Crafting a Colorful Home ~ giveaway!

(photo of the book cover by Rikki Snyder)

Hi, Knitters,

I'm so glad to be home for a few days before leaving for Minneapolis for Yarnover and for StevenBe's Fiberfest this coming weekend. The classes for Yarnover are sold out, I believe, but there are still a few openings in the StevenBe classes for Sunday:

Both classes are being held on Sunday, April 26th at StevenBe's.

Click here for my Top-Down Seamless Doll Workshop (Mary, Millie & Morgan)! This workshop has become one of my most popular classes. The doll kits from Quince & Co. have sold out but the smart people at StevenBe's ordered a lot of the kits. You don't have to have a kit for the class, you can use your own yarn no problem but the kits are really nice.

Click here for my Fair Isle Fingerless Mitts Class! 2-Handed, 2-Stranded! I am teaching Fair Isle techniques, Latvian Braids, corrugated rib, simple chart reading and how to design your own unique mitts. I LOVE this class.

I hope to see you in Minneapolis this weekend. Let me know if you are going to be there. I will be at the dinner on Friday night for Yarnover and I'd love to sit with any of you for the dinner and kick-off speech.

Now for today's topic at hand. I am thrilled to see that my one of my favorite people in the world, Kristin Nicholas, has just published another book. This one may be my favorite yet. Here is what the book is about (from Kristin's website) and a few reviews from the back of the book:

Published on January 20, 2015 from Roost Books is my newest book is Crafting a Colorful Home with photos by Rikki Snyder. This book is my most personal to date. I let you in on how I decorate, collect, make, and color our 1751 farmhouse. Written with thrift and style in mind, follow my lead to make your home cozy, welcoming and artistic. The book includes:

• 21 step-by-step projects to make your home cozy and bright including colorful sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, painting, crafting and more
• 12 DIY techniques to freshen and transform your home with color, paint, and more
• 1 favorite farmhouse recipe
• full of colorful inspirational photography

Here are some of the advance reviews........

“Kristin Nicholas’s enchanting home is a richly layered canvas upon which her inspirations—from the rugged New England countryside beyond her windows to the vibrant patchwork of exotic fibers and fabrics that surround her—are played out with delightful yet masterful abandon, creating a modern-day Bloomsbury. Kristin’s sophisticated understanding of color, along with her fun and functional exercises, inspire me to rethink my own palette, or better yet, actually create the one I dream of.”—Alicia Paulson, author of Embroidery Companion and Stitched in Time and the blog Posie Gets Cosy

“In Crafting a Colorful Home Kristin Nicholas shares her belief that each home is ‘a blank canvas’ that each of us can turn into the home of our dreams. Kristin demonstrates that, through color and handmade home decor essentials and accessories, we can quickly transform an ordinary space into something extraordinary, and also welcoming, comforting, and memorable.”—Jo Packham, creator and editor-in-chief of Where Women Create

“Crafting a Colorful Home brings together Kristin’s love of family, home, and craft into one vibrant volume of inspiration. Without breaking the bank, and without following the passing trends, Kristin guides us to creating a home that’s truly reflective of the family who lives in it—the passions we share and the color that surrounds us everywhere in the natural world. Full of great tips, tools, and techniques—not to mention peeks of the inspiring colorful corners of her rooms—this book is sure to get you started on bringing the colors of your life into the home you love.”—Amanda Blake Soule, creator of SouleMama and author of Handmade Home

(photo by Rikki Snyder, painting a coffee table)

The book is full of crafty DIY projects for each room of your house. I love this entire book from cover to cover. Before I was knitting so much I did all of the crafty things that in this book like, mosaic, painting walls and furniture, collecting thrifted home items, stamping, knitting, crochet, quilting, home decor, sewing, recycling fabrics, etc. I miss doing all of these different creative things and Kristin has got me longing to put down my knitting needles and dive into some other crafts again. I miss this kind of lifestyle so much. 

Kristin has really captured her multi-faceted creative soul this time. Although there is some knitting in the book, Kristin is going beyond just knitting and sharing her many varied talents with us. The tag line of Crafting a Colorful Home says, "A room-by-room guide to personalizing your space with color." And that's exactly what the book does. 

The chapters are:

In the Studio

The Garden and Entryways

The Kitchen

The Porch

The Living Room

The Dining Room

The Library

The Upstairs Bedrooms and Stairway

Kristin covers it all. The projects range from very small to very large. There is something for everyone, and every skill level. There are projects you could do individually, with children and friends, or with a group. 

The photos are stunning and personal. The book is photographed at Kristin's Western Massachusetts farmhouse. The house is a riot of color in the best way possible. I want to live there, period. The book includes fantastic photography of Kristin's home and farmland and setting. It is like nowhere else.

Here are some photos and projects included in Crafting a Colorful Home:

The mosaic pots really got to me. I used to make these all of the time and I haven't for so long. This summer I will mosaic once again, that's a promise. The pots make the perfect gifts, too. Kristin's step-by-step tutorial is spot on, detailed and clear, as are all of the project directions in the book.

(photo by Rikki Snyder, painted lampshades)

(Kristin's original book plates you get when ordering from Kristin's shop.)

Crafting a Colorful Home is chock-full of fantastic photos, crafts, ideas, information, how-to, tutorials, recipes, lifestyle, stories from Kristin about her farm life, nature, inspirations..... the list goes on and on. It is a coffee table book with endless hours of ideas and entertainment. What an achievement for Kristin this book must be. It is frankly incredible!

Here are some great Kristin links:

Kristin Nicholas (Kristin's shop!) - buy her books, kits, supplies directly from Kristin!

Getting-Stitched-on-the-Farm (Kristin's fantastic blog)

Craftsy class on crewel embroidery

Creative Bug classes with Kristin

I subscribe to Kristin's blog and her newsletter and you should, too. She is a great writer and storyteller. I look forward to receiving updates and emails from Kristin every time. I never miss an opportunity to read anything from Kristin. I am a fan forever. I was a fan before I ever met Kristin in person and then after I met her I was an even bigger fan (if that's possible). 

To win a copy of Kristin's new book, Crafting a Colorful Home, please leave one comment on this blog post. You will LOVE this book! Please leave contact information in your comment, an email or your Ravelry username. Please be patient for your comment to appear on my blog, only hit publish once, there is a delay before it will appear.

I will be back in a few short days to randomly pick a winner!

Good luck and let the comments begin!

xo ~ susan