A Merry Samhain to All !!!!!

the Merriest of Hallowe'en's to ALL of my Fellow Witches & Friends!!!

Blessed be!
Lori

Hitch your Wagon to a Star....

Look what my sweet Hubby bought for me!

an old fashioned Hay Wagon! woohoo!!!...
in it are tractor implements
that he also purchased
from the same woman he bought the wagon...

I'll keep it in the front of the shop all year 'round,
decorated of course, for the Seasons ~

BUT

next Autumn,
you can bet that we'll be giving plenty of Hayrides
here in the fields for our
customers and Friends!!

Hmmmm...now all I need is a sweet & gentle Belgian Workhorse to pull it!

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We're beginning to get the new bolts of fabric here in the shop,
beautiful reproduction 1800's prints, feedsack prints, primitive florals...
along with more & more supplies for needlefelting,
new patterns from terrific primitive designers & such ~

I'm also in the midst of UN-decorating for Hallowe'en
and getting the shop ready for a

Country Christmas

I love Christmastyme...
the sounds, sights & smells...I can't wait to start harvesting the fresh pine...
& did I tell you that we have real
Mistletoe
growing in the tops of our trees???
do you know how we get it out of the tops of the trees?
we SHOOT it out with a .22 rifle!!!

really!!!!
(i'm a pretty darn good shot...
my great-great aunt, Elizabeth Couffer (from Pennsylvania)
was an award winning sharpshooter...
no kidding!!!
that was quite a title
back in the 1800's for a Lady, no?)

I love to drape the fresh pines on my cupboards
and the mistletoe in my old baskets around the house & shop...

oh boy...now I've got the itch....

tell me, when do you start to decorate?
or should I ask
when do you get the itch to start your Holiday decorating?

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Enjoy this cold, almost-end-of-October day...
spend it cozy-ing up your humble little home...
light a pine-scented candle,
& create something wonderful with your Hands...

Blessed be, my sweet Friends,
Lori

The Last Leaf ~

The last leaf has fallen from our ancient Persimmon tree....
leaving us an abundance of fruit this year.

it has fed generations of families here at this old Homeplace.

it's twisting, winding branches are laden with the bittersweet fruit,


now ready for me to make into a tangy jam ~

You may be able to find some Persimmons at your local Farmer's Market, or perhaps in your higher-end Grocery Store...

here's an awesome website for recipes using Persimmons:

http://www.epersimmons.com/recipes.htm

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Today is cold & blustery again...perfect.

One of our Guinea Hen momma's hatched 3 little chicks yesterday...we brought them into the house & now they are residing in our family room next to the woodstove...

I'll try to take a picture of them,
as all 3 can fit into the palm of one of my hands!

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enjoy this blustery day with a good book,
some stitching
and a nice
piping hot corn muffin
spread with
Persimmon Jam!!

Blessed be,

Lori

I goofed.

I meant to list the new items for ebay (in previous post) later this evening, but I forgot that I promised Hannah that we would go see the movie "SAW 5" this eve, so that meant i had to list them earlier....so, long-story-short:

They're listed!!

I'll let you know how I survived the movie...ugh.

a rainy saturday morning~

Strawberry Pocket (above)

Folk Cat Sewing Huswife (above)

...a rainy day, is, in my book, a perfect day...

I love to wake up to the sound
of the raindrops
on the farmhouse's tin roof...
it creeps into my morning dreams
& lulls me into a wonderful, peaceful state...

...what a way to start the day!

I have been stitching in the evenings,
while the woodstove warms my feet
and a cat or two warm my lap...

...working on my models for my upcoming book,
"Pocketful of Primitive"

I am very excited about this book,
not only because I love to create them,
but because I love to share them with you,
my Friends~

I've asked the members of my ebay group,
BLESTB
(Best Loved Early Stytches in Tyme Buddies)
to contribute pictures of their pockets for the book too...
I'm hoping that I'll be able to share lots of them with you...

I've also asked them to send me links to their blogs/picturetrails/websites,
so that I can include them in the book...
each member of my BLESTB group has talented hands & creative minds,
but mostly,
each has a warm Heart...
I'm Blessed to know each one of them
and gratefully call them my Friends...

The photos above are of two little whims I've created for Ebay...
I'll be starting their auctions at 6:00 this evening~

Enjoy this rainy day your special way...cozy-up with your fur-friends of family...
and don't forget your sewing basket!

Blessed be, my sweet Friends~

Lori

A sweet gift from a blogger Friend~

Kathy from Woolfind (http://woolfind.blogspot.com/) gifted me with this little award...isn't it pretty? I love the Fall colors and pumpkins!

Thanks so much Kathy~ and now I pass it on to six of my blogger Friends:

Sherry (http://www.fromsherry)

Kimmie (http://www.cabincreekfarm.blogspot.com/)

Cindy (http://cinlynsworld.blogspot.com/)

Barb (http://turkeyhollowamericanfolkart.blogspot.com/)

Julie (http://www.plumruncreek.blogspot.com/)

Nutmeg (http://www.magpiefeathers.blogspot.com/)

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I've received quite a few (12 !!!) emails regarding my Beef Stew recipe that I posted yesterday...some said that they thought that 2 cups of red wine was too much..
I say NEVER enough! HA!
No. really, as wine cooks the alcohol evaporates,
so no worries about feeding it to your children...
also, i was asked what type of wine...

I like an Australian Merlot (Yellow Tail).

Hope this helps, and if you'll be making the recipe, please let me know how you like it!

Enjoy this Beautiful Autumn day & Blessed be!

Lori

Cookin' up good things!!

Hi Folks!

an absolutely beautiful day here on the farm...
...clear blue skies, crunchy leaves underfoot.

I put a nice big pot of Beef Stew on the woodstove this morning,
...the old farmhouse smells heavenly!

Here's my recipe for a really good, stick-to-your-ribs, old fashioned

Beef Stew

3 cups cut-up or cubed beef
(I prefer cubed sirloin)

2 cups diced carrots

2 cups diced yellow onion

2 cups diced potato

2 cups diced celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups water

2 cups red wine
(wine is optional, but it sure does tenderize the beef)
1/2 cup flour

2 tablespoons butter (melted)

add all ingredients (except flour and butter)
into a nice sized pot with tight fitting led...

in a seperate pan, melt butter, then stir in flour SLOWLY...
cook till bubbly, then pour flour mixture into pot along with other ingredients...

put lid on pot and cook over medium heat for a couple of hours,
stirring occasionally...
check to see that meat is cooked and tender before serving.

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Once your belly is full, go have a seat in your favorite chair and resume stitching.

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I'm working on a new book, of sorts, this one will be a larger format book, and will be filled with photos of the farmhouse and shop...it will be a book on primitive pockets and sewing needfuls, with color photos of each project plus the patterns,...I'm diligently working on the projects, and hope to have the book ready to be released by early November...

the name of the book is:

Pocketful of Primitive

not sure how many projects will be in there...
but i promise you that they are all
simply and beautifully primitive...

Well, I'm off to get Hannah off her bus, get back to my stitchin'
and a nice big bowl of steaming Beef Stew!!!

~~~Enjoy this beautiful Autumn day~~~

Blessed be,

Lori

Home Sweet Autumn Home....

a humble Farmhouse setting in the Autumn Morning Sun...
...snugly warmed by a woodstove and the love from a family within....

Outside, faithful Friends ready to greet us with a wag ,



or a sweet & gentle baaa...

...a needle & thread,
a loaf of fresh-baked bread...

Family and Friends.

What more could you be Thankful for??

Almost Forgot!

We also offer

GIFT CERTIFICATES

for your on-line or in-person shopping pleasure!

any denomination, for any occasion,
and they can be personalized for you!

contact not4got@aol.com
with any questions please....

Holiday Open House ~

Hi Everyone!

Wanted to let you all know that our annual

Holiday Open House

will be on

Saturday, November 15th

10:00 - 5:00

(We will be CLOSED on Friday, November 14th in preperation)

...we will have lots of new patterns from different designers for needlework, like:

* Kindred Spirits*

* Primitive Pieces by Lynda*

*Notforgotten Farm Rug Hooking Patterns*
adapted by Kris Miller of Spruce Ridge Studios

*Primitive Stitchin'*
by Shelly Auen

*Hooked on Rugs*

by Barb Kemp

and many more to come!

We'll be offering a full line of supplies for :

Needle Felting
(roving, needles, mats, & patterns)

Needle Punch
(Cameo Needles, DMC Floss, patterns)

Rug Hooking
(Hooks, Hoops, Patterns on Linen and
beautiful, hand-dyed woolens from
Cammie Bruce!)

Cross Stitch
(Threads, linen, aida cloth & patterns)

Knitting
(Needles, Yarns)

Quilting
(Fabrics, Wool, patterns for applique' and pieced)

Doll Making
(muslins, fabrics, raw wools for hair and stuffing)

Come Enjoy a day filled with shopping,
Fresh-Baked Goodies,
served with Hot Apple Cider
and our Down Home Hospitality...

Enter to for your chance to win a
Gift Basket
full of wonderful needlefuls for Needlework!!!
(fill out ticket in the shop, no need to be present to win, name will be drawn 11/16/2008 and winner notified))

~ Hope to see my old friends & make new ~

Winter 2008-Spring 2009 Class Schedule

Here are the dates for upcoming beginner needlework classes
here at the Farm...

Project photos will be posted soon here on this blog,
so you can see what the finished class projects will be~

if you would like more info, please email me at not4got@aol.com
or you may call the shop anytime 434-263-6508

Saturday, November 8th 2008

Beginner Rug Hooking
10:00-3:00
taught by Lori

No Class December

Saturday, January 17th 2009
10:00-3:00

Beginner Needle Felting

taught by Lori

Saturday, February 21st 2009

Beginner Quilt Class
10:00-3:00

taught by Felicia

Saturday, March 21st 2009
Beginner Needle Punch

10:00-3:00

taught by Lori

Saturday, April 11th 2009

Beginner Knitting Class

10:00-3:00

taught by Felicia

Saturday, May 9th 2009
Beginner Cross Stitch

10:00-3:00

taught by Lori

No Classes June, July, August

Bigger and Bigger, More and More....

We are having a bumper crop of Black Walnuts this year...
and they are humongous!!!

The Squirrels have been collecting them for a couple weeks, now...and the locals tell me that is a sure sign of a soon and snowy Winter season...
(this Yankee girl couldn't be happier
with the thought of some snow in her forcast) ~

We'll gather the walnuts by the bucketfull, then husk some and dry them for food...
the others will be sold off to make black walnut dye...
a staple in the lives of primitive crafters and artisans alike...

I do make my own and use it generously in my handwork...

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ANOTHER thing that is getting larger by the months is Buddy!

He now weighs in at a mere 187 lbs....puny little thing!

He and Peter are best friends,
although Lazy, our black Lab
still isn't happy about sharing us with him...
Buddy loves Lazy though, and follows him everywhere,
...much to Lazy's chagrin...

Maybe he'll stop growing now that he's almost a year old...
yup, he's still a 'puppy'...

his brain is still in puppy mode

and he still has no control over his hind back-end ...if he's running toward you, please get out of his way as he has a tendency to jack-knife and fall over,
taking anything & everything (everyone!)
down with him

(I do apologize).

For now, he still thinks he's a little lap-dog, but I assure you.

He isn't.

He also likes to carry around a ragged old blue blanket, which has earned him the nickname 'Linus'....we also call him 'Yeti', 'The Beast' and occasionally, he and Lazy are referred to as

'Dumb and Dumber' (you figure out which is which...)

Well, I guess I'll go collect the walnuts...
Buddy likes to carry the bucket in his mouth
and walk along side me...

Lazy likes to watch us.

Signs of the Times....

I was at the grocery store yesterday....it was almost empty of shoppers.

I also needed to fill up my van to top off the tank to avoid a higher amount to pay...hardly anyone was at the pumps!!!

I'm guessing that people are seriously beginning to understand that we are all financially in a crisis...

Here's my situation:

It's not a palace, but I do own my own home.

I don't fall anywhere near the income levels that reap huge tax breaks,

and heck, I don't even know what a stock looks like....(chicken or beef?) ...just kiddin'.

My Mother was frugal, raising 5 of us on a limited income...
she wasn't wealthy, but we always seemed to have enough of whatever was needed at the time....
andI guess being the youngest of 5 also has something to do with being able to be happy with what I've been given.

....frankly, money doesn't matter much to me.

Never has, never will.... because you just don't miss something you never really had.

I need money for the utilities, for food, and clothes.

but we heat the farmhouse with 2 woodstoves and line dry our clothing..., we grow our own vegetables, bake our own bread and raise chickens....

as for clothing? ...you can usually find me in my favorite pair of baggy overhauls and if I'm in need of something 'new' then I'm off to the Goodwill...
the one thing that we do spend money on is Healthcare, because if that were lost, we'd go under.

Our daughter Hannah doesn't wear the latest name-brand designer clothing, she favors consignment & vintage shops that sell gently used clothing at reasonable prices...she recycles and upcycles, embellishes and repurposes...she's also learning how to knit (again) becasue she wants to make a purse from our sheeps wool...I'm extremely proud of her.

Our parents went through a recession, and they were better for it....

I think it will be better for all of us too....

maybe it will get us all back in touch with things that really matter most....

Family and Home.

Here is a list that I made of ways I to try to cut costs and keep old ways alive ~

~ shop once a week with a friend to save gas.

~ look for foods that will be going out of date soon (usually these are on a 'cart' in the grocery aisle.

~ plan meals for the week, make a grocery list and stick to it!

~ purchase store-name needfuls, like soaps, laundry detergents, shampoos, etc...lots of $$ to be saved there folks!

~ cut down on non-necessary trips, i.e. I now only ship my orders once per week, saving time AND gas.

~ Make gifts for friends and family instead of 'store-bought'....with every stitch, there is more love and thought put into your gift.

~ recycle the yarn from old sweaters ...just unravel the old and create something new with it!

~ ask your friends if they'd like to do a craft-swap...
box up some of your un-needed/un-used craft supplies and swap with a friend...
(if you're like me, you have to try everything new under the sun, and if you don't like it, then you're stuck with all of those new supplies...not any more!!!! someone else may be looking for just the thing you don't want/need anymore!!)

All we have to do to see our future is look to our past.

We were fine then, we'll be fine again....

Mothers, Wives, Aunts, Cousins, Neices, Sisters....
The state of our Nation starts inside our own homes....
with our own ways of thinking and acting.

Things will be just fine if we work hard at it!!

Upcoming Event ~

This class will be held inside our warm, primitive Farmhouse...

there is limited space available, so if you're interested, please email me at not4got@aol.com to sign up...

The project will be the Rooster Purse, pictured above, which measures approx. 9" x 11" and comes complete with all needed notions...all you have to bring are a pair of sharp scissors !!

I'll be serving fresh-baked muffins and hot cider for your refreshment~

Fall Fiber Festival ~

Wonderful Day!!!!

If you ever get the chance to visit Virginia in October, please make sure to bookmark a stop in at the annual Fall Fiber Festival, held right acrossed the road from historic Montpelier , the home of James Madison (http://www.montpelier.org/)...

Beautiful, winding country roads take you into Orange county,
right outsdie of Charlottesville, Va ~ Hannah & I packed up early in the morning & headed out.
(Pete stayed home, because he wasn't finished working on the woodstove)

We arrived and the smell of kettle-corn hit our nostrils!!
we had to get a sample of that, for sure!

...then we watched the dog training competition for a while....

the agility and stealth that those little Border Collies have is amazing, all while listening to only short-and-long whistles from their trainers...the sheep sure knew what to do...they ran and arched and stopped and ran some more, as the dogs corralled them through the relay...

The vendor's tents were awesome,

as booth after booth was filled with

delectable fibers dyed in a rainbow of colors never seen before!

the fibers were wool from many breeds of sheep, llama,

alpaca, mohair goats, rabbits...

even sweaters knit from dog fur!!!!!!! cool!

(no, they didn't smell like wet-dog.)

we saw demonstrators that were felting, needlefelting, knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving...we watched as children and adults took workshops from various teachers, and listened intently to the experience each had to share...

we got hungry, so we decided on a treat ~ ice cream sundae's!!!!!
~ Hannah got hot fudge, and I got hot butterscotch...
loaded with fresh whipped cream and camalized walnuts...
oh my stars!!!!

after that, we went back to purchase my dum carder!!
(WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!)

and was taught by the designer/maker how to put the batt through the carder,
clean the rollers, etc...
I was in my glory~

Hannah tried to come home with this big-bunny-boy
(did you know that male stud-bunnies are called bucks?...me neither)
the Lady selling him was knitting the tiniest,
softest baby-booties from his angora fur...
aaawww!!

After we left the Festival, we decided to do a little antiques shopping,
and I'll tell ya,
I have to admit that I taught Hannah well...
at 13, she's an experienced loot-picking-treasure-hunter/collector-of-many-things!!!!

she spotted a Nightmare Before Christmas tin Lunchbox that of course we had to have,
she even brought her lunch to
HIGH SCHOOL

this morning in it!
HA! my fearless girl!!!!

All in all, a right wonderful day...

if there is a fair or festival in your area, please go.
don't miss out on rural life...
there are lessons learned at every turn and pleasant people to meet.

Now I'm off to card some wool and maybe spin some today!!!!

Trunk Show!

"A Happy Christmas" copyright (C) Notforgotten Farm 2008/09 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Well I'm printing, folding, bagging, wrapping, packing, and shipping off my models and patterns for a Trunk Show in Findley, Ohio!

it will be at the Craft Gallery located at: 217 North Main Street Findley, Ohio 45840

from October 8th - 20th

If you get a chance to visit, remember that 99% of my beautiful models for cross stitch were stitched by my sweet Mom, Elda Elizabeth Geiste Smith who turned 78yrs. young in June... (thanks Mommy!)

Above is a 'sneak peak' of one of the new designs in PROGRESS...no. it's not quite finished, I still have a little tweaking to do... please respect my creative abilities by not 'borrowing' the design for your self...

it will soon be available to purchase!~

Now I'm off to find a big box to ship all of this stuff in!

Have a *SPARKLING* Autumn Day filled with hot cocoa and popcorn! Go for a relaxing walk in the woods, collect acorns & leaves, watch a good movie or sit & stitch a while!!!

Signs of Autumn...

...taking a walk around our property this October morning,
I am beginning to see signs of slight changes in the Seasons...

it thrills my heart to know that soon the cold, fresh mountain air will be here,
and the thoughts of wearing boots & sweaters
tickles me to pieces!!!

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment today ~

the leaves fall,
the wind blows,
and the farm country
sheds her summer cottons
for a cloak of winter wools...

even if something's left undone,
everyone must take time to sit still
and watch the leaves turn...
a few last monarch's look for a drop of sweet nectar...

corn and grain, corn and grain, all that falls... shall rise again!!