~ Some New Things! ~

 Hello Friends & Folk!

I finally have a finish to share ~

"My Hoops" 

is a new cross stitch design PLUS pattern to make the bag to hold your hoops ~

{both designs included in one pattern, paper & PDF will be available soon}

I'm very happy with the way it turned out...

from my fabric choices to my finishing!

you can see the loop enclosure detail in the photo below:

...the bottom of the bag is rounded to hold your round or oval hoops ~

and of course it is fully lined with a bias edging along the top.

I worked the cross stitch portion on 28ct 'Wren' linen from Picture This Plus

with 2 strands of 'Faded Brown' cotton thread from Valdani.

once the cross stitching was finished, I simply trimmed down the edges of the linen, folded {ironed} them back and used a linen thread to whip-stitch it into place on the front of the bag.

easy peasy

:)

 

 and I completely forgot to show the finished model

 of the current {Oct/Nov/Dec 2017}

Little Stitches Handwork Club from Notforgotten Farm™

here is

"SnowPants"

a sweet little snow-guy at the ready to help hold your pins...

or perhaps sweep off your porch steps!

 

 kits include:

30ct Old Farmhouse Linen from Notforgotten Farm™

Backing Fabric shown

Threads to complete design 

and

Silk Ribbon 

{I used a scrap-piece of linen to sew a patch to the back of mine...and I stuffed it with cotton balls!}

 If you are a current member of the LSHC, 

this is the design you will be receiving/have received.

{kits are shipping now ~ thank you kindly for your patience} 

If you would like to join the Little Stitches Handwork Club (LSHC)

you can click HERE

Peter & I are busily working on new Goodes for you for the holidays 

and your everyday sewing/stitching needs!

Look for:

a NEW sewing box/clamp

a NEW thread winder

NEW hand dyed linens from NFF

patterns patterns patterns!

wishing for you a beautiful November day my sweet friends ~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Home ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

Hoping you are all not melted into your stitching chairs?

hot hot hot

but it is Summer ~ after all. 

I am playing catch-up on all of the emails/convos/messages I received while away ~

so please have patience with me while I root through them all. 

~ I'll do my best to answer every single one!

Joan & I headed up north to PA, 

then up to CT and back again to PA before heading home again yesterday.

{we literally shopped our way up and back!}

of the many {many} shops we visited in Pennsylvania,

one of our VERY favorites was

Grant Street Woolworks

{https://www.facebook.com/GrantStreetWoolworks/}

 where we drooled on all of the lovelies Linda has in her quaint shop!

I needed more wool {really?} for upcoming projects

and found that GSW carries beautiful wools that' I've not seen before ~

like these:

 

and these: 

 

when Joan & I first opened the door to GSW ~ 

there were a few gals already busily looking through line patterns on the shops' large worktable ~

{Hi girls!}

but to my surprise ~ my sweet friend Kathy Makers

 of Primitive Homespuns Wool & Needleworks was there!!!! 

{Hi Kathy!}

Kathy sent me this photo below, 

of me holding Linda's tiniest-puppy-in-the-world!

we all thought it was a beanie-baby when her son brought it over to show us, but then it blinked!

{good grief I look like I want to take a bite out of that puppy!}

and btw, my t-shirt reads: Keep Calm and Eat Whoopie Pies not puppies, ha!

Joan & I also shopped at various needlework & quilting shops on our travels 

and these just sorta kinda jumped into my shopping buggy.

yum!

while visiting Connecticut, 

Joan & I and my sister and brother in law visited the Elephant's Trunk Flea Market in New Milford.

I love garden toads and play with them every evening on our patio ~ 

~ so when I spotted this old heavy rusty iron toad, I had to have him....

of course he was the very first purchase I made, 

so dummy me lugged him around in the 90 + degree heat and hot sun for the rest of the day ~ 

 🐸

 

while I was away, Peter held down the farm ~

tending to our beloved animal friends and gardens...

and he even opened the shop for a special customer last Saturday!

{Thank you muchly Cindy & Hubby!!}

and here are a few garden snaps ~

fried green tomatoes on the menu for this evening...

 

overgrown with sweet annie ~

 

peppers and sausage? hmmmm....

 

our banana trees are getting big 

~ with all of this tropical-feeling heat & humidity!

 

and so are our puppies!!

yep, this is Big Black on the left, 

and little Black Dahlia on the right...

 

we call them 

Big & Dolly and they are quite the terrible-twosome....

in every good-puppy way of course ;)

 

I'm happy to be home again ~

miss my family in CT but love where I am planted.

 

 I'll be processing all orders tomorrow and Saturday and will begin shipping the new 

Little Stitches Handwork Club member's kits next week ~

and I'll share the finished July/Aug/Sept 2017 project tomorrw!

Keep cool everyone ~ don't let this heat make you grumpy.

eat ice cream, go for a swim, stitch in the shade 

& drink plenty of fresh lemonade with chocolate mint!

and don't forget to keep cool clean fresh water filled

 for your outdoor friends in this heat too please ~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ After the Rains... ~

 Hello Sunshine!

Hello Friends & Folk!

finally...

oh how I love to feel the warmth of the sun again ~

I like rainy days but we've had plenty now for the time being 

~ thankyouverymuch.

thought I'd go out early and take a few snaps of the in-need-of-weeding gardens ~

and that will be what I will be doing this afternoon...

weeding!

you can see if the photo below that we are working on this old farmhouse ~ 

removing the old chippy white paint, painting trim, etc...

 

our grapes are doing well with all of this rain,

...  I'm sure they will explode after today's sun & warmth!

 

the Iris' have blossomed...

the peach ones are so delicate ~

 

...but it's the purple ones that I love most.

 

coreopsis  is reaching for the sunbeams in the photo below...

love my St. Francis statue

{ St. Francis cared for the poor and sick, he preached sermons to animals, and praised all creatures as brothers and sisters under God. St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and ecology, was born in Italy around 1181 or 1182. }

and the little lipped jug was found buried here on the property 

near the old log kitchen behind the farmhouse...

it is broken, but still beautiful to me ~

our Daisy girl is enjoying the sunshine too! 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

and here is a peek at my new cross stitch design,

"Steal Not"

it was stitched by my friend Heather Stevens and what a beautiful job she did!

please note: 

the linen looks 'blue' near the lettering, but it is not....

the sampler is laying on top of a quilt and it is showing through the linen.

this new design, along with a few other new designs will accompany me to the 

PSS Retreat/Merchant Mall on May 5th & 6th in Columbus Ohio

{which I will be leaving for in one very short week!}

Well I am on my way out the door to run errands ~ 

usual PO stop, banking and market...

 

All of the current Little Stitches Handwork Club/LSHC kits have been shipped, 

and as a member your kit should have/will be arriving soon :) 

April/May/June 2017 LSHC model "Melancholy"

if you'd like to join or renew our exclusive club for cross stitchers, please click 

HERE

Have a *SPARKLING* day my friends!

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Creative Weekend ~

 Well Hello

Friends & Folk....

~ this has been a busy weekend!

I managed to get quite a few things accomplished, 

... and even began some things I didn't know I would begin!

I thought I was done punching new designs 

before heading out to the PSS Retreat in Columbus OH on the 5th & 6th of May 

but I just had to start working on this one that has been rattling around in my brain ~

it was inspired by an early PA German fraktur circa 1800's...

I have adapted it for punch needle and chose beautiful Valdani size #8 pearl cotton to work it with.

 

my main motifs are finished, 

and now I'll move on the the background...

I actually love filling in the backgrounds of my punch needle works ~

they can be as simple as outlining the motifs and filling in,

 or as complex as using directional punching techniques.

we'll see what this design dictates to me once I begin...

I am also working with my watercolors

creating new small paintings that will soon be offered as prints and notecards!

here is my latest in-progress

{and I love it so far} 

pretty colors...no?

 

h e l l o!

 I have more detail to add yet...

 

Oh!

I recently received a few finished models back 

from my fabulous model stitcher ~ Heather

{{ Thank You Heather!!}}

I'll show them all soon, but for now here is the new design for our

April/May/June 

Little Stitches Handwork Club 

~ otherwise known as 'LSHC'

and it is it's called

"Melancholy"

the verse reads:

"Industry is the best cure for Melancholy"

... for those who don't know what 'melancholy' may be, it's described thusly:

a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.

and I agree...a little 'industry' {in my book that means needlework!}

surely can cure the blues...

here is the fabric that will be included in the kit 

along with the chart, linen and threads....it's a Civil War era repro in shades of mustard & red ~

... I think it matches the threads nicely, don't you?

 each kit contains a little brass thimble

to attach to your 'scissors' on the pillow...like a little scissors fob

:)

 

I've had this old little square-shaped basket forever, 

... and although I didn't design this to fit in it,

it sure looks sweet in there!

 To read about how to become a member of our LSHC,

please click

 H E R E

to join our exclusive cross stitch club or re-new your membership ~ 

***MEMBERS KITS HAVE BEGUN SHIPPING TODAY***

{thanks again for your patience}

~ AND ~

I've saved the BEST new for last!

... at approx. 4:00 am today,

our little visitor-hound delivered the first of MANY puppies!!!!!

{{{ I think I counted ten little butts, BUT they are so squirmy I cannot tell for sure. }}}

At the moment, 

she is being a bit aggressive, as all new mothers can be.

~ so we are giving her space to bond and nurture with them...

since she came to us many weeks ago, she has warmed up quite a bit to Peter & I ~

...well, more to Peter than I, but that's ok.

at least she knows that we won't hurt her ~ and that she is safe here.

Peter made a huge nesting box for her in the barn and that's where she is...

nuzzling & licking her squealing little butterball babies!

Stay tuned for photos, don't want to scare her by flashing lights in her eyes...

whew!

guess that's all in a nutshell for now ~ 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Lady Bird ~

Happy  {rainy, again} Monday 

Friends & Folk

before I get to my farmchores this morning,

~ I wanted to take a moment to show you the new design for the  

Jan/Feb/Mar 2017

Little Stitches Handwork Club

{LSHC}

this one is called

"Lady Bird"

and the finish is a sawdust stuffed pincushion

I love the simplicity of this design, 

... and the neutral colors make for great year-round decorating.

the chart comes with an alphabet for you to add a personal date or initials to your finish.

Kits have begun to ship to members already and the last batch is shipping today.

if you're interested in joining the LSHC 

or renewing your membership,

please click

H E R E 

 

I'm working on the model for our next month's 

Primitive Punch Needle Club too!

 {{ info to join or renew click H E R E }}

 

wishing you all a day filled with many happy things!

 

Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori