count my book which took 1 1/2 years). They have been pieces of pottery or painted walls or tea towels or ...... This has felt like a marathon. It is a bit addicting and I am thinking of starting another afghan. I seem to have caught the crochet bug. It really is super portable and playing with the colors is such fun. 

As I have been crocheting in fits and starts all over creation - at the Saturday Farmers Market (one more week for me - it is at the Hadley Mall just outside Target), taking Julia to the doctor and in the evenings, I've thought back to my grandma Frieda. She is the person who taught me to crochet when I was young. I am trying to remember how old I was but for the life of me, I cannot figure it out. I do remember that Gram was always crocheting or quilting or baking or cooking or cleaning or gardening, arranging her dried flowers or making something. 

The last big project of her life was making every single one of her grandchildren a crocheted afghan. My Mom procured the pure wool and she made 8 zigzag afghans - one for my 4 sisters and me and for my 3 Nicholas cousins. 

(BTW - Kim Werker has a new Zigzag Crochet Class just available on Craftsy. She is giving away 3 classes for FREE - check it out here to sign up to win.)

Gram was a huge part of our lives - how lucky was I? Gram frequently came to our house and babysat for us. We frequently were dropped off at her house. She lived on Conger Street in a 4 square house she and her husband built in 1927. She was a composter before it was cool (for her - it was just right and what you did). She grew all kinds of flowers and veggies. There too she was before her time - she mixed the veggie plants in with her gorgeous roses and flowers. Behind her garage, she planted lots of vegetables. One of my favorite stories from Gram was about when the circus came to town. (Yes - that really did happen in Dover.) The big thing with all the German immigrants was not the circus - it was when the circus was leaving town. They would all be waiting for the elephants to leave and would be there with their buckets to pick up the elephant poop. I can just picture it. 

One of my strongest memories of Gram is popping in to visit her on a Sunday evening. She would be sitting in her chair crocheting and watching Masterpiece Theatre. If you went to visit her on a Sunday, you could not talk to her until "her show" was over. I realize now that I have followed in her footsteps - don't bother me until Victoria is over. When I was little, I didn't really "get the drama" of those shows but I sure do now. 

On Gram's couch, there was massive green afghan made in wool. It had color blocks of some tan and another green - at least that is how I remember it. On it, there were crocheted flowers and leaves applied. It always looked so beautiful and untouchable to me.  I couldn't believe that someone had had the patience to make such a huge textile by hand with a hook and yarn. I don't know if anyone ever slept under it - it was more of a showpiece in my eyes. Perhaps it was a subliminal piece of work and history that inspired the crocheted flowers I made and included in my floral knit and crochet pattern - Olympia's Knit and Crochet Felted Flowers.

When Gram was in the nursing home at the end of her life, we would visit her. She didn't know us and really couldn't communicate. I found it so incredibly sad to see her like that. I try to remember her as I described above. The one thing I do remember from her days in the nursing home is she would hold the hem of her sheets and she would work the edge like she was crocheting. She couldn't communicate but she still had that motion in her fingers. 

Last week, I made a little video that I have posted to YouTube. It is a little long -- 11 minutes - sorry. In it I talk about how I choose which color hexie to put next to another. I also demo my method for sewing the hexies together. I've posted it at the bottom of this post or you can see it on YouTube here. 

If you want to see a quicker video - check out this one I posted on Instagram. 

While you are on YouTube - do me a favor - sign up to follow my channel. I am trying to build up my following there and it would help me out. Thanks! The more followers I get, the more apt I am to make more videos.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any while watching and I will try to answer them in the comments or in a future post or video. 

Sunflower Season 2016 + Back To School

The sunflowers are doing their thing. All that worry about drought and birds stealing the seeds on my part and those little seeds came through for you and me. The garden is a splendid sight. What is amazing to me is that I began planting the sunflowers in late June and then did 3 more plantings through the end of July. I thought I would have a staggered crop considering planting dates and "days to flower" from the seed catalogs. But I was wrong. Over the past couple weeks, pretty much every single variety of sunflower has popped. Some are already done and I never snapped a photo because I was away.

Usually the sunflowers don't peak until about the the 18th of September. Not this year. They peaked in late August. I think it was the extreme heat that really made them grow and mature. 

I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even have time to harvest bouquets for the house until this past weekend. I was running around with the end of summer trips and chores while the sunflowers were doing their thing in the garden. Luckily I got into the garden to take these photos to share with all of you today. I'm going to try to get out again this week although the look of the flowers has really changed. 

Summer is officially over here. Julia started her Senior Year of high school last week. It is amazing how fast it has all gone. I'm sure many of you feel the same about the years your children or niece's and nephew's or neighbor's kids have been attending school. As a Mom, sometimes it seemed to take forever but now I look back and feel the years whooshing by. How did it go so fast and I haven't aged one bit? 

Julia has been in the local school system since she was three years old, beginning pre-school at the age of 4. It has been challenging at times, dealing with her special needs and health issues. I have learned to try not to measure her against other children. That has really been the hardest part of being her parent for me. I have to remember that she is Julia and not someone else. I am a typical oldest child (#1 of 5 kids), over-achiever somewhat Type A kind of person. I have had to learn to shed those personalities as a parent. I've learn a lot about myself but there is always more to learn. I cannot say I am always patient with Julia and sometimes I get incredibly mad at myself when I find my temper flaring. We have made it thus far though and I just love her so much and am so proud of everything she tries to do - succeeding or not. She is such a sweet and caring kid. 

We were talking the other night - her Dad and I - about how she really seems to be shining this last year of high school. She has some fun classes including wood shop and her favorite Yearbook class. (In "shop" she is beginning a "quilt inspired" table top.) She has volunteered to lead the entire school over the loud speaker each Monday morning in the Pledge. I think that experience will do her lots of good - her first chance at public speaking - even if she doesn't realize it. 

Here I will indulge you with 2 of her last "first day of school" photos. She complained to beat the band but she did it. 

That is her custom mocha I make her every morning to get her day going and on the bus at 7. 

I hope you all are settling into your fall schedules. This week is the 168th Annual Franklin County Fair held at the Fairgrounds in Greenfield, MA. It is one of those old-timey family friendly fairs and if you are local-ish, I highly recommend a visit. Animals, races, quilts and needlework, apples, fair food, and a demolition derby. Just walking into the Round House brings tears to my eyes. I'm volunteering at the local church food booth which should be a fun time. 

This Week At The Farm + 18 - Oh Wow!

It's been a busy week here at the farm. I don't know where the days go. It has been incredibly hot here with no rain for at least 2 weeks. When you walk across the lawn or through the fields, you can hear the grass crunch under your feet. It is really disconcerting to say the least. The hay crop, which is what the sheep eat in the winter, has been dismal. We aren't sure what we are going to do about it. It's not like we can make it rain. All we can do is wait and hope it does rain so that the grass will grow. 

Here are a couple photos of my garden. It is mostly mulched except where I put late sunflowers in. They have yet to germinate because of the lack of water. And I have caught the birds eating the little sunflower shoots. The challenges of gardening and farming are real. 

I have my second Creative Retreat here at the farm this coming weekend. It is Fabric Printing and Embroidery. Should be lots of fun. 

(There is still room in my Color for Knitters and Embroidery on Knitting on September 24/25. Check out the class info here.)

I've been doing a bit of fabric printing in preparation for the students. Here are some of my test prints of various stamps I made. 

Work on my book has been pretty much stalled because of the Retreats. Julia and I did get the shelves painted for the pottery shed in this pretty orange color. 

I'm loving the spray paint. It now works on plastic which is super fun. It also comes in amazing colors. I've got a few more ideas I want to try on possible projects for the book. 

Julia turned 18. It is astounding to me that 18 years have gone by since she was born. I guess that is what happens when you have kids - the years fly by and all of a sudden two decades have passed and you don't know where the years went.  

We had a lovely dinner party with friends to celebrate this big milestone. Tonight she is going to the Town Hall to register to vote. She is super excited about that. 

I hope you all are having a good summer and enjoying yourselves. I'll be back next week with photos from this weekend's retreat. Cannot wait to see and meet everyone.  

Book Review by Julia - Elle and Coach + Diabetic Alert Dogs

Kristin here: My daughter Julia wanted to write a Book Review about a book she read a couple months ago. I encouraged her to write and up and tell her story. I can't believe what a good job she did. I only had to fix a couple of punctuation marks but otherwise it was perfect. Here's what she has to tell you.  

From Julia:
About a month ago, I was spending a Wednesday afternoon after school hanging out at my favorite little local library - Cushman Library, browsing around at books and movies, when something intriguing caught my eye. It was a book with white and blue binding. I picked it up off the pile and took a good long look at it. It was a book with a girl on the cover probably about my age and a very adorable regal looking dog (a labrador retriever to be precise). I read the title for the book: Elle and Coach. So I thought to myself: “Well, isn’t that adorable?” After a minute I then noticed something else that caught my eye about the book. It was the subheading below that I didn’t notice right away. It read: “Diabetes, the fight for my daughter’s life, and the dog that changed everything." I read it again. Yes, it was about diabetes. I instantly knew that it was fate that I found this book (or was it the book that found me?). (For those of you that don’t know I have been a type one diabetic for nearly twelve years now -- since I was six). 

I sat down and instantly started reading. The book is written by a woman named Stefany Shaheen, and it tells the true story of her daughter’s struggle with diabetes. I immediately felt a connection to the story and didn’t put it down for hours. Ms. Shaheen goes on to explain how a labrador retriever diabetic alert service dog came into her family’s life. The dog is named Coach, and goes anywhere and everywhere that Elle goes. High school, dance camp, out to dinner, the theater. You name it, Coach goes there. 

But Coach doesn’t just follow Elle around for support. Coach can sense when Elle is having a low or high blood sugar. He can smell the sugar in her body as it gives off a very strong chemical scent. I don’t want to ruin the whole book, but in one part, Elle is upstairs in the bathroom taking a shower with the door closed and Coach is downstairs and he suddenly starts freaking out. So Elle’s parent’s told her to test and low and behold (haha), she was LOW. The dog was right! I was astounded and wanted to keep reading.  Overall, the book was a very quick enjoyable read. 

After I finished it, I knew my time with this book was not done. I told my parents that I wanted to apply for a diabetic alert dog like Coach. Elle had gotten her dog from an organization called CARES, Inc. The organization is out of Kansas. So, I made it my mission to contact them and find out more information. I recently called CARES, and spoke with their owner Megan Llewelyn and found some resourceful information. 

I have just recently filled out my application for a service dog. I have decided that I would most like a female Golden Retriever (although, I am truly happy with any dog that could save my life). When I spoke with CARES, they told me that once my application has been processed, the waiting period is twelve to eighteen months. After that, you go to the CARES training facility in Kansas for a week long class where you meet the dog you will be potentially be taking home at the end of the week, and work with the staff to train the dog. At the end of the week, if you pass all the tests, you get to bring your dog home with you...FOREVER!! 

The Diabetic alert dogs at CARES cost an upwards of $3,500 (CARES is extremely reasonable when it comes to pricing as some organizations sell their dogs between $25,000-$50,000), plus you have to pay for your flight to and from Kansas and the cost of the food and toys for the dog. Along with vet bills, it can become a lot of responsibility. I plan on starting a Kickstarter or GoFundMe page, when I know a little more information. If any of you readers know information about these dogs, the CARES organization, or if you even own a diabetic service dog, we’d love to hear from you!

You can find out more information on CARES, or Elle and Coach by going to these resources: 

http://www.elleandcoach.com/

https://www.facebook.com/elleandcoach/

http://stefanyshaheen.com/elles-story/

https://twitter.com/elleandcoach

You can purchase the book on Amazon here and you can find more about CARES, Inc. here: http://www.caresks.com/

Additionally you can find out about diabetic service dogs: 

Healthline

Animal Health Foundation

The Bark

Thanks for reading - Julia.

p.s. From Kristin - If any of you readers have any experience with Diabetic Alert Dogs, please leave a comment on the blog of email me and julia at kristinnicholasATgmailDOTcom and juliadupreyATgmailDOT com. I am wondering if any smaller dogs might work considering Julia is a peanut (almost 5 feet tall and is frequently knocked over by our Great Pyrenees). Thanks - kn

Honoring

Today, I'd like to honor my Mom Nancy Nicholas. It is "Mother's Day" here in the USA and I couldn't be happier than to share my Mom with all of you. 

My four sisters and I and her grandchildren have been so incredibly fortunate to have the most wonderful mother and grandmother in the world. Mom is 81 years young now. She just came back from a trip to Amsterdam with two of my sisters - Nancy and Laurie. The photo above is of Mom at the tulip gardens at Keukenhof. Doesn't she look so happy? Love this photo. 

Mom is such an inspiration to me. When we were younger, our house was the place everyone wanted to come to. Mom always welcomed our friends in with open arms. Over the years, she also opened our home to so many people, including many foreign AFS students who also consider her their Mom too. That's why Mom went to Holland - to visit Daan, our AFS brother from the early 80's. 

Mom was lucky to find the love of her life in my Dad Arch. They married when she was only 21 years old, like so many women did in the 1950's. They built a loving family and home together in northern NJ. Mom was always there for all of us. As a mom of only one child Julia, I really do not know how she did it all. Getting us all out the door in the morning, brown bag lunches in hand, had to be one mean feat. There was always chaos and confusion which she seemed to thrive on. The laundry might not have always been done but we always felt safe and loved and supported. 

The most important gift she gave to me was her love of creativity, color, textiles, and gardening. She was always encouraging us to make. She always wanted a handmade present, not a store bought one. When I was 9, she asked our teenage neighbor Robin if she would teach me to sew since I had expressed interest. Mom was smart to pass off the teaching to a cool, older teenage girl. Mom was busy with the day to day of raising five girls and running our household. She also knew that Robin would be just as good at sharing her sewing knowledge and that I looked up to Robin. 

Another thing Mom taught me was to try to purchase the best quality materials that you can afford as they would be much easier to work with and would last longer. She opened up a charge account at the local fabric store (no credit cards in those days, if you can believe). She taught me how to match thread to fabric and how to read the back of a paper pattern to figure yardages. She let me purchase all the sewing supplies - fabric, paper patterns, threads, interfacings, and more that I needed to make my own clothes. In those days, you could save serious money sewing for yourself. It was before the rise of imported cheap clothing. That faith in me to watch the pennies but to give me the freedom to continue to create and sew and learn, try harder and harder projects, put me on the path to the career I have had. Mom taught me to be frugal too. She came from Scottish ancestry and Daddy used to tease her about being "scotch". Here in New England being frugal is considered being a "yankee." With my scotch training, I fit right in. 

As I got a little older, Mom took it upon herself to start a 4-H club we called The Tasty Basters (cooking and sewing - clever huh?). Through that weekly club, she spread her knowledge of sewing and cooking to so many other girls in our town. I'm sure most of them still use those skills. 

Although I didn't learn my gardening skills from Mom as a child, I did learn many different perennial plant names. I knew that the garden and plants and nature were something that was important to her and Daddy. They were such enthusiastic gardeners, growers of delicious vegetables and fruits and lovers of color in nature that they couldn't help but pass that passion onto all five of us. Gardening by example I suppose. When Mark and I moved into our first apartment, I was on the phone to her with gardening questions. Every time I went home, she would be out there digging up perennials for me to take back to my own garden. 

Daddy passed away over a decade ago. I have seen Mom move through the challenges of the last decade. It was all new for her - living without my Dad. She arose to the challenge. She raised my two nephews Nicholas and Francisco when they came to live with her from Brazil. She got herself a dog - a French Bulldog named Lola. She continues to be a mad gardener - perennials, annuals, herbs, veggies, and fruit. She says it keeps her fit and strong and I am sure she is right. She has continued her volunteer work with her church and community.

Mom has been so strong and solid and such a role model for me, for my sisters, our husbands, my nephews and nieces, the extended family, and her community that has been her home for over fifty years. She has been such a fantastic part of Julia's life and I am so happy that Julia has been fortunate to have her in her life - cheering her on from the sidelines.

Today, I want to wish Mom and all the other women out there - mothers or not - a Happy Mother's Day. Thank you to all the women who make the world go round, for supporting your children, your friends, for making sense of the daily ins and outs, goods and bads of life. We couldn't do it without you. XO

Julia and Dr. H

On Monday, Julia and I headed to Tufts Medical Center in Boston for her once every two year check in with her neurosurgeon Dr. Carl Heilman. For those of you newer to the blog and our lives, Julia was born with a condition called aqueductal stenosis, a form of hydrocephalus. 

When we first met Dr. Heilman, I was still pregnant and less than a month from our due date. We had been told by other medical professionals that the likelihood of our child surviving was very slim. I had had a high level ultrasound which revealed that there was no brain tissue in the baby's skull and that the baby was most likely anencephalic. We had been called into Boston by Dr. Heilman's office. 

The doctor we met was boyishly handsome in his white coat and blonde hair, soft-spoken, kind, and matter of fact. He had a plaque on his wall saying that he had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania - the school my Dad and sister Laurie had gone to. By the date, I could tell that he was younger than Mark and me. We sat down in his small, wood paneled office and he told us that he thought there was a possibility that our child may have a condition called hydrocephalus. He pulled a white piece of plastic tubing attached to a small oval object from his drawer and explained that it was a shunt and it could drain fluid from the brain. He gave us no promises but told us to keep working with the OB doctors at Tufts and to deliver the baby in Boston.

We had already been grieving for the eventual death of our unborn child at birth. Mark and I walked out of his small office, looked at each other, and didn't know what to think. We went outside and cried together. What did he mean? 

As the weeks went on, it was emotional roller coaster. The baby inside me got the hiccups a lot and that made me cry. Mark was a rock - he had already lost his father at a young age and his mother a year after we were married. I'm not sure how I got through the next 3 weeks. I do know that my work at Classic Elite kept me going. We were in the end stages of desktop publishing our fall collection of patterns and I had a lot to do to get my part ready for the printer. I remember finishing up my last pattern and handing it off to Lori Gayle who would take care of sending all the files to the printer. 

That evening, my water broke and I went into labor. We drove to Boston and checked in. We were met by a huge team of people including doctors and NICU nurses. It is all pretty much a blur to me although I do remember Dr. Sabrina offering me the chance to deliver naturally. I had already known that I would not physically be able to get the baby's head out because it was so huge so that wasn't an option for me. Mark and my sister Laurie were there with me. I just wanted this part of my life over with thinking that the outcome was going to be more sadness. 

The baby was delivered by c-section. I remember a kind NICU nurse bringing the baby to me to look at. It was a little girl wrapped in that white pink and blue flannel blanket that every hospital seems to use. Her head was incredibly huge and swollen although her little eyes shone beneath the misshapen forehead. I didn't know what to think or feel. The nurse said to me - and I will always remember it - "Your baby is going to be alright."

The NICU at Tufts was an amazing place. The nursing staff kind and supportive. Julia had surgery on Day 4 because she had been born over a weekend. Dr. Heilman, with his gentle manner, came to my hospital room and explained what he had done. Then it was time to wait to see what would happen after surgery. Julia's head began to shrink due to the slow loss of all the fluid which had been blocked from leaving her brain at the aqueduct of Sylvius in the ventricular system while in the womb. We were there for 10 days. They sent us off into the world with no hopes of a normal child, nor no predictions - good nor bad - of what our child would be like nor our lives after. Wait and see. And that is what all parents do, isn't it? 

We have been visiting Dr. Heilman now for 17 years. In the beginning, we seemed to live at the hospital next to Chinatown in downtown Boston. Julia had 8 surgeries before she was 2. Her last revision, I was told the other day, was in 2004. Our appointments are down to once every two years. Last week, when Julia and I were planning our trip, the three of us talked about Dr. Heilman and how he was the reason she was here on the earth. He is our hero and shining star, along with all the other kind people - doctors, nurses, teachers, special ed coordinators, school administrators, family and friends who have helped Julia along and helped Mark and I navigate the waters of having a child with special needs. 

When Dr. Heilman walked into the room the other day, he was the same soft-spoken kind man. His hair is no longer blond but white. He is now the Head of the Neurosurgery Unit at Tufts Medical Center. The office has grown under his guidance - there is now a large waiting room full of patients. There are residents learning to be neurosurgeons, multiple secretaries..... it's a busy place full of people navigating the medical system wondering what is to come. 

As I sat there in the small white office, I couldn't help but tear up. Here was this beautiful young woman sitting on the table she was laid down upon all those years ago on the 7th floor of a hospital in Boston. Julia asked Dr. Heilman good questions about her shunt, about what to expect as she got older. She told him she is afraid her shunt will pop out of her head and he quelled her fears. We talked about her starting to learn to drive a car (we haven't begun that part of the journey yet) and about school, her favorite subjects and things that she isn't good or comfortable at, about sports activities that she hasn't ever been good at - due to her condition. We asked about the ability of a woman with hydrocephalus having a child. It was a good appointment. Dr. Heilman said "I'll see you again in two years. When you are an adult, I no longer need to visit unless there is a problem." We talked about how she would recognize a shunt malfunction and problem. 

It's been 17 1/2 years since I first met this kind and talented surgeon. It's hard to fathom the impact his talent has had on our family. I know there are other doctors, researchers, and medical implant companies behind the success of Julia's life but for me - Dr. Heilman will always be our hero. Thank you kind man. 

A Quick Trip South

Last week was school vacation for Julia so we headed out on an adventure. We went south to visit my Mom and sisters in New Jersey. On Friday, we drove to Philadelphia to visit my niece Olivia who will be graduating from the University of Pennsylvania next month. We figured we had better visit once before she was done. 

I hadn't been to Philadelphia in almost 30 years not counting fly-throughs at the airport. When I was younger, Philadelphia was a common city for my family to visit because we only lived a couple hours away. It is so rich in history. When I was in college at the University of Delaware, I used to take the train up to Philly and spend the day visiting museums on my own. 

Benjamin Franklin in front of College Hall

Olivia has been majoring in art and she gave Julia and I a fantastic tour of their art department. I loved seeing all the tools and studios that are available to the students. It made me yearn for those days of college and long studio hours and massive projects! Below are some of Olivia's inspirational images she had pinned to a wall.

Here are Olivia and Julia in front of one of Olivia's inspiration walls in her studio. 

While in Philly, we were lucky to visit the Barnes Foundation. The building is new and in center city. If you are a follower of the art world, you probably remember the controversy about moving the art collection amassed by Albert Barnes from the original museum in Merion, PA to a new building in Center City. You can read about that here or watch a documentary called The Art of the Steal. 

Head of a Young Girl - Matisse - 1917

The building is beautiful. The trees were just beginning to leaf out and the grounds were beautifully landscaped. Inside the art is displayed exactly the same as it was at the original museum in Merion,PA. The collection is astounding. Each room is set up with paintings set off with other incredible objects including metal objects, antique chests, chairs, and ceramics. There are two floors and by the time we left, my head was spinning. We took the guided tour via an iPod which filled us in on the highlights of the collection. 

Cupboard - 1828 - American

This museum has more the largest collection of Renoir paintings in the world. There are also scads of paintings by Cezanne. I am sharing the work that inspired me the most. All photos were found on the Barnes Foundation website. Check it out to see more of the collection. 

The Postman - VanGogh - 1889

I will definitely visit this collection again if I have the chance. There was so much to see and take in that I know I missed so much. I hope you will go too if you ever end up in Philadelphia. 

Still Life - Van Gogh - 1888

And a special tip if you are taking a young person who may not be too interested in art (I'm talking about you Miss J!) - there is a fun audio tour that kids can listen to that is engaging and introduces young people to art in a very appealing and friendly way! 

Here are some more of my favorite highlights from The Barnes Foundation Museum.

Vase by Jean Renoir, Son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir - 1922

Red Madras HeadDress - Matisse - 1907

Girl with Polka Dot Blouse - Amodeo Modigliani - 1919

Central Park - Charles Prendergast - 1939

Here are Mom and Julia just before we were leaving. That is Mom's new baby Lola in her arms! What a cutie she is. 

Family, A Cookbook, Tears + A Project for You to Do

How's your week going? Mine is zipping by. It is still very cold and there is barely a touch of green. The ground is covered with ice and it looks white. The yearlings are continuing to lamb and we have about 40 lambs in the pasture in front of our Farmhouse.

How do you like the new blog header? It is a photo by Rikki Snyder taken during the shoot for my new book Crafting a Colorful Home. I wrote about the Seller's Cabinet which I painted bright orange on this post. I love this photo - it includes a photo of my Grandmother Frieda and the Family Cookbook we wrote together in the early 1980's. I was the editor and she was the author. Guess this book thing goes way back with me - self-publishing before most people did it. 

Over the Easter weekend, we were lucky to see some of my extended family. Only 4 of Julia's cousins made the day. They are growing up and scattering far and wide and finding their way. Ohhhh, I wish them all the luck in the world. I hope they know how much I love them all. I can't wait to see what they do with themselves. 

My niece Olivia is graduating university this year. Olivia has been majoring in Art and she had to build a website for her portfolio. You can see it here. Julia, my Mom, and I are planning a visit to Philadelphia in a few weeks to visit her over spring break.

A few weeks ago, Olivia asked me about her Great Grandmother Frieda Roessler Nicholas who I wrote the Family Cookbook with. She was beginning work on a big project and had some thoughts and questions for me. I told her I had an audio tape of Gram and that she might like to listen to it. I had to find it - that took a few hours! And then I had to figure out how to digitally tape it (I used Garageband but don't ask me how I got it to work!). I didn't know what Olivia would do with the tape or how she would use it in her project. When my sister Laurie sent me the link to Livvie's website, I found this animated video. 

Olivia used a photo of Gram as a young girl from the cookbook (it is low quality - it was xeroxed!). She did stop motion embroidery and added other little bits of embroidery and drawing. She added audio of Gram beating her Christmas Stollen. At the end, there is audio of me and Gram talking. Fantastic job Olivia. Do you notice the embroidered flames? 

As I was digitally taping the audio of me and Gram talking from the squeaky tape on an old tape recorder, it brought me back to the day I was with Gram. I wanted to have an oral history of her life. We started out the day with her making her Christmas Stollen so that I would have a clue of how to make it. Then, while the dough was rising, I asked her questions about her life. 

I remember this day as if it were yesterday (it was 35 years ago). We sat on her sunporch at her house at 13 Conger Street on her Lloyd loom wicker furniture which she had paid me to recover the 13 cushions as a way to earn some money. Gram recounted her life in Germany, coming to America when she was ten years old, her courtship with her husband Archie (who I never knew because he died before my Mom and Dad ever met), and her life in Dover, NJ. It was a cold November day with gray skies. I remember this because the Family Cookbook was a Christmas Gift for my Gram's Grandchildren. I wanted to include current photos of Gram. I took two rolls of black and white film as Gram talked and baked. For the life of me now I cannot find them. They are here somewhere, I hope. 

Friend Roessler Nicholas + Her Christmas Stollen

This past Easter weekend, my sisters, Mom, and my nieces were talking about the Cookbook Project. I was unemployed, looking for work after graduating with my Masters Degree in Textiles from Colorado State University. I was back living with my parents, not knowing what I would do with my life. It was an awkward time in my life - when I was trying to find my way. The economy was totally awful and there was no work for an unexperienced, over-educated young woman. It was that time when I was a young adult but didn't have anything of my own - no job, no career, no home - my life was in limbo. 

I needed something to do with my time. Gram was 81, still living in her own home, still cooking, baking, sewing, quilting, and gardening. Gram had always been such a huge part of our lives and was a huge influence on me personally. She was in the process of crocheting her 8 grandchildren each a Single Crochet Ripple Afghan in 100% wool yarn. Can you imagine crocheting 8 of them when you are 80? That is the kind of woman she was - taking a task and carrying through on it. Besides the Single Crochet Ripple Afghans, she also made things to sell at the Church Fair - jelly, dried flower arrangements, and handmade things. 

I cannot believe my good fortune to have had a role model like Gram in my life. As I listened to her speak on the old cassette tape as Garageband was recording, I couldn't help but tear up - with happiness that I had this slice of her still with me - the memories, the example of a life well lived -- it is totally precious and an inspiration for any age I am.

Frieda Roessler Nicholas - My Paternal Grandmother

This past Easter weekend, I encouraged my nieces to do a similar thing with their surviving Grandparents. To tape a conversation, to take photos, to spend a good long day with their Grandparents - doing nothing in particular but recording and photographing. I could do this same thing with my mom but I really think that a grandparent/grandchild relationship is so different. I think that Gram shared things with me that she would never have shared with her son, my Dad. I don't know if the girls will get their acts together to do such a thing but I will keep encouraging them.

I write this here on my blog so that perhaps you too might do a special project with an older or younger person you treasure. Perhaps stitch a quilt, embroider a pillowcase (or set of pillowcases), teach a grandchild or child to knit or embroider, write a cookbook together, tape a conversation about their/your life. None of these things cost much to do - mostly it is finding the time to do it, organizing the project, and getting a willing participant. There are lifelong lessons and opportunities that can disappear in a flash when a special person is no longer around. 

Seize the summer months that are upcoming. Take time now to plan your special project of making and creating if you have the opportunity. You will be happy you did. And I hope you will tell me about the project if you do it!

I am still taking orders for my new book Crafting a Colorful Home. You can purchase signed copies on my website for $27.95. I am still offering FREE Freight and a set of Kristin Postcards. Check it out here. 

How is Your Summer Going?

Good morning all. We've been busy here trying to fit everything in and I haven't had spare time to be blogging. Hope you all understand. Julia has a couple more weeks off and we will be out and about, doing farmers markets, visiting family and friends - just what summer is about. 

Julia turned 16 in July and I can't believe how fast those years have gone. We have celebrated several times - one of the perks of being an only and having a summer birthday!

We have launched 9 beautiful little kittens into the world, finding them great homes. So sorry to see them go!

 

Julia has met Derek Hough TWICE. What a sweet man.

I've been back and forth to Detroit PBS to tape Season Six of Knit and Crochet Now. Fun trip!  I think the new season will launch in February.

I've been doing a lot of Crewel Embroidery - fitting it in with my travels. Here are a couple of progress shots on a colorful piece I am working on now.

I've got a very small class happening this Saturday on Fabric Printing. Should be fun and creative. I'll try to take some photos of the work we do. I'll be back more in the fall to this space - for now I have to enjoy the couple of short weeks before the chaos of normal life begins again! You can catch up with me on Instagram where I've been posting shots of kittens, flowers, and whatever else it is I find inspiring. I hope you too are enjoying your summer.