Kittens, The Great Pumpkin and Sketching ~

our little Minew is happy once again ~

now that her kittens are home from the ..um…'spa' .

...she was quite upset that they went 'missing'.

Hi Mimi!! (Minew) you're such a good little Momma

~  they have all bounced back quite well from their spaying & neutering ~

and are once again playing, cuddling & purring :)

{and EATING!!!!!}

We're so happy that they're back home again with us!

Miss Boogie Sugar-Britches (Boog)
our little diva, is a fabulous bug-catcher…
{she favors butterflies like her momma.}

Squire Tigger Stripey Pants (Tig)
is gentle and cautious but once you have him in your lap,
…he will sing his love songs to you.

Squire Mickey BadBoy (Mick)
no he's not bad at all….he's a love-bug that has to have all of your attention.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Out in the back of the barn ~ where the woods meet a small field near the sheep's pen,

we have a rather large compost pile…

it's here we toss the peels, rinds, pits & scraps of 'stuff' ~ 

...along with a nice mixture of sheep 'berries', chicken poo & donkey-doo.

making for a very rich compost indeed.

I was walking out there a couple of weeks ago 

and noticed that some more 'volunteers' were popping up in all of that poop.

not knowing what the plants were, I left them alone and actually forgot about them…

this morning,

I remembered and took my camera back there :

it's the Great Pumpkin!

strong, healthy & beautiful vines….

a great big plant with lots of blossoms…but was there any 'fruit'??

Y E P!!!

pumpkins ~ lots of them too :)

this one is turning orange already ~ yay!

 and some more ~

these two are good sized and growing...

 I had to show you how BIG the leaves of this vine are ~

my hand is dwarfed by one of the giant leaves!!!

H U G E 

 I cannot wait to see just how many pumpkins are actually under there ~ 

time will tell I guess?

of all the wildflowers that grow here, 

Queen Anne's Lace is my very favorite ~

it was my dear departed Aunt Mim's favorite too ~ oh and she loved Daisies.

delicate

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and I am working on more (and more) sketches from my books ~

bringing them to life using pen, inks & paints,,,

'Remember Salem'

'Permelia Rotwoode'

'Double Trouble'

and

'Candlelight Witch'

I'm hoping to finish up a few more of these, 

and offer them as prints and/or notecards in my Etsy shop soon ~

{{{{I may even use these as inspiration for more punch needle and/or rug hooking patterns…}}}}

* Blessed be * 

Lori

"Some" Final Finishing ~

Good Tuesday Morning Friends & Folk ~

a wonderfully chilly (57*) start to our day here at the farm…

...I swear I can feel a little bit of Autumn on the breeze :)

I am enjoying a brisk, steaming cup of my favorite tea on the porch ~ 

{Peter always makes my tea for me int the mornings…such a nice thing to do}

Speaking of Peter,

he has been busy in his workshop ~ 

...creating new things from the trees which are harvested & milled right here at home.

Anything I come up with, I know Pete can make for me….

we make a good team ~

here are a couple of frames that I painted yesterday:

these will house two of my soon-to-be-released cross stitch designs ~

comb-painted using bittersweet over chocolate colored paint ~

moss over soot colored paint

since I work primarily with textiles, it is always fun for me to do paint wood ~

I love the process of choosing the colors and the distressing of my finishes….

big & little

we've also come up with a unique finish (below)

 for one of my (soon-to-be-released) punch needle designs,

WHICH {witch?} we cannot take full credit for ~

my dear bff Joan has been pestering asking me to do this for a while now,

and I just can't take it anymore kindly obliged ~

here is a tease:

oh just wait till you see…… ;)

I'll be working on more 'finishes' today ~

will share them here in a day or two for you.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every evening, right around 7:00 ~

we are visited by this little girl….

a yearling doe.

She comes to the backyard feeder which is just outside my kitchen window.

...she has thee sweetest face and always listens to me talk to her while I'm washing the supper dishes.

….and here are our two lovable, affable donkey-folk ~

Daisy & Pinocchio

they are very much friends with the resident deer population, 

occasionally sharing their paddock with the one or two deer 

that decide that the grass inside the fence is sweeter than that outside the fence ~

i love their soft muzzles and chin-whiskers!!

This morning,

Peter has taken the Three Amigos (a.k.a. the kittens)

to be spayed & neutered.

I couldn't go because I cry when I leave them

 (yeah, I know…don't go there.)

They will be home tomorrow morning again ~ sore & mad-as-hell at us I'm sure ~

but spaying & neutering is really the best thing to do, even though I could have 100 more kittens.

Kittens are like potato chips ya know ~ you just can't have one.

Have a beautiful day my friends ~

* Blessed be * 

Lori

"Thimble Coffin" October Class Project ~

Here are the photos of the project

 for our upcoming October 18th class here at the farm ~

"Thimble Coffin"

4" diameter box ~ cross stitched portion on lid of box

 I chose to finish my box with two different cotton fabrics ~

one beautiful cheddar-colored print with black flowers for the band on the lid,

and a moss green hued cotton fabric with black vine for the box band…

Class students will have a variety of cotton prints to choose from, all will be Harvest/Hallowe'en colors :)

tied up with a pretty black ribbon

here is the stitched portion

 that class participants will stitch before the class ~

students will receive project pattern, threads
 and the 32ct. Old Farmhouse Linen from ©Notforgotten Farm, 

 easy finishing, 

but the surprise lies inside ~

take a peek ~

...inside is a cozy place to tuck in your favorite thimble ~

nestled down into hand dyed pumpkin colored velvet…

the inside of the box is lined with old ledger paper copies, as is the lid ~

there is a 'secret' to this finishing, that only class members will learn about ~

 shhhhhhh…..

my thimble quietly rests ~

 This happens to be just one of my favorite Sterling thimbles ~

it has a scrolling-vine and little 'honeycomb' patterrn to it…

sew pretty

 Here is a closer look at where the thimble 'rests' :

indentation of my thimble

 There is room in this box 

to carry all sorts of your small needfuls too ~

buttons, pins….floss, etc.

and when class is finished, we'll make theses with leftover velvet scraps!

tiny velvet pumpkins

I have SEVEN students signed up, 

so that means ONE more space is available to come on out to Notforgotten Farm

and make this spooky-sweet Thimble Coffin with us ~

email me at Not4got@aol.com

Also,

I need ADDRESSES PLEASE for those of you who are signed up:

Heather C.

Carolyn M.

Robin M.

Nancy B.

Barbara R.

Kay B.

Sharon S.

get them to me please via email so I can mail out your kits!!

Thanks so much my Friends ~

Have a *SPARKLING* day!!

* Blessed be * 

Lori

Sunday Afternoon Musings ~

Good Sunday afternoon friends & folk ~

it is a muggy day here at the farm…

…just staying indoors 

and working on the finish for the

 CLASS PROJECT 

that I mentioned in my last post.

as I mentioned, it will be in October ~

Saturday, October 18th to be exact!!

the project is a 'Thimble Coffin'

something I have been wanting to make but needed to tweak a bit ~

I am hoping to finish this by this evening, then I can share the completed project photos for you to see.

in the meantime, this is where I am with it:

the stitched portion will be on a box lid…
the design is not too involved, but it is stitched on 32ct Old Farmhouse Linen from ©Notforgotten Farm

the box will be covered in cotton fabric ~ 

{haven't decided which one to use just yet though…}

and the inside of the lid will be lined with antique book or ledger paper.

..inside the bottom portion of the box will have a safe place to rest your thimble…

and I will use this most-beautiful pumpkin colored hand dyed velvet {below} inside the bottom.

~ gorgeous hand dyed velvet ~

 The Students who sign up for this class will receive a small kit in the mail ahead of time, 

so you can stitch the cross stitched portion…

then you will bring that to the class with you on October 18th ~

...we will put the box together at the class, and also finish a small pumpkin emery as well ~

the CLASS FEE is $45.00 per student ~

that covers the kit + shipping (pattern, linen, threads)

and all of the supplies you need to finish the class project 

...once you get here on the 18th of October :)

we will also serve refreshments at the class, drinks and light snacks ~

but if you want to bring a bag lunch or water with you that is fine too :)

If you are interested in taking the class,

please EMAIL ME {not4got@aol.com}

there is limited space available for only 8 students

(Peter seems to think we can squeeze in two more ~ I need a bigger shop!)

first to email, first served will announce here when class is full ~

photos of the class finish will be posted here soon ~ maybe this evening!

Thanks my friends ~

* Blessed be *

 Lori

Another Correction and a SAL (Stitch-A-Long)

Hi Friends & Folk!

I have been so busy working on the new designs (soon really, promise) that I haven't had a chance to post on this blog…which is SO UNlike me!

so here goes:

 first,

the wonderful Facebook group that I belong to,

Prim Stitchers Society

is having another SAL with my current Little Stitches Handwork CLub (LSHC) project…

if you're not a member of the group, get in there! it is a welcoming, warm grow of wonderful folks!!!

if you're not a member of our LSHC, then email me to join :)

and

I've been notified of a small mistake on the pattern instructions for the project ~ 

(thank you Nan! for having my 'back')

You will need to cut our both large & small paper fan templates for the project ~

the larger fan will be used to trace onto your linen, the smaller fan will be used to trace onto your wool and your cardboard.

sorry I goofed that one up ~ if you need me let me know please & I do apologize :)

LSHC project July/Aug/Sept 2013
Patriotic Fan Pinkeep ©Notforgotten Farm

~AND~

I am working on a little project that i want to have a class for here in the shop in 

OCTOBER

it will be a very small class (no more that 6 students) and will be for a project that I'm calling

a "Thimble Coffin"

(perfect for a Hallowe'en stitch, no?)

I will share the class project with you all as soon as I have it stitched & finished…

but I will warn you…

it is an AWESOME project!

stay tuned…..

* Blessed be * 

Lori

the Fruits of our Labor ~

...the 'volunteer' vine that is growing on our fence is revealing itself ~

we have been shown a glimpse of it's fruit but still can't decipher 

if it is a gourd or a pattypan squash…

beautiful huge leaves ~

 in the meanwhile,

it's neighbor, the tomato plant, is thriving ~

 due in-part to the shade that the volunteer vine is providing it…

keeping the tender flesh of the cluster tomatoes from burning in the full Summer sun.

hello in there!

this morning, as I was snapping pics

I heard a low buzzing sound…

upon closer inspection I found these two ~

nestled down inside the squash-blossom……

Zzzzzzzzz

  two sleepy little bees ~

...snoring the morning away.

wakey wakey!

here you can see how big the vine & tomato are getting:

sweet annie too!

and here is our first harvest of these tomatoes ..

beautiful little orbs of red, orange and yellow.

perfect

 just the right size to cut in half, drizzle with olive oil…

shake on some sea salt and cracked pepper ~ add a little mozzarella & fresh basil.

~ Y U M ~

Sweet Summertime

 their color is thee perfect shade of red to me ~ 

I favor orange-based reds as opposed to blue based reds…

my favorite red DMC floss colors are 918 through 920!!!

 ~ and 'knowing' what color i'm looking at & how is corresponds to my floss!
{{UPDATE}}
the name of these tomatoes is
"Sunrise Bumblebee" and heirloom cherry tomato ;)

...my Thanks to all who have joined my Midnight Farm blog as followers!

and for the sweet words re: my little witch bear ~

I need to pull some weeds ~

Hoping you all have a beautiful Tuesday filled with Goodness!

* Blessed be * 

Lori

first offering ~

….listed my first offering on my MIDNIGHT FARM blog ~

take a peek, won't you?

* Blessed be *

 Lori

Wearing MANY Hats ~

Hello Friends & Folk ~

...chiming in here to say, 

that I have decided to (once again) 

begin posting more regularly on my

'other blog' ~

MIDNIGHT FARM

(yep…another iron-in-the-fire)

a tiny little division of Notforgotten Farm ~

On my Midnight Farm blog, 

along with my silly postings, 

unnecessary needful information and absolute nonsense,

….I will begin sharing 

one of a kind hallowe'en-and-holiday-inspired finished goods ~

available to you on a first come, first served basis….

I'll let you know when I list my first offering

(maybe even this evening)

Oh! and make sure you become a follower of my Midnight Farm blog, 

so you will be notified of when a new piece is listed ~

this is gonna be fun ~

* Blessed be *

 Lori

what's on my frame...

The picture below,
is one that I use in my Etsy shop for the sale of my Weavers Cloth ~
you'll notice in the background on the left of the cloth
there is a little punched witch holding a pumpkin…

that design was a finished punched piece that was sold to a private customer a fe years ago ~
since then, I have received many emails regarding this little witch, asking if I will be offering it in pattern form ~

I don't like to sell patterns of original finished pieces,
because I feel the integrity of an original design is lost once it is reproduced,
plus I feel it isn't fair to my buyer (of the original, one of a kind piece) ~

original punched piece shown above ~
now in private collection ~

but I have decided to offer a pattern for a similar-looking witch…

White Witch ~ Notforgotten Farm©

this one I'm punching in all white shades, hence the name ~ White Witch ~

she is also holding a white Jack…her prize pumpkin :)

the back of my work (...or the working surface) is never neat & tidy

…at least for me anyway ~

it is a mess, but that's ok ~ 

I enjoy the process of creating and don't really worry about the loose end & threads…

I snip those as I go...

the snap below, 

...is of the tombstone punch I was working on last ~

here it is with the punching finished ~

"Here Lyeth…" ~ Notforgotten Farm©

I love the textures from the wool, pearl cotton & floss that I used in this piece ~

some loops are flat, some are shiny ~ others are bumpy & have no sheen at all…

I have a unique finish in mind for this one, and for the White Witch above ~

~ Hoping you are all enjoying a creative & peaceful Sunday my friends!

* Blessed be *

 Lori