~ Getting my WITCHY on ~

Good Monday Morning

Friends & Folk ~

I woke this morning to the sound 

of our air-conditioners and fans and their mechanical whirring in my head...

I want so badly to just fling open the windows, 

let some fresh cool crisp air into this old farmhouse 

~ and enjoy the sounds of Mother Nature while I sleep!

ah yes...soon, soon.

In the meanwhile,

 I headed straight to my desk with 'other' thoughts now in my foggy little brain.

Those thoughts that are never far under the surface of my rippling creativity ~

yes friends, thoughts of Witches.
{ok, pumpkins, black cats, moons, ......you get it.}

I like to look back on my previous works and revisit past creations.
This always helps inspire my work for new ideas,
... ways to change and keep my folk art 'fresh' but familiar
*wink wink*
;)

So, here are a few of my past Witches & Other Friends:
 

punched & embroidered

sketchbook #8

sketchbook #15

dancing witch paper cutting {scherenshnitte}

stitched-witch

punched

naked

always watching

humbly-stitched

painterly-witch

oh those tiny little loops!

Inspiration....

snippets in time ~

We shall see where all of these little reminders will lead me....

~ who knows?

Have a happy & Creative Monday my sweet Friends ~

☾.•*¨*☆*¨*•.☽ 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Back to the Drawing Board ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

...a fine Spring day is ahead of us.

Clothes are washed & hung on the line to dry,

orders have been processed and upon my return from town 

 I will get back to doing what I love to do most ~

creating

I'm working on a few more notecards that I'm rendering in watercolors,

these are all sewing/stitching/needlework related themed ~

and I will be bringing them with me to the 

PSS Retreat/Merchant Mall May 5 & 6 

{they will also be available in my Etsy shop soon along with all new designs}

 

sketching is almost finished,

now on to the dipping of my brushes...

 

happiness is doing what you love,

... being blessed is being able to do that every single day...

 and never have it feel like it is anything other than magic ~ 

especially with the love & support we receive from our friends and family.

Have a most creative & beauty-full day 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

~ List Making ~

 Hello Monday 

~ Hello Friends ~

the weekend found me multi tasking again;

list making, picture taking, sketchbook journaling...

deep-woods walking, cleaning & clearing out. 

I liken all of the above to being

 'productive'

 I also chase my own tail some days though,

where I'll be imagining I'm being productive and I'm really not.

do any of you do that?

 I find that if I don't make lists, I'll tend to wander off somewhere and get sidetracked. lost even.

lists help keep me on target. I have lots of lists.

grocery lists, thread color lists ~ lists of favorite words & colors...

but of course, a list is only good if you can find it.

{hello again menopause}

 the blue jay feather that I showed in yesterday's posting 

~ became part of my sketchbook/journal...adding small dimensions

 to my pages of doodles and droplets of paint-infused water.

when I'm not working with needle/thread or hook/linen

I am usually dabbling in my brushes and watercolor cakes ~

doing so keeps my mind clear and helps my folk art stay fresh.

Painting is also very relaxing and when done in the company of an open window 

where one can hear the birds {or chickens} is a bonus for my soul.

since the past week has been unusually warm in these parts, I'm taking full advantage of being either outside to enjoy the sun & fresh air, or simply working beside an open window.

do any of you paint? if so, which medium do you prefer?

I go prefer watercolors...they are so very

forgiving.

with today being Monday again ~ another small cycle is upon me.

I like to have a routine and Monday is definitely my Wash Day as in the old rhyme:

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday 

Bake on Wednesday

Brew on Thursday

Churn on Friday

Mend on Saturday

Sunday go to Meeting...

although I have replaced a few of the activities, like brewing and churning to shopping and cleaning.

When all of my chores are complete for the day

and after blogging, of course and checking orders and emails...

that's when I settle in for my creative time.

having something in the 'works' is one way of staying productive, but in a very satisfying way.

there is nothing wuite like the feeling of clean floors, fresh laundry and something baking

while you work on a project ~ very comforting and cozy.

I've finished needle-punching 'Mrs Peabody' and I love her....

her design was inspired by an early angel from a fraktur.

I need to now 'finish-finish' it, by making it a sawdust & lavender stuffed pillow trimmed with some-sort of ribbon or yarn or wool.

Mrs Peabody will be available as a pattern {pdf & paper} soon....and I thinnk I'll turn her into a rug hooking pattern as well.

I'm working on a bunch of new designs for my upcoming shows, so you'll be seeing a slew of new things!

 {see my schedule to your right on my sidebar}

next to my sewing machine is a basket ~

in that basket are tiny sewn-things awaiting to be embroidered and stuffed...

some will be necklaces,

others will be scissor fobs and pin keeps. 

each will be different and available as finished goods at the shows too ~

I better get busy!

found the cutest notebooks at Micheal's over the weekend too ~

one for ideas....one for to do's.

both are perfect for me.

  

and I have to share this with you all....

a card that Hannah gave me

that hangs here in my sewing room and is the first thing I see upon walking in the room:

 Hannah, YOU are my greatest accomplishment, 

and are at the top of my list!

Have a beauty-full day my friends ~ find time for yourself....

~ take delight in the mundane and common.

 Notice the small things....they matter the most.

Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ Stitcher's Notebooks ~

I've never been the most organized person…

you can probably tell that by past photos of my sewing room!

my little pea-brain is always full of chattering thoughts and ideas ~

and my creative muse constantly visits me & gives me gentle nudges to do more, create more

…design more!

If it weren't for my many {MANY} sketchbooks & notebooks I have and use on a daily basis

I would be lost.

Things I write in my notebooks:

I like to jot down what linen I'm working on {color/count}

what color & type threads I'm using for a specific project

 {are they DMC, Weeks, or what the heck threads are these??}

listing threads I need/want/have and any/all supplies for that next project.

what needlework shops I've visited, where they are located and contact info

{I even tape business cards onto the pages for quick reference}

how much $ I've spent and where

{that notebook is locked-away so dear hubby doesn't faint}

ideas, thoughts, words, colors, names, quotes…

anything that I may gain inspiration from.

see?

notebooks are needful things aren't they?

I decided to design & personalize a couple for myself 

~ this one below being one that I keep in my sewing basket:

my trusty sewing basket on my comfy stitching-chair

personalized my sewing basket by adding a small sampler and many pinned-on treasures ~

~ even the inside is pretty!

you can see how ragged this notebook is,

by the tattered edges..but it is an indispensable tool for me!

…jotting down color & thread placement 

is very important as I design & work…

I don't want to goof!

I thought that maybe some of you 

would like a 

Stitcher's Notebook©

from Notforgotten Farm™

so I created a few that are now available in my Zazzle Shop:

http://www.zazzle.com/notforgottenfarm

clockwise:

 "I Get Cross", "Snippets", "Stitching Mends" & "Woolgatherings"

they are $12.95 each ~ plus applicable tax/shipping.

I'm actually looking back through my older notebooks 

~ for more ideas to come up with 

for NEW Stitcher's Notebooks© from Notforgotten Farm™

HA!

Hoping you all have a sweet end-of-April day my friends !

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Midweek Musings ~

… and a

 Happy Wednesday to you

~ Friends & Folk ~

More progress has been made on BeeWitched…

I've finished her dress and have moved on to the background ~

yay!

… since the 2 main motifs are so big, 

and have so many different colors & textures going on in them,

I decided to keep the background very plain… 

I chose a tone-on-tone 'black' 

{which consists of blacks, dark greens & brownish-ness}

all in the very same wool.

 and have big plans for the border though…

I will bring those colors back around for my finish!

"oh... hey Ig!"

"what's that you say…?"

Iggy is always chattering-on about something or another….

 ~}}}}}::O::{{{{{~

I've been in my sketchbooks again ~ just finished up this Lady last night…

"Witch Stitches"

 2016 ~ ©Notforgotten Farm ~ 

I love how her hair floats along with her sewing needfuls…

{{ can you see her little friend? }}

perhaps her tiny companion startled her ~ 

… or she is allowing her stitching tools to enjoy a bit of flight?

Her wizened face & gnarled hands hold many stories I'm sure.

{and I wonder what secrets that skeleton key on her waist can unlock?}

I enjoy sketching in my 'down-time'…

these penciled scratchings are the impetus for my needlework & folk art designs, 

even though these are much more detailed 

when rendered in pencil & ink, 

~ than in cotton thread or wool loops.

I like to flit between my more primitive & naive style

 to more of a 'fine-art' look…

and I usually can find my niche somewhere in there with my style

that I call

~ 'Primsical' ~ 

{{ not quite real but certainly not total imagination only }}

>>>>>>>>>O<<<<<<<<<

Hoping you can all find a little magic in your week!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

...It starts with a Sketch ~

Usually when a concept for a new design creeps into my brain,
I reach for one of my (many) sketchbooks....

I like to chronicle my work with what I call 'half-sketches',
...unfinished pencil drawings of fleeting images in my head.

my most favorite subjects to sketch are, of course, Hallowe'en related :)

some are sweet, like the Good Witch above,
some are a little scary, like the screaming pumpkin-guy below...




I love how a pencil can capture tiny details and shadowed nuances without even really trying to...



this one, below, is in progress now...
I'll be offering the finished works as prints and notecards in my Etsy shop soon...



I'll be using my watercolors to bring all of these sketches to life ~

can't wait to see how they evolve.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




a small sleeping witch, tired from picking her perfect pumpkin ~
resting in the strong roots of a gnarled Oak tree whilst the happy Moon keeps a safe watch on her ~





do many of you keep sketchbooks?
or should I ask, do you keep many sketchbooks??

Blessings from the Farm!

Lori