Well, Hello!!!!

I have been missing in action for a few days...
I was in Connecticut for my brother in laws' wedding and visiting my family as well ~

The wedding was absolutely beautiful ~ and of course, in my haste to get ready, I left my camera in my bag and didn't have it with me...I am so bummed. hopefully I can get some to share with you.

I stayed with my mom for a couple of days, so I got to relax and be with her for a while...
my mom feeds squirrels, so every morning we were greeted by this:

she feeds them apples, bread and peanut butter  ~



how sweet they are!




and here are her blue hydrangeas...
I love them.

that perfect blue ~ my very favorite




and how about these...
...are they not gorgeous?



the orange with purple spots is breathtaking...



looks alien, doesn't it?




Mother Nature is so talented, no?

Good to be home, have lots to catch up on...
blogs, emails, orders....

I'll be working on all sorts of things that have inspired me from my trip to Connecticut...
will share soon!!

Blessings from the farm,

Lori

I've Dyed & Gone to Wool Heaven!

oh my....

just look at what I got today!!!

scrumptious, earthy, wonderful wool yarn from Ali ~
www.alistrebeldesigns.com

I plan on using some of this to make punched rugs & mats for upcoming shows,

and I will be offering it in the shop too!!

(shop will be open again in September)

makes me feel like puttin on a sweater, jeans & my boiled wool clogs.

um...on second thought it is a little hot outside....
but I can dream, no??

it's like a boxful of Autumn leaves...
....I feel like jumping in there!
ha!!!

I also received a little 'something' from Ali, that I will be designing a pattern around...
let's just say that I think you will be extremely excited about this ~

I'll share that news with you soon....

in the meantime,

Thank you Ali for your beautiful woolens....

can't wait to get started with them :)

AND

my little pumpkinhead doll on EBAY is ending in a bit...don't miss out on him!!!

Blessings from the farm,

Lori

Black Cats & Pumpkins ~

I have my very own,
year-round Hallowe'en Kitten here in the farmhouse...

my little Black Suzy is 15 yrs young,
and she never ceases to get me giggling...

her sweet little face is constant inspiration for my folk art...
Black Suzy has only one tooth left, bless-her-little-heart ~
...so her facial expressions sometimes are sooo silly looking!

I swear she smiles at me with a warmhearted, devoted but toothless grin
(she also drools quite a bit but we don't mind)



my work includes everything I love,
although it gets a folky 'make-over' in my mind,
and my hands just try to keep up...




new black cats & JOLs on my frame ~
inspired by my little Suzy & love for her and Hallowe'en...

see that silly grin?

I hope my work makes you grin like that when you view it...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Hoping you have a wonderful day filled with happy things!!!!!!

Blessings from the farm,
Lori

Just a little Autumn-Guy ~

Autumn is coming early...
and I am so glad!

seems as though I am getting tons of little visitors here on the farm...

perhaps they know that I am someone who wishes to save animal/mankind?
(or pumpkin-kind)??

or maybe, just maybe, ...they come here because they feel safe and know they won't be judged because they look 'a little different'....

whatever,...they are my friends, and they are always looking for good homes...

SSSOoooooooooooooooo

with that said,

perhaps little Pierre will tug at your primitive heartstrings and perchance he will find a small, comfortable place with you to keep you company and bring you Good Luck???

if you happen to entertain the idea of adoption, he will be oh. so. grateful.

don't get me wrong, he likes it here at Notforgotten Farm...

after all, this is where he was born.

but

I can tell he wants to journey far-and-wide,

see the world and then-some.



the look on his face says it all :

"I will be forever grateful for your hospitality, and in return bring you many years of subdued giggles and the occasional snicker..."

for adoption, please visit my 3-day auction
HERE



Blessings from the farm,
Lori

Quiet Beauty ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!!!
and a happy Sunday to you all....

as I was opening the windows in the keeping room this morning,
I was shocked to see this little visitor so close to the farmhouse!

she was quietly munching on some of the grass & weeds under the backyard bird feeder...

she saw me, and knew I was watching her ~
but they are so used to me that I don't think they fear me at all.




she is so skinny! she looks like a yearling to me, and I didn't see any other deer with her
(that didn't mean her momma was not watching from just beyond the woods though)

she's skinny because all of the vegetation has dried up due to the drought we've had.
thankfully, 2 days of rain has turned the ground green again,
and I hope she gets the nourishment she needs...



I think she is one of the most beautiful creatures we have the pleasure to share our woods with...

~ just look at those soulful eyes ~




Hoping your day is filled with random beauty
...and quiet, creative moments ~

Blessings from the farm,

Lori

Thank You.

...woke up this morning to this ~

lovely silver little droplets chiming on our tin roof ~
...... ahhhhh ......

puddles for the lizards & bees to drink from ~



the air is clean & washed
and the soil smells so good...





life seems right again...

....right as rain.

I will sit quietly & swing for a while and do nothing else but breathe, listen and appreciate ~

Thank you for the rain!!

Blessings from the farm,

Lori

Favorite Colors & Longing for Rain....

We are in dire need of life-giving & cooling rain.

not a shower or two, but at least a week's worth of soaking, sopping rain...

if it rains hard & fast now, it will only run off the cement-hard, baked clay that we once called dirt.

it will only cause flooding and a mess...

but, if it were to start raining a nice, slow, steady rain...
then crescendo to a little heavier and stay for a while, then we would be in good shape.

our gardens are parched, the grass is crunchy & the chickens are panting.

it. is. hot.

and dry.

so please join me in praying, hoping wishing for the rain to come....

the flowers in my old ironstone pitcher reflect the weather..

bland, crisp & dry ~ but they are loverly still.

yarrow from our garden earlier this spring

my favorite 'dirty' ironstone pitcher

I'm punch-drunk lately ~ day in & day out I'm punching lots of things
like these fellows that will be turned into wool pincushions for upcoming shows ~





goofy faces & hats

ready for his close-up!



a paranoid little witch ~




a not-quite-ripened JOL ~

and a picture of what's on my worktable at the moment :

some of my favorite things in my favorite colors....





old scissors, new threads...old pin cube and photograph ~ bird's nest and redware
and of course, stained linen & early ticking

Blessings from the farm,

Lori

Teeny, Tiny...Portable, Perfect!!!!!

Hello Friends & Folk!!!

well, if you know me by now at all, you all know how much I love to share things with you...
and, if you are a follower of my work, then you know that I always try to let you know about products that I feel make needlework more fun & easy...

for years now, I have used the Ultra (Cameo) Medium Punch Needle in my work, have taught classes using the needle and tell everyone how wonderful it is.

AND IT IS!!!
but, yesterday I was shopping for DMC floss
in AC Moore in Lynchburg, VA and to my surprise, I found this little punch needle...

isn't it cute??

upon closer inspection, I wondered if the needle was large enough to accomodate all 6 strands of floss, which is how I punch all of my work...

and to my enlightenment, it does!!!



only about 5" long

it does not have a gauge for the needle height, but it is stationary,
{{ I'd say between the #2 & the #3 setting on the cameo needle...perfect for my work!! }}




it comes with two threaders per pack, and I love how it fits in my hand...

will fit nicely in my sewing basket!!!

and here's the website for the needle if you can't find it at your local store:



I have contacted the company, to tell them how happy I am with it!

I just had to share!!!

MANY MANY Thanks to all of you who purchased my linen!!!
all placed orders will ship on thursday (tomorrow) and I am awaiting yet another shipment :)

Blessings from the farm,

Lori

Get it while it's H O T !!!!!!

and boy is it ever HOT!!!!
(99.9 degrees here in VA today)

....hoping you all are well & keeping cool indoors ~

JUST LISTED
in my etsy shop
www.notforgottenfarm.etsy.com

28 count, 30 count & 32 count

OLD FARMHOUSE Linen!

(but you'd better hurry ~ it's not going to last!)

Blessings from the farm,

Lori

Bird Watching ~

ok...this is not exactly a rare species, but it is our beloved little budgie,

'Barbara' ~ and yes, Barbara is a boy. ..

Barbara came to live with us when he was young, and we couldn't tell if he was a she or vice-versa
so, Hannah named our new little friend Barbara...

turns out he is a he, and he is so much fun to have here in our farmhouse...

he rings all of his bells non-stop, chitters and chatters and whistles & chortles ~
you can walk past his cage without him shrilling a catwhistle at you
(I have no idea where he learned that...)



and of course Igmeister loves Barbara too

(well, he would love him...with ketchup)

but Ig is more interested in the birdies at the feeders outside ~



here's who visited us this morning ~
...a beautiful male Indigo Bunting.



sorry they're a bit blurred ~
he moves fast!



he's eating the seeds from some wild broom corn and grass in the backyard...



I tried to get a snap of a Scarlet Tanager that was also visiting, but he was waaayy too quick for me!




Linen is being shipped today.
will be listing more in my etsy shop this aft ~

Wishing you all a beautiful day filled with creativity!

Blessings from the farm,

Lori