Kristin Is Now Writing Over on Substack

Hi All! A quick note to let you all know that I'm now writing a Newsletter over on Substack: Kristin Nicholas' Colorful Newsletter from the Farm.

You can sign up here! 

I began this blog back in 2006. For years, I kept it up and loved writing it. During a time in my life when I was living in western Massachusetts on our sheep farm with a small child with compromises, this blog kept me connected to others who shared my different interests in fiber, yarn, color, design, cooking, gardening and farming. I was also able to introduce my different book projects and share the book making process with readers. I love this blog and I love all the people I met through it. I frequently find information on this blog that I can't find anywhere else. It is like a treasure trove of my creative and farm life. I loved reading each and every comment and thank you for commenting.

As with all things, the internet has changed and morphed in other ways that has made blogs like these feel old-fashioned. Blogs began to be more commercial and everything seemed to be about advertising and making money. Fewer and fewer people were coming here and my enthusiasm waned. I continued my connection to my readers through a MailChimp newsletter. 

So now...... there is good news for those who want to continue following me online to hear about what is going on in my creative life. I have migrated my newsletter to a newish platform called Substack. Substack is a publishing format for writers wanting to connect to readers interested in what they have to say. Substack newsletters are free to read but there is also an option for writers to develop a paid newsletter. At this point, my Kristin Nicholas' Colorful Newsletter from the Farm is totally free. I do not know if I will go the paid route because I'm not sure I have the time to develop content that I think readers will want to pay for. 

If you sign up to my Substack Newsletter, you will receive each piece that I publish in your email in-box. You can also download the Substack app directly to your phone so that you can read it there. As each newsletter is published, you will receive notice on your phone. On the Substack App, you can find all types of newsletters about so many different subjects - food, science, crafts, farming, cooking, politics, wellness and much much more. 

Hope to see you and hear from you over on my Substack Newsletter Kristin Nicholas' Colorful Newsletter from the Farm. SIGN UP HERE.

I'll keep this blog here and welcome all to dig into the archives that are rich with color, creativity and farming life. 

Yola's Lamb and Zucchini Koftas (Meatballs) with Za'atar Yogurt Sauce

It's been a while since I've shared any new lamb recipes. A couple of weeks ago, our friends Yola and George visited and she shared one of her favorite lamb recipes with us. Yola is of Turkish descent and she is an amazing cook. It’s simple and quick to make. During zucchini season, it is so great to have another recipe to help whittle down the pile of overly abundant squash from the garden. During the winter, you can omit the zucchini. This makes a quick dinner and leftover koftas are a great snack or quick lunch. Perfect for a summer picnic too as they are delicious hot or cold. 

If you haven't ever tried the Middle Eastern spice blend Za'atar, I encourage you to look for it. (I bought this one on Amazon but it is frequently available at better grocery stores.) It's delicious - especially sprinkled on some flat bread and broiled or added to yogurt like in this recipe. 

For the Koftas

1 lb. ground lamb

1 medium zucchini (1/2 lb or less)

5 scallions

1 egg

2 Tablespoons chopped mint

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

2 garlic cloves crushed in a garlic press

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

dash cayenne

oil for frying

 

For the Yogurt Sauce

1 1/2 cups yogurt

    (or 1 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup sour cream which will yield a creamier sauce) 

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 small garlic clove crushed in garlic press

1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon za’atar (cumin is a decent substitute if za’atar is not in your spice cabinet)

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

1. Mix all the ingredients for the yogurt sauce in a small bowl so that the spices have time to meld. Chill. 

2. Grate the zucchini on a box grater or in a food processor. Chop the scallions into thin slices. 

3. Mix all the Kofta ingredients (except the oil) in a bowl with your hands so that all the herbs etc. are mixed through. 

4. Form 20 or so meatballs with your hands. 

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Working in batches, place the meatballs in the pan, flattening them to be about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Don’t crowd the pan. Fry for about 4 minutes per side. Move to a plate and cover with foil while the second batch cooks. 

Alternately, bake at 400 degrees on a greased sheet pan for about 15 minutes. 

 

Koftas can be made ahead of time, covered and re-heated. 

Serve with yogurt sauce and flatbread.

Two More Hexagon Afghans and Winter Restoration

I'm still in restoration mode as I call it. In the winter cold (and it has been cold this winter), I hunker down, try to keep warm (the woodstove helps), do a lot of reading and perusing of my book collection, cook some very nice meals and help out with the lambing when needed. We are used to the cold here in western Massachusetts. I really felt for the folks in Texas who struggled with the cold, snow, and lack of electricity and water. 

The days are getting longer each and every day. It has been very, very gray. We have had a lot of storms of sorts - mostly snow but not as much as in other parts of the the Northeastern US. The hills are about to come alive with "sugaring season." I can feel spring coming!

I can also feel the energy for creating coming back after its winter slumber. I've finished (!!!!!!) two hexagon afghans from the free pattern you can find on this blog here. Crochet hexagons are one of those carry along projects I take with me to meetings (when there were meetings), appointments, and the farmers market so that my hands have something to do while I am listening and watching. Evidently I have spent a lot of hours listening and watching because I had enough hexagons for two afghans (272 hexies each) and and extra 238 hexies for a start (and almost finish) on a third afghan. Not sure if I will get to sewing the third together this winter. Here are the piles of hexies I've got made for the next one. 

I've sorted all the hexies into color piles. When I am sewing the afghans together, I use the outer ring of the hexie to determine the color. I attach complementary colors next to each other so the colors pop and vibrate. I use the outer yarn color to sew them together when possible and the seam kind of disappears into the piece. 

I know a lot of folks like to crochet their pieces together. I've never done that because I'm not much of a crocheter. And I actually love the process of sewing the pieces together with a blunt pointed tapestry needle. I find it meditative and soothing. 

Our small hilltown recently got high speed internet service. It took years and years of planning for it to happen and I am so thankful to the townspeople who served on the committees to make it happen. It has been a game changer since we now can watch Netflix and Amazon Prime without buffering. Julia has got the television hooked up with all kinds of features that I don't know how to use. There is a mass of cables on the floor that is a serious eyesore. I try to not look at it but once in a while I sort it all out. And then it gets tangled again. 

A movie we watched recently is the 2015 Icelandic movie Rams. The cinematography is beautiful. This is not a feel good movie but a "makes me think" movie. In fact, I'm still thinking about it. There is an Australian remake of the movie out in 2020 with Sam Neill but I can't imagine it could be as poignant as the original version. Here is the trailer. 

Hope you are well. If you are looking for winter lambing photos, follow me on Instagram HERE. 

Book Review - Frances Palmer's Life in the Studio

 

I first became aware of Frances Palmer when I read an article about her and her pottery and garden in one of my favorite magazines - US House and Garden. Her signature white earthenware pottery filled with my favorite sunflowers was featured on the cover. Although HG has been sadly long gone (Conde Nast closed it in 2007), Frances' beautiful pottery business and garden has grown and thrived in the years since. On my studio inspiration wall below you can see the cover photo from that issue of HG.

Many folks recently will have stumbled upon Frances through her incredibly seductive Instagram feed. There she almost daily photographs her pottery vases filled with flowers from her garden. Her feed is one of the joys of my day. She features incredibly voluptuous arrangements of flowers she grows on her tennis court turned cutting garden in her porcelain, earthenware and terracotta pottery. 

This past fall, Frances' first book Frances Palmer - Life in the Studio - was published by Artisan Books in October of 2020. You can see that book on the lead photo which shows the colorful turquoise and floral dust jacket and the cloth bound book that is hidden under the dust jacket. Ooooo- what a beautiful presentation. It is not many publishers that will put such care and beauty into a book.

I have followed Frances since the early days of Instagram and when I heard that she was writing and photographing a book, I was so thrilled. I ordered it early and it came just around the time of my birthday. What a fantastic gift to myself if I do say so. Thank you Frances for the hours of inspiration on Instagram and for the joy that I have derived from your book. 

What I really enjoyed about Life in the Studio was that it contained a great mix of all the things I love. Making ceramics, gardening, cooking, baking, photography, color, and studio life. Lots of times, books like these are all fluff - full of beautiful photos (which - don't get me wrong - I do love colorful photography books) but lacking in what I call the "meat" or substance behind the photos. Life in the Studio is different. Yes, it is packed to the gills with gorgeous Frances photography - but it also includes Frances' story. She describes her background, how she got interested in ceramics, how she makes a pot, her studio life..... And funny thing - she once had a knitwear business and she is a knitter. 

Life in the Studio also includes tips for gardening - especially growing dahlias which if you ask me - are Frances' signature flower. Eighteen pages on how to grow, care, harvest, and store for dahlias is a bonus for anyone interested in growing this (once again) very popular flower. She recommends 36 of her favorite varieties and includes photos of each one. 

Here are a few of the essays which Frances includes....

How to Make a Pot

Promotion and Patience

The Value of My Work

The Meditation of Repetition

The Importance of Collaboration

Arranging a Bouquet Step by Step (words and photos) 

My Education in Photography

On Being Kind to Yourself

As you can see, there is an amazing amount of information in this book. Although it is written partly for potters, the contents are valuable for any creative person. Kudos to Frances for a job well done. I look forward to following her for many more years to come.

Here are some of my favorite spreads from Life in The Studio. 

Some of Frances' early pottery.  

A sampling of the incredible flower photography

A photo of many pots lined up waiting for a studio sale

That cover photo from the original HG cover photo and article along with an essay entitled Embracing the Random

Some of Frances cobalt blue painted ceramics

A Tarte Tatin recipe photographed on a Frances plate

The opening page for a series of photographs of varying types of ceramics that Frances makes

At the back of Life in the Studio, Frances includes a listing of favorite books on ceramics, cooking, gardening, and photography and her sources for plants, seeds and garden tools.

You can visit Frances's website here where you can order your very own signed copy of Life in the Studio or purchase a piece of pottery. Or follow her on Instagram. Or purchase Life in the Studio here. 

You can listen to podcasts featuring Frances here:

The Potters Cast with Paul Blais

After the Jump/Design *Sponge with Grace Bonney

On Creativity with Jennifer Jewell

Knitted, Embroidered Sunflower Pillow - Notes from Kristin

Happy February everyone! It's been a slow slog back to making but I'm back. I finally finished a sunflower pillow that has been languishing in my knitting bag for years. Here it is......

It is an adaption from my Inspired Interiors PDF Download. I knit the square version in the round with a steek. Here is the chart I used. You can purchase the pattern on my website here or on Ravelry here. 

After I finished the knitting and steeking, I decorated each flower with a Spider Web center outlined in French Knots. You can watch a 51 minute video on Creativebug on how to do these stitches on your own knits. Here is that link.  

Here are some close-ups of my embroidered centers. I love this technique because it gives me the chance to add more color and texture to my knits. Give it a try - it isn't difficult. 

You can purchase the pattern on my website here or on Ravelry here. 

New 2020 Tea Towel Pre-Orders by Monday November 16th

This poor little neglected blog. I've been focusing lots of my energy on my Email Newsletters. Friday I sent out an announcement about my three new Tea Towel Designs - each in 4 different colors. I design these Tea Towels myself - my website is the ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD where you can get these Tea Towels (except for our booth at the Amherst MA Farmers Market). 

Here's how I design them......I draw the designs out in black Flair felt tip marker or paint in black gouache on paper. I scan the sketches and bring them into Adobe Illustrator. In Illustrator, I do lots of computer manipulation and resizing of the different motifs and put them into the size format of the tea towels. I use a Wacom Pen Tablet at this point. Once I have the different design elements in, I move them around and resize to fit the Tea Towel format. Then I build a pattern repeat (if there is one needed). I export the Illustrator document into a jpeg format and import it into Photoshop. Then I can upload the digital file and do a test print. Once I see that the file prints perfectly, I do several different colorways and test them. Finally it is time to do a real print run. 

As you can imagine - when you look at the designs below and if you know Illustrator - these darn tea towels take FOREVER to design. I only have the energy to do the fabric design once a year because I find the computer illustration too tedious. I'm working with an old version of Illustrator and a very old laptop. If I upgraded both the Adobe Creative Suite and my computer, it would be faster. Unfortunately Adobe has changed their pricing and structure so that you have to pay $50/month forever to have the program (if I am correct? that was last time I looked) and a new laptop isn't in the cards right now. And so, I sally on with antiquated equipment! 

I forgot to post the photos of the new designs. Here they are......

I am taking orders through Monday evening at midnight. After that, I will order the fabric and then sew up the Tea Towels. If you order you will get them in time for the holidays. Your credit card will be charged when you order. 

This is something new I am trying. In past years, I have only sold the Tea Towel leftovers from the Farmers Market season. That method has never given my Online Shoppers much of a choice. By doing the pre-order, I can order the amount of fabric I need and not be stuck with lots leftover fabric sitting in my dining room waiting for months until the Farmers Market opens again. 

So far, there has been lots of interest in these and I am very thankful for the support my followers have shown! Hop on over to my website to order by Monday evening the 16th of November at midnight Eastern Time. (I may order a bit of overflow fabric to have on hand for those that haven't heard about this offer. I will order extra fabric of the colors that sell the best.) 

I only ship to the US at this point. Sorry to all the overseas and Canadian readers. 

I Love Soup - French Onion Soup Recipe

In the colder months, I could live on soup. I've got a bunch of favorites I turn to over and over again. Lamb and Lentil Soup, Potato Leek and Scotch Broth are two that are favorites here at our farm. When I can score some farm raised beef bones from fellow farmers, I make beef stock. Last week, our neighbor Debbie was cleaning out her freezer and she passed some on to me. It didn't take me long to decide what I was going to make. 

This recipe came from Lisa White who is married to Tom White, a local potter. We went to a fantastic Pottery Open House a few years back and Lisa served the soup to guests. It was so delicious I couldn't stop thinking about it. I finally got up the nerve to ask for the recipe and today I'd like to share it with you. To make it easier to eat, I cut the toasted bread up into small pieces and then cover with cheese. The pieces are then floated on top of the soup. By all means, do it the traditional way if you prefer. Gruyere cheese is traditionally used but I use Swiss because it is easier for me to find at our grocery store. I have also used chicken stock instead of beef stock and it is delicious although not as traditional. 

The Potter's Wife's French Onion Soup

1/2 cup butter

4 large onions

2 garlic cloves - chopped

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons thyme

salt + pepper

1 cup red wine

3 heaping Tablespoons flour

2 quarts homemade beef broth - HOT

several slices good quality country style bread

several slices swiss cheese

Slice the onions into pieces approximately 1/4" thick. (I use my Cuisinart.) Carmelize onions in butter with garlic, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper for 30 minutes. Add flour and brown. Add wine, stir with a whisk and cook until wine is evaporated. Add heated beef stock. Simmer for 15 minutes. 

While the soup is simmering, toast the bread. Butter the toast. Cut the bread into approximately 1" squares and place on a cookie sheet. Arrange them closely together. Place the swiss cheese on top of the toast. Broil until bubbling. 

Fill the bowls with the soup. Float the cheese covered bread on top of the soup. Enjoy!

Fiber Optic Comes to Leyden - A Last Mile Town in Western Massachusetts

If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know we live in one of the most rural counties in Massachusetts. For years, I struggled with a dial-up connection internet connection. I started this blog in 2006. It was definitely a labor of love because it took forever to upload a photo or do a post. Eventually I got something called an air card which gave me a bit faster connection. At the Leyden Town Hall, they eventually installed some kind of high speed service. I spent many hours sitting in my car uploading blog posts and photos. Eventually I was allowed to sit inside the Town Hall and use their wifi. 

This went on for many many years. And then miraculously via the power of State Senator Stan Rosenberg's office, in 2013, we got DSL service. You can read all about this here. 

Since 2013, the world has changed. Internet speeds got faster and faster. More services were done exclusively on-line. Rural towns in Massachusetts and in states throughout the US were being left behind. And then the Pandemic hit. The digital divide became more and more obvious. Julia's college courses moved on-line. She constantly was bumped off or missed Zoom classes because of low speed and poor interconnectedness. The State of Massachusetts thankfully took the initiative to make available 5G high speed internet at many of the small Last Mile towns to help students and other residents. We went back to sitting in the car to upload photos, update the website, and Julia to work on her homework and watch classes. 

Our story is familiar to so many residents of rural towns. Happily, we have had an excellent outcome. After many years of work by tireless committee members, fiber optic broadband is being installed to homes who want it. The fiber optic cables began being installed in the spring. A couple weeks ago, they were attached to our home. Miracle of miracle -- I never thought I would see the day. At first we could only access the internet from the one room in the house where the wire was installed. Last week, a smart tech guy at Whip City Fiber helped me figure out that we needed a wireless mesh system to move the signal past the enormous stone and brick chimney to other parts of the house. It's a one time investment even if it was unexpected.

We are up and running now and we're feeling like we are part of the modern world. Thank you to all the Leyden Broadband Committee Members who have worked on this for years and years and years. Our farmhouse and other residents of our road were lucky to be in the first wave of installations. If you live in Leyden and have ordered service, hang on. It's coming and you will be happy.

End of October 2020

We are coming to the end of October. It feels it. The days are getting noticeably shorter. Some days are cold, clammy and the wood stove begs for a fire. Somedays the sun is out, the sky is a beautiful blue, and it seems like winter won't come. 

I can feel the year change in my moods and thoughts. I am not very affected by seasonal affective disorder but I live with someone who is. I know what a struggle it can be. 

When the days get shorter and the weather cools off, I feel a certain energy come my way. I was noticing it the other day and thinking what the heck is a matter with me. I have a list of to-dos a mile long and I actually feel like I can conquer some of them. I'm lucky -- and maybe you are too -- that I have plenty to do inside whether is be making or cooking or potting or sewing or..... 

I thought back to July and August when the days were very hot and humid. I was exhausted constantly and found that only a nap after lunch would get me through the day. So I gave in and napped. It was the heat that was doing this to me. I see why siestas are so de rigueur in Italy and Spain and other hot climates.  I suppose I could get an air conditioner for the summer and that could help but considering I have to be outside tending my garden and making pottery in a shed that has no air, it would be a waste of money. 

The sunflowers are done for the year. The birds have been out there picking them clean. The sunflower patch is so much fun to watch now - little birds diving in and out. I wish I could catch a photo of them but it hasn't worked out yet. Here are the sunflowers decaying now. I will till them into the earth next spring and we will begin again. 

I'm looking forward to really getting things done this winter. For now, I've got to keep making some pottery and sewing some tea towels so I can do another On-Line Sale. Sadly, I won't be hosting a Holiday Open House this year. I just don't feel comfortable filling my home with folks that I don't know their health situation. This year of 2020 has taught us all to be flexible and adapt and that's what I am trying to do. 

We just heard from Kevin Ford, our sheep shearer. He is coming in a few weeks to shear the sheep. Mark has started moving some of them to the winter barns in prep for shearing. Still more to go but there is time.

On a good note, the Amherst Farmer's Market where we vend every Saturday has been a breath of fresh air this season. Our booth has been busy selling both our farm-raised lamb and my pottery and tea towels. If you are up for a drive, stop by and see us. Hours are 8 to 1:30 every Saturday through November 21st. There are lots of fantastic vendors that you can meet and purchase from. Once the market is done for the season, lamb will be available here at our farm. 

With that, I'll close for now. Hope everyone is hanging in there. 

My On-Line Pottery Shop Update Sunday

A quick note tonight to let you all know that I will be updating my On-Line Pottery Shop on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. EDT. I will have lots of new pots - pitchers, vases, mugs, platters, and more. I've been working on these pots since late spring. Here are a few that will be available.

I use a white clay for my pottery. Each piece is thrown on my potter's wheel or built by hand from slabs that I roll out in my studio. Once the pot is thrown, I let it dry slightly and then apply handles if needed. These handles are pulled by hand. When completely dry, I use a sponge to clean up the piece. 

Each piece's decoration is completely different. I assess the shape of the pot and then decide upon the flowers and motifs I will use. Each color has to be hand-painted 3 times in order to obtain the strong color that I prefer. I outline each shape with thin black lines using a very fine liner brush. 

Once I build up enough pieces, I fire the pieces in my pottery kiln. When the pieces cool, I unload them and then paint each one with 3 layers of a clear glaze. It's all very time consuming but I really do enjoy making ceramics. 

Stop by my On-Line Shop on Sunday to check out the new pieces. Here is the link. 

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. 

Fruit Crisp Recipe

It is "crisp season" here in western Massachusetts. Crisp as in the coming weather and the fall of the deciduous trees' leaves and crisp as in fruit crisp - that typically American dessert of fall and winter. 

For years, I searched for the perfect fruit crisp recipe. Every time I made one, it wasn't quite to my liking. One evening we were invited to our friends Peggy and Clara's house and they served the absolutely most perfect apple crisp. Clara passed along her recipe and each fall I make it. It is perfect for after dinner or breakfast the next few days. I've made it with apples and peaches, and plums, and frequently throw in odds and ends of frozen raspberries, blueberries, even grapes. Here's Clara's recipe and following are two picks of mine for most favorite local fruit orchards here in the Pioneer Valley in western Massachusetts.

Clara's Fruit Crisp

For the crisp topping:

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup flour

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup walnuts or more

For the fruit:

6-8 cups of peeled fruit

juice of a half a lemon (2-3 Tablespoons)

1/4 cup white sugar

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

pinch of salt

1. Mix the topping ingredients together. 

2. Peel and slice the fruit and place in a buttered deep pie plate or casserole dish. I use a deep pottery dish that is 10" wide. Add the remaining ingredients and still to get the cornstarch to smooth out. Sometimes the dish is really full of fruit and sometimes not. Scatter the topping over the fruit and tamp down slightly. Using a knife, put a few airholes in the topping.

3. Bake at 375 for about 45-60 minutes. Fruit should be cooked through and bubbling up on the sides. Let cool slightly. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or just plain. Very nice for breakfast too. 

And now for a couple recommendations.....

The apples are beginning to ripen here in western Mass and luckily for the fruit growing orchards, folks can socially distance and pick apples safely. There are many orchards to choose from. Here are two of my faves:

Apex Orchards in Shelburne where the view is unreal. They have recently built a new farmstore and if you don't want to pick, there are plenty of varieties of already picked fruit.

Clarkdale Fruit Farm in Deerfield is a fourth generation fruit farm that has over 100 varieties of apples, peaches and more growing on their hillsides. In the fall, they offer mixed bags of all kinds of fruit perfect for pies. Clarkdale was the orchard that my mother-in-law Betty always bought her fruit from and Julia and I have continued that tradition visiting their stand each year before Thanksgiving.