{ Meet Claude...}

Folks, please meet Claude...
Claude, please meet my Friends.

a tiny little guy that stands about 6 1/2 inches tall
{not including his ears, that would make him about 8 1/2"}

made from hand-dyed mohair in a sweet Maple Syrup color.

his ears are lined with vintage feedsack fabric,
he has German blown-glass eyes and is button/string jointed.

He looked hungry, so I needle-felted him a long carrot
from hand-dyed wool roving from some of my sheeps' wool.

He is just one of the critters I'll be taking to the
Winter in the Valley show
on February 20th ~

Hope you can come meet him in person!

Blessed be~

Lori

***I just received an email from my friend Beth, telling me that my pattern,

"The Rev & Mrs Potter" had made front page of etsy.com!!!

WOOHOO!!!****

It was featured in a treasury, but I didn't know it!

It prolly won't be there when you go there, though, as the treasuries change frequently!!!
But WOW...I AM HONORED!!!!!

{ Winter in the Valley Show }

Just learned that the Winter in the Valley show
has been rescheduled to be held on

February 20th !!!

so I hope to see all of you there!

I'm working on some little mohair rabbits and bears to take along to the show...
it having been rescheduled gives me two more weeks to create more goodies!

woohoo!

I'll be looking through the mohair fabric collection that I have to see what needs reordered...

I love to overdye the fur to make it old & vintage-looking~

and

I can get out of my driveway !!!!!
thanks to the diligent plowing of my farmer husband and his

beloved John Deere tractor...{GO! Big Green!!}

and lucky us,

we got no where near the amount of snow they were predicting...
...only about 7" on top of the 5" from last weekend.

so for those that have not received their orders,

thanks for your never-ending patience~ they will ALL go out tomorrow !
:)

I will be heading out soon, Hannah has been invited to go sledding at a friends' house.
poor thing, she loves school and her friends and has been house-bound for a week...

today she'll get plenty of fresh, cold air & sunshine!!!

Then I'm off to the market,

where I'll purchase some fresh tulips for the kitchen,

and then come home to clean the floors of this old house....

oh Spring...
where art thou?
sleeping under hills and mounds

waiting for rebirth

~warm Earth~

...come again to grace my face
with the warmth of a sun-kissed May day.

Blessings to you all!
Lori

{ out my window }

Out my window

....there is snow.

much of it,

seemingly never-ending

out my window

there is a barn-full of friends

waiting for the final thaw

out my window

is a man

with a make-do shovel

carving a path

that will allow the dogs

to rest their feet from

the sharp-coldness of frozen slivers

out my window

are tiny feathered creatures

nesting in brightly colored cups

of recycled wool scraps

out my window

underneath the heavy drifts and banks

is the promise of green beginnings...

{written by me}

yes, I am a poet...i first had a couple poems published when I was a teenager,

and won a couple Poem Laureate awards...

mostly, I keep my poems to myself...in my head.

but I thought I would share this one with you.

I am here in the farmhouse, again.

yesterday was a treat to be able to get out & drive to Lynchburg.
Hannah & I ate at Hardee's
(the Jalepeno Burgers are back! woohoo!!}
and went to the bookstore and to Michaels' & Joann's...

this morning i was supposed to drive to Fishersville to set up for the show tomorrow,

but I can't get out of my driveway - again.

It looks as though I won't make the show tomorrow....hoping that there will be a good turnout though for the people that can make it!

the shop is closed as well today & tomorrow,

because you can't get down my driveway either!

So here I'll stay,

painting, stitching, hooking...

writing poems in my mind.

Wishing you a day-full of dreams...

Blessed be,

Lori

{ I'm EXPECTING !!!!!! }

....more SNOW that is!!!!!!

THAT got your attention, huh?
{sorry Mom, I'd love to give you another grandbaby...but I'll stick to the fur & feather kind!}

Yepper, the wise a**....

I mean wise old weatherman is now predicting

another good foot of snow for tomorrow into saturday....

hopefully I will be getting all of the orders for the new needlepunch patterns out today..

please remember, they are shipped in the order they are ordered....

Hannah has been home all week from school,
and I think she's 'prolly not going back until she graduates at this rate!

Tomorrow is set-up day for the Winter in the Valley show
{SUCH an appropriate name, no?}
but the weather will play a large role in if I'll make it there or not.
SOOoooo...if YOU brave the snow, and go to the show
and I'm not there, then you'll know why!!!

in the meantime, today looks like the only day I'll be able to get out of here...
been home since sunday and as much as I love this old place,
i NEED to go somewhere!

Barnes & Noble here I come!
LOL
{hey, if I have to be stuck in the house for another week,
I need to stock up on more books & mags, no?}

Salmon & Asparagus for supper, with brown rice on the side.
a typical "spring" meal for us....
hoping to chase away the winter's blues a bit!

& I think it's time for:
RED BEET EGGS!!!!

do you all need the recipe again?
here it is~

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

1 can red beets

2 cups white or cider vinegar

1 tblsp pickling spice

add all ingredients into a large pickle jar with tight lid.

put in fridge & let set a day or so....

these are great with salad, but Hannah & I eat them right out of the jar...
salted of course!

Wishing you all a beautiful day, get out there & grab some sun while you can!
Blessed be~

Lori

{ UFO's & WIP's }

well it's sleeting outside now.

...I have been house-bound since sunday afternoon.

it's a good thing I can keep myself busy!

all of the Unfinished Objects & Works-in-Progress
here will keep me busy for years to come!

above you can see some of the 'almost finished' projects
that will accompany me to the show this weekend....
they have yet to be turned into pillows, their hems turned back, etc...

and I'm working yet on more things:
cross stitched pockets and pincushions,

needlefelted bird's nest pins
and who-knows-what-else...

HOPING that the weather will cooperate for us this weekend and even ALLOW us to

get to the show...hoping it won't be cancelled becasue they are predicting another storm to come for friday the 5th....

UGH.

~and~
since I've not been able to get anywhere,
I haven't been able to ship the new patterns yet, so
PLEASE
be patient with me...
I'm about ready to take the sled & hitch up Pinnochio and Dasiy, to get me outta here!
LOL!

I have pot of Hot Dog Stew on the woodstove today...
what?
you've never heard of Hot Dog Stew?

{ my Mom made this for us back when we were little & money was extremely tight}
here's the recipe:

1 package chicken franks (cut into coin-shaped pieces)
2 potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 clove crushed garlic
4 cups water
salt and/or ground pepper to taste

in a soup pot, place all of the ingredients.
cover & simmer slowly for a couple of hours...

don't let it boil, your potatoes will disintegrate!!

serve piping hot with saltine crackers or a loaf of crusty bread...
YUM!

Hoping you all have a day filled with warm thoughts & warm hearts!
Blessed be~

Lori