A Chat with Lori Brechlin at the Farmhouse

That is a name we are all familiar with whether you do stitchery, needle punch, hook rugs, make dolls or do embroidery ~ Lori does it all.  Lori was inspired by and admired the antique rugs she saw in homes growing up in Connecticut, and loved them from an early age.

Lori is mostly self-taught but has taken a few classes along her woolly path.  She began hooking at age 21 and hasn't stopped ~ she just turned 54.  Hey, she provided the age so figured it was good to say.

Her pattern ideas are inspired by anything that looks wonky, naive and untrained...the more folky the better.  Lori says, "I love cats, well all animals, so I like to include them in my work."

She prefers 'off' colors ~ orange-y reds, green-ish blues...purples of every shade, black, mustard, yellow...ok, Lori admits she loves all colors!  I fell in love with the Nantucket Broom Ride below and was excited when it was offered as a rug pattern.

Below is another photo showing Lori's off colors and it looks just yummy.  Love the colors as well as the design.

The people who influenced Lori when she ventured into hooking were Peggy Teich, Barbara Brown, Polly Minick, Edyth O'Neill and Barb Carroll... wow, that is certainly great company in her circle of inspiring people.

When first starting to hook Lori said her biggest hurdle was finding the right equipment!   As most of us, a crochet hook and burlap was all she had. Then she haunted thrift shops for wools to use and with the wonderful internet, she was soon on her way to her textile addiction! 

Lori says that as far as a light bulb moment ~ that happened when she realized each one of us hooks differently...."her loops don't look like yours, your loops don't look like hers and that is ok".  When she realized that she could be free and happy with the process of hooking, it was then she relaxed and began designing her own rug patterns.

At NotForgottenFarm she creates art, conducts classes, sells patterns and supplies for all textile addicted folk.

She will hook anywhere ~ inside or outside, in a chair, on the sofa ~ in the kitchen, garden, patio, porch....but says she can't do anything in a car.  Lori gets dizzy-sick when trying to hook in the car.   Music is an accompaniment to her hooking process.  She likes classical, jazz and big band music; or sometimes will be entertained with crazy sci-fi movies on the "boob-tube".

A little known fact about Lori is that she did illustrations for the Holly Berry Hill catalogs which was a company managed by two gals from California, Dee Foust and Nichole Sayer.   

I have hooked numerous designs of Lori's either from one of her booklets or purchasing a pattern from Spruce Ridge Studios.  Okay, so this blog post is supposed to be about Lori only.  But now I've got to share just one of Lori's designs I've hooked.

Above is Nantucket Broom Ride hooking pattern which Kris Miller adapted from Lori's art work.  I hooked this design in a class with Kris and we both love how it turned out.  If you want a rug pattern based on any artwork of Lori Brechlin please contact Kris Miller of Spruce Ridge Studios.

Thanks Lori, for your willingness to participate in this 'getting to know you' endeavor.

Saundra