~ Out With the Old ~

 it is Almost a New Year ~

...what will you do with it?

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Needle & Thread {and Linen, too} ~

 Good Morning 

~ Friends & Folk ~

we woke to raindrops on the tin roof this morning,
{{ a sound that always tells me that it will be a great day for handwork! }}
...most folks don't welcome the rain,
but I always do.
I'll even go for a walk in it after breakfast.
{one of my 'other' favorite things to do}

I've had this idea floating around in my head for a couple of days,
and this morning I put it to paper,
and linen...

If you are a regular reader,

you'll know I've been recently talking about my 'freehand' cross stitching...

well, this is going to be a pattern for that ~

I usually stitch them on muslin or other plain cloth,

but decided that I wanted a different look for this design.

So I searched through my stash 

and found a pretty cream/tan Buffalo plaid/check linen 

that I had 'waiting' for just the right project...

~ this is 28 count.

I begin by sketching a design in pencil on paper, 

~ then going over the sketch with a fine tip sharpie.

After that, I place my linen directly over the inked design 

and trace through onto the linen using same pencil.

Being that that linen is a light color, and a 28 count ~

it is easy to see the paper pattern through...

you may want to use a light box 

or sunlit window to transfer yours.

Now

here's the fun part!

after tracing the penciled design onto the linen,

just begin stitching the design by 'eye-balling' your cross stitches ~

I prefer the continental-method of cross stitching, 

meaning all of my half-stitches will go to the right, before coming to the end of the row

where I will go back over and cross all of my previous stitches.

and

NO COUNTING ALLOWED :)

{{for photo purposes, I took my linen out of my hoop}}

my rows are not straight or even ~ some of my cross stitches are 2 x 3, 3 x 2, etc...

some are wide, others are short,

and I am not concerned with that at all....

I am purely stitching by happenstance

 :)

ahhhh.....

freedom to be me!

wherever my needle lands is where I'll make a stitch ~

wonky? 

why, yes.

unprofessional looking?

 you betcha, 

...and happily so.

but, when I am in the rhythm of stitching like this

it is so cathartic

so forgiving

that I can literally lose myself to daydreams 

and other household distractions that conventional

counted threadwork will not allow...

yay!

... will I complete this design using all of these tiny misshapen cross stitches?

I dunno, 

we'll see when we get there...

 I might add some other sundry embroidery stitches to her dress,

flowers and pet bird.

I love satin & straight stitch, eyelet and algerian too ~

perhaps a few french knots too. 

combining everything I love to do 

~ makes me a happy girl.

Happy Wife ~ Happy Life

♥

So tell me,
what makes you happy these days??

Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ Happy Things ~

Good Morning from Frozen-bottom Farm!

wow the wind last night kept us up ~ rattling these old windows…

maybe it's a preview of the March winds that will blow away Old Man Winter?

I forgot to show you two necklaces that I made to wear at the show last weekend :)

 an embroidered heart & a teddy bear head…

I enjoyed making them,

the embroidered heart is made entirely up as I stitched, 

using from scraps of early ticking, cotton threads, ribbon, buttons, safety pins, & rusty bits.

old pins adorn the edges while a rusty thimble dangles below ~

and my teddy bear head necklaces 

are made from German mohair with vintage blown glass eyes ~

cotton thread nose/mouth, ribbon & old clock key.

there are all kinds of things living in my scrap baskets!

why, 

just this morning I think I heard a few more magpies 

~ and a couple of rabbits whispering in there

:)

Keep safe & warm my friends ~ wherever you are.

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

{ ...diversions... }

 

sometimes I just like to make things...

no plans, just make something.

 

while I was in Joann's the other day, I saw one of my favorite magazines,

'Mollie Makes'

so i had to buy it.

 

it just so happened to include a free kit

(as most every issue includes a free kit of some sort)

this one was for a little oil coth purse.

how cute...

 

 

 

sweet, but I didn't want to use the oil cloth included....

(i'm crazy like that)

 



pretty, but I wanted something 'different'....

so....

 

I opened the little kit package and took out the supplies:

purse clasp

oil cloth

paper twine

 

 



 

I was thinking of something more like this...

using some of my beautiful, nubby, washed silk matka in a beautiful shade of mushroom....

 

so I sewed it up...

 

then I turned to my trusty threads...

...these are my Gutermann threads in my favorite colors ~

 

 



turned the little purse rights sides out ~

(a little wonky-looking, but hey....)

 

 



grabbed my scissors,

cut out some organic shapes from tiny scraps of wool

...and began freestylin' :)

 

 



I like to change out the colors of my threads to clash/compliment my wools

and I use a variety of simple stitches...

colonial knot

stem stitch

whip stitch

straight stitch

 

 



 

after a bit of staining, then attaching the purse clasp to the top,

...it is finished.

 

 



 

I'm happy with it...

plop in a few coins and save for a rainy day.

 

~ have a beautiful weekend my Friends!

 

Lori from

Notforgotten Farm