Kristin Nicholas Knihy

Transform your plain stuff into awesome stuff with just a bit of fabric and thread! Glam up boring bookmarks, tote bags, and even your jeans!

Embroidery has never looked this good or been so colorful--65 projects to stitch your way to a more colorful home. With inspiration and encouragement from designer and colorist Kristin Nicholas, would-be and experienced stitchers alike will find dozens of embroidery projects that add exuberance to every room in the house. Nicholas's collection opens with pillow covers in dancing colors on unexpected patterns and fabrics, such as stripes and plaids, velvets and corduroys. For kitchens, she offers a joyfully polka-dotted tea cozy or jewel-bright, purchased napkins and tablecloth creatively stitched with floral motifs. Personalized wedding gifts include a luxurious, monogrammed cashmere throw and his-and-hers hot water bottle covers; or for the perfect baby gift, a cozy matching blanket and teddy bear set. Many projects feature fabrics from flea markets and thrift shops, with complete how-to on hand-felting and hand-dyeing sweaters and blankets for the very softest, most colorful look. With her ribbon-stitched craft boxes (perfect for scrapbookers), embroidered stationery, and even a pair of espadrilles, the author explores an exciting world of embroidering on unexpected surfaces and materials.

Knit, stitch, and paint your way to a more colorful and happy home with color expert and crafter Kristin Nicholas.     Learn how to make your home sing through handmade crafts and a bold use of color. Kristin Nicholas, color expert and all-around master crafter, shares her secrets to selecting colors and patterns and explores the variety of crafts and decorating touches that have made her home so unique. Going room by room, Kristin uses her own 1751 farmhouse as a leaping-off point for craft projects perfect for every space. You'll find a range of step-by-step projects to make your home cozy and bright, including knit pillows, embroidered curtains, crocheted blankets, and painted lampshades. Along the way, Kristin also shares DIY techniques on refinishing furniture, faux finishing walls, mural painting, and recycling wool clothes. Full of inspiration, and with vibrant photographs throughout, this is a complete guide to creating a home that reflects your own handmade style.

Create a unique space that's all your own--bold and colorful handmade projects to fill your home with pattern from color expert crafter extraordinaire Kristin Nicholas. Jump into the world of pattern--get a crash course on the types of patterns and how they are made; learn how to gain inspiration and ideas from a variety of sources; explore ways of pairing different patterns together; and make patterns of your own to embellish your home. Kristin Nicholas takes us through her unique and dynamic farmhouse--and into her pottery studio and surrounding fields--and shares one-of-a-kind projects along the way. From a Geometric Striped Tablecloth for the kitchen to a Ceramic Tile Fireplace Surround in the library and a Printed Polka Dot Pillow for the bedroom, you'll discover both bold and subtle ways to add pattern to your home. Full of inspiration, and with bright photographs throughout, this is a vibrant guide to creating a home that sings with handmade touches.