What's on my Frame?

Howdy Folks!

Here's what I'm working on ~

little punched Hallo-heads...
(Halloweenie Heads)

these will be made into finished dolls for the
Ghoultide Show

I have a certain 'look' in my head of how I'll finish these,
... let's hope they'll turn out that way!

i tried to get a picture without those squiggly lines, sorry...
but you can see my progress...
I'm working on 6 at a time and will punch another dozen or two :)

this is the back of my work, of course...as you can tell by the threads & ends sticking up all over...
I love the colors I'm using, they're some of my favorites that I posted on a previous post.

here is the front of my work...still on the frame...that pumpkin on the middle-left is a faint lilac or lavender color...so old looking to me!

I LOVE their expressions! ha! they make me laugh...
especially the ones with 'shifty' eyes...they always look paranoid to me,
like someone is sneaking up on them to turn them into a delicious pie or some spiced muffins...

Hmmm...think I'll go bake someone...I mean something!

I should have these finished tomorrow, and will show you the results.

Hoping you all have a nice quiet Monday evening!!

Blessings from the Farm!

Lori

PANIC in the Barnyard!!!!

The Guinea Hens were honking, the chickens & roosters were in a tizzy!

Billy, our Peacock was sounding off in distress!
what was going on around here???

I went out to inspect...and here's what I found...
can you spot them?
hiding behind Gertrude, my oldest hen?

two little mourning doves,,,

this is thee SECOND time they have gotten into the coop...

Henry, our almost 13 year old Indian Runner Duck, and Gertrude were completely frazzled

witht them in the coop!!!

Henry, bless-his-heart, is now blind and relies on me to dig his worms for him (oh, yay.)
but he must have known SOMETHING was amiss in the coop, so he swam up for closer inspection!!

the dove-couple were calm, amidst the clamor of everyone else
...clucking, crowing, honking, braying, quacking and honking...
they are Soooo sweet!!

they must be looking for a place to make a new covey (dove nest)
and think the chicken coop where I keep the older hens is a safe place to rasie their babies?

Here I am holding the female...she was so gentle and calm...her eyes were as big as blueberries!
and she was looking at me like,
"hello...I've seen you before...you seem like a gentle human
and must love birds to have so many here!"

she actually stared to 'coo' while I held her
...I hardly had a grasp on her at all.

As long as I can remember, birds have always 'found' their way to me...
and my dear hubby can attest to that fact...
(thanks for your patience with me peterjohn!)

I let them both out of the coop (for the second time in two days)
...and told them they were welcome anytime...

what a busy afternoon for our feathered friends here on the farm!!

 but then again...

of course, there were those that really didn't mind if we had visitors or not :)

These two are happy to see anyone,
especially if you have a treat in your pocket!

Blessings from the Farm!
Lori

Prom Night

Tonight is Prom Night for Hannah & Skyler...
...their Senior Prom ~ Nelson County High School.

Here she is with her girlfriends, Annie & Natalie ~
Hannah is in the middle :)

I cannot believe how beautiful they have become...
such sweet, strong young women ~

of course, Hannah & Skyler have a style all their own,
...and a sense of humor to match it!

We love them all dearly...
such good kids.
We Are Blessed.

A twirly-whirly Hannah...
in sage-colored chiffon.

...clowns in love.

shall we dance?



 ~ a kiss for luck & they're on their way... 

Have a wonderful time tonight my babygirl!

Blessings from the Farm!

Lori

My New Fabric Line ~ on Spoonflower !!

I'm working on something that I've had in my little brain for three years.

a fabric line of my original hand drawn designs!

and here is my first one,

Do Goode Witch

(click on it to enlarge)

If you haven't heard of
SPOONFLOWER
then you have now!!

I am still in the designing stage, and have ordered my proofs for my first design ~
I should receive my proof in about a week,
and then I can offer the fabric for sale :)

I also entered this design in a contest on Spoonflower for
Hand Drawn Fabrics
(so, if you like it, please vote for me!)

I've started yet another idea notebook for just fabric designs,
and it is quickly filling up...
I'll share more new designs soon!
*EDIT*
If you are not seeing my fabric designs once on SPOONFLOWER,
click on the 'ALL FABRICS' tab on my studio page.
Once I get my proofs back, I will then be able to share them all under the
'Fabrics for SALE' tab...
and
THANK YOU ALL for your emails & great response to this...I'm SO Excited!!!!

Blessings from the Farm!

Lori

Won't you be my Neighbor?

Hi Folks!

We have decided to sell off a couple acres of property!!!

it is located right next to our beloved Notforgotten Farm...

here is a shot of our beautiful country road,

the gravel you see in the pic below is the entrance to the property:

 the shot below was taken while I stood across from our own driveway,

and looking toward the property's entrance...

This snap was taken just inside the entrance,

facing back towards the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance...

this view below
is the opposite view...

 and here is another view...

Here are the particulars...
2.4 acres with 256 ft. of road frontage on beautiful quiet country road
with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Land has been cleared and is ready for your home!!

 Includes  New Survey & Health Dept. Approved for Sewage System.  Adjoining Farmland property (ours),
close proximity to routes 29 & 60.
...Zoned for Agricultural Use.
Nelson County is located 20 minutes north of Lynchburg, VA
and 40 minutes south of Charlottesville, VA...

Nelson County is known for it's beautiful wineries
and for Wintergreen Resort...

if you are interested in more info please email me ~ not4got@aol.com
I'd LOVE to have you as my neighbor!!!!

Blessings from the Farm!

Lori

My Favorite DMC Color Palette

 I have compiled a list of my favorite

DMC thread color palette to share with my readers ~ so here you go :

I turn to these colors time and again for all of my punch needle and cross stitch work ~

first, are the colors I turn to when filling in backgrounds for punch needle,

 both dark & light:

422

ecru - white

3033

3782

3032

310 - black

844

 3787

645

646

647

3021

here are my favorite greens/browns :

(leaves, stems, trees, animals, etc.)

832

732

611

869

830
and my lavenders are
451

452



I use 3064 (top) for flesh (heads, hands, feet)
and my reds are :
301

921

919

my golds are :
3826

781

782

680



of course, I do add or subtract from this list on a whim, but this is my general palette ~
I tend to keep within this muted range for all of my work...
this includes threads, fabrics, wools and even paint colors.



Blessings from the Farm!

Lori

Finished Needle Punch project

Hi Folks!

Many thanks for your comments about my silly little tutorial video!
glad you're enjoying it and I'm happy that I have helped some of you with the actual technique ~

Soooo, here's my finished work:
(before I snipped off the 'snags' on the front)

you can see where I went back into those 'spots' and filled them in
with a complimentary colored thread...

 I tried to replicate an old tombstone look with my color palette,
very subdued and drab.

and, since I have more room left on my fabric, and the fabric is still on my frame,
I drew up another little design, then I'll draw another, to get the most from my fabric...

and speaking of frames, here's mine...
Peter built this for me...it has piano hinges that allow the sides to fold up or down.

I can use this frame in my lap, on the table (shown)
or on it's base, like a regular box-frame.

here's how it looks from the side/back view...
let me know if anyone is interested in this kind of frame,
as I'm trying to talk Peter into making these for my shop & shows.
remember, it does have gripper strips to hold your fabric tight as a drum!!

oh, the tombstone design will be a pattern for sale soon :)
thanks for asking!
EDITED:
the frame measures approx. 11" x 13" itself...the fold-down sides measure approx. 11" x 8" ~ it is made from wood, so it weighs a little but isn't heavy in your lap...it can be used on the table on an angle, in your lap folded so the needle doesn't stick you or on it's base like a rug frame...when it's on its' base, it isn't angled like a rug frame, but is flat across...I like that better than an angled lap frame because I turn my work :)

Blessings from the Farm!

Lori

LOOK !!!!!

can you see it??????

over there...to your right
(on my sidebar, at the very top)
can you see that I've uploaded a video of me needle punching?

ok, so click on it,
and....UM..... humor me, ok?

I'm NOT a cinematographer ~ far from it...
but
I am ambidextrous!!!

...it's just me, showing you all what I love to do...
hope you enjoy!

Blessings from the Farm!
Lori

It ALL started out innocently enough...

Hannah & Iggy quietly watching TV last night...

everything was fine....

until she did this ~

...which made him yawn and meow,

and then return the kiss...

which quickly turned into this:

a full-blown, sand-paper-tongued neck washing.

which tickled Hannah into fits of giggles...

and as suddenly as it all started,

it stopped.

...Crazy Cat Love.

Blessings from the Farm!
Lori

Richmond, Virginia ~ VCU Campus

here are a few snaps of the campus that we visited yesterday...

I don't know the names of the buildings, but they are beautiful ~

This one is a theatre:

love the turret and stone on this one:

this is the building where Hannah will be living:

another view of the building that will be where Hannah's room is:
(I told her to get the v e r y top, see the bigger window up there?)
:)

this is our group, with Peter & Hannah to the left...
it was nearing the end of our walking tour, so we were getting hungry & tired

the history of Richmond, VA is very interesting ~
with it being the Capitol during the Civil War...
there's lots to see and do here and I'm looking forward to visiting this old city again soon!
....so NOT looking forward to Hannah moving away :(

...enjoy the rain today, we need every drop!

Blessings from the Farm!

Lori