~ July Picture Walk ~

 just a few snaps for you ~

 too hot to weed!!

 

 

staying indoors, working on new punch needle designs ~

have just a few more to finish...

 then I'll get them into my Etsy shop for your punching-pleasure!

 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Bound & Determined ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

~ Happy Hot Friday to you ~

…back to our seemingly-sticky weather again…

~ not happy about that, but I know it won't last forever.

The Weather People say it's been the worst 

{as in hottest, muggiest, rainiest, stormiest….} Summer in a looong time.

I don't think I've ever spent so much time indoors any one Summer before this.

As I work in the somewhat-comfort of the chugging and overworked AC,

 I'm at least productive once again after not feeling well for over a month.

Waiting on test results now {again} hoping for some 'conclusive' results this time.

{kind thanks for your continued good thoughts}

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I finished hooking the Jack rug ~ and added a striped background.

isn't he a happy fellow? he is the same motif that I drew for my Jack's Folly Appliqué pattern,

 so if you have that, and are a hooker, you have my permission to use it for rug hooking as well ~

don't forget to share it with us on my Friends of Notforgotten Farm FB group!

the wool strip size I hooked with is #8 - or 1/4" wide

cut using my Fraser clamp on cutter ~ 

love my sleek black cutter!!

it needs a good cleaning, though ~

 Peter will blow it off with the compressor & then oil it for me…

as in everything I do, keeping it as simple as can be ~

the edges are turned back and whip stitched down…

I like to use heavy black crochet thread to bind with ~

...  guess just I like the contrast & the big old stitches!

Joan & I went on a field trip the other day to our 'local' quilt shop, 

Cottonwood in Charlottesville, VA

{I say 'local' b/c it is a good 45 minute drive up nawth ~ BUT we pass a great little antiques shop in Covesville, VA so we make the trip worthwhile if ya get my drift;) }

of course I needed fabric!

what a silly thing to think I have more fabric than I will ever use ~

Soooo

these colorful fat 1/4's came home with me.

yep, jumped right into my arms...

I never need an excuse to buy more fabric.

although I come up with many, I never really need an excuse…ha!

{and I know I'm in good company!}

 The fabrics will be used for backings, backgrounds, some double appliqué 

and perhaps even a few mini-quilts?

or,

who-knows-what.

:)

~ Filling and shipping orders today, 

then it's back to hooking more autumnal-inspired finished things for me ~

Hoping your day is full of beauty and creativity!

 ~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

~ Cats & Jacks ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

and a hearty-happy Thursday to you all…

it's gotten a tad warmer again ~

 but that won't stop me 

from wishing for my beloved Autumn to arrive.

Lately I've been enjoying taking candid snaps of Iggy {Mr. Ignacious Catt}

in his natural surroundings ~ 

which have been known to include baskets, boxes & bags…

windowsills and wool piles.

here are some that I thought came out well;

a little crow-watching

we see you.

sleepy-eyed

and here is another little hooking-in-progress that I started last evening ~

a Jack, of course!

Tis the Season, you know

;)

This Jack is the exact motif from my new 'Jack's Folly' wool appliqué 

that I wanted to use for hooking ~

you can use it for hooking too, if you'd like.

almost finished, on to the background next...

but before I even begin a new hooking project,

Iggy must inspect each little snippet & worm of wool,

so color-planning my projects takes a little longer…

"hmmm….maybe not that green, mom…"

"That one! yes, that one…."

"and perhaps a few of these orange worms too ~"

"MOM! are you listening to me??? and why are you laughing?"

… oh well, 

at least he has a good eye for color!

Hoping you all have a color-full day my sweet 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

~ Saturday ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

just a friendly reminder that our farm shop is 

CLOSED until September 17th

when we will reopen with our annual

Gathering of Primitive Friends Show 

here on the grounds of Notforgotten Farm

Peter & I have been working so hard lately ~ 

bringing you different & unique things for your needlework addiction :)

here is my beloved,

taking a much-needed rest with our grand-dog Willie Nelson;

awwww

today will be another busy day ~ aside from trying to mow the wet overgrown grass, 

fixing our printer problem & kitting up club member's kits for our Primitive Punch Needle Club,

I'll be working on finishing a new appliqué pattern model today ~ 

… it's a bigger one than I normally do, measuring {before the binding} 19" x 29"

I'm calling this one 'Jack's Folly'

and I am loving it so far…

I'm using wool & cotton fabrics ~ some reverse appliqué and some double-applique too.

oh, and Valdani pearl cotton for the stitching. There will be LOTS of stitching!

I have to add more motifs {they are fun!} then a vine of leaves will tie them all together :)

then I'll choose my cotton fabrics for the backing/binding…

I'll share the finish with you soon and yes, this will be a pattern.

Hoping you all enjoy the weekend my friends!

☾¸¸.•*¨*☆*¨*•.¸¸☽ 

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori

Favorite Colors & Longing for Rain....

We are in dire need of life-giving & cooling rain.

not a shower or two, but at least a week's worth of soaking, sopping rain...

if it rains hard & fast now, it will only run off the cement-hard, baked clay that we once called dirt.

it will only cause flooding and a mess...

but, if it were to start raining a nice, slow, steady rain...
then crescendo to a little heavier and stay for a while, then we would be in good shape.

our gardens are parched, the grass is crunchy & the chickens are panting.

it. is. hot.

and dry.

so please join me in praying, hoping wishing for the rain to come....

the flowers in my old ironstone pitcher reflect the weather..

bland, crisp & dry ~ but they are loverly still.

yarrow from our garden earlier this spring

my favorite 'dirty' ironstone pitcher

I'm punch-drunk lately ~ day in & day out I'm punching lots of things
like these fellows that will be turned into wool pincushions for upcoming shows ~





goofy faces & hats

ready for his close-up!



a paranoid little witch ~




a not-quite-ripened JOL ~

and a picture of what's on my worktable at the moment :

some of my favorite things in my favorite colors....





old scissors, new threads...old pin cube and photograph ~ bird's nest and redware
and of course, stained linen & early ticking

Blessings from the farm,

Lori