~ Finished Folk Art UPDATE Tonight ~

For your amusement ~ here are the watercolors that will be available this evening,

you can click on each photo to enlarge ~

Visit my Etsy Shop TONIGHT at 6:00 EST

www.notforgottenfarm.etsy.com

then click on the *FINISHED FOLK ART* link on the left sidebar on my Etsy Shop Homepage

------> that link will be LIVE at 6:00 EST <------

:)

Blessings from the Farm ~

Lori

~ My Folky Heart ~

Good Evening my Friends & Folk ~

I have finished punching this little heart pin pillow

♡

Here is ~

'My Folky Heart'

I chose vibrant colors that complement one another, 

~ using Valdani #8 Pearl Cotton

of course you may use whatever color threads you love the most

 or to match your decor ~

for the backing I used scraps of quilting cotton from my overflowing scrap baskets ~

 I hope this fills your heart!

to Purchase the Download/PDF Pattern  HERE

to Purchase the Mailed/Paper Pattern HERE

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ New Patterns Available ~

Just Listed ~ in our Etsy Shop... 

3 new patterns for my Folk Embroidery line!

and they are:

"Tulip Polka"

paper/pdf available to make this sweet double-decker pin cushion

just in time for Valentine's day ~

 

"Farmer's Market"

paper/pdf available, a 4-in-one pattern for you to make your own wearable vegetable garden 

{brooch or necklace}

and

"Folk Art Collection Number One"

paper/pdf available, for a 3-in-1 pattern for you to make tiny folk-art inspired wearables...

{brooch/pin, you choose!}

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Rainy Sunday Musings ~

 ~ Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

I am hoping by now the storms have passed 

and have left you safe and somewhat sound...

we were fortunate to be spared the high winds, but the rain continues ~

I'll take the rain over a hurricane any day

 thankyouverymuch.

yesterday would have been our 

Gathering of Primitive Friends show & Hook In

but as you all know we rescheduled it until this coming saturday,

 September 22nd 10 - 4

we do have a few openings in our new studio for the Hook In, 

if you're interested in registering, give me a holler :)

As you might know,

I am continuing to busily embroider my thread-loving heart out lately! 

I have never, ever been so passionate about any one type of needlework before...

but that might just be why I love it so much?

the different stitches I use, 

gives my thread life, movement...depth.

I may not know what the heck I'm doing, but it sure does keep me happy!

I get asked about my stitches quite often, and as I have mentioned before ~

I mostly use a split stitch...but...my hand naturally twists my threads,

and I stitch in many different directions, so the look of my stitches is a little 'different' i imagine,

than someone who has been professionally trained in embroidery.

I love the humble, folkyness of my stitches 

and how they create shadow and form without me even ever trying to ~

I guess that's why I call myself a Folk Artist. 

...never ever have taken a class anywhere, for anything,

just this: ~ a long time and many moons ago,

a little girl picked up a needle and thread and ran with it.

and she is still running.

literally...

thank you so much for your words of encouragement,

~ kind remarks and wonderful support....

my new line of Folk Embroidery patterns has been a success thanks to you all!

 

here is a little video of me stitching this morning ~

 

and don't forget to come see us next Saturday!!!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Saturday Musings ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

 

... cold & sunny here at our farm this morning ~ 

waking to a fresh pot of coffee brewing on the woodstove is always a pleasure.

...even though I drink tea, the smell of coffee in the morning is heavenly to me!

 

and while the woodstove will be piping, 

I will place a nice pot of turkey soup on it for our supper this eve...me thinks a nice loaf of crusty bread needs to be baked too.

 A Friendly Reminder:

 our farm shop will open once again on December 2nd 

with the start of our Holiday Open House Week ~ from December 2nd through December 9th, 

our shop hours will be 10:00 - 3:00 for your pleasure ~

This week will be a busy one for us as we prepare for the festivities to come...

lots {and lots} of stitching needs to be done...

along with a few 'other' kinds of folk art ~

 The Woodshop will be a flurry of activity with Peter & Chris 

busily filling orders and creating new wooden folk art for you too!

...we have new Goods to show you and are finishing up new designs 

to be released on Cyber Monday in our Etsy shop

the coupon code for this Cyber Monday Sale is :

cyber2017

 

Have a peaceful weekend my friends ~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ A Fine Line ~

 There is a famous quote among artists...

'Everything starts from a dot'

with the quote credited to Wassily Kandinsky, 

a Russian artist who lived from 1866 to 1944.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I hear this quote in my head every time I put pen to paper, 

thread to cloth or wool to linen.

most of the time, my thoughts are jotted down rapidly...

then translated into fine line drawing first, 

... and are finally applied to their textile medium, or watercolor paint.

I have long been a 'doodler' 

and enjoy keeping my sketchbooks filled with inspirational words 

and small quick rough drafts in pencil and ink.

you never know what will turn out from these impromptu pages,

but I've been mulling an idea in my mind for some time now

~ and I think it's time I put them together...

it's a punch needle pattern book called

The Garden of Weedin'

{yes, it is a word-play on the Garden of Eden scheme of things, 

and again, yes, intended primarily for punch needle ;) }

Like my other desktop-published books {printed/bound by me, right here at NFF}

 this one will be spiral bound so you can more easily trace your designs onto your weavers cloth

... and all pages are one-sided as well, so there isn't any confusing 'bleed-through' 

of another design coming through while you trace.

So

here is my draft cover;

Wassily Kandinsky
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/wassilykan380803.html Wassily Kandinsky

and 

here are small glimpses into the not-quite-ready pages ~

howdy

hello

 and the back cover too...

with a small excerpt of my idea for the book.

I am in the process of punching some of the designs from this book, 

so that you can better see the finished, intended & shall I say: UNIQUE use for it's patterns ~

as always, the threads I'm using will be Valdani & DMC {all 6 strands} in my favorite colors.

BUT

There are no color-placement instructions included in this book, 

as I want YOU to find your own colors to use for your own personal Garden of Weedin'...

There are 13 actual 'pattern' pages, 

with some pages having multiple patterns on them.

just lots of folky designs & 'primsical' motifs 

{my made-up word for primitive + whimsical}

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised...

at least I hope so!

Have a beautiful & creative day my sweet friends!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ In Progress ~

Short posting today...

more little watercolors are in the works ~

hello

 working on a portfolio of paintings 

for a new line of folk art note cards

and loving every minute.

tiny details emerging on a black hen

feathers and foot-scales

will bring her to life.

 

 playing with colors and thinking 

this would also make for a sweet punch needle design!

Happy Friday everyone.

please be nice to each other out 'there'.

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Thread Tales & Hearts ~

 welcome to February ~

my favorite month!

yes, I know it's short, and cold...wet and sometimes gloomy.

but

it is a transitional month that is leaning into Spring, 

with one foot yet behind in Winter...

first sightings of crocus and snowdrops are entertaining my thoughts ~ while I wait & watch the birds to predict the always-changing February weather.

I'll take advantage of this month of love and the lengthening days to plan my garden, and begin the ritual of Spring Cleaning.

February is also my birth month, so that itself holds dear to me

♥

I am enjoying some free-style embroidery, 

and challenging myself more & more with specialty stitches,

while combining my love of primitive & folk art design 

with a softer palette for the Spring months ahead ~

needle-weaving has become stuck in my brain,

as you can see in the folk heart below... 

I've worked it in Valdani pearl cotton, DMC floss and Gentle Art Sampler Threads.

Stitches are a combination of spider web, satin, french knot, bullion, stem stitch, straight stitch and dimensional picot for the leaves.

The heart above is available on today's

Early Work Mercantile

 if you're interested

SOLD thanks so much

Have a wonder-FULL day my sweet friends!

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