~ Shop & Studio Open and Much More ~

 If you're in the neighborhood ~

come for a visit to our Needlework Shop & Studio here at

~ Notforgotten Farm ~

Do you have a project already in progress? 

~ GREAT! come for a visit and bring it with you to work on ~

Are you looking for a NEW project?

we have patterns & supplies for rug hooking, punch needle, cross stitch and applique ~

come see what we have!

Need a refresher?

if you need a refresher on how to punch, stitch or hook ~...

come on in on our "Open Studio Days"

 and I will do my best to help you get where you want to be :)

 

In The News:

we are working on new class projects for SPRING & SUMMER ~

 I,  myself {Lori} will be offering classes on:

 • all hand-stitched "little quilts" {doll-sized or for mats} embellished with embroidery stitches.

• awesome unique finishes for cross stitch designs ~ boxes, baskets &  bowls.

• OUT of the BOX ~ Folk Art Jewelry ~ oh my stars...you will LOVE this class!

• Wearable wool yarn rug punch projects~ Pins, Brooches & Necklaces

 • and more embroidery hoop finishes too!!!

 AND for the Autumn/Winter months of 2019:

~ we will be offering classes for:

Primitive Watercolor

Wool Dyeing

Applique

Crochet

Mixed Media/Painting

 

we are also SO honored to be hosting upcoming classes

for some very well-known needlework designers...

Stay tuned for info ~ check our 'Classes & Events' link above as we add more classes!

 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ A Birthday Gift ~

 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

 In kind thanks for all of the sweet birthday wishes ~

here is a gift from me to thee....

"Fresh Berries" ©2019

 ~ Notforgotten Farm ~ L. Brechlin ~

Feel free to use this freebie to hook, punch, stitch, paint or applique!

I would love to see your finishes of this ~ you do have my permission to sell your finish,

but please no printing and reselling of paper pattern.

and of course, 

kindly give credit in return if you do sell your finish.

xoxoxoxoxox

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Possibilities ~

~ Good Morning Friends & Folk ~ 

and happy Thursday to you all...

we woke to rain on our tin roof ~ 

... the sweetest sound imaginable when one's eyes are just opening...

good for our gardens, good for the air - good for this rain-lover's soul.

 I have a new piece of cloth in my hoop today. another beginning, a fresh start.

oh what possibilities it holds ~ and just like a new day, it can be filled with all kinds of things.

I have a design in mind,

for a combination of cross stitch, embroidery and scrap applique all-in-one...

I'm thinking my palette will be blues, browns, old greens, golds and faded whites ~ 

taking cue from my February surroundings, but nodding toward Springtime.

this might turn out bigger than I expected,

mostly because I am excited about this one and anxious

 to be working on my hand dyed Cupboard Cloth {heavily walnut-stained osnaburg} again.

my little stork scissors are very old ~

 I wonder how many times it's tiny beak was used to snip threads over the years?

although they aren't sharp and are not my 'working' scissors,

 I value them for the beauty they add to my sewing basket with their humble patina nonetheless.

a box full of fabric scraps will be my muse for the applique portion of this project ~

saved from numerous works, and just too pretty to toss away...

they will come in handy for a design such as this.

 

and a beautiful fabric covered box is just the place to store them,

don't you agree? 

this particular box was made by my friend 

Linda from Remember When Farm

you can follow her on Instagram @rememberwhenfarm

so, {or should I say 'sew'} what will you make of this day?

how will you fill it and how can you make it a beautiful one?

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Autumn's {or not} Palette ~

Are you drawn to certain colors?

do spicy oranges and muted browns make your heart beat faster?...or how about a sky blue accompanied by poison apple green and goldenrod?

and black....not any black, but black-olive black, or soot. ah yes....soot.

These are my colors ~ not just-for 'autumn' colors...

I use them all year long in my designing and clothing even!

I am enjoying working on finished goods for our show this coming Saturday:

this is what my worktable looks like at the moment ~

applique, rug hooking, rug punching, a little needle-felting and embroidery to boot;

all in those familiar colors.

 oh!

and a wool bag that holds my iPad even wears the same :)

tell me what your favorite colors are? 

~ what inspires your color palette?

 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Getting Ready ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk 

and happy Monday to you all!

It is a crisp, overcast and delightful day here at the farm ~

the temps are low, and the breeze brings with it

 the occasional flutter of yellowed leaves which float down 

from our many black walnut trees. 

a hint of things to come.

I have been gathering fabrics, wools and threads lately

 since I am in full Autumn swing creatively!

I am working on finished goods for our upcoming 

Gathering of Primitive Friends Show

{which will be here before we know it}

we enjoy so much 

having our friends come out to our beloved farm & shop with us and our vendors....

and we love seeing our vendor friends each year as well!

this year, our list of vendors will include:

Lee & Robin Harrison of Millstone Mercantile

Teresa Miller of Teresa's Primitive Treasures

Dorrie & Susan of Olde Threads

Donna Smith of Southern Star Antiques

Joan Spalding of Olde Rectory Antiques

Becky Carney of A Wing & a Prayer

Jill Bivens of Fat Cat Soap Works

Jack & Kathy Newman of Everlastings

Becky Noland of Lucy Beam Love in Stitches

Kay Werner with her fabulous painted Floorcloths {new this year!}

Kathy Barrick of French Sentiments/Kathy Barrick Designs {a returning friend!}

Kris Miller of Spruce Ridge Studios { new this year & YAY!!!}

and, wonderful food from

The Master's Inn

those of you who return to us year after year will know that this is not a huge event ~

but one more intimate, with invited vendors only...showcasing them & their offerings better

because we believe in the quality of things, not necessarily the quantity.

and, since this is our home, front yard & barnyard that we share with our animal friends,

 we feel it's just nicer for everyone that way ♥

so make some plans to come out to the farm & enjoy yourselves!

here is an applique that I've been working on for the show, 

it will be available at the show in the farm shop along with more of my finished folk art ~

I received the model of my When Pigs Fly cross stitch design back from Beth

{ who did another wonderful job }

and will be adding it to our Etsy shop today...

isn't it awesome??

Thank you muchly Beth!

{please overlook the wrinkles, still needs pressed & framed}

I will also be listing the When Pigs Fly Punch Needle pattern, the Owl & Jack pattern, 

and our new little wooden sewing clamp:

{ i have to say...I love this handy little thing when I'm punching!}

 Hoping your day is one filled with all Good Things and much creativity ~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ "Little House" Hanging Wall Pocket ~

Hey There!

Good morning Friends & Folk ~ 

I wanted to share the finish of my little project with you all ~

"Little House" Hanging Wall Pocket from Notforgotten Farm™

I am very happy at how this turned out!

it's 'SEW' cute!

✂

 

I will be offering this mixed media project

as a pattern soon in our Etsy shop ~ both PDF & mailed.

Have a *Sparkling* day everyone!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Snippets ~

~ Good Morning Friends & Folk ~ 

... how frosty & snappy this morning is!

I take great pleasure being here on this farm ~ 

... from the daily watching of the sun traveling around it, visiting each room and touching  the old wood floors with beams of dusty-light...

to the twinkling of the stars in the clear skies at night, 

~ it gives me such a sense of calm & peacefulness.

I love how I can see, through our old wavy glass windows,

small glimpses of the fields and woods that surround our snug farmhouse on all sides

and know that we are safe, warm & dry no matter the weather.

Lately, 

my days are spent creating ~ constantly creating...sketching, designing...

and I move from room to room depending on what I'm working on.

when I am working on my old Pfaff treadle machine, 

you'll find me upstairs in my well-lit sewing room surrounded by piles of fabric, wool & velvets.

~ sitting amongst strewn-about snippets and threads.

if I am hooking, 

punching or hand stitching, you can find me anywhere ~

 but most-likely in our Keeping Room, 

{{which holds our beloved woodstove and my most favorite collectibles}}

and I'm usually watching an old movie or two. 

I've been working on this, a project that I started yesterday;

which combines wool/fabric applique 

and perhaps a little bit of punching or cross stitch will be added to it too.

I'm liking my results thusfar, do you?

my preference for applique is to use linen-colored thread and tiny primitive stitches

 ~ i do like the blanket-stitch, but I love the UN-eveness that I can achieve 

with minuscule whip stitches instead...  

to me,

 stitching in this fashion is more relaxing and more primitive.

~ she has such a sweet face ~ 

a little more hooking has been happening too,

using beautiful spicy warm & color-saturated wools ~

... bringing my sketches to life in lambswool loops.

as well as a few tiny cross stitches in my wooden hoop,

worked freehand onto cupboard cloth...

~ no pattern, just letting my mind & hands do the work and enjoying the process.

I see that some of you reading this have already received some flakes of snow!

...I am eagerly waiting for signs of them here ~

knowing that the long Winter season will finally be upon us makes me happy.

I am not a 'summer' girl.

 I was born in a blizzard in Connecticut, 

in February 1963.

I prefer dreary cold & rainy days spent snugged up in my cozy farmhouse

with a kitten or two and some handwork nearby...

give me a pair of boiled-wool socks and a sweater

over shorts & flip flops any-day.

 

 Hoping you all have a beautifully creative day!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Seeing Stars… ~

Yes I'm seeing stars!

and stripes and flags 

and buntings…

and folky-folks showing their patriotic fever!

~ coming soon 

in pattern-form for you to create your own pride :)

stitch

applique

punch needle

and more!

enjoy that sunshine today while you can ~ word around these parts is:

more RAIN in the forecast!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

{ ~ NEW Book! ~ }

Hello Friends & Folk ~

 

I am pleased to offer you a brand NEW book from Notforgotten Farm ~

 

 

" CHICKEN SCRATCH "

 

 

Inspiration to HOOK ~ PUNCH ~ STITCH
from the sketchbooks of Lori Brechlin

I've been wanting to do something like this for a while...

offer a 'peek' into my personal sketchbooks and help inspire you to create your own

project for rug hooking, wool applique, punch needle or primitive stitching....

 

Inside, there are 10 pages of hand-drawn motifs reflecting my folk art designs,

and this book was designs to represent the late Spring/Summer...

 

I will be offering more of these books, with motifs for other seasons/holidays...

 

You can find them NOW

...in my ETSY Shop

 

...so what are you waiting for?

 

get inspired and start creating something!!!!

 

Lori from

Notforgotten Farm

{...stitching, stitching...}

and...

...stitching!

 

in my last post I shwoed you how I dip-dye my threads...

I did get quite a few emails & comments regarding a few things I forgot to mention:

 

oven temp for drying/scorching: 350 (but stay close to the oven!)

time in oven to dry: about 20 minutes if the threads are really saturated.

where do I get my walnut dye: I make it from our walnut trees...
take 2 black walnuts (either in their green husks, or not) and plop them into a pot of water.

boil until the water becomes as dark as you'd like.

skim off the 'yuck' on top and let cool.

remove nuts/husks from dye bath.

now you can add water (or not) to make a stronger/weaker dye.

WEAR GLOVES!

 

and

here are a few closeup snaps of what I've been working on....

you can see some of the dip dyed perle cottons in various colors ~

(oh, and PLEASE excuse the cat hair!!!! Iggy loves to 'help' me work with wool & threads!)

 

 

I don't 'do' a blanket/penny rug stitch at all...I simply whip-stitch....much more fun & folky looking.

I like to mix cotton fabrics and wools,

I like to mix perle cottons and linen thread for my stitches...

 

 



simple, yet interesting with different textures.

(my stars, is there any hair left on the cat?)

 

 



I'll soon be adding different stitches such as this tiny colonial knot ~

 

 a patchwork of cotton & wool

 

these photos represent two seperate projects I'm working on...

 

 



different colored perle cottons against wool, on top of checkered homespun cloth...

when in doubt, always add a touch of blue!

 

 



blue ~ my favorite color

(seriously, where is that naked cat?)

 

 



love to mix it up!

tiny prints, tiny stitches, bold colors, large stitches...

whatever fills your heart ~

 

no rules, no 'wrong' way...

just enjoy your process and let your work come from your soul.

that is FOLK ART....

 

 



happy stitching!

 

{{{reminder to self: find the lint roller and/or make the cat wear a spacesuit.}}} 

 

Lori from

Notforgotten Farm