~ A Little Nonsense ~

... a few more changes, 

that is.

while working on getting this studio

{read: home office/sewing room/art studio...not sure what to call is, but I'll stick with studio for now}

Peter came upstairs to me with a smile on his face and hands clasped in front of him, saying

"I brought you good luck!"

{he's such a child and I love him for that}

He does this, occasionally ~ 

sometimes he'll gift me with a feather, a snail shell....a baby blacksnake.

~ you know, tiny sweet little gifts.

 BUT 

 believe me when I tell you 

there's NO telling what he'll be holding in those strong, yet gentle man-hands {refer to blacksnake}.

So, I stepped back,  {smart from experience} while he proceeded to unclasp those hands.

and out crawled a tiny little black cricket!

{here's a link to a little fun reading on crickets --> HERE}

of course we set him free in the farmhouse, to carry out his destiny

{I think I heard him chirping by the woodstove last night}

⌣

after the much-needed cricket diversion, 

{thank you  honey}

more progress was made on said room:

you can see we hung a big old mirror, and other things that make me happy ~ 

like the big lanky doll from friend Mandy from Bittersweet Folk Art, 

an old Victorian engraving of a girl named 'Emily'...

a wonky little wooden shelf that was a high school Wood Shop project back in the 1940's &

my favorite wire dress form sits behind the curve of the desk, as I hate empty space {hahaha}

and  favorite sign hung above the mirror,

"A Clean House Is The Sign Of A Broken Computer"

{{ 'nuff said there....}}

 

As I get to the corners of this room, 

which are momentarily piled floor to ceiling with wool,

 fabrics and other creative paraphernalia  ~ I'll share more.

In the meantime,

today all orders that came in last week while I was sick will be processed and shipped today!

I apologize for the delay, but I couldn't get off the sofa.

you have my permission to whip me with a wet wool worm if you feel the need.

I'm stronger now and can take it.

;)

I am "finishing the finishing" on my new soon-to-be-released Spring designs

 as well as the

Jan/Feb/Mar 2017 Little Stitches Handwork Club ~ and kits will ship this week.

much appreciated thanks for your patience my friends....

Hoping you have a beautiful day, filled with happiness and peace ~

Blessings from the Farm ~ 

Lori

~ Monday Musings ~

 Hello Folks!

This evening would have marked our inaugural

 First Monday Needle Night

here in the Farm Shop....but,

I woke with a splitting headache/partial migraine 

... which I believe is caused by hormones and barometric changes.

so, I begrudgingly had to cancel.

On that note, 

our First Saturday Stitch/Hook Day will be this Saturday from 10 - 4

and shop will be OPEN from 10 - 4 for regular Farm Shop hours ~

So if you're in the neighborhood, come on by!

ᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲᎲ

The photo below shows my sewing room/studio.

right now it's in it's New Year messy-stage, with paper, patterns, thread, 

fabric and wool strewn about as I finish up the soon-to-be released pattern designs.

I love this room, but ~ I need to lighten up.

my heavy wooden 'desk' {which is an old table} 

will soon be replaced with a new, modular glass and steel computer work station

 that will fit nicely into the corner where you see the cedar closet...

with it being glass, it will lighten up this room substantially.

{oh I can hear you saying glass? steel? that's not 'primitive'!!}

and no, it is not ~ but I am an eclectic-girl who likes many different things

and loves to mix things up.

... today Peter will be adding our new light fixtures, removing the white chandelier and replacing it with a more farmhouse-y and brighter pendant light {which will be better for my tired eyes too}

So,

stay tuned for more photos of this transformation!

out with the old, in with the new :)

Here is my progress of Day Two for the

1 Year of Stitching 2017 Project:

I added a small crescent moon early this morning while waiting for my headache to dissipate.

some of you have asked in the FB groups what the fabric I'm using is called...

it's plain old Osnaburg, which I call 'Cupboard cloth' ~  that I've stained with walnut dye.

it's great to stitch on!!

{we offer this in our Etsy shop, HERE}

 and I've used it many times for cross stitching and simple embroidery...

 

Do any of you have this book?

it's by Japanese designer Noriko Komurata and is entitled

"Teeny Tiny Menagerie"

in it are the sweetest little motifs for all kinds of animals,

from mice to owls & sheep

sharks, tiny birds and otters!!!!

 

I want to stitch them all!!!!

 Hoping the 2nd day of 2017 is a creative one for you all ~

Blessings from the Farm ~

 Peter & Lori

~ 'Tis the Season ~

~ Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

and happy Wednesday to you all!

it's been a tad warmer these past few days, 

dear Mother Nature is reminding us that Summertime is not quite over yet…

and the weather-folks say the humidity will make a comeback this week as well.

.ugh.

… but, in this little farm witch's mind ~

∞∞∞ it is perpetually Autumn ∞∞∞

and what better way to do my needlework than by candlelight in the evenings

~ while watching two of my all-time favorite movies.

yesterday was still nice enough for me {read: less-humid} 

to punch on the patio in the afternoon…

~ with some sweet tea and classical music playing in the background.

I love sitting there,

 listening to my chickens clucking and my kittens mewing

while the rhythm of my punching soothes my soul & my mind can wander to places in my memory...

as Peter is working on our farmhouse, 

I get to enjoy a little Summer/Autumn-ish decorating ~

I put a bunch of faux sprigs of bittersweet and chinese lanterns in my rusty planter, that already has basil, lantana & mums growing in it…had to leave the flags from Labor Day out too ;)

{{can you see jack peeking out from my urn?}}

I'm working on punching these angel wings for another finished item for the upcoming show ~

loving my Valdani thread colors in this one :)

Wishing you all a day filled with peace & creativity, my Friends!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori 

~ Happy Labor Day ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

hoping you are all enjoying what is left of our Labor Day weekend ~

our weather here in the south has been beauteous….

warm, sunny days giving way to

clear crisp, cool nights.

~ perfection.

we took advantage of this long weekend to get caught up on chores around the farm.

Peter began painting the farmhouse porch ~ we chose a beautiful red for our farmhouse's trim…

and decided on a sage-green for the front porch ceiling;

quite the difference from the sky-blue that once was there, and ALL of the chippy white paint is finally going to go ~
~ the front facade of the farmhouse will be be faced with river-stone, the rest of the original clapboards
will be stained dark brown, the trim is that red you see above
and the old beloved tin roof {which is peeling silver yucky paint}
 will be a beautiful charcoal black…
……. and I cannot wait.

even though the house isn't finished, I have to decorate the gardens & porch…..

especially now, with summer's end.

out come seasonal flags ~ this one I picked up yesterday at Lowe's!

my sister Sharon gifted me with two of these metal sunflowers ~

they are perfect for our humble little patch :)

my best-bud Joan gave me this solar owl,

and he enjoys his days & nights resting in the birdbath :)

in between pulling weeds & working outdoors, 

I am punching {per usual} 

this little farm-witch is my latest creation ~ I will sometimes add small embellishments to my work

like the glass eye {she looks surprised!} and the silver thread-spool charm.

on one of the Facebook punch needle groups, 

someone asked how one goes about signing their work when finished ~

I have ribbon made up with my 'from….Notforgotten Farm' insignia and simply stitch it on the backs.

~ here is my little sewing helper in her entirety ~

she will be available here in the farm shop {as a finished piece} 

at our Gathering of Primitive Friends show coming soon!

Enjoy the rest of the day my friends ~

may it be a beautifully peaceful & creative one for you!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

☾.•*¨*☆*¨*•.☽ 

~ Mud/Laundry Room {almost} Finish ~

Happy Sunday Friends & Folk...

a rainy, muggy some-what chilly day here today ~

perfect for a relaxing holiday for Peter & I !

I wanted to show you our progress thus far of our mud-laundry room;

it is not 100% complete, but enough that I am over the moon happy!

we will be covering our relic washer/dryer with wood & fabric next ~

Peter has some great ideas for them!

it is a very narrow room, that was once an enclosed porch 

so it's hard to get a good angle for a photo…

the pair of glass-front cabinets were saved for many years by Peter, 

who got them from an old house he was remodeling up in CT. ~ 

we have 4 of the same hanging in our kitchen, 

but decided to strip these and leave just the doors painted…

love them!

I have my collection of blue fabric covered boxes in them now ~

{from Linda Evans/Remember When Farm} 

I store all kinds of things in them, like small ornaments for my feather tree, old clothespins, etc.

I also love the little keyhole shelf my sweet hubby added for me ~

he knows I love to decorate seasonally, so this is a perfect little spot to add more goodies ;)

oh, and my new old ceiling is da bomb ~ 

boom!

here is the cupboard & shelf I refinished…

the tin lamp and hanging drying rack 

were purchased last weekend in Sturbridge at Village Primitives;

this is a view from the kitchen doorway, the kitchen, 

breakfast nook & mud/laundry room are now open to each other now ~

… it looks so big to me!

oh I also repainted this little toy box that we've had forever, we sit on it to put on our boots & shoes, and it is also great storage… you can see the colonial blue color I mixed in the photo above…

here is the lamp & awesome double drying rack!

and another good shot of our ceiling ;)

another further-away shot or two from the kitchen…

I'll post more when we have the washer/dryer covered up ;)

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Laundry Room update & Folky Sunshine finish ~

G ood Wednesday Afternoon Friends & Folk!

a little rain, some clouds ~ but otherwise another splendid day indeed…

I wanted to share the progress of our laundry room/mud room renovation with you :)

here are the walls, all sheet rocked & painted ~

and the beautiful ceiling back up with new light fixture to boot!

{{ had to 'decorate' it somehow, so I hung sweet annie to dry in the window…}}

… the ceiling boards came out better than expected.

their new 'old' look is perfect for this old farmhouse ~

just a touch of satin poly to bring out the paint & woodgrain a bit,

but mostly leaving the original paint colors of white over greenish blue…

the pendant light was on sale at Lowes 

~ and has an antique nickel-silver finish and old fashioned bulb:

the dark stained wood beams and window/baseboard trim are next…

THEN

I can begin to move in our furniture!

… here are a couple of pieces that we had laying around ~

 the red cupboard was found in this old house when we moved in…

it was painted white over a hideous baby-powder-blue.

{nope.}

so we painted it oxblood red and distressed it severely, still using all of the original hardware.

the shelf-thing on top was an unfinished, unpainted ca. 1980's repro peg rack shelf

that I flipped upside down and did my magic on using black paint & 14k gold paint.

;)

{if you look closely on the top surface of the red cupboard, you'll see my 'faux' water-rings.}

I'm very happy at how these two pieces came out!

they will stay together and be used next to our washer & dryer…

the cupboard will hold detergent, irons & laundry sundries,

and the black shelf will hold my prim baskets & such.

didn't spend a dime on them, 

… except for elbow grease and a little paint 

;)

~ AND ~

here is the finish of that folky Sunshine punch that I have been working on ~

I mounted it to an early New England sap bucket…

and added fresh flowers.

I love saturated colors.

{can you tell?}

and I especially love the red, blue yellow & wood tones together.

I'll be bringing this finished piece to the 

Summer in the Valley show on Saturday July 9th

along with more of my finished punch needle folk art, patterns & stuff :)

don't wildflowers make you happy?

they do me…

 I will be heading up the dusty road bright & early tomorrow morning…

first to stop off in CT for a short visit with family,

then upward even more north to Sturbridge to teach a class at Ye Country Mercantile.

I have shipped the most recent orders out, 

but if you place an order from now until Monday June 27th, they will not ship until June 28th.

I'll have my iPad with me if you need to contact me for any reason ~ 

please email me or message me through FB.

Peter will be here at the farm if you should have any questions or concurs, you can call him.

I'll be sure to take lots of photos of our travels,

and will be back soon!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori