~ Yuletide ~

 T'was the night before Yuletide 

.... and all through the glen

Not a creature was stirring, not a fox, not a hen.
A mantle of snow shone brightly that night
As it lay on the ground, reflecting moonlight.

The faeries were nestled all snug in their trees,
Unmindful of flurries and a chilly north breeze.
 

The elves and the gnomes were down in their burrows,
Sleeping like babes in their soft earthen furrows.

When low! The earth moved with a thunderous quake,
Causing chairs to fall over and dishes to break.
 

The Little Folk scrambled to get on their feet
Then raced to the river where they usually meet.

“What happened?” they wondered, they questioned, they probed,
As they shivered in night clothes, some bare-armed, some robed.
 

“What caused the earth’s shudder? What caused her to shiver?”
They all spoke at once as they stood by the river.

Then what to their wondering eyes should appear
But a shining gold light in the shape of a sphere.
It blinked and it twinkled, it winked like an eye,
 

Then it flew straight up and was lost in the sky.

Before they could murmur, before they could bustle,
There emerged from the crowd, with a swish and a rustle,
 

A stately old crone with her hand on a cane,
Resplendent in green with a flowing white mane.

As she passed by them the old crone’s perfume,
Smelling of meadows and flowers abloom,
Made each of the fey folk think of the spring
 

When the earth wakes from slumber and the birds start to sing.

“My name is Gaia,” the old crone proclaimed
in a voice that at once was both wild and tamed,
 

“I’ve come to remind you, for you seem to forget,
that Yule is the time of re-birth, and yet…”

“I see no hearth fires, hear no music, no bells,
The air isn’t filled with rich fragrant smells
Of baking and roasting, and simmering stews,
Of cider that’s mulled or other hot brews.”

“There aren’t any children at play in the snow,
Or houses lit up by candles’ glow.
Have you forgotten, my children, the fun
Of celebrating the rebirth of the sun?”

She looked at the fey folk, her eyes going round,
As they shuffled their feet and stared at the ground.
Then she smiled the smile that brings light to the day,
“Come, my children,” she said, “Let’s play.”

They gathered the mistletoe, gathered the holly,
Threw off the drab and drew on the jolly.
 

They lit a big bonfire, and they danced and they sang.
They brought out the bells and clapped when they rang.

They strung lights on the trees, and bows, oh so merry,
In colors of cranberry, bayberry, cherry.
 

They built giant snowmen and adorned them with hats,
Then surrounded them with snow birds, and snow cats and bats.

Then just before dawn, at the end of their fest,
Before they went homeward to seek out their rest,
 

The fey folk they gathered ‘round their favorite oak tree
And welcomed the sun ‘neath the tree’s finery.

They were just reaching home when it suddenly came,
The gold light returned like an arrow-shot flame.
 

It lit on the tree top where they could see from afar
The golden-like sphere turned into a star.

The old crone just smiled at the beautiful sight,
“Happy Yuletide, my children,” 

....she whispered. “Good night.”

Author: C.C Wiliford

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Autumn Sunday Musings ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

a wonderfully crisp October Sunday it is here on the farm!

I heard geese flying overhead this morning as I was waking up...

heading south to their winter homes.

but

I like to pretend this is what was making all that racket:

I have been a huge fan of Charles Wysocki since my childhood!

For those who have been following along on the progress of my embroidered Santa brooch,

I finished it yesterday ~ the addition of the beaded edge and berries just makes me smile ~

I just have to sew the pinback on and it will be fully finished off {FFO}
finished size approx. 2-1/2" x 2-1/4"
and yes this will be a pattern with detailed instructions.
I plan on a Youtube video tutorial for this type of embroidery
when I release this and {a few others} in the coming week or so ~

Of course,

I had to begin another brooch ~ so many irons in so many fires but that is me!

so
I drew one up on my osnaburg fabric and have put in a few start-stitches...
these help me with direction and shading as I stitch
~ and will be covered by my tiny little split stitches soon.
** Click on the Santa brooch photos to enlarge them, you'll see those tiny stitches!

It is a sleepy little fox nestled in the holly leaves ~

and I cannot wait to see this one come to life!

and I know my sweet friend Nancy B. will love it too...
🦊

of course I will add some beads to this one,
holly berries of course but perhaps a sprinkling of snow for the background?

Lately I have become a bit obsessed with beads
right along with my Tribe of enablers I mean Girlfriends!
adding beads to my work opens up a whole new way of designing for me ~

and speaking of beads...

I made all of these with the help of my friends

Sharon & Becky 

who are fabulous beaders and have the patience of Job with us

while we try to learn new things! I tend to cuss alot {really? shocking!}

while I bead...it helps me concentrate {not} 

and I thank my girls for putting up with me being the sailor/trucker in the room hahaha.

On the far left is an eyeglass chain, and the rest are bracelets ~

the one on the far right I just finished yesterday

... and holy cow that thing plucked my last nerve!

but

I muddled through and I love it.

friends Anita & Janice helped me through the last stages of it, 

as Janice was just beginning hers

~ and I was finishing mine up.

I may make another like the one on your middle-left, {blue beads & jump rings}

it was the easiest one for me to make and I have the perfect beads 

that I think will work nicely for another one.

Well folks ~
 I am off to grab my punchneedle, weavers cloth and threads!
a few new Christmas/Yuletide/Winter pattern models need to be worked on today! YAY!
I'll share some peeks of them, {and my progress on little sleepy fox embroidery soon.}
Oh.
I tend to post my progress photos on my Instagram page & FB too...
the links are up there on the right hand side of this blog
if you should care to follow me there.
❤♥❤

have a beautifully creative and peaceful day my sweet friends!!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Monday monday ~

Good Morning
~ Friends & Folk ~

an absolutely perfectly dreary and damp November day
 here at our beloved farm this morning ~
I say perfect,
 because my favorite days always seem to have
some kind of 'off' weather involved....yes sunny warm days are wonderful,
but
 there is just something about a day like this that makes me feel cozy
...wanting to light candles, bake something good and stitch the day away.

• • • • • • • 

My thanks to all of you who send me kind emails,
messages and the like concerning my eye ~
 it is so much brighter and I can see much clearer now!

when I close my left "new" eye, things look so bright color-wise...
still a bit of a blur, but I am almost at the end of my daily drops
and am sure that the blur will totally go away once I've finished them.

My "old" eye {the one on the right }
~ still has the cataract and lens surgery to come...later this month.
...when I close my 'new' eye and look only through the 'old' eye,
 it has such a yellow cast due to the cataract!
I cannot believe the difference and am eager
to get that one removed and the new lens implanted.

• • • • • • • •

I am slowly getting back to my stitching, punching and hooking.
{and computer work}
I have been working on this embroidery and am loving the way it is coming together ~

the linen is hand dyed, from Dixie Samplar Hand Dyed Linens 

and I believe the color is Olive Branch ~ it looks like a 32 count to me, 

but without cross stitching on it I'm not sure.

I pulled it from my baskets and thought it would make a loverly color 

for a background to a Winter Embroidery Sampler of sorts ~

you can see I'm slowly adding one of my signature 'Ladyes' to it,

and yes, she is much bigger that the house to her left ~

 she may become an old style fraktur angel

but I'm still pondering on that ~

I just love the old works where there was no real perspective or rule of sizing for motifs.

primitive, naieve, untrained, unschooled; whichever you'd like to call it,

in my opinion ~ perfectly 

humble.

still working at my kitchen table when the morning light is good ~ 

but I will move to my stitching chair in the keeping room this afternoon 

~ where my bright lamp and south-facing window is.

I'm stitching this with doubled Valdani pearl cotton size #8

in colors from my Designer Collections with them...

using mostly split-stitch as that is my very favorite stitch to make and very forgiving too ~

**KINDLY TAKE NOTE**
We will NOT be holding our
1st Monday Needle Night this evening ~ 
but hoping to get things back to schedule for that in December 🎄

Oh! and remember to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook too ~
I post quite often throughout the day on those sights ~

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Taking it SLOW ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk!

and a happy windy, chilly & sunny November day to you all ~

today we were supposed to hold our Tea & Embroidery Class here in the Studio, with myself and teacher Nancy Bauer co-teaching...I will be rescheduling this class for those who preregistered initially, and for those who couldn't come on that day. 

Look for the new class date soon on my

Class & Events Schedule Page, and to see other events added too!

while my eye is much better and healing well from the surgery, 

per Dr.'s orders ~ I am being very careful not to overwork it...

but

I have been cheating a bit and working on my punch needle ornies ~

only for 20 mins or so here and there during the day.

the 'Kitten in a Mitten' {l} and the 'Jolly in the Holly' {r} are finish-finished.

...the guy in the middle is 'Fox in a Sock' {humor me please} ;)

and I was working on him at the Heavens to Betsy Hook In last weekend...

he's completely punched, but I have to finish him into an ornament yet.

this morning, 

I started a few loops on 'Mouse in a House' ~ {I said humor me, lol}.

the bright sunlight was coming into our breakfast nook

so I took advantage of it.

 

I will finish this one surely and slowly, as I want to get their patterns up in our Etsy shop

along with our new 'Holly Olde Santa' rug hooking pattern 

~ for you to work on before the holidays come and go!

 Have a peaceful and creative day my sweet friends!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Sunday Morning Musings ~

Good Morning Friends and Folk ~

Bright sunshine, winds and a chill in the air on tap for today here at the farm...

the last leaves on our black walnut trees are blowing away now, 

~ leaving their skeletal silhouettes against the azure blue October sky.

Yesterday I once again picked up my punch needle and threads,

feeling the need to create with them this little 

"Kitten in a Mitten" ornament...

 

I punched this using different heights for a dimensional effect ~

 

I love the jumble of tangled-joy in my little work basket ~ 

♥

once the punching was finished, I backed the ornament with cardboard and calico, added tiny beads for eyes, some colonial knots for teeth ~

and a rusty wire curlicue hanger...

 

I am working on a few more ornaments like this, 

...and these will be available soon as PDF & Mailed patterns.

I wanted to show you how I finished the binding on my Holly Olde Santa rug:

I used a wide cut of wool and simply hand sewed it on ~

it was off the bolt wool that I hand dyed using my marigold heads ~

love the natural color the dried flower heads added to the checked wool...

 

Holly Olde Santa will be offered as a pattern too,

 PDF, Paper & a few on Linen for you...

Hoping you all have a very peaceful & creative Sunday my friends!!

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Y U L E ~

 A Blessed Yule to All of our Friends!

of Flesh, Fur ~ Feather or Fin!

I have long-loved the tradition of gnomes, trolls, tomtes or tomtens...

nisse, elf, pixie or fae ~ 

those often-times helpful, but sometimes mischievous sprites that I believe are around us.

I wanted to share with you a few of my very favorite antique postcards depicting the little 'beings' that have captured my heart and imagination since childhood:

please enjoy their beautiful illustrations and sometimes cheeky humor ~

{all have images have been borrowed from Pinterest}

Sweet kitten waiting for cream.

The Holly King.

Yes, please feed the birds!

{{I believe...do you?}}

Hello!

kind little thing ~

...lending a hand {beak?}

i see you ~

a Tomten and his julbock {julbock means 'christmas goat'}

and another jolly pair ~

shhhhhhhh.....

can you smell that coffee brewing?

 

 

and here is a beautiful story of Tomten ~

very familiar to us here....

Tomten

Adapted by Astrid Lindgren from a poem by Viktor Rydberg

It is the dead of night. The old farm lies fast asleep and everyone inside the house is sleeping too.

The farm is deep in the middle of the forest. Once upon a time someone came here, cut down trees, built a homestead and farmed the land. No one knows who. The stars are shining in the sky tonight, the snow lies white all around, the frost is cruel. On such a night people creep into their small houses, wrap themselves up and bank the fire on the hearth.

Here is a lonely old farm where everyone is sleeping. All but one. . .

The Tomten is awake. He lives in a corner of the hayloft and comes out at night when human beings are asleep. He is an old, old tomten who has seen the snow of many hundreds of winters. No one knows when he came to the farm. No one has ever seen him. but they know he is there. Sometimes when they wake up they see the prints of his feet in the snow. But no one has seen the Tomten.

On small silent feet the Tomten moves about in the moonlight, he peeps into cowshed and stable, store­house and tool shed. He goes between the buildings making tracks in the snow.

The Tomten goes first to the cowshed. The cows are dreaming that summer is here, and they are grazing in the fields. The Tomten talks to them in tomten language. a silent little language the cows can understand.

“Winters come and winters go,

Summers come and summers go,

Soon you can graze in the field’s.”

The moon is shining into the stable. There stands Dobbin. Thinking, perhaps he remembers a clover field, where he trotted around last summer. The Tomten talks to him in tomten language, a silent little language a horse can understand.

“Winters come and winters go.

Summers come and summers go,

Soon you will be in your clover field.”

Now all the sheep and lambs are sleeping soundly. But they bleat softly when the Tomten peeps in at the door. He talks to them in tomten language, a silent little language the sheep can understand.

“All my sheep, all my lambs,

The night is cold, but your wool is warm.

And you have aspen leaves to eat.

Then on small silent feet the Tomten goes to the chicken house, and the chickens cluck contentedly when he comes. He talks to them in tomten language, a silent little language chickens can understand.

“Lay me an egg, my jolly chickens, and I will give you corn to eat.”

The dog kennel roof is white with snow, and inside is Caro. Every night he waits for the moment when the Tomten will come. The Tomten is his friend, and he talks to Caro in tomten language. a silent little language a dog can understand.

“Caro, my friend, is it cold tonight? Are you cold in your kennel? I’ll fetch more straw and then you can sleep.”

The house where the people live is silent. They are sleeping through the winter night without knowing that the Tomten is there.

“Winters come and winters go.

I have seen people large and small

But never have they seen me.” thinks the Tomten.

He tiptoes across to the children’s cot, and stands looking for a long time. If they would only wake up, then I could talk to them in tomten language. a silent little language children can understand. But children sleep at night.”

And away goes the Tomten on his little feet. In the morning the children see his tracks, a line of tiny footprints in the snow.

Then the Tomten goes back to his cozy little corner in the hayloft. There in the hay, the cat is waiting for him, for she wants milk. The Tomten talks to the cat in tomten language, a silent little language a cat can understand.

“Of course you may stay with me, and of course I will give you milk,” says the Tomten.

Winter is long and dark and cold, and sometimes the Tomten dreams of summer.

“Winters come and winters go,

Summers come and summers go,

Soon the swallows will be here.” thinks the Tomten.

But the snow still lies in deep drifts around the old farm in the forest. The stars shine in the sky, it is biting cold. On such a night people creep into their small houses and bank the fire on the hearth.

Here is a lonely old farm, where everyone is fast asleep. All but one.

Winters come and summers go, year follows year. but as long as people live at the old farm in the forest, every night the Tomten will trip around between the buildings on his small silent feet.

 The Winter Solstice is upon us!

 Make Merry and welcome the days growing longer once again!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ And We're Punching.....

Yep! 

The gears have switched {what else is new?}

...finishing up my new Christmas/Winter punch needle designs for you!

'Santa Deer'

is in progress...

well, almost finished really ~

just a little more to do yet ~

using Valdani #8 pearl cotton & DMC 6 strand in this design...

also using different heights on some parts to make them more dimensional & fun!

{like the trim on his coat & hat}

 

I like using both variegated pearl cotton & plain DMC 6 strand in one design,

it gives a different look to m finished work and is a little easier

 on the pocket-book when you use DMC for the fill-in of the background!

 

I have a few more to work on, and will show them to you soon ~

I will be adding all of the new NFF designs and Wooden Wares to our Etsy shop very soon!

Have a beautiful Sunday my stitching friends!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Fire & Moon ~

Just a short post this morning ~

….wanted to share these with you 

~ because I think they're pretty!

it was a slight bit chillier last night, 

so Peter lit a fire for us outside for us to enjoy by moonlight...

Friday night is actually the Full Moon,

known as the 'Full Pink Moon' in April ~

I love how the camera caught the shadows of the trees

and the dancing sparks from our little fire-pit!

Wanted to also let you know that in between sketching & hooking, 

I am charting up a slew of new cross stitch designs that will be heading off to my stitchers ~

there are a couple patriotic ones, some 'everyday' designs

 and I have begun working on

 Harvest/Hallowe'en & Winter/Yuletide/Christmas designs

~ woot woot!

I'm heading to Richmond today, 

to enjoy a 'girls' day with Hannah on & around the VCU campus

maybe get our toes done, perhaps some thrift-shop-shopping…

I'm sure we will get into some kind of trouble nonetheless ~

I just love being with her

;)

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori