~ Progress ~

 Hello Friends & Folk

and happy rainy Monday to you!

I've made more progress on the rug on my frame, 

finished the background and am now hooking the border...

...this will be available soon, 

and offered three ways!

as a paper, pdf &
 drawn pattern on serged linen
♥ 
 

loving the colors in this rug, the blues/browns always make me happy.

trying to make it look really worm-y & old ~

using those overdyed wools from the other day.

 finished tonight, hopefully...
can't wait to show you!

have a beautiful day,
... doing what you love to do most.

Blessings from the Farm ~ 

Peter & Lori

~ Merriment & Thread ~

At the height of laughter,

 the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.

 ~Jean Houston
  

if you heard a bunch of laughter coming from Virginia yesterday,

it was the group of girls you see below....

 and as soon as they walked in the front door of the farm shop,

they filled it with warmth & laughter ~

 ❤

 

... they came for a refresher/crash course in basic punch needle ~ 

and made great progress throughout the chatting & giggling!

a simple poinsettia design was drawn up, 

and we used DMC threads for the 6-strand method of punching.

they brought with them cookies, cheese dip 

~ and even a crockpot-full of delicious hot red beet soup!

 we joked, munched & nibbled and drank hot tea

all while sharing with each other stories of quilting 

and their passions for other types of needle and hand work ~

Dear Miss Joan was here per usual, 

to help with anything she could, 

and to work a little on her projects as well... 

some of 'us' even pulled a few loops of wool

 and I'm hoping that I've stirred up their interest a bit more in rug hooking 

:)

and just like that,

the day was done and they headed on their merry-way home ~

Thank you so much, my friends ~ 

for coming in and allowing me to enjoy a day spent with you!

 and here is my Dear Miss Joan,

in her 'natural' state! ha!

we love you joanie!

 if you have a small group or guild that is interested in coming in

 for a refresher course or beginner class on punch needle,

 applique, rug hooking or cross stitch ~

... we'd love to here from you!

Now I am off to finish pulling the last loops on my rug in progress ~

Hoping you all have a fun-filled and creative day!

 

Blessings from the Farm ~

 Peter & Lori

~ Good Morning ~

 A mere 26* this morning....

whew!

button up your overcoat if heading out today :)

speaking of heading out,

if you're in the neighborhood ~ come on in for a visit to your Farm Shop!

I am holding a private punch needle class for a few friends today, 

but we are open & decorated for Christmas!

need wool? got it!

need threads? got them too!

patterns, supplies, finished goods for gifts {or for yourself}

~ got them too!

come cozy up by the woodstove ~ 

& warm your hands with a cup of hot chocolate

Have a SPARKLING day!!

 

Blessings from the Farm ~

 Peter & Lori

~ Into the Frying Pan ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

brrrrr.....

stoking up the woodstoves 

and keeping my hands busy to stay warm here today 

I love cold weather ~ and can't wait until our first snowfall!

❄ ❅ ❆ ❅ ❄

 

 I've been hooking on this rug for the last couple of days

in  between shipping orders and decorating/cleaning ~

my progress is slow thus far, 

as I might not like the background wools that I've hooked already...

but, I won't reverse-hook them out...

instead, I'll leave them and overdye some wools that I have.

the wools below are too grey/blue for me, 

so I will put all of the wools I've previously used for the background {above} 

~ plus a few more and overdye them with black walnut dye

into the pot they go

to saturate them ~ along with a squirt of dish soap...

 once the wool pieces are saturated, 

I pile them into one of my electric frying pans

then pour the black walnut dye over the top of them...

cover & set on 'simmer' for about 30 minutes or so.

... while waiting for the wool to 'cook' 

I noticed our rogue-rooster and lone-guinea hen outside foraging under the kitchen window

where the remainders of this past summer's garden and spent sunflower heads are tossed...

~ they are best friends and hang out with each other constantly!

  ♡

once the wool has simmered, 

I add a glug or two of white vinegar to set the dye... 

then let it cool off before washing it in the machine and fluffing it in the dryer ~

I really like the colors now,

and will show more progress on the rug later on ~

have you ever dyed wool using an electric frying pan?

it's easy-peasy and quick to clean up too.

〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰

 FINALLY received the back-order of threads for the PPNC {Punch Needle Club} kits!

a batch has shipped this morning, and the last batch will ship tomorrow or Monday morning.

we apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your kind patience ❤

Blessings from the Farm ~

 Peter & Lori

~ My Heart ~

Home is where the heart is...

Home is where they love you ~

Home Sweet Home.

Good Morning Friends & Folk,

and happy Wednesday to you all!

What a crazy-busy moth December is for our family...

online sales, open houses, birthdays & Christmas celebrations surely keep us on our toes!

are we tired? yes, a smidgen, 

~ but we wouldn't want it any other way.

keeping our hands & hearts busy is what we love to do ~

♥

I know how busy you all are too this time of year

with baking, decorating, shopping, cleaning & wrapping gifts...

but please,

make sure you spend some time doing something you love

... a gift just for yourself

I have been designing more hooked rugs lately...

{{ really getting back to my first-love of rug hooking & working with wool }}

and will be offering not only paper patterns {mailed & downloadable}

 but patterns drawn directly on linen for you too!

here's one in progress on my hookinpunch frame,

 a simple design called 

"This Place"

 

a very primitive design ~ and nice size at 13" x 25"

hooked with muted colors and random dark background...

BUT the border will be very different from what I've ever hooked before, 

a super-scrappy hit or miss border using very old looking tones 

of textured wools from my scrap baskets.

 

... you can see I've drawn in my 'squiggle-lines' with my sharpie ~

these are just a guideline for the direction & placement for my rows...

{{ which may or may not change as I'm hooking them! }}

HA!

 

I may try to get a little Frying-Pan Dyeing in this afternoon,

after all of the orders have been packaged & shipped today...

I'll share photos of my dyeing using that method soon...

did you know I'll be holding a class on Frying-Pan Dyeing here at the Farm Shop??

class is on February 18th...

I have only 2 spots available as I am limited to only 6 students. 

if you'd like to sign up for the class, please email me

notforgottenfarmwitch@gmail.com and I'll make sure to save a seat for you! 

a fun class, and an easy dyeing technique!

also, on January 21st I'll be teaching a 'Hook a Sampler" class 

at the Farm Shop as well...again, limited seating and its filling up quickly!

I hooked this rug, below,

 in 2003, when we first moved here to Virginia from Connecticut. 

I usually bring it with me when at shows to display in my booth or on my table...

Here are a few random photos of the outside of the Farm Shop for you ~

we just love where we are...

quiet & peaceful

❤ 

 

~ a smattering of simple decorations ~

~ the 'Privy' ~

 ~ silver bells ~

 ~ good old stuff ~

 ~ dried gourds & grapevines ~

 ~ Pinocchio & Daisy ~

{love donkey-butts!}

 ~ the Farm Shop ~

I'll be teaching a private punch needle class here this Saturday, the 10th...

... but the Farm Shop will be open for those who wish to come for a visit to shop a little ~

 

Blessings from the Farm ~

 Peter & Lori