Michelle Palmer: fall

Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts

Thursday, November 28

Thanksgiving~

"Acorn Perch" copyright Michelle L. Palmer

No. 4 of 6 Fraktur Rug Series

Thankful for you~

Wishing you and yours a beautiful

Thanksgiving weekend!

Friday, October 20

Harvest Moon~

We have been enjoying several weeks of mild weather.

Beautiful sunny days & clear starry nights...

Walking the pup without a flashlight when the night sky lights the way~

That is what inspired this friendly moon~

Walking past pumpkin fields as the sun is setting.

Harvest beauties silhouetted against the sherbet orange sky.

Moon shining down on roadside pumpkins for sale~

Hope your Autumn days are filled with beauty, Friends!

Tuesday, September 26

Punch needle patterns~

'Rooster Rising' my dad would always say,

"Never let the sunshine catch you sleeping!" "Up an at 'em!"

Days with him were always filled with adventure~ and love!

Hello, Friends!

It has been too long since my last post~

Summer seemed to dash by us and Autumn has arrived with

unseasonably warm and beautiful days!

The gardens continue to call to me and

somehow I find myself spending too much time away from my desk~

When the moon is so bright you don't need a flashlight~
That's when I imagine new friends are made!

Apple a Day' ~ The orchards smell so, so good right now!

We have been enjoying several warm days.

Driving past the rows of apple trees with our window down~

Sure to make an apple pie as soon at the 80 degree days go back down to the 60's.
(I think punch needle each day is great medicine, too!)

My dad would sit on the edge of my light blue

sand box (that he had built) and look up to the moon and say,

"I love you all the way up there, to that big white moon~ and back"

He used the moon to keep me awake on the way home

from Christmas Eve parties,

"Where's that moon, Boo? Did you see Santa fly around it yet?"

Something about the moon~

Perfect place for our little crow friend to rest his wings~

Pumpkins can get heavy!

I remember walking through the pumpkin patch with little ones.

They would find the biggest one they could wrap their little

arms around & claim it as their own.

It would grow heavy in their arms after a few steps~

Mom always put a ceramic pumpkin (that my sister made)

in our front picture window.

I loved the soft glow of the smiling jack o lantern's face

as it reflected in the window.

The pumpkin sat on a very thick encyclopedia,

wrapped in tin foil, for perfect height. I put my little friend on a pedestal~

Hope your Autumn days are filled with happiness, Friends!

Monday, August 7

Sunflower in the pumpkin patch hooked rug~

I often spend weekends trying to catch up on special orders~

A fever decided to grab on to me so I gathered some

wool worms and passed some time with a harvest project!

I love painting, drawing, photographing, stitching, sketching... pumpkin tendrils!

Painting with wool...

I had such a great time working on the pumpkin...

Choosing my palette & adding some plaids for texture!

One of my favorite color pairs~

Yellow and blue

Hope your Monday is filled with blue skies, Friends!

Friday, June 23

Pen & Ink Pincushions

Bees, feathered friends, harvest perches and patriotic themes~

Pinkeeps!

Pincushions!

If you remove the pins they are fun to hang on a cupboard pull~

Teddy bears love to hold hearts in their laps, too!

Chickadee and bee are discussing their sewing project~

This bee stopped by the firework daisy!

How I love bee skeps~

Hives of all shapes & sizes!

I love to draw bees in straight lines, too~

They are flying off to work together!

I bet these little friends sing, "Whistle while you work!"

They each have their yellow-topped pin...

They're off to help in the studio~

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Friends!

Thursday, November 24

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grateful for each of you~

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday, Friends!

Monday, October 31

Carved pumpkins~

My carved pumpkin~

Hope you're having a fun day, Friends!

Be safe as you're gathering tricks & treats!

Friday, October 21

Snowmen, sheep and a squirrel!

We have been enjoying beautiful Autumn days!

Very little frost...

The vegetable garden continues to share.

We were warned that our fall foliage colors would be minimal.

Not as full, could be dull, muted.

NOT AT ALL!

The most beautiful, vibrant and stunning colors in years!

Wish I could share the setting with you~

Came across a row of young oak trees the other day~

There were acorns everywhere!!

Not sure how squirrels & other gatherers have not discovered the nuts!

I could have scooped them up with a shovel & buckets~

I filled my pocket and brought them home for our little gray & red friends.

Gathered some leaves so we can purchase the same oak varieties for

our back yard!

I used Instant Antique spray for this snow friend~

Pure white is beautiful...

I love the textural results of the antiqued floss on my more

primitive snowmen friends!

(Instant Antique is available from Primitive Gatherings)

Most of my punch needle designs are interpretations from

my original watercolor paintings~

The top image is a color printout of my original watercolor painting.

I painted this little meadow scene in 1996.

I originally punched the sheep with white & taupe colors~

They didn't stand out enough to me... the whole design was too cold.

Painting with threads is a little different than painting with watercolor!

Now I want to paint the scene with brown sheep!

Our snowman looks sad that my sheep lost their coats of white!

Soon to have their coats of brown, gray & black~

The one color I just love in this piece is the scarf~ DMC 4130!

It is variegated... rich harvest colors!

She has her November scarf on~

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, Friends!

Wednesday, October 12

Painted Acorn punch needle heart

I couldn't get through the harvest season without a few

punch needle hearts!

Once I close the windows and accept that our warm days have passed~

I completely enjoy Autumn.

The colors, the harvest~

Bringing some of those colors indoors to warm heart & home!

Wishing your hearts every sweet happiness!

Tuesday, September 13

Acorn Pincushions

These little buttons are perfect for the bittersweet themed pinkeep!

Pins with golden yellow & red heads...

Vegetable ivory buttons look like acorns...

This vintage gear button was perfect for my acorn wheel!

So much in life starts small...

Builds...

Grows...

Hard work and determination~

I had a teacher who taught me to have strong foundations.

Build several sturdy legs to your table.

If one leg weakens~ the others will hold it up.

Then don't neglect the weak spot. Immediately work to restore strength.

I hope your week is off to a great start, Friends!

Stay strong & I hope you find a creative project, too~

Tuesday, August 2

Harvest of punch needle fun!

We are experiencing drought conditions this summer~

It has limited how much gardening can be done.

I'm able to get more work finished since I'm not digging & weeding.

That means more play time!

More punch time!

How fun it was to use up some bits & pieces of floss that were left over!

Border of many colors!

Harvest colors~

I did this one earlier in the year~

Something about sheep!

When I purchase roving for needle felting the farmers allow me to

visit with their sheep. They come running to their keepers like puppies!

Sunflowers and bumble bees~

I could punch, paint, sketch sunflowers from Springtime through Fall!

They bloom early in the growing season here because chipmunks

bury sunflower seeds all over our yard!

They have little keeping spaces too close to the surface & we let them grow!

Black has so many colors reflected in it~

So does this crow!

I wonder if each kernel tastes different for them?!

We have grown painted corn, miniature Indian corn, strawberry corn...

blue corn (a variety of flint maize)

It is so much fun to pull back the husks & reveal the colors!

Hope your August is off to a great start, Sweet Friends!

I'm not rushing summer away~

August is filled with beauty!

Tuesday, July 19

Harvest Acorn Punch Needle

When a few cool days spill into summer heat...

Acorns & harvest designs appear!

I am in no hurry for Fall (though it is my favorite season) as I

love to spend time in the gardens surrounded by the hum of bees and

visited by butterflies passing by.

A little bit of plum, mixed with just the right salmon...

Add a dash of gold & a pinch of rust!

My favorite recipe to cook up~

My husbands parents are furniture upholsters.

Retired now~ for 30+ years I was influenced by the historic and traditional

fabrics they brought to antique seating.

Flamestitch was always one of my favorites!

How it brought gentleman's chairs back to life~

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Wednesday, June 22

Rise and Shine rooster punch needle

Punch Needle & Primitive Stitcher Magazine selected my

'Rise & Shine' rooster design for their One Year Anniversary Issue!!

Every issue is packed full of wonderful projects~

So much talent!

"Painting with threads..."
Punch needle is a nice excursion from my watercolor painting

and design work. I am inspired to translate my original paintings

into fiber art patterns!
I originally planned to start a rug hooking hobby in 2011.

When I went to purchase all of the tools and materials

the shop owner could see the glazed look in my eyes.

I knew I would enjoy it! I knew I could do it!

However--- where would I store it all?

My studio is small and already filled to the rafters with paints, fabrics,

reference material... books, feathers, linens, shells, etc. (you know...)

We walked around her charming shop and I saw a

finished punch needle piece & fell head over heels for it!

I was hooked! ;)

The shop owner gathered the materials and sent me off.

Two days later I was back at her door with a finished design.

She asked me how I did it? I told her, "I simply painted with threads."

Punch needle work is very relaxing.

I love to bring my paintings to life with DMC floss...

DMC colors match my designs so nicely and they have such a huge selection.

Hope your summer is off to a creative start, Friends!

All the best to you!

Monday, October 12

Punch needle ~ Crow with the Velvet Hat

From one of my original watercolor paintings...

A new punch needle project!

"Crow with the Velvet Hat"

I decided to set him in the same orientation as my original

painting so that you could compare the shading & colors~

I think this little fella is just begging to be made from paper mache, too!

Black is never really black...

Our iridescent friend is thrilled to have so many colors & values!

A peek at the finished side~

I chose to make the punch needle a bit larger so I could work details easier.

Time to start the background!

Wishing you a wonderful week, Sweet Friends!

Friday, August 28

Punch needle, Pumpkin & Crow!

Cool August nights~

Corn fields changing colors...

Colorful leaves beginning to spot the lawns!

Fall colors are so delicious!

Started my 'Pumpkin & Crow' punch needle last night.

Now I want to make a pumpkin pie!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, Sweet Friends!