Michelle Palmer: spring

Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts

Sunday, May 3

Punch Needle Dutch Tulip Hop

Baby bunnies are beginning to leave their cozy nests &

tulips are bursting open~

How I love May!

We have enjoyed a few warm & sunny days.

Nice to open the windows and let fresh air swirl through!

Hope you have a wonderful week~

Saturday, May 2

Hello, May!

Thinking of you, Friends!

Sharing a hug, a smile...

Cheering you on to stay strong, safe & healthy~

Lilac buds...

Rhubarb...

I hope your day is sunny and cheerful~

Wishing you beautiful May days!

Wednesday, April 1

April Welcome

Wishing you beautiful April days!

Our wrens will arrive in late April, early May~

Windows will be open a crack and their song will flow in.

Take good care, Friends

Praying you're staying strong and healthy.

Monday, February 17

Punch needle patterns flow blue & stoneware

'Buttercups & Blue Perch' & 'Springtime in Mumford'

A person can never have too much blue.

I'm not sure when my love for blue began.

Had to be the delivery room doctor's periwinkle blue scrubs?

(giggle)

Not one of our walls are painted blue.

Our furniture is not blue.

Curtains are not blue.

Cars are not blue.

If we walk through an antique show, thrift shop... auction...

Old blue treasures glow beautiful!

(Some pieces even hop into open arms!)

I'm not the only one to bring broken, singles, mismatched blue home~

Hubby and Alaina have made sure to spoil my heart

with rare pieces.

I treasure every chip, crack & crazing~

It keeps them in my price range!

'Buttercups & Blue Perch'

Chickadees and buttercups~ Spring is just around the corner!

It will be nice to have the windows open again...

'Springtime in Mumford'

Gathered my first salt glazed stoneware piece while in college.

Mumford, NY is the home of Genesee Country Village & Flint Hill Pottery.

The pottery shop is always a favorite in the village~ watching the artisans.

We have gathered a few pieces through the years... small scale masterpieces!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

I don't think we are expecting any winter storms...

Tomorrow is expected to be balmy!

Always a sweet tease that spring is just around the corner~

Thank you for stopping by~

Monday, April 22

Fraktur wool hooked rug

#1 of 6 Fraktur theme rugs translated from my original illustrations.

I used #6, 7 & 8 cut (wool strips) for my model.

I have the second in the collection finished... I hope to share it tomorrow.

The designs are very similar to each other when drawn with

walnut ink and painted with watercolor...

They are so much warmer and rich with texture when hooked~

the wool rugs look completely different from each other!

I began drawing Fraktur and flourish elements in 1989 when I was a

graphic design student at R.I.T.

Through studying cobblestone structures for American Architecture I found

the most beautiful barns with hex signs and painted quilts.

With more research I became very distracted by Fraktur illustrations!

Fraktur sketches filled my notebook margins... ideas swirled in my mind!

I did my best to focus on the professors lectures...

I tried...

Through the years all of my college sketches,

interpretations from early works, have shared inspiration!

Inspired by the early treasures but never copied...

Nothing so beautiful as original frakturs and the history they recorded~

Illustrated history...

My frakturs, with a twist of whimsy, record favorite birds in

childhood gardens, perennial beds~ the beauty of season changes.

I draw my patterns by hand on primitive linen.

Finished rug size is 24" wide by 22" tall (actual hooked area)

3.5" to 4" border around the entire design

allowing ample room for your frame.

I take care to keep the lines straight of the grain.

Linen edges are taped to prevent fraying. I use green Frog Brand tape.

It is available through my Etsy shop:

"Robin Red Breasts" Fraktur theme wool rug pattern

Hope your week is off to a great start, Friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by~

Sunday, April 21

Easter Blessings

Praying that your hearts will always be filled with

His promise~

Peace, Hope and Love.

The gardens are beginning to wake!

I haven't been in a hurry to remove their protective blanket~

the winds have been crazy wild with every weather fluctuation.

Up until this past week snow was constantly teasing!

Tiny perennials are breaking through the soil and leaf covering

and I'm able to gently clear the leaves and dead stalks away without

disturbing sprouting beauties. I tend to forget what I plant from

year to year and just how wide some of the perennials reach~

The lawns are greening up...

Birds are nesting...

Chipmunks have started perching on the banister to warm in the sun...

and the peas are planted!

Primrose are open... the bees will be delighted!

Wishing you a joy-filled Easter and

Beautiful spring days~

Saturday, March 23

Joyful Spring~

Sweet Friends~

I hope your Spring days are filled with joy!

Pussy willows follow their own calendar~

They're not waiting for the snow to stop falling!

Went for a nice long walk along the Erie Canal trail with my neighbor today.

The sky was so blue!

Sun on our shoulders...

Canada geese filled areas of the canal waters. They were so chatty!

They are here with us throughout the winter months but

many traveling flocks stop here with the snow geese.

Came home and noticed that the pussy willow buds were completely open!

Lopped off some of the tallest branches for bouquets to share &

left some to open for the bees that will be seeking nourishment soon~

Hope you have a wonderful week, Friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by~

Wednesday, March 13

Chickadee has found the perfect assistant!

Rabbit will deliver her sweet treat to the base of the tree

where her nestlings await dessert!

Perhaps Mr. Chickadee will bring home a dollop of whipped cream.

Rabbit will rest in the shade and enjoy his snack before heading home

with a pussy willow bouquet for his family.

Our pussy willows have started to open!

Little fuzzy buds trying to break through their winter shells...

Nice to see hints of Springtime.

We have a few sprigs tucked in a jar with water.

They will be fully open by the end of the week~

Hope your March days have been a little more sunny...

A touch warmer and filled with happiness, Friends~

Wednesday, January 23

Little Mouse punch needle~

Hi Sweet Friends!

I hope your New Year is off to a great start~

My furry little friend has one of the coziest perches in the house!

How I love to gather and use vintage pincushions.

Especially tomato & strawberry pinkeeps.

Every sewing basket that I can remember (and there were a lot of them)

had a bright red tomato, with matching emery sand strawberry, tucked inside.

I would pull them out and straighten all of the pins~

Organize the straight pins by color, the needles by size.

Then I would dig to the basket bottom and find all of the buttons~

String them together with thread by size & type.

Gram, mom, neighbors & aunts were probably happy for a quiet minute!

This little Sparrow was a joy to design & punch~

It took me as long to add the mini pom pom trim and

flannel backing as it did to punch the entire piece!

I admire the talent and attention to detail that folks put into

finishing their works. I'm going to make a better effort to finish

each of my punch needle works a little differently.

I framed mine for years... dust free & protected from pets.

These snow friends are in the 2019 Christmas-Winter issue of

Punch Needle & Primitive Stitcher Magazine

I added a little tutorial on how I achieve a plush and velvety texture by

punching with a longer loop and snip the very tips off.

I found the vintage trim for 'Peppermint Stroll' at a local thrift shop.

Rug Hooking Magazine is celebrating their 30th year of publication!

I was honored when they asked me to share an

article and punch needle pattern~

Winter is so much warmer with these loud friends at the feeder!

Hope you're all staying cozy and that your hearts are happy~

Thank you for visiting, Friends

Sunday, April 1

Happy Easter!

Wishing your heart Hope!

Wishing your heart Peace!

Wishing your heart Love!

Wishing you a blessed Easter, Friends!

Wishing you joy-filled Spring days, too~

Friday, February 9

Punch needle~ Chicks in the Tulip Patch

Around the farm~

It is known when Momma Hen is spring cleaning!

Hen carefully tucks her baby chicks in tulip blossoms for safe keeping.

They enjoy the sway of the breeze and visit with passing bees!

Momma Hen will have new feathers tacked to the coop walls

when they return from their time in the garden~

Feathered friends stop by the coop throughout the winter to warm up.

They often lose feathers as they wriggle through the coop mesh...

It is always fun for them to identify bird friends & remember their visits.

A snippet from one of my stories inspired a sketch~

Sketch inspired a watercolor~ (Chicks in the Tulips have been painted several times)

I painted this watercolor in January & it inspired my punch needle piece.

Hope you're all staying strong and healthy & I hope some of your

winter days are sunny with blue skies~

Wishing you a creative weekend, Friends!

Friday, April 7

April showers

Our April showers~

Wishing you a restful weekend, Friends.

Saturday, March 25

Punch Needle Pattern Spring Bonnet Bunny

My little bunny friend has joy in her heart and a hop in her step!

We have been getting a good amount of rain~

It is slowly washing our snow pack away!

Spring is truly coming...

The flower gardens will be warming up this week!

Daffodils were peeking through too early~

It was good to have a few feet of snow protecting them and

slowing them down a bit.

Now we're ready!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, Friends!

Thank you for stopping by~

Friday, February 24

Bunny in the carrot patch!

My little bunny friend has hopped on by to wish you a wonderful weekend!

Discovered a small cut of marbleized fabric...

...the perfect color for a patch of carrots!

Tuesday, February 21

Be an original~

Nobody deserves to be copied.

It is so much brighter when you don't walk in the shadows of another.

Hope your week is off to a great start, Friends~

Friday, February 10

Fabric Illustration Bunny & Sparrow~

Friday huddle?

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

No matter where our feathered friends perch~

They bring our hearts joy!

Chickadees are dancing on the feeder...

Juncos and Mourning Doves are cleaning up the ground &

Cardinals, Titmouse and Woodpeckers swoop in for a nibble!

The sun is peeking through after our snow storm overnight~

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Friday, April 1

Little Sparrows... little Starlings~

How beautiful to witness a Starling murmuration~

Hundreds of birds lyrically moving through the sky!

(I think they each have something to say...)

Swarms of birds dancing through the sky~

"You are loved!"

Lyrically swaying from side to side, "Toss in some seeds this year!"

Swooping down & sharing their joy!

How beautiful these spontaneous waves of flight are~

April is going to bring us some s n o w . . .

The birds may need some woolens!

That's okay~

The days are growing longer!

A little flower girl...

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

Sunday, January 24

Vintage linens~

I love to hunt for vintage/antique linens~

Antique shops & festivals...

Thrift stores & estate sales...

Lawn sales & auctions...

I immediately put the linens into a mild soak~

Little bit of laundry detergent & oxyclean... warm water.

Sometimes I need to repeat this soak.

Most stains come out over night...

A cold water rinse and gentle squeeze~

I lay them on bath towels and roll them up!

Once they rest for a day I press them, medium heat.

Amazing how vibrant the colors are!

Some are worn... they are just as beautiful as the nearly perfect pieces!

The beautiful stitches~

Time spent...

Treasured.

So many different designs!

Most linen pieces do not have a pattern.

Unique, free hand designs!

From the heart~

I hope you have a wonderful week, Sweet Friends!

Thank you for stopping by~