~ Inspiration Friday ~

Inspiration truly is everywhere

 ~ isn't it?

 • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ •

Today's posting is about being inspired by symbolic gravestone/headstone art...

more specifically, those sweet little lambs we see on ancient children's graves ~

a bit morbid to think about, but the stonework on these are just beautiful...

if one can look past the sadness of what they are representing.

I turn to these for inspiration for my needlework, but especially so in my rug hooking designs.

... what better symbol to use on a rug made from wool?

here are a few of my favorites ~ borrowed from my Pinterest boards.

{{ https://www.pinterest.com/loribrechlin }}

or you can simply Google-search & type in the keywords:

'gravestone   art   headstone   symbols'

love the striped-effect of the marble

perfect, primitive profile

ravages of time....

different poses with legs curled or unfurled

just plain sweet

an almost-alien, naive lamb on a more contemporary stone

perfect texture

a sweet pile of lambkins

especially love the pose and texture of fleece on this one

tiny and weathered

i believe this to be contemporary, more garden art than marker, but still loverly

another fav. with nubby coat

and don't forget to study other gravestone art as well...

such beauty & much inspiration waits on your next visit to a local graveyard.

~ I find walking among them peaceful and a quiet place to reflect.

 Hoping you all have a beautiful Friday

~ filled with inspiration at every turn!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Inspiration Friday ~

 {{{and you thought I had forgotten....}}}

Happy Friday Friends & Folk ~

and a chilly/windy/snow-flurry-ish-but-sunny kind of day it is!

... trying to hang laundry on a clothesline

between sunrays & snowflakes is crazy...

~ kind of like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree.

 welcome to another edition of

Inspiration Friday!

I am smitten ith the old tin quilt templates lately...

~ and of course, Pinterest is chock full of them!

I have a few in my possession, but not many...

Miss JOAN, on the other hand....

well...you'll have to wait to see her collection of sewing related stuff :)

onward we go...

these designs that were intended for quilting templates 

can be used as inspiration for any type of needlework, 

but I think lend themselves especially well to wool applique, 

rug hooking & punch needle ~ don't you agree?

such folk art goodness! 

stars, pinwheels and baskets...

scissors, leaves & dogs too!

clover and 'simple folk'....

 

feathered-friends & fanciful felines...

hearts & more stars, fish & rabbits!

ducks & a corgi? {Nancy???}

 

just perfectly wonky and imperfect for me....

 

so naive yet timeless...

leaves, flowers & stems ~

what perfect borders and motifs!

 

even wonderful swags & garlands can all be used to design

 a new 'old' looking piece of needlework from these ~

or one large motif done is 'silhouette' fashion.

oh the possibilities are endless.

my mind is full of ideas!

 would love to know if any of you have antique/early tin quilting templates in your collections?

I know I will be on the lookout for more to add to mine!

Have a happy & creative day my sweet friends!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Inspiration Friday ~

 ... I'm so 

B L U E

{{ not really, but thought that would be appropriate for today's edition of}}

 "Inspiration Friday"

I love the color blue.

my mom loves the color blue...

true blue, prussian blue. viridian, carolina blue, oxford, denim ~

cyan, violet-blue, periwinkle....

cerulean, indigo & robins' egg.

and let's not forget sapphire blue, cobalt blue, & cornflower.

I have so many blue threads, blue paints & blue fabrics 

and I'm shamelessly always on the hunt for more!

my keeping room here in the old farmhouse has cabinets, boxes and baskets 

all in different hues of blue.

it can be a happy color, like sky blue...

a quiet color like powder blue ~ or an energizing color,

like turquoise...

here are photos that I collected from Pinterest

{these are not my photos and have not personally made 

any of the projects/needlework you see in them}

You can go to Pinterest.com and simply type in a search for

"Blue Needlework"

to see many many more delicious photos...

**If any of the following pins are your photographs and I have not credited them to you, please email me and I will be glad to add your name/credit/link to the photo for you**

Farmhouse5540.blogspot.com

antique needlework using metal threads

antique hooked rug

early sampler work

antique hooked rug

contemporary needlework {unknown source}

early hooked rug

contemporary sewing clamp/pincushion  ~ Primitivespast.blogspot.com 

contemporary hooked rug ~ Oldglorywoolenco.com

antique needlework

contemporary punch needle ~ Doodle Dog Primitives

punch needle {source unknown}

embroidery {source unknown}

dolls/fabrics ~ Ghost Island Primitives

needle-felted budgie {parakeet} (source unknown)

antique quilt

punch needle ~ Michele Palmer

antique hooked rug

early hooked rug

needlework {source unknown}

yarn for knitting {source unknown}

contemporary embroidery {source unknown}

the above advice is good, no?

"Start where you are...

Use what you have ~

Do what you can."

Hoping you all have an inspirational and creative day!

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Inspiration Friday ~

I've decided to begin a new routine ~

and I'm hoping I can stick to it.

So, I thought;

each Friday, I'll share here what has inspired me throughout the week.

I'm sure not everything will be about needlework

 {but mostly...really who am I kidding?}

Mostly photos will be shared from Pinterest ~ 

my very favorite place to be in my head. 

I just love how all of those pins can be collected & shared by like-minded folks.

and I especially love sharing my own photos there for my followers on Pinterest too.

Most of you know me as a designer of primitive and/or whimsical needlework,

but I like to think of myself as something a little more.

I never want to be constrained into one description or another, 

so I call my varying interests 'eclectic' to say the least.

I am contemporary & I am old fashioned, 

... modern yet vintage.

 and I love color, and neutrality ~ 

textures and design.

I'm more complex than I am aware I guess...I think we all are perhaps....

and as I allow myself to think outside my comfortable perimeters

I find that I 

just. love. everything.

Life itself.

So, bear with me friends, as I explore more

and keep my thoughts and attitude positive and fresh. 

I'll not include wording or descriptions for the photos, 

~ but allow them to speak to you however they may.

Here is my very first post for Inspiration Friday:

{and yes Nancy D ~ I am quite smitten with the color Yellow}

;)

Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori