~ Thursday Morning Musings ~

Hey Howdy Friends & Folk!

a beautiful, sparkler of a day here at the farm...

laundry is hung, windows are open and I am ready to get my day started :)

I finished hooking "Corny Pete" ~ 

and have steamed/blocked him but now need to bind his edges... 

today is a good day for that!

 

LOOK! 

my Lily of the Valley are almost bloomed ~

cannot wait for their scent to fill the herb garden in front of the shop.

 

 I am working model for a wool applique class 

~ that I will be offering here at the Farm Shop very soon... 

look how bright our classroom is now!

Peter hung these fabulous farm lamps over each table for us when we are working ~

whether at class or just playing hooky on Saturdays lol...

 Speaking of wool applique, 

here is a sneak peek at the project that will be shared with you all

in the upcoming Fall issue of Wool Works Magazine ~

I'm using beautiful rich mellow primitive wools from 

Jan at the Wool'n Gardener  for my project model...

we carry Jan's wool here in our Farm Shop now!

and ~

Peter has made Extension Legs for our Standing Floor Frame©

so it can now tilt if you prefer to hook in that position ~

you can find our Standing Floor Frame© HERE

and 

our new Extension Legs for the frame HERE

 So that's our news for today...

I will be heading outside to work on my projects ~

have a beautifully creative day my sweet friends!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Tuesday Morning Ramblings ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

and how very thankful we are to be here!

some of you might know that a tornado touched down in parts of Lynchburg, VA 

on Sunday evening ~ crazy howling winds, horizontal rain and the darkest-greenish sky...

~ thankfully it passed over us, but left severe damage not far down the road.

the weather has been windy still, and our temps are nowhere near where they were just last week.

... hoping Spring wasn't blown away!

the grass is greening, and the sun keeps trying to come out from behind clouds...

Roxy & Pepper waiting for Peter to serve them their breakfast kibble...

last week's warm {hot} temps really helped our flowering plants/bushes to pop...

my snowball bush is budding!

inside, 

I am working away on a hooked rug and coordinating punch needle project, 

named 

"Corny Pete" 

OH!! 

I am loving my new basket that I purchased from Diane Pearce 

{while vending this past weekend at the VA RugFest}

especially love the purple dyed accent 

❤

it fits nicely on my Stitcher's Tray ~

I am hooking the rug with a combination of #8 & #9 wool strips ~

detail being hooked with the smaller cut, and larger areas being hooked with the fatter strips...

everything right where I need it to be in my cozy work area

~ in the back Keeping Room!

hooking on my Standing floor Frame© - check.

punch needle on our Hookinpunch Frame© - check.

wool worm basket - check.

Peter made me another Stitcher's Tray in a stained finish

for the arm of my wing back chair...

we have sold so many of our Stitcher's Trays

that Etsy has now added a 'Best Seller' label on our listing for it in our shop!

 Thank you all so much!!!

and here is the progress of 'Corny Pete' in punch needle ~

I will work more on both the rug & the punch needle this evening,

but right now I have to get my rear-in-gear and get in to the Farm Shop!!

Only 3 more days until we reopen on Saturday!!!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ I'm a Punchy Hooker ~

 Happy Tuesday Friends & Folk!

~ another grey day here at the farm....but who's complaining?

the temps are in the 40's today, so hopefully that will kill off SOME of the blasted beetles

 we have here in the farmhouse & shop!!

anyhoo, moving forward:

I have finished hooking all of the Tombstone Sheep rug's motifs

using 1/4" wool strips.

and now I have flipped the rug over on my Floor Frame

and am punching the background with an Oxford #10 rug punch needle

and beautiful hand dyed wool yarn from Ali Strebel Designs in "Sky Blue"

If you don't own an Oxford Rug Punch Needle, 

... you can still use the yarn by simply hooking with it ~ 

 depending on my mood, and how fast I want my project to be finished ~

I'll switch between my punch & trusty hook!

{punching goes waaaaay quicker ~ fyi }

~ the basket on my sheep's back is blue.

and now I'm using blue for the background.

although not the exact shade of blue, and the basket is hooked with a textured wool strip...

so, three guesses as to what I might do next?

  I may leave it, or I may reverse-hook.

one never knows....

I have an idea for a funky finish to the edges of this project,

once it is steamed and bound.

we'll see.

Next time I post,

I should be finished with this ~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Happy Hookers... {and stitchers and crochet-ers...}

 Hey Howdy Friends & Folk ~

we are sopping wet here at the farm!

pouring rain since yesterday...the ground is super-saturated...a mud-bog mostly.

we need the water tho, for our well and gardens come spring, 

so I'll use this day again to my advantage 

and do a little housecleaning {perfect day to wash windows}, 

put on a nice big pot of sauce & meatballs and maybe even bake a loaf of bread :)

Then I'll head back to hooking my Tombstone Sheep:

I like his fleece, but it looks too harsh for me ~ the front half of his body, from the neck down

is too stripe-y, like he's wearing a sweater and I'm not a fan.

SO, I'll reverse-hook {which means to rip out my wool strips} and re-hook

to more resemble his back half & tail.

~ what do you think?

As I mentioned in my previous posting,

I want to use my #10 Oxford punch and fill in the entire background 

with a beautiful wool/blend yarn that I found... 

as I was finished hooking the sheep, I just had to flip it over on my big floor stand frame

 and punch in just one row around him to see how it looks ~ it may not look like anything now, but the yarn is variegated and will look great!

 

All of the motifs {sheep, flowers, vines, leaves & basket } 

are hooked with wool strips ~

just a couple more leaves to fill in now...

my happy place.

 

Yesterday we had a great time in the Shop!!

We enjoyed the company of new friends and old...

and each one talented in their own way ~

Just look at the beautiful project Sharon was working on:

I would love to be able to crochet like that....

 

Dee was working on her beautifully designed rug of her happy place:
the wool she is hooking the water with is sparkle wool that she hand-dyed

and it is just gorgeous!

Barb was working on a rug by Going Gray Rugs:

her wool choices are super!

 

Becky was rug punching!

you all may know Becky as the crazy talented designer behind 

Lucy Beam - Love In  Stitches 

I can't wait to see what her new designs for rug punch will be ~

Miss Joan was here with us too, and she was cross stitching!

So we had a nice variety of folks doing their thing ~

Well I am off to start the sauce...

Hoping your day is full of peace and creativity!

 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ A New Rug ~

I sketched out a little design I had in my brain ~

for another sheep, of course...

and named it Tombstone Sheep for the arched shape along the top of the design.

at the moment, she looks a little wide-eyed & bewildered ~

but I'm hoping that will change once I get more of her fleece hooked around her face & ear!

last night we enjoyed the company of friends at our monthly Needle Night ~

always a pleasure to eat, laugh & work together...

hoping to get more progress made on this today, after orders have been packed & shipped :)

tomorrow is calling for rain, so it will be a perfect day to hook ~

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Happy Month of June to you! ~

{{rabbit rabbit rabbit!}}

it is JUNE!!!

here is the link to my June 1st offering on:

Early Work Mercantile

I enjoyed working on this little stitch, 

~ and developing the technique for the painted frame as well ~

I hope you like it!

Sampler has been SOLD ~ Thank you Kindly

Please meet "Cooper" our soon-to-be new addition to our farm family ~

this little chubster is australian shepard and shetland sheep dog mix.

Cooper will be coming home to live in a couple of weeks, and I'm sure you'll see lots of baby pics!

SNAKES ALIVE!!!!

we have recently been overrun with snakes ~ 

… snakes in the barn, snakes in the KITCHEN {YES I SAID KITCHEN}

and Peter has been playing with small ring-necked snakes outside while working on the patio:

harmless and yes, I'll say cute.

but they can still bite…. and no, I do not keep them for pets.

I just like to appreciate them and send them on their way so they can do their work.

:)

I will be releasing the new 'Patriotic & Summer' designs and OTHER things tomorrow!

and earlier than expected ~ YAY!

I have a few more touches to add and then done …

BUT, here's what to look for tomorrow:

"Flag Folk" cross stitch pattern

"Olde Glory" sewing pillow pattern

 {a little cross stitch, a little wool appliqué and a little machine sewing}

"Farmer & Goodwife Yoder" punch needle pattern

"Good Dog Ralph" punch needle pattern

Colonial Flag Thread Winder

Summer Strawberry Thread Winder

Bee Happy Thread Winder

and

Peter has made a neat little brush to clean the gripper strips on your hooking frames!

{{ I'm excited to show you this one }}

Hoping you all enjoy the day, my sweet friends…

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori

~ Crafty Saturday & a Test-Drive ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

our little farm shop is OPEN today from 10:00 ~ 3:00

come on in for a visit!

and while you're here, 

take our *NEW* Standing Floor Frame for a test drive!!!

** these are NOW AVAILABLE in our ETSY SHOP**

please click 

HERE 

to purchase yours… 

Hoping you all have a wonderfully creative day my friends!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori