~ Monday Amusements ~

 Hello & Happy Monday Friends and Folk ~

...what beautiful weather we have been having here in our parts of Virginia !

 this, 

the last day in July for the year 2017 is what I call a 'sparkler'.

high & dry

comfortable temps

bright sunshine

low humidity & slight breeze.

in another word: Perfect.

I have finished my huge

"When Pigs Fly"© punch needle design....

what a great time I had punching on this between 'other' projects 

and preparations for upcoming shows ~

here are a few detail shots first...

hello!

I added a ruched edge of beautiful & tattered silk Sari ribbon,

the shade is named 'coffee', but it has a purple-y/gray-ish/brown color to it and I love how it looks ~

i wonder who lives in my tiny little houses?

{{{{  by the look on Pig's face, he knows he's about to get it good  }}}}

and here is the whole shebang!

look at the movement in my background! 

can't you just feel the crisp night air whizzing past these two? 

Dear Goodwitch Mary Black...

you should have locked Pig away before retiring for the evening...

~ see what happens when you let a pig play with your broom?

{even the Moon knows the trouble Pig is in when Mary Black catches him}

this piece measures approx. 9-1/2" x16" when finished.

this is - to date, my largest punched piece and I am already designing more.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

the cross stitched version of this same design {with a few minor changes} 

is in the hands of one of my talented stitchers, so as soon as I receive it 

I will release them both soon as mailed/paper & PDF download ~

 this will also be available as a Rug Hooking pattern, 

on paper/mailed/PDF and perhaps on linen {not sure about on linen one though}.

    some of my friends have been seeing different 'things' in the darker background areas of this piece, like black cats and bats....what do you see?

I've also finished punching this little 'Jack Pocket' model for our next

Primitive Punch Needle Club ~ Aug/Sept/Oct '17

members will begin receiving their kits 2nd week of August.

and hello to you too!

If you are interested in Joining

 our exclusive club for those who love primitive punch needle, you can click HERE <---- nbsp="" p="">

{members can renew/join anytime!}

~ AND ~

Peter & I wanted to share with you 

this fabulous little Sewing Clamp that he made me last night!

{gotta love that man!} 

 he made this from our own replenish-able wood

 harvested here on the farm {like all of our wooden products}.

it is simply stained with a black walnut finish, lightly sanded and waxed for a mellow glow....

see how it clamps to my side table and handily-holds my thread spool?

BUT ~ it also clamps on to my Stitcher's Tray!

I placed one of my pincushions on top, and now it does double-duty ~

oooooooh!

and with our brains always thinkin', 

we thunk this up:

why not use it to hold my spools of wound DMC floss for when I punch?

so I did and it works perfectly...

first I use my Floss Winder Box to wind my DMC {or other skeined floss} 

onto my little wooden spools,

then I place the spool on my new Sewing Clamp 

that is clamped on to my Stitcher's Tray....

and there ya go.....

One happy happy happy Wife!

Floss Winder Box shown in Yellow Ochre paint

We think we might just offer these if there is enough interest....

so ~ let us know your thoughts please?

Oh! 

I could even design patterns for pincushions for the top too!

hey! cross stitch and punch needle, or wool applique too :)

my happy place.

Wishing you all a *sparkling* day my creative friends!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ It's coming.... ~

 There are hints everywhere...

take a moment to listen to the wind.

it's changing ~

stop and look to the tree-tops.

notice the subtle change in color and texture...

 impatiently waiting for it's arrival 

just like every year.

history repeated ~

 

longing for this;

while suffering through heat & humidity

only makes it sweeter when it arrives.

 

come on in for a visit today ~ 

our little Needlework Shop here at the farm will be Open 10 - 4:00

together,  

... we can dream about and create our very own Autumn :)

~))))))))))O((((((((((~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Background Check ~

 Hello Friends & Folk ~

it's Thursday! 

one more day til the weekend....

~ hoping to get a little kayaking in perhaps on Sunday,

if the cooler temps hold out for us :)

 So I am in the home stretch 

of finishing the humongous background of my 

'When Pigs Fly' punch needle design ~

and I am combining many different variegated colors of Valdani #8 pearl cotton

 with plain DMC black/310 cotton floss ~ 

this lends a great deal of movement to my background, 

as I wanted it to have an interesting background for my motifs to 'float' on...

the photo below shows the back, or 'working' side of my project ~

 after outlining my motifs a number of times with my variegated pearl cottons,

I intentionally leave 'spot's and places to go back in & fill with DMC black/310

and I ALWAYS use all 6 strands of floss when I work with my punch needle.

How you punch, meaning in which direction, 

really has the most to do with how static or not your background is...

I tend to keep my motifs simple, and love to play with my backgrounds....

and since they are usually where most of the punching is on my designs ~ 

that is where I want to add texture and fun!

 

Here are a few previous designs of mine

 that  have interesting backgrounds:

this one is all variegated pearl cotton from one ball ~ in beautiful blues...

this, too is all variegated pearl cottons...

but two different balls of two different colors:

 

now this one below, is ALL DMC floss... 

but I have chosen my thread colors to compliment one another and replicate stains & age:

see how fun mixing it up is?

don't let your background be boring!

 

for my Turkey & Tallowberries background, I wanted the look of an old hooked rug, that perhaps the maker ran out of the black wool and had to use what she had on-hand.

This is a favprite technique of mine to use with my punch needle and threads:

 

for my Farmhouse Chores Series, I used one color of variegated pearl cotton for all 4 designs ~

keeping them all cohesive ~ and can you see the movement in them? like the blue sky is being touched by a gentle breeze as my little Farmwife works away:

adding borders and edge-motifs helps to fill up a background a little quicker too, 

like the triangles on these two below:

 

For a lighter colored background, I used 2 different DMC colors...

same shade {white} but different values {bright & darker}:

 

and don't ever be afraid to add little surprises to your backgrounds! 

see the bottom-half of my design below?

see the little 'bubbles' of lighter thread colors set amongst the mostly-black background?

yep....fun and not boring ;)

There are so many ways to add interest to your punch needle ~ 

like mixing up threads, changing needle-depth for dimensional effect.

etc & so on...

 

This is where all of my punch needle models live:

in our humble little Needlework Shop here at the farm

 ♥

~ my chalkboard says it all ~ 

oh!

almost forgot ~ 

my passion fruit/flower vine has fruit!

wishing you all a beautifully creative day my friends...

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Small Stitches ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

and Tuesday it is once again.

... a little cooler this morning,

 so hoping it will begin to stay that way.

I've been stitching on this little owl and moon embroidery 

in-between larger projects for upcoming shows and events;

I'm working with Gentle Art Simply Wool threads and love them!

they have just the right amount of coarseness to them {for me}.

not too 'hairy' but you can tell it's wool justthesame.

satin stitches become feathers and leaves,

french knots become tiny berries ~

even smaller cross stitches become a smattering of stars...

straight stitch branches and a chain stitch scroll underneath it all...

{no, you do not see any bullion stitch in there do you}.

'nuff said about them!

can you see the slight blush on Mr. Moon's cheek?

that is from using the variegated wool thread from the Gentle Art...

{I have the color written down in my book, if anyone wants to know exactly what is it}

I'm using a scrap of nubby linen to stitch on, 

and my hoop is only 4" in diameter...

so this is a small piece ~ my favorite!

I'm pleased with it, 

and I think Miss Roxy approves as well ~

☾•**☆**•☽ 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Getting my WITCHY on ~

Good Monday Morning

Friends & Folk ~

I woke this morning to the sound 

of our air-conditioners and fans and their mechanical whirring in my head...

I want so badly to just fling open the windows, 

let some fresh cool crisp air into this old farmhouse 

~ and enjoy the sounds of Mother Nature while I sleep!

ah yes...soon, soon.

In the meanwhile,

 I headed straight to my desk with 'other' thoughts now in my foggy little brain.

Those thoughts that are never far under the surface of my rippling creativity ~

yes friends, thoughts of Witches.
{ok, pumpkins, black cats, moons, ......you get it.}

I like to look back on my previous works and revisit past creations.
This always helps inspire my work for new ideas,
... ways to change and keep my folk art 'fresh' but familiar
*wink wink*
;)

So, here are a few of my past Witches & Other Friends:
 

punched & embroidered

sketchbook #8

sketchbook #15

dancing witch paper cutting {scherenshnitte}

stitched-witch

punched

naked

always watching

humbly-stitched

painterly-witch

oh those tiny little loops!

Inspiration....

snippets in time ~

We shall see where all of these little reminders will lead me....

~ who knows?

Have a happy & Creative Monday my sweet Friends ~

☾.•*¨*☆*¨*•.☽ 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori