Into the Soup Pot ~

As I'm working on my 

"Chicken Soup" rug…

I'm looking at all of the awesome rugs on Pinterest 

...that depict our feathered friends,

 the rooster and the hen.

I am working on giving my rug a very old look

by using scrap wools, in as many muted or faded colors as I can ~

I love the wonkiness and character of these old rugs…

and the way they relate to the era in which they were created.

some have lots of detail,

others not so much…

some motifs disappear into their backgrounds, while others are bordered with darker wools…

...the backgrounds of these rugs either have lots of frenetic movement,

or they are simply very staid & quiet.

the lack of learned design in some of these rugs is refreshing and charming,

but then again, the rugs that have been carefully planned sing to me as well ~

some have carefully pulled loops 

...in perfect little rows and directional hooking,

while others have been hooked in a very carefree manner,

just freely pulling those loops up to fill in!

I'll keep working on my Chicken Soup rug until I have enough to show you…

until then, make sure you visit Pinterest 

and type in 'antique hooked rug' to be inspired !!

I created this little badge a couple of years ago 

...and I think it sums me up quite nicely:

Have a happy & creative day my friends!!

* Blessed be *

 Lori

Playing Hooky, Chicken Soup & Ugly Wool ~

it's one of those days…

a 'chicken soup' kind of day today ~

one that is raining, cold..

dank & wet.

one that a pot of chicken soup fixes real good!

while the pot bubbles away on the wood stove,

I set to work on a couple of little hooked mats ~

"playin' hooky"

done in purples…

surrounded by a small collection of my rug hooks ;)

i love purple!

i find hooks everywhere…
or maybe they find me?

bone, antler & wood ~

new & old

bent, straight, short & long…

fat & skinny too!

I try to use them all ~ not to make anyone jealous of course.

 and I was in the shop yesterday with Joan ~

I was rooting through my piles of 'things'

and found these ugly wools…

I can say that because I love them ~

(and I use them)

plaids in all kinds of colors...

~ I'll use them as is…

won't overdye them at all ~

.

..they will be worked into another rug that I'm working on…

called…

 "chicken soup!"

I will share my progress with you soon ~

Have a wonderful day whatever your weather!

* Blessed be * 

Lori

Fresh Eggs and Fresh Paint ~

Longer days 

brings with them a rise in productivity from our hens ~

nothing in the world tastes as good as a bright yellow chicken egg!

since we raise chickens, 

I like to collect chicken/rooster/egg things ~

like this milk glass nesting hen dish:

so pretty

 I love milk glass,

and I remember my Mom having one of these egg dishes ~

so when I spotted this one for only $6.00 I knew it would come home with me :)

here chick chick!

 the brown eggs you see in it are ones from our hens this morning ~

gathered from their snug little nest-box in the barn…

7 little eggs

 they will become breakfast ~

an egg & asparagus omelet perhaps? 

or maybe used in a recipe for sweet corn bread with blueberries…

this is a little wooden egg crate that I found at a shop a long time ago ~

 it holds my paper mache & wax dipped eggs… 

Star Egg Carriers and Trays

nice dovetailed edges

 I need to make more of these wax-dipped eggs ~

these have been with me for a while now ~ time to freshen up!

grubby waxed eggs ~ underneath are dollar store plastic eggs

 and here is a little watercolor I worked on last night:

'Live an Art-FULL Life'

 my mind is always creating, designing, dreaming…

so I have to let my thoughts out onto paper in some way ~

I began with the quote 'live an artful life' then changed it to

'Live an Art-FULL Life' which suits me better…

since my world & life is full of art in some way, shape or form.

pocket-sized paint box & brush

I think I'll scan this and pin it on Pinterest ~

or even place it on my sidebar on this blog

since it so relates to me 

...and my love for all of the little things I've drawn into the sketch…

~ thread, scissors, paintbrush, pencil, handwork (hand)

and of course the pot of herbs that they are springing from ~

are so important to my everyday and my folk art.

Rain is expected today,

good day to do a little Spring Cleaning here in the farmhouse…

Hoping your day is filled with wonderful things!

* Blessed be * 

Lori

Decisions, decisions ~

Thanks so much 

to all who have commented or emailed me 

about the sunflower purse!

...it will be a full-size pattern, with leaf template too ~

I think I will go with a long shoulder strap

to wear across the chest so the purse rests on my hip…

I'll make it from the same linen as the backing/lining too ~ just simple and coordinating.

as I was thinking about the strap,

I kept looking at the sunflower and thought it needed 'something' ~

so I whipped-up this honeybee pin.

he is needle felted hand dyed wool roving….

bzzzzzzzzzzz

 he's a big guy, 

reminds me of our huge Bell's Hornets that we have here in our woods!

I think he adds to the purse, don't you?

so after I decided that I would indeed make that long shoulder strap from the linen,

I was then pondering what to use to attach the strap to the purse….

I collect many things and so one item came to mind…

but I thought I only had one of them ~

to my pleasant surprise, I indeed had a pair:

Antique Cut Steel Shoe Buckles!!

ohhhhhh!

 aren't they beautiful?

and they already have small holes drilled in them 

...for my sewing needle & thread to pass through…

Yay!

I'll use one on each side, 

and connect the strap to them….

perfect.

almost finished!

 I will be sure to share snaps when I'm finished completely :)

Today will be spent processing orders and shipping them, 

then onto banking and a run to the market…

at least the sun is shining and our 8" of white-stuff has melted away!

(that's one good thing about Virginia snow storms: they don't last that long)

the rest of this week and next

I will be busy preparing for the

Virginia Rug Fest

so the shop will be CLOSED on 

April 4th & 5th…

...we will be open here this Saturday :)

Have a *Sparkling* day my Friends!

* Blessed be * 

Lori

Snow & Sunflowers ~

we are tired of seeing snow photos…

so here are a few more LOL!

yes,

 our wonderful, brilliant weather folk 

with their wonderful brilliant weather-predicting gadgets and gizmos

certainly missed the mark on this one ~

they told us to expect accumulation on the grass….

well, they were right with that one!

we have accumulation on the grass ~ 8" of it!

and this morning the temps were in the 20's ~ 

...right now it has warmed up to freezing.

ha!

out my sewing room window

icicles

 there were feathered frenzied at the feeders yesterday…

couldn't keep them filled.

mourning dove & sparrow

so while it snowed & snowed ~

I hooked

...and hooked.

happy sunflower purse

 I needed to hook something bright & colorful ~

something that would saturate my thoughts with warmth & sunshine.

...a sunflower came to mind!

can't wait for summertime

my strips are all hand cut and measure anywhere from 1/4" to 1" in width ~

I even staggered the heights of my loops as I hooked towards the 'rim' of the petals…

 I wanted to edge this purse with big wool leaves

that look like those on our sunflowers…

almost heart shaped & happy ~

wool leaves stitched to the sides of the purse

…but I didn't want to overwhelm the purse with the leaves, 

so I added knotted wool fringe in between each leaf 

and along the bottom of the purse to fill it in ~

knotted wool fringe

 kind of like proddy, but not.

the fringe is just a short piece of wool, approx. 4 inches long x 3/4" wide…

I use my hook to pull the end of the wool strip through the linen, 

...then hand-pull the strip the rest of the way through ~

then I just tie on small slip knot and

~ viola! 

I used some wonderful early white linen for the lining and backing of the purse, 

...and also slipped a piece of cardboard in between the lining for a little stability ~

beautiful early white linen

 here is a better shot of the leaves:

just simply attached using linen thread

here's how I whip-stitched the lining in place…

I love this casual, handmade look!

simple whip stitches

... right now I'm trying to figure out what kind of handles to use ~

or should I put a long strap on using that same great old linen?

...what are your thoughts??

Have a wonderful day my Friends ~

create something that makes you 

 ~ H A P P Y ~

* Blessed be * 

Lori

Happy to Announce ~

We are so happy to announce the upcoming release of our second book from

Kansas City Star….

"Summer at Notforgotten Farm"

…Needlework Projects Inspired by Simple, Old Fashioned Summer Days…

By Lori Brechlin

9 projects inspired by those hot, lazy summer days we love!!

Summer Farmhouse Sampler ~ cross stitch

Rosemary Pin Pillow ~ cross stitch

Lavender Pin Pillow ~ cross stitch

Garden Basket Hanger ~ punch needle

Tomato Needle Minder ~ punch needle

Summer Banner ~ freehand cross stitch

Seeds Pocket ~ primitive applique

Lavender Chairpad ~ rug hooking

Cherry Tomato Pinkeep Necklace ~ basic sewing

I had so much fun designing projects for this book ~ during the COLD days of this past Winter!

I just kept dreaming about how much I love to work & stitch on the porch…

listening to the birds singing and the bees humming ~

...and smelling our fresh herbs growing in the garden.

This book will be shipping early June ~

...just in time for your Summer Stitching!

If you'd like to preorder,

click on the button on my sidebar 

and will be available on ETSY today as well ~

and yes, this is a series…

Winter and Spring are next on my list :))

Have a wonderfully creative day my friends!

* Blessed be *

 Lori

More Snippets!

If you've watched my video on youtube,

... then you've seen me punching this design ~

well, I finished it!

Snippets box-topper

 When I travel, I like to take my handwork with me ~ 

that means my stitching, punching and hooking!

and as you all know

if you are familiar with any of the above,

when working with fibers

we tend to amass small quantities of snippets ~ everywhere.

textures….

in the past, 

I've been known to use anything I could find 

to put my snippets in ~

small bowls, tin tart pans, teacups…

(...pockets)

but

I wanted something specially designed (and with a lid)

 to hold them.

love my Miller pencil hook!

so I thought why not take a plain little 5" (diameter) paper mache box,

some cotton fabric, and do this ~

just make one :)

snippets go in to be saved, then tossed out for the birds to cozy up their nests!

nothing fancy...

 just some white glue

(to adhere fabric to box) 

heavy cotton thread

 (to stitch the finished punch through the lid)

and 

cotton batting

 (to stuff under the lid before all stitching to the lid is completed)

 these boxes are available at any craft store, even on line….

they are inexpensive and pretty sturdy too!

love my needle box with sliding lid too (made by my talented hubby)

I'm pretty happy about how this turned out,

and yes, the little SNIPPETS topper will be a simple pattern available soon :)

It's COLD again here at the farm today ~

36* but sunny & bright…

the weatherman says some 'falling weather' is in our forecast for tomorrow…

hopefully it will fall someplace else!

Have a beautiful day my Friends!

* Blessed be *

 Lori

Peaceful Sunday Morning ~

Good Sunday Morning 

Friends & Folk ~

here are a few snaps of the farm this morning ~ 

it is overcast with grey skies, 

but still beautiful….

gate to our shop

our little shop & it's garden waiting for the sun to return...

some of my pansies

our strawberries are returning! yay!!

Toby the Rooster

The Girls

the little hen in the front is Fancy ~ she is 'everyones' Mother!
she's getting old….we think this might be her last Spring with us :(

one of our Guinea Hens ~

Billy the Peacock sporting his new tail-feathers

our faithful Friends

 AND…

the Kittens!

well hello there!

they are now 18 days old ~ eyes open and alert

the little tiger on the left is "Tig", the middle kitten is "Mickey" and the one on the far right is…."Boog"
(Boog has a respiratory-thing going on, hence the name…)

fat little fuzz-buckets!

sleepy…...

Minew is such a good Momma  >^..^<

... and I had to share these two hambones with you…

Daisy  & Pinocchio

snuffle-upagus?

tiny-legs

Hoping you are enjoying your first Sunday of Spring!

* Blessed be * 

Lori