~ a cup of tea ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk!

happy Tuesday {again} to us all ~ 

will it rain? will it be sunny? yes and no.

well...it is April, so anything goes and April showers bring May flowers, right?

In the process of working on one my embroideries, 

figured I would show you something that I do when stitching them;

I use a pencil to draw my design onto my osnaburg, 

which, as my readers might know, is my favorite choice for embroidery.

nothing fancy for me,

a comfy chair ~ a simple hoop {when I'm working on a smaller project} 

a pencil, some osnaburg, my favorite bent-needle and good old DMC cotton floss

are all I need in life to keep me a happy girl...

(( well, add to that a couple of kittens and a copious amount of green tea ))

 

... this sweet lady, growing her tea in her big teacup is almost fully stitched,

 then I will add her to the pile of models that need to be framed/finished ~

and finally turned into patterns and listed for your stitching pleasure in our Etsy shop.

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ All we are Saying....

...is Give Bees a Chance! 

{and I know you sung that in your head while you read it! lol}
Here is another fun little motto-stitch/sampler from Notforgotten Farm™
I have been wanting to stitch this saying for a while, and went about doing just that, finally ~
I love the way it turned out, the colors and motifs just work together so well.

I stitched the model onto 35/36 count Osnaburg ~ 

it is an uneven weave fabric that gives an old fashioned look to my work.
Osnaburg can be found in most craft stores, in the Utility Fabric section, 

near the burlap/muslin, etc...

Stitch Count: 106w x 60h
All DMC Threads
Stitched one strand of floss over 2 threads of ground fabric {osnaburg}

Now Available in ouyr Etsy Shop ~

AND is included in our Quarantine Sale going on now!

 

Click Here to purchase either PDF or Mailed Version

🐝 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Have fun, Happy Stitching and...Blessed 'BEE'!!
Lori

~ Back to Basics ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk ~ 

and a happy Wednesday to us all.

Thank you so much for your kind and gentle condolences on the loss of our beloved Roxy...

I love looking through old photographs on Pinterest,

of the way life was, how it has changed

and how it comes full circle once again;

 

 These are very trying times, indeed.

but some things can be amended and broken down into a simpler way of life

just by making the mindful choices to choose positive change.

grow a garden ~ nurture your soul.

mend your heart & mind by sewing, or other hobby that you enjoy.

get out into the fresh air and sunshine when you can.

recycle, reduce, reuse ...repeat.

make healthier, non-meat food choices for yourself and family.

always be supportive of friends that need you, even a phone call or message

can make a person's day.

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Oh Roxy ~

Dear Roxy ~

thank you for loving us for the short 6 years you have had on this earth...

we want you to know that we will always remember you, 

and how much joy you have given us.

those walks to the mailbox that you enjoyed, carrying back the mail for us ~ 

will never be the same.

we will miss your 'gifts' that you would bring us...

from chicken feathers to tiny baby bunnies...

and how you always wanted to be with us, no matter where or what.

we will miss your soft snoring, your protective bark and your playfulness.

 we will always remember the look of love in those beautiful brown eyes of yours

 ~ those eyes that could speak right to our hearts...with no words spoken.

we are so sorry that you had to leave us,

but you were very sick and in pain

 ~ it wasn't an easy decision to make to set you free....we wanted you to be with us forever,

and you will be ~ in our hearts and memories.

please say hello to Lazy & Buddy, and all of our other friends that wait for us ~

tell them that we will see them again!

Love, Mom & Dad & Hannah

~ Motto Samplers ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

and a happy, sunshiney Sunday to us all...

 I have been working on a few smallish motto samplers lately ~

{you may remember seeing the one in the larger hoop on my Hoop'n Tray Needlework Stand}.

this one is being stitched on 35ct 'Cornsilk' from Weeks Dye Works

~ using DMC threads, 2 over 2.

I charted this design using my software ~ and should be finished soon...

 

the wind has kept me mostly stitching in the farmhouse, 

but today I will try to work out on the front porch ~

this little motto sampler I have not charted yet, but simply working from my mind's eye ~

the ground fabric for this one above is plain old osnaburg, with the cotton seeds in it ~

{I prefer to call it cupboard cloth and I occasionally sell it in my Etsy shop}

which is an uneven weave of 35/36 count. 

oh, and I'm using DMC threads for this too, 1 over 2.

do you like my needleminder? ~ it is a mother of pearl dove, 

something that I have had in my button jar for a long time, 

and a while ago I decided to glue on some rare-earth magnets to use it to hold my needles...

what are your favorite needles to cross stitch with?

mine are absolutely the Easy-Glide Ball Tipped needles 

available from from Rachelle at TheCottageNeedle on Etsy...

I have 26's & 28's {green & blue caps}

and I also have ball tipped embroidery needles that I adore too! {yellow cap}

click on the pic below for a really good close up of the tip of the needles...

 

a few of my narcissus that Peter picked for me last weekend 

are still doing well in their glass vase...they smell heavenly!

 

Wishing you all a peaceful and creative day my friends.

 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Old Things, New Things... ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

and a happy Tuesday Morning in April to you all....

I've been thinking about something,

{well, a few things to be exact}

but one thing in particular;

I want to publish another book.

there ~ i said it.

A self-published book...

that I will author, illustrate and photograph.

AND it will be a book about Embroidery!

{OH, I can hear the cross stitchers, rug hookers and punch-needlers out there saying "boo!"}

but, this is a way for me to share my love of embroidery with you.

There will be projects with step by step photos, 

and tips on my techniques to achieve the look I get with those tiny little split stitches.

 featuring my "Primsical" characters and little folk like my Farm Witches and Rabbit Ladies

with a few new 'folk' included that I'm working on now.

{btw, 'primsical' is how i describe my work and style: Primitive + Whimsical = Primsical!

a coffee-table styled book that will be pretty to look at and informative as well...

I have a ton of work to do for this endeavor ~

but there is no time like the present to begin work on something that I have been longing to do.

~ my creative juices are flowing and my cup runneth over with ideas!

 I am hoping that my excitement about this gets you, 

my needlework-loving friends excited too ~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Eastertide ~

a sprinkling of my favorite postcards from Pinterest...

some German, some Swedish and some American.

I just love looking at the tiny details in these!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter! A Joyful Eastertide! A Blessed Ostara!

 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Saturday Farmhouse Musings ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

happy Saturday to us all....

it is so pretty outside this morning;

so strange that everything 'looks' fine but it really isn't, is it?

today marks one month since I last saw the beautiful smiling faces of my Tribe...

the last of the hugs, laughter and kinship for a while I guess.

please be safe everyone, by doing what we all know we need to do:

Stay Home if you do not need essentials.

Wear a Mask & Gloves if you positively have to go out.

Give yourself and other folks Room in the aisles of stores...

always be respectful of one another by thinking of others first.

Purchase only ONE of something when you need it, and look around to see if there is an elder-folk near you who might just need that item a little bit more than you do now.

Keep your family safe by leaving them home when you have to go out somewhere.

this Pandemic is NOT A VACATION.

Keep your thoughts positive by not watching the 'News' 24/7...

like anything, it too is harmful if too much is ingested.

We keep very busy here at the farm...we have our beloved animal friends to keep happy.

we have chores, everyday-stuff and our online business to tend to...

not much has changed with our lifestyle, 

~ except for fewer trips to Town ~

and unfortunately that includes fewer trips to the Post Office.

PLEASE 

be patient with us, if you have placed an order in our Etsy shop ~

we really are just a 2-person team here, doing the very best we can do 

to keep our customers happy by shipping your items as soon as humanly-possible.

We continue to be humbled by your support and kindness, 

and truly thank you all so much from the bottoms of our hearts ~

This morning I woke early to the birds singing

and the Jenny Wrens, Cardinals & Robins were serenading the rising sun...

~ tempting me out of bed to step outside and see what they were so happy about!

Aunt Dot's Wisteria is blooming...

my Sister Jo's Redbud in full bloom!

the hosta is up ~

new little Lambs' Ear....

Spearmint smells so good in the warm sunshine ~

as does the Lemon Balm.

weed? what weed....I see food for the bees ~

even my Lavender has buds :)

the Garden of Weedin'

~ sweet daffodils ~

our peacock-boy sunning himself...

how big the baby turkeys have gotten...

and the little ditties...the white one is a silkie and her name is 'Frizzle"

 I have of course, started another embroidery,

this one will be a brooch and I will add some beads to it for a little sparkle...

oh! I also painted a few little lady's in watercolor...

 

 Make Good Use of the time we now have...

~ be creative, be productive ~

and always be good, be kind, be happy

and most-importantly

...be Well.

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori