~ {{ sneak peek }} ~

{tomorrow is June 1st!}

{do you know what that means??}

{it means that Early Work Mercantile is having it's June 1st update!}

{{I have a sampler for you}}

 **if I don't keep it for myself**

here's a peek:

So, bright & early tomorrow morning

please visit

www.earlyworkmercantile.net

to see all of the goods from my friends {and myself} there!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ on Ebay tonight ~

I don't offer them often, but when I do ~

 i like to let you know…

so here is my Ebay offering for Memorial Day 2016 

you can place your bid

HERE

if you are a lover of all things primitive, patriotic and whimsical ~

then I offer you a

5-day auction, no reserve

as always ~

best of luck biding
 and Thank you for your support! ~

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Memorial Day ~

"I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; 

I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags 

were appropriate on Decoration Day.  

I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it.  

We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did." 

~Benjamin Harrison

Wishing you all a peaceful & safe

Memorial Day weekend... 

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ Inspirational Healing ~

~ Happy Friday Friends & Folk ~

Peter & I want to Thank you all 

for your wonderful emails, kind messages and comments 

… and especially for your positive thoughts regarding our recent scare.

Peter has severely pulled his chest/arm & back muscles ~

 which we were unsure of

until we made that dreaded-but-informative trip to the ER late Wednesday evening.

Thinking he was having a massive heart attack,

the chest Xray & EKG THANKFULLY showed no sign of that

or other heart-related incidents.

but

they want him to have a stress test asap to rule out any blockages.

relieved? yes…

that rush of wind you all heard was me sighing.

While he is recuperating from the muscle damage, 

they have him on a super strong anti inflammatory drug which makes him a bit drowsy. 

{he would never sit still enough to heal, so I'm happy it slows him down!}

and I won't let him out of my sight.

So, while he is resting & healing,

I am stitching and mentally healing…using my often turned-to needlework to soothe me.

I have had this sweet sampler below in my collection for many moons…

you may have seen it here before.

I am reproducing it in a smaller version and not exactly true to the original, 

but still having fun with it ~ using the colors that 'Eliza Chace' originally chose.

once the stitching is complete,

I'll stain the entire sampler to more liken it to the original's linen color…

this will then be framed under glass 

~ in one of my hand painted frames.

I will be offering it as a finished piece of my folk art/needlework 

on June 1st on

www.earlyworkmercantile.net

and will be offering the pattern in PDF form & paper as well soon after.

Hoping you are all enjoying a beautiful day 

… spent with those who love you most!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ Freedom ~

"We take the stars from heaven, 

the red from our mother country... 

separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her and the white stripes shall go down to posterity, 

… representing our liberty."  

~ George Washington, attributed

Here is a small & quick freebie for you to stitch :)

just click on the chart & symbol legend below the color example ~

they will open in a separate page and then you can save them to your computer.

then print them out and stitch away!

"Flag Maker"

from Notforgotten Farm™

if you aren't already a member of the 

Friends of Notforgotten Farm 

group on Facebook,

click HERE to join us and share your finishes :)

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Monday Monday ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

and a very happy Monday to you ~

the sun is shining

{at the moment, at least}

but I don't trust it to stay long…it's been pretty absent for weeks now.

Hoping to get some laundry done & hung out to dry.

How many of you hang your fresh sheets on the line to dry? 

I always have & always will :)

Friday, Peter & I headed out to the Antiques Expo in Fishersville, VA

it was sunny that day too, saw some wonderful early textiles and samplers ~ 

always my inspiration for my needlework...

I'll show you my plunder in an upcoming post.

This week will be filled with finishing models for the upcoming release of our Summertime designs.

there will be a pleasant mixture of wool appliqué, punch needle and cross stitch patterns for those of you who like to mix things up a bit…and by that I mean joining punch needle & the wool appliqué with the cross stitch in the same design.

linen, cotton, wool & thread  ~
a prim-perfect combination

I'm still cross-stitching over one, as it goes fast and looks so very old to me.

… and since seeing all of the beautiful antique samplers at the show Saturday, 

I'm inspired to design more early-looking needlework patterns 

that will be incorporated with my more 'primsical' side.

Heading out to hang the wash between raindrops now ~

and hoping your day is filled with sunshine & stitches

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ It's Crafty Saturday! ~

… grab your sewing basket, find your hat ~

get on that broom & ride on over!

{or bicycle…}

It's Crafty Saturday!

our humble Farm Shop is Open Today

10:00 - 3:00

we have tea, coffee & fresh-baked goodies for you to enjoy

while you sit & create with us

~::{{{}}}::~

"I just love being 'crafty' at Notforgotten Farm"

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Seeing Stars… ~

Yes I'm seeing stars!

and stripes and flags 

and buntings…

and folky-folks showing their patriotic fever!

~ coming soon 

in pattern-form for you to create your own pride :)

stitch

applique

punch needle

and more!

enjoy that sunshine today while you can ~ word around these parts is:

more RAIN in the forecast!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ A Tour of Joan's Home ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

I have been wanting to share, for a long time now ~

the most-beautiful home of my dear bff Joan's warm & cozy home…

and today I will!

Some of you reading have met my sweet Joan at our shows & events.

She is my sidekick and 'manager' of all things I can't manage

{which is a whole lot!}

this will be an ongoing tour, though…

so you will have to stay tuned to see the next rooms in the coming weeks :)

We will start the tour

 in Joan & Art's newly remodeled & finished

 Dining Room:

a beautiful mantel and hearth, simply decorated with beloved items...

Joan has a knack for finding well-loved hooked rugs at great prices!
{love that little wagon holding the lit candle}

on the hearth, a wooden ferriers' box holds rolled-up hooked rugs
and a well-loved stuffed monkey!

on the opposite side of the room are two huge windows...

…under the windows is a long green bench that holds another hooked treasure and doll.

Joan & I both love collecting primitive dolls :)

bookshelves flank the french doors at the end of the room,
and Joan has all of her old books color coordinated on them.

this looks like one huge cupboard, but is really a marriage of two.

Her keen sense of decorating style comes naturally
just from displaying everything she loves...

I am smitten with her hooking chair!
a deep and comfy wingback covered in butter-soft denim ~
a sweet good-witch doll by friend Mandy of Bittersweet Folk Art
sits on a make-do shelf above, that Art made from a child's buggy seat...

a quiet corner of this room…not fully 'finished' Joan says ;)

one of the rugs that she hooked hangs above an old old tin noodle board with matching rolling pin.

Joan's collections are many ~ as you will soon see in upcoming posts.
and they are eclectic as well!

*make a mental-note of the doll's head for future reference!!*

Joan can throw things together and everything works…
do you not love those scalloped-edge prairie curtains?
me too...

and let's not forget about those chairs.
THEE chairs. they are awesome, huge & …robin's egg blue!

and what would you expect to be under the table, on top of those glowing wood floors?
yep ~ a huge hand hooked rug!

 I know you will enjoy this tour ~ each time I visit with Joan & Art,

I see something new or different from my last visit.

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Linen, Thread & Raindrops ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

guess what?

it's raining!

and a perfect day to sort through my linens & thread ~

choosing some colors on a grey-day such as this can be a bit tricky,

as my mood can sometimes dictate my palette...

I've been perusing Pinterest {as usual}

and have found a few old samplers that were stitched on dark brownish linen ~

and I want to replicate that look for a new design I have in my head.

I have chosen Weeks "Chestnut" Linen and DMC threads.

the linen is 30ct and the thread colors are 831, 898, 918, 3021 & 3033.

of course I'll over-stain every thing once I'm finished, just for good measure.

 In the meanwhile,

Miss Beth 

{my nimble-fingered model stitcher}

has finished this:

"Cat in the Moon"

… remember me sharing with you a few weeks back

 that I wanted to work on Dames of the Needle's

"Witches Brew" linen?

well this is the design I wanted to have on it.

and I love it.

So Elizabeth, if you're reading this; 

you are da-bomb.

{{click HERE to visit Dames of the Needle's FB page}}

I love this linen SO much in fact, 

that I not only asked Beth to stitch the full-size model for me on the 28ct / 2 over 2 

but I am actually stitching a smaller version on the 32ct / one over one

yay!

SO teeny-tiny & I adore it.

I really do love stitching over one ~ it isn't as hard as some think, 

granted you have plenty of light & a good magnifying lamp.

you can really see the beautiful coloring

 in the "Witches Brew" linen in these photos ~

perfect colors for a little rainy-day stitching!

 Hoping you enjoy a full day of creativity & peace 

… my friends ~

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ A Very Busy Weekend ~

yes it was….

very busy.

Hannah graduated with her 

Bachelors of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University

on Friday the 13th ~

a beautiful commencement ceremony 

held in the historically-rich and diverse city of Richmond, VA.

Peter & I, Hannah's grandfather Bob

 {who is 80 yrs young and travelled by train from CT to see her graduate }

and Hannah's best friend Shane, anxiously awaited for the graduating class to walk in…

 and then that moment came 

almost as fast, it seems, as these last four years have flown by ~

… happy tears & loud cheers from all of us.

You  have no idea how very proud we are of you pumpkin.

{{yes, we know we tell you constantly}}

but our words simply can't express the fullness you bring to our lives.

~ your future is as bright as those big brown eyes of yours!

oh how we love you ~

ok.

 enough of that ~ I'm crying again!

geeeez…. *sniff*

Along with graduation plans,

we also have been preparing for our special Finishing Class held here in the farm shop, 

 taught by the sweetest and most-talented

Becky Noland Zoyes from 'Death by Thread'

{www.deathbythread.blogspot.com}

hello there Becky!

and…  

here are the girls ~

hiya girls!!

Becky kitted up everyone's finishing needfuls into a cute little basket,

that included a handmade wool strawberry necklace adorned with pearls & shells

along with their threads, pins & needles, etc…and a special hand lotion for stitchers :)

 … stitching the final tiny x's for the finish on their projects… 

Becky also brought along a fabulous trunk show for us!

her stitched models are just beautiful ~ 

so unique and fun…

just like her!

 Our talented instructress 

showing the finished pin keep drum:

…she taught us how to include a beautiful beaded seam-edge on our work ~

 trying to teach a class with a sore hand/fingers 

was no small feat 

… but Becky pulled it off without a hitch 

:)

{there's my Joan. always standing at-the-ready to lend a helping hand….
~ or get herself in some kind of trouble.}

Becky had a beautiful manicure with black french tips accented with silver…

love love!

and NO.

I did not get ONE photo of the students' finished projects!

{what a goober am I}

Hoping to see one from their FB page or blog? 

anyone?? 

halp? 

Before everyone left,

 Vicki brought in her hooked rug that she did of my 'Stocking was Hung' design 

{adapted by & available from www.spruceridgestudios.com}

GORGEOUS!

Our Thanks to Becky for the fun & informative class…

we hope you will consider coming back to teach here at the farm again soon!

AND our thanks to all that signed up for class ~ you are all awesome :)

{{{{here's another hug for you!}}}

~}}}}}}}O{{{{{{{~

I am going to take the day 'off' today.

and by that, I mean simply sit on the couch ~

eat some junk food, watch old movies and stitch {punch, hook, not sure yet}

I'll take my cue from Iggy:

 yes,

…  sage advice,

oh wise-one!

Hoping you all enjoy a beautiful day in your own comfy surroundings ~

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori