~ Crafty Saturday & a Test-Drive ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

our little farm shop is OPEN today from 10:00 ~ 3:00

come on in for a visit!

and while you're here, 

take our *NEW* Standing Floor Frame for a test drive!!!

** these are NOW AVAILABLE in our ETSY SHOP**

please click 

HERE 

to purchase yours… 

Hoping you all have a wonderfully creative day my friends!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Picture Walk ~

After our daily chores & all of our work is finished,

Peter & I head out for an evening walk most everyday now that the weather is warmer ~

we grab Roxy, and head on up our dirt road toward the big field and woods….

usually I forget my camera,

 but last evening I remembered to take it 

~ because I wanted to snap some pics of our iris again this year.

our lily of the valley is naturalizing beautifully

and I always pluck a few to bring with me on our walk :)

our once-strong strawberry patch needs to be re cultivated,

but for the moment

some survivors remain and show their sweet blossoms ~

our woods are filled with dogwoods…

some sparsely flowering, 

others heavily-laden with their distinct four-petaled blooms ~

I like to leave a sprig of flowers on Judith Proffett's {Proffitt/Profitt}'s grave

she lived here long before us 

and now rests eternally in the graveyard here on our property…

yucca or 'ghost-lily' plants are found in this graveyard too…

the local folks here told us that a ghost-lily was always planted where someone was buried…

{not sure of that though…} but they are a beautiful plant!

a view of the graveyard ~ with our big field beyond...

as we turn to walk back, Peter & Roxy share a quiet moment ~

we don't allow her to go in the graveyard,

nor is she allowed up by the road

so she sits and waits patiently for my return from fetching the day's mail ~

good girl

{just realized she has one lone blade of grass on her tongue!}

our woods are filled with winding-vines of wild grape ~

they wrap themselves to anything that doesn't move

so there are lots of trees here that have this twisted-look to them… 

also in our woods are patches of wild lady slippers…

I love these and eagerly await their arrival each spring.

there's our humble farm-shop

and a new sign that Peter & Chris made…

passing by the donkey paddock 

and there is our lovable Pinocchio standing in his favorite spot near the barn ~

anyone know what flower this is?

I can't remember….

the fragile wild poppies have return again.

they stand only about 5 inches tall and are as delicate as can be…

this is why I don't weed until after May!!

narcissus ~ beautiful

and, 

my small patch of rhubarb is coming along nicely!

can't wait to make jam again ~

Hoping the rains we've been having have brought your gardens strength and nurturing ~

have a beautiful day my friends!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ Stitcher's Notebooks ~

I've never been the most organized person…

you can probably tell that by past photos of my sewing room!

my little pea-brain is always full of chattering thoughts and ideas ~

and my creative muse constantly visits me & gives me gentle nudges to do more, create more

…design more!

If it weren't for my many {MANY} sketchbooks & notebooks I have and use on a daily basis

I would be lost.

Things I write in my notebooks:

I like to jot down what linen I'm working on {color/count}

what color & type threads I'm using for a specific project

 {are they DMC, Weeks, or what the heck threads are these??}

listing threads I need/want/have and any/all supplies for that next project.

what needlework shops I've visited, where they are located and contact info

{I even tape business cards onto the pages for quick reference}

how much $ I've spent and where

{that notebook is locked-away so dear hubby doesn't faint}

ideas, thoughts, words, colors, names, quotes…

anything that I may gain inspiration from.

see?

notebooks are needful things aren't they?

I decided to design & personalize a couple for myself 

~ this one below being one that I keep in my sewing basket:

my trusty sewing basket on my comfy stitching-chair

personalized my sewing basket by adding a small sampler and many pinned-on treasures ~

~ even the inside is pretty!

you can see how ragged this notebook is,

by the tattered edges..but it is an indispensable tool for me!

…jotting down color & thread placement 

is very important as I design & work…

I don't want to goof!

I thought that maybe some of you 

would like a 

Stitcher's Notebook©

from Notforgotten Farm™

so I created a few that are now available in my Zazzle Shop:

http://www.zazzle.com/notforgottenfarm

clockwise:

 "I Get Cross", "Snippets", "Stitching Mends" & "Woolgatherings"

they are $12.95 each ~ plus applicable tax/shipping.

I'm actually looking back through my older notebooks 

~ for more ideas to come up with 

for NEW Stitcher's Notebooks© from Notforgotten Farm™

HA!

Hoping you all have a sweet end-of-April day my friends !

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Brewing up Good Things ~

Good Morning

my sweet Friends & Folk ~

wheels are turning here…

my brain is in an Autumn-mode

{but then, when is it not?}

visions of pumpkins, black cats and

….witches are dancing around in my head ~

I have some really cool designs for cross stitch

 & punch needle coming for this Autumn, 

and I knew when I first saw this gorgeous hand dyed linen called

"Witches Brew" from

Dames of the Needle's {Elizabeth Ann Tolledo on FB} 

I had to have it….

I purchased both 28ct & 32ct ~

the colors in this linen are deep, murky and mysterious…

browns, purples and greenish-grey splash & play on the surface of this linen

 and

I swear if I look closely enough 

I can already 'see' things coming to life on it!

I have a design waiting in the wings already for it to be stitched upon ~

in both the 28ct & 32ct

if you are a lover of Hallowe'en as I am

~ I think {hope!} you'll be much-pleased with all of them… 

at the moment,

I'm stitching on a few things that will be offered on May 1st's

Early Work Mercantile

then I will get to working on all of my Autumn designs.

{still charting a few more, that will go out to my stitchers for me, 

because…as much as I'd like to I just can't do it all!}

here is a link to Dames of the Needle's Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/Dames-of-the-NeedleFinger-Work-201759306505131/

Thanks to all who have listened to me {and kindly not laughed at me ;) } 

yesterday on Pat Sloan's American Patchwork & Quilting radio podcast!

{and Thank You again Pat!}

Hoping you all have a *SPARKLING* day my friends ~

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~A Freebie & Creative Talk Radio Today! ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

here is a little freebie from me to you…

{please disregards that lone little stitch along the right border}

click on chart & save to your computer, then print out & stitch ~

would love to see your finish of this

 ~ perfect for a pincushion

:)

and don't forget to join me today at 

4:00 EST for Pat Sloan's Radio Podcast !!

you can click this link:

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/magazines-more/quilting-podcast

or this one:

http://toginet.com/shows/americanpatchworkandquiltingradio

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Free-Styling ~

Happy Sunday Afternoon

~ friends & folk ~

what a beautiful day!

4 loads of line-dried laundry

farmhouse has been swept

windows are open

chicken dinner in the oven

and now it's time to stitch a little ~

I'm working on a couple of 'free-hand' cross stitch designs at the moment...

you can read more about this fun type of stitching I do

on a previous posting

HERE

I begin by drawing out my motif onto my cloth.

I am using osnaburg {Cupboard Cloth ~ available in my Etsy shop}

this will be a sweet & primitive girl...

you can see my wonky stitches below ~

being that the stitches are not counted, some are large and others small ~

a few are stitched over 3 threads ~ perhaps even four, 

using 1 strand in areas and two strands in others

to achieve this extremely naive look I love.

my threads are DMC and are always waxed 

with sweet & smoky scented beeswax just like in the old days...

I'm working on her skirt now, 

and below you can see her pantaloons and feet ~

 a favorite needle-minder I made from a rather large antique mother of pearl button

keeps my needle handy for me while I choose thread colors...

my 'witchy' scissors-fob is simply made up of many items that I treasure:

a hand-stamped antique silver spoon that was gifted to me, 

a diamond pinky ring, beads, silver findings and antique bone rings

along with a tiny silver skeleton key charm and more shell bits.

{I especially love the chime-like clatter it makes while using my beautiful Bohin scissors!!}

these are the thread colors I've chosen ~

640, 869 & 611

sitting out on the porch

with needle in hand

listening to Roxy snore nearby...and the hum of bumbler-bees.

you can see where I pencil-in the motif,

~ then just simply stitch my X's to fill in...

I do continental stitch even though I'm not counting my stitches - but merely 'eye-balling' them.

{all 1/2 stitches going one way first ~ then coming back to cross over them}

I'll be framing this under glass, in one of Peter's wooden frames ~

think I'll paint the frame black & distress it heavily.

...love that look too :)

Hi Roxy ~ sleepy face

Well folks, the timer just went off ~

which means our supper is ready.

I'll stitch again later on this evening and hopefully finish this to show you tomorrow.

OH!

 TOMORROW!!!!

please don't forget to join me over at 

Pat Sloan's Creative Talk Network

where I will be a guest around 4:00 pm EST

{can you hear my knees knocking?}

http://www.creativetalknetwork.com

have a peaceful evening my friends...

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori