~ Spring?? ~

 Good Morning

~  Friends  & Folk ~ can the weatherman be true?

will we indeed have sun & temps in the 70's today??

if that is indeed factual,

then I will be throwing everything into the washer and hanging out loads upon loads of laundry!

{ I enjoy hanging my laundry on the line, as my mother, aunts and sister have taught me well. }

~ when all that has been wind-blown dry, folded and put away ~

 I may take a look at my wintering gardens and see if I spy any sprouts.

Taking full advantage of the warmer weather today ~

I'd like to get a jump on my Spring Cleaning.

Only after all has been said & done,

will I return to my needle and thread....

I want to be just like her when I grow up...

Oh Spring!
please come quick...I'm desperate for warm breezes
& sunshine on my face...everyday!

I want to stitch on the porch swing
and listen to the whippoorwills sing...

Pick fresh Strawberries and salad greens...
wear cotton skirts & t-shirts.

Watch the Sheets blow in the breeze
and hear the buzzing of the Bees...

Oh Spring, ...be Sprung!!!

 ~ © L. Brechlin

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This Saturday's class, Feb. 17th 

~ IS CANCELLED and POSTPONED UNTIL FEB 24th ~

  

...wishing you warm, 

~ sunny days filled with daydreams of things to come...

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

**EDITED** ~ Bird Brain ~

**EDITED**
CLASS IS FULL!
pls. read about it below...

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

and a sun-filled Tuesday is on tap for us here at the farm...

Hoping you are not suffering from storms & such ~

keeping you all in my heart & thoughts.

I'm working on a model for a small class

~ that I will be teaching here in the Farm Shop on Saturday February 14th

"Bird Seed"

is what I'm calling it, as it is worked in mostly short, fat little seed stitch...

which is a great little stitch for beginners and non-beginners alike.

it really fills up a design quickly and is a very textural stitch 

~ when used in combination with a little color-planning

ィイィイィイィイィイィイィイィイィ

I started stitching it last night, 

and stitched for a couple of hours while listening to

my favorite Jazz/Swing music on Sirius Radio.

 {{ that type of music always makes me happy! }}

I chose a thread palette of browns, golds, greens and violets ~

very Spring-like, but not too bold.

I'll show the students how to begin with the lighter colored threads, 

then work their way to the darker ones.

 All 6 strands of the DMC floss are used to create each stitch ~


 I can't wait to stitch his little feet...they will be stitched with 3 strands of floss ~ there will be stem stitch and a small amount of satin stitch in this project too, once I get to his back, wing and tail....but don't fret!

I can teach you how and you will be amazed at your work :)

Oh! and I'm working on Weavers Cloth!

used primarily for Punch Needle work, Weavers is a strong, yet forgiving

 polyester/cotton blend fabric that will hold up to the tugging of 6 strands of DMC thread through it.

 &

I love the fact that this cloth isn't as transparent as some others, 

and that is a BIG plus when carrying threads on the back of my work...

{ which btw is 

totally acceptable in embroidery world!}

~ so I don't see that from the front!

Sitting peacefully, listening to the sound of my needle 

and thread popping through the cloth as I stitch is so comforting to me... 

and the rhythm of my work and the music in my ears is soul-quenching.

~ I think everyone should stitch for their own mental health ~

 

I like to keep everything on my Stitcher's Tray while I work too... 

{shameless plug ;)}

 but it really is the handiest thing!!

 ~ I carry it with me from room to room while I'm making dinner in between stitches or other farmwife chores ~

I actually have a couple of these in both sizes here in the farmhouse, but my white one is my very favorite.

 ❤

 I use a Mark-B-Gone
pen with both water soluble and air soluble ink when I transfer my paper design to my ground cloth...

it helps keep me
 'in the lines' as I have a tendency to get carried away with my stitching

~ and with a spritz of water, those blue lines are gone in a instant!

My Bohin scissors are not only shiny & beautiful ~ they are sharp as the dickens!

the Wicked Stitching Needles case was purchased at the 2016 Prim Stitchers Society Retreat ~ I cannot remember who I got it from, so if you're reading this and sold it to me please let us know!

 I'm using a 5" Morgan hoop with channel-lock...even with embroidery, you want to keep your ground cloth nice and tight ~

 NOW Accepting reservations for the

 "Bird Seed" Hand Embroidery Class at Notforgotten Farm

Saturday, February 17th ~ 10:00 - 4:00

**SNOW DATE - Saturday, February 24th**

  I have limited seating available for this 'Bird Seed' class ~ 

12 students total.

email me at Notforgottenfarmwitch@gmail.com or call 434-263-6508

to reserve your seat!!

Class cost is $48.00 and includes:

5" Morgan hoop

Ground Cloth {Weavers}

Embroidery Needle & Threads

Reusable Paper Pattern 

6 hours of my instruction

*Lunch and Snacks/Drinks provided or bring your own

{bring your sense of humor too please}

 ↗

 ィイィイィイィイィイィイィ

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Just Thinking....

 Hello Hello!

 and a fine day to you all ~

Another cold bitter morning, 

but the weather-folk tell us that today will be a bit warmer...

not so sure about New Years Eve or day though.

We will ring in 2018 at home once again...

some shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers & antipasto for appetizers

~ then pork chops and sauerkraut for supper.

I will bake lemon bars & oatmeal cookies to snack on while we watch old movies, 

then finally turn the station to see the ball drop at midnight ~ if our eyes can stay open that is.

Of course I'll be stitching too!

I finished dear Jenny Wren and I am pleased with the way her dress and bonnet came out ~

I gave her a garland of greens to hold, with the tiniest leaves...

and added black french-knot buttons to the front of her frock too ~

 

....she is impatiently waiting for her beau to be stitched now though...

The handsome Robin Redbreast or Cock Robin is already in my hoop, 

with penciled-on standing collar and a wild-eyed look!

 

just thinking about the colors to choose for his waistcoat and trousers

and of course his beaver top-hat will be greys ~

I am enjoying this phase of my creative path, 

and am so happy to hear how much you are too! 

Thank you kindly for all of the kind words via Instagram, FB, email & PM's!!

{whodathunk that in my mid-50's I would be embroidering nursery rhyme characters?}

Some of you have asked if these will be patterns,

and my answer is yes, they will.

but

I am hoping to compile enough finished embroideries 

 to offer as a series to those who are interested in embroidering them yourselves.

it's not as hard as it looks! 

just lots {LOTS!} of split satin stitch, long & short stitch, 

~ outline stitch, chain stitch & french knots...

the tricky part for me will be writing the instructions ~ but it will be done.

Let me know just how interested you are in learning to embroider like this...

I may just offer a class or two!

Stay Warm, be happy & keep creating my friends ~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Planning Ahead ~

 Hello Friends & Folk!

Hoping your Christmas was wonderful ~

... ours was !

Our girl, her beau and their pups we here with us...

making these past few days both chaotic and fun.

Last night, after dinner we headed out to the theater to see Jumanji!!!
what a great movie!!!
 we laughed so hard ~ it's a must see...love Jack Black and The Rock,
but I have to say the original with Robin Williams is still awesome

In other news,
I'm spending this last week of 2017 planning my 2018 designs.
I will be adding more embroidery to my pattern line,
... and have been honing my stitching-abilities working on this little Jenny Wren:

her blue dress is being worked in split-satin stitch

using DMC threads in gradient hues ~

and for the past few weeks, 

~ I have had a bug in my brain about making another bear.

I cannot even tell you the last time I made one!

 

so this is on my worktable for the day....

don't you love that blue mohair?

of course when I finish stuffing, plucking and distressing, 

~ the fur will not look like this at all.

I'm thinking a little pair of red wool shoes 

and an embroidered apron will be the clothing of choice, but we'll see.

How are you spending your last week of 2017?

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Waiting for the Robins ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk ~
a sunny & windy day on tap for us here at the farm ~
it feels more like March to me than mid-January!

Growing up in CT,
the Winter months were long and cold ~
we waited patiently {or not-so} for any signs of Spring we could find...
the one we always welcomed was the first Robin sighting!

My Mother, Sisters & I would each watch out our windows
and whoever saw one first, would call the others to announce that our favorite little birds were back
from their vacation in the Southern states.

Now, living in VA ~
some of our Robins are here year-round.
but,
as Spring approaches and the ground softens from rain
we will again happily welcome flocks of fat little red-breasted Robins
and watch them hungrily pecking the dirt for juicy worms...

Robins,
{{well any birds for that matter}}
have always played a big part in my folk art & needlework designs.
I think I can count on my PA German roots for that,
 as birds have been a sign of luck for centuries and have been/are still
 used frequently in their culture.

Here are a few Robins that I have designed in the past:

Folk Bird Needlecase ~ previous LSHC kit/model

Needle Bird Punch Needle Pincushion ~ www.notforgottenfarm.etsy.com

Early Bird Hooked Stool Cover ~ www.notforgottenfarm.etsy.com

Most recently,

I designed the project below ~ 

it is in the current, inaugural issue of

Wool Works Magazine...

I combined my love of punch needle & rug hooking for this design ~

www.Woolworksmagazine.com

Spring Messenger is available for you to hook too,

www.Spruceridgestudios.com

but by far,
my favorite little Robin that I brought to life
is this one...
made from scraps of cloth & wool
pieces of twisted wire and thread ~
and found twigs...

she lives with me here in my sewing room 

and is a constant muse for all of my other feathered creations...

{she is not available}

and I am hoping to make time to create a whole flock of these and offer them to you....

in the meantime,
I'll keep watching out the wavy-glass windows of this Old Farmhouse
~ for the return of this fair weather harbinger....

Wishing you all a day filled with goodness and peace.

Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Feathers & Thread Tales ~

Good Snowy Sunny Sunday Morning 

Friends & Folk!

after our recent, wonderful snowfall ~

we are having beautiful sunshine today

...albeit only in the 20's when we woke.

I love to see snow when it sparkles in the sunshine, don't you? 

Peter made a quick makeshift bird feeder from a trash can lid for our bird friends...

here are a few who visited this morning:

 Blue Jays & Grackles

Snow Buntings & Cardinals....

their antics crack me up! 

we put out peanuts in the shell, dried fruit, sunflower seeds and millet 

~ boy do they love us! 

{{ we had to take down the bird feeders for repair, hence the lid! }}

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I've finished stitching the model for the 

Jan/Feb/Mar 2017 Little Stitches Handwork Club {LSHC}

a sweet girl with her pet bird...

 

... now I just need to 'finish' finish it!

I'll be shipping club kits this week to current members :)

 

I'm finishing up other projects for soon to be released patterns ~

punch needle has been in progress for weeks,

as my little punching-station is set up in our keeping room, 

which is next to our cozy woodstove...

I'm excited to show you the new designs!!

I hope you'll like them ~

think: 

 F O L K Y

of course I'll be including a few hearts into the mix,

along with more spring-like & everyday designs...

❤ 

 

and

here are my recent stitches for the

1 Year of Stitches 2017 project ~

I am truly enjoying this...

and seeing everyone's progress as well!

 today 

I added a thread spool & needle :)

 Wishing you all a beautiful day 

... filled with peace & contentment!

Blessings from the Farm ~ 

Peter & Lori