~ Something Wooly this way Comes ~

a sneak-peek of the design I have submitted for the Fall Issue of 

Wool Works Magazine

{https://woolworksmagazine.com}

I really should design more wool applique...

I do love it's simplicity!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Getting my WITCHY on ~

Good Monday Morning

Friends & Folk ~

I woke this morning to the sound 

of our air-conditioners and fans and their mechanical whirring in my head...

I want so badly to just fling open the windows, 

let some fresh cool crisp air into this old farmhouse 

~ and enjoy the sounds of Mother Nature while I sleep!

ah yes...soon, soon.

In the meanwhile,

 I headed straight to my desk with 'other' thoughts now in my foggy little brain.

Those thoughts that are never far under the surface of my rippling creativity ~

yes friends, thoughts of Witches.
{ok, pumpkins, black cats, moons, ......you get it.}

I like to look back on my previous works and revisit past creations.
This always helps inspire my work for new ideas,
... ways to change and keep my folk art 'fresh' but familiar
*wink wink*
;)

So, here are a few of my past Witches & Other Friends:
 

punched & embroidered

sketchbook #8

sketchbook #15

dancing witch paper cutting {scherenshnitte}

stitched-witch

punched

naked

always watching

humbly-stitched

painterly-witch

oh those tiny little loops!

Inspiration....

snippets in time ~

We shall see where all of these little reminders will lead me....

~ who knows?

Have a happy & Creative Monday my sweet Friends ~

☾.•*¨*☆*¨*•.☽ 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ "Little House" Hanging Wall Pocket ~

Hey There!

Good morning Friends & Folk ~ 

I wanted to share the finish of my little project with you all ~

"Little House" Hanging Wall Pocket from Notforgotten Farm™

I am very happy at how this turned out!

it's 'SEW' cute!

✂

 

I will be offering this mixed media project

as a pattern soon in our Etsy shop ~ both PDF & mailed.

Have a *Sparkling* day everyone!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Wool'n Fun ~

Hello Friends & Folk ~

and a Happy Sunday to you all!

just sharing with you all

a little project I'm working on today...

well one of them, anyway

;)

I hooked this small mat yesterday, 

while friends visited our little Needlework Shop

 for our regular Crafty Saturday ~

but I didn't want to finish it into just a plain mat.

so I decided to mount it onto a fabric-covered piece of heavy cardboard....

then I thought it needed something more above the mat...

yes! a wool sunflower!

 

... then I thought it would be a swell Needlework Pocket!

{I need to stop thinking so much. ha!}

 I like to cut my wool with my pinking shears, 

that way is makes it easier for me to space my blanket stitching... 

although nothing I ever do is perfect, 

but ~ it pleases me nonetheless.

I'm using coordinating Valdani pearl cottons in size #8  

and I think I'll add more leaves on either side of the sunflower...

{see what I mean about the thinking-thing?}

🌻

all it needs now if for me to finish the wool applique ~ 

add a hanger and voila!

fini!

 

 Hoping you are all enjoying a peaceful Sunday 

~ with those who love you most...

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ In the Making ... ~

~ Good Morning Friends & Folk ~ 

Lately,

I have been trying desperately to keep my mind occupied 

with my work, but I can't stop worrying about dear Joan & Arthur...

he was hospitalized recently with pneumonia, and test results have come back saying that the brain/lung cancer has now spread to his bones.

Please keep them in your continued thoughts for healing and peace ~

I am almost finished with this punch needle project

"Birds & Bees"

I decided to make it into a small mat,

 and I added two little appliqued honeybees made from scraps of fabric ~ 

they were done using the double-applique method;

where you take the pattern and lay it on doubled fabric {right sides together} 

trace around the template, then machine stitch or hand stitch completely around the design.

then you trim away excess fabric,  make a slit in on one side and turn right sides out.

Once that's finished, 

you simply whip-stitch the motif to your fabric backing ~

...I like the look, as it makes the applique piece stand out from the backing a little more.

I also stitched my finished punched portion to the backing fabric, in this case old ticking ~

ans wanted to border it with something, so I used wool strips leftover from a rug hooking project.

 

I pinned the strips into place along the edges of the punched portion, 

then whip stitched the strips on using my favorite thread: 

Gutermann Col. 3400 ~

 a nice linen-colored 100% cotton thread that blends well with all of my work.

I will add tiny black beads to the bees for eyes too ~

the punched portion was done using all Valdani threads from my Spring collection ~

and I chose to use two different colors for the background, 

~ punching one half of the design with one, and then the other half with the second color.

this gives it a nice antique-look to the background...

my inspiration fro the design came from an antique hooked rug.

Once the wool strips are in place,

 I'll back the mat and add a binding to it using cotton fabric.

This will be available as a Paper {mailed} pattern and as a PDF pattern

 in our Etsy shop soon :)

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Wednesday Ponderings ~

... just a few more little previews of goods I'll be bringing with me next weekend to Ohio;

... miles to go before I sleep ~

 ;)

 Have a beautiful & creative day my friends!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ Coming Soon ~

  
Hello Friends & Folk!

Remember to join the Artisans of Early Work Mercantile

for our "Log Cabin Christmas" on November 1st & 15th...

 

www.earlyworkmercantile.net

**I'll have a few humble stitchings for you**

 :)

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Snippets ~

~ Good Morning Friends & Folk ~ 

... how frosty & snappy this morning is!

I take great pleasure being here on this farm ~ 

... from the daily watching of the sun traveling around it, visiting each room and touching  the old wood floors with beams of dusty-light...

to the twinkling of the stars in the clear skies at night, 

~ it gives me such a sense of calm & peacefulness.

I love how I can see, through our old wavy glass windows,

small glimpses of the fields and woods that surround our snug farmhouse on all sides

and know that we are safe, warm & dry no matter the weather.

Lately, 

my days are spent creating ~ constantly creating...sketching, designing...

and I move from room to room depending on what I'm working on.

when I am working on my old Pfaff treadle machine, 

you'll find me upstairs in my well-lit sewing room surrounded by piles of fabric, wool & velvets.

~ sitting amongst strewn-about snippets and threads.

if I am hooking, 

punching or hand stitching, you can find me anywhere ~

 but most-likely in our Keeping Room, 

{{which holds our beloved woodstove and my most favorite collectibles}}

and I'm usually watching an old movie or two. 

I've been working on this, a project that I started yesterday;

which combines wool/fabric applique 

and perhaps a little bit of punching or cross stitch will be added to it too.

I'm liking my results thusfar, do you?

my preference for applique is to use linen-colored thread and tiny primitive stitches

 ~ i do like the blanket-stitch, but I love the UN-eveness that I can achieve 

with minuscule whip stitches instead...  

to me,

 stitching in this fashion is more relaxing and more primitive.

~ she has such a sweet face ~ 

a little more hooking has been happening too,

using beautiful spicy warm & color-saturated wools ~

... bringing my sketches to life in lambswool loops.

as well as a few tiny cross stitches in my wooden hoop,

worked freehand onto cupboard cloth...

~ no pattern, just letting my mind & hands do the work and enjoying the process.

I see that some of you reading this have already received some flakes of snow!

...I am eagerly waiting for signs of them here ~

knowing that the long Winter season will finally be upon us makes me happy.

I am not a 'summer' girl.

 I was born in a blizzard in Connecticut, 

in February 1963.

I prefer dreary cold & rainy days spent snugged up in my cozy farmhouse

with a kitten or two and some handwork nearby...

give me a pair of boiled-wool socks and a sweater

over shorts & flip flops any-day.

 

 Hoping you all have a beautifully creative day!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ It's that time again! ~

Hello Friends & Folk 

and a hearty happy Friday to you all!

I can't tell you how wonderful our weather has been....well for me anyhow ~

I am a lover of Fall, rain & cloudy-days.

we have had a few in a row now, but today is a sunny one and just loverly too!

 ~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~

I wanted to pop in here this morning to let you all know 

that we have resumed our regular Farm Shop hours again of 

Saturdays from 10:00 - 4:00

{if you would like to visit on a day that we're not regularly open, 

please call or contact me via email or FB to schedule a time to visit}

with the coming months however, 

there will be times when the weather won't be good for a visit ~

 so please keep an eye here and on my FB page for inclement weather closings ;)

AND

since the shop is once again open, that means it's time again for our

Crafty Saturdays!

  Super-informal, 

just bring your needlework in progress and just sit & have fun while creating with me...

I'll proved the snacks & drinks :)

Do you have a group or guild interested in coming for a class?

or are you interested in me traveling to you?

{{ my Winter '16/Spring '17 Teaching Schedule is filling up fast ~ 

and I will be updating that on my sidebar soon }}

Rug Hooking, Punch Needle, Wool Applique or Cross Stitch 

~ all taught in the humblest manner by Yours Truly.

Have a *SPARKLING* Autumn Day my friends!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori 

~ New *AUTUMN 2016* Goodes ~

Hello Friends & Folk ~

been a few days between postings, I do apologize for that ~

… still not feeling well and am hoping for test results this aft….

thank you all for your kind thoughts & advice xoxox

Here is a sampling of our new goods for 

Autumn 2016:

* we have two new cross stitch designs, "Hallowe'en Barnyard" & "Cat in the Moon"

* 2 new punch needle designs, "Harvest Squirrel" and "Remember Me 1632"

* one fun Appliqué design named "Jack's Folly"

* 3 new wooden floss holders, "Primitive Moon", "Primitive Star" & "Primitive Oak Leaf"

* one new wooden "Tombstone" paddle {for the "Harvest Squirrel" punch needle project}

*a beautiful new hand painted wooden "Colonial Polka Dot Frame" 

{for the "Hallowe'en Barnyard" project}

AND 

* another little needful box, our awesome "Floss Winding Box" 

… that will help you wind/store your skeins of thread onto little spools for punch needle!

These will all be available in our Etsy shop today ~

I'm almost finished loading them all up!!

Kind Thanks 

as always for your continued support of what we do & love!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Good Things ~

Goode Tuesday Friends & Folk!

guess what?

yep it's raining.

so wet out that our woods are full of mushrooms ~ 

which of course, have inspired me to make 'something' mushroom-y with my needle & thread!

{stay tuned for that}

In the meanwhile ~

I'm making more progress on my 'Jack's Folly' appliqué …

you can see that I've added a couple of big candy-corn kernels & a smattering of fallen leaves.

hey Jack!

One thing I love to do when doing appliqué is use my long arm stapler

 to hold my pieces to the backing fabric…

really is much nicer than using pins ~ 

… you won't get pricked and those pieces stay-put even when traveling.

The other thing I like to do ~

 is use an old cutting board on my lap in my stitching chair when I'm doing appliqué… 

~ I rarely sit at a table when I do any kind of needlework, so the board acts as one for me 

and keeps me from poking my knees with my needle!

I also like to use a simple clothespin 

to hold the yet-to-be-stitched portion of my project rolled up and out of the way:

neat & tidy

Little tips that help me in my work ~

 perhaps they'll help you too?

I have been using Valdani pearl cotton for this project ~ 

and I like the effect…it's a variegated thread that varies from black to light grey.

Oh!

almost forgot ~

I am LOVING my new little magnetic metal dish 

that Peter & I picked up at the Harbor Freight store the other day… 

{{we had coupons and got this for free ~ woot woot!}}

a handy-dandy little thing it is 

to keep my pins corralled & scissors handy ~

Here is a snap of one corner of our dining room…

my feather tree in the coffee pot is kept up & lit all year long ~

very soon it will be decorated with owls, pumpkins and other 

Autumnal-delights!

~ an eclectic hodgepodge of beloved things ~

 **UPDATE**

 on the Primitive Punch Needle Club:

we have begun shipping kits to club members! YAY!!!!

~ please know that we are shipping them in the order they were received

and hope to have them all shipped out by week's end ~

Our thanks to ALL who have joined!

Hoping your day is filled with all good things!

 ~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori