~ On Christmas Eve ~

Since I was a child,

I've long believed 

 at the stroke of midnight 

on Christmas Eve ~

the Animals gather from farm & field

to offer their voices ~ 

to us 

which they yield:

"a Happy Christmas to one and all"

... then head wearily back to their stall

or branch, nest or burrow

deep into the night

and whisper a sleepy 

"...to all aGood Night!"

 ©L.Brechlin 2016

〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰

 

Well, that's they way I see it anyway...

what better time for our beloved fur, feathered & finned friends 

~ to become magically outspoken but on Christmas Eve?

I remember fighting sleep each year

waiting for a chance to hear

 tiny voices from our kittens ~

that I imagined would sound something like a

baby talking in a high-pitch.

{but, then again at that age I believed I could hear the stars twinkling at night too}

✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴  ✴

My love for animals has no bounds,

and I will gladly sacrifice any morsel of food I have to one who is hungry ~

or happily kneel in dirt to gently pat one who may be scared or hurt.

oh we could learn so much from them...

if we'd only listen.

here are a few {ok, ALOT} 

of my favorite antique Christmas postcards depicting animals ~

found these all on Pinterest...

my very favorite, of course

are the kittens & cats:

~ for my dog-loving friends:

 

 

and various others ~

 

 

 

 

and remember

all of our woodland friends too:

 

 Happy Christmas Eve to you!

Blessings from the Farm ~

 Peter, Lori & Hannah

~ Quiet Stitching ~

 Good Morning Friends and Folk ~

...the day before Christmas Eve is upon us...

how very fast this year seemed to go, 

didn't it?

Hannah is home with us for the holidays ~ 

... of course she brought along Willie Nelson {our grand-dog}

so our little farmhouse feels complete again!

we have last-minute shopping to do, of course, 

and cookie-baking too.

nothing like the last minute to keep me on my toes!

a quiet Christmas Eve celebration will be enjoyed

by us here playing scrabble with family & dear friends ~ 

with the usual laughing and nibbling on sweets.

{Scrabble is our go-to game that makes us laugh because Peter is very inventive of new words!}

Looking forward to 2017 ~ 

... but with a nod to the past in the sense of my needlework.

I've been working on new embroidery, cross stitch, punch needle, applique & rug hooking

designs that will be offered in pattern form for your stitching pleasure.

do you remember me doing what I call 'freehand cross stitch'??

here is a link to a previous posting on the subject:

 http://farmhousenotforgotten.blogspot.com/2013/11/little-stitches.html

 this is what my freehand cross stitch looks like:

here is another link to a previous posting on a 'crash course' of how I do this:

 http://farmhousenotforgotten.blogspot.com/2014/01/crash-course.html

 

I just love quiet evenings,

 sitting by the wood stove and letting my hands create ~

oh!

don't forget that I'm offering 10% off your final purchase of everything in our Etsy shop

~ so you can enjoy some handwork too....

you have until December 30th to stock up on patterns, supplies & wood products.

use the code

justforme2017 at checkout for the discount to be applied!

 This evening we'll be visiting our dear friend Joan and her sweet hubby Arthur

at their most-beautiful home ~ that was once an old church rectory ~

Yes, 

I'll be taking photos of their house decorated for Christmas

and I just KNOW you won't want to miss that!

'til then,

~ PEACE to ALL ~

Blessings from the Farm ~ 

Peter & Lori

~ Good Reads & Funky Chicken ~

Hello Friends & Folk!
Happy Monday to you ~ I wanted to post earlier,
 but the morning was a busy one, with printing and filling orders!

I wanted to share a couple of FABULOUS new books I purchased through Amazon:
 {yes, I am a bibliophile}

Rug Hooking Traditions with James & Mercedes Hutchinson{on left}
by Kathy Wright & Janet Conner
&
 Tavern Signs by Karl & Mary Jo Gimber {on right}
if you haven't had the pleasure of peeking into the pages in both of these books,
you're missing something wonderful!
 

Bravo! Two Thumbs Up! 5 Stars!!!!!

∞∞∞∞∞∞ and ∞∞∞∞∞∞
here is the finish of the Chicken Basket I've been teasing you all with:
yep!
I LOVE it!
it's a big basket, but not a huge project ~
meaning,
from top of handle to bottom of basket it measures a whopping 30 inches tall...
but, this hooks up quick!

I added a couple of hooked flowers to show you that you can use them for display

or tuck in some drieds and such....

~ the basket-rim has been hooked using LOOOOONG loops, 

then cut and 'flopped' over, to look like hay or straw

{I like to call this 'faux proddy'}

A great design for using up scrappy wools, I think.

I wrapped the heavy gauge wire handle with brown/cream calico fabric.

the back of the basket is the same linen I used to hook through....

a white Dorr linen.

We will be offering this design {and a bunch more!}

in our Etsy shop in pattern form soon ~

as a mailed paper pattern, 

an instant PDF downloadable pattern and a mailed pattern drawn onto serged linen!

Iggy sends his sleep-y eyed love

 & Merry wishes to you all

∞∞∞ ♥∞∞∞

good boy.

Blessings from the Farm ~

  Lori

~ a gift ~

 hello friends ~

this time of year, we as women, 

... tend to lose ourselves....

we are busy preparing for holiday celebrations ~ family gatherings, baking, decorating, 

and last-minute-preparations.... 

SOMETIMES, 

we give so much of ourselves, 

that we forget who we are 

& what we, ourselves, love to do.

I am guilty of this, as I know

some of you are too.

Please don't lose yourselves in the hustle-bustle of the moment.

{{yes, it's a wonderful time of year ~}}

... do what you will to make the family & your friends happy,

but please don't forget about YOU!

...relax a bit, unwind...have that glass of Merlot,

or eggnog...a slice of indulgent chocolate lava-cake....

but!

remember your love of needlework, 

 ~ and the absolute joy it brings you! 

those quiet moments....in that coziest-chair.

with that movie playing or the notes of a symphony echoing....

ahhhhh .....

yes....YOU!

and it with these thoughts, Peter & I bring to you,

yet another 13 days that you may wish to TREAT YOURSELF!

....with our LAST HOLIDAY SALE of the SEASON ~

Please visit our ETSY SHOP,

and, upon your final checkout,

use the coupon:

" JUSTFORME2017" 

 which you will receive a TEN PERCENT or 10% discount

on your final purchase.

to order the patterns & supplies that you, yourself want....

**PLEASE NOTE**

orders taken from NOW UNTIL DECEMBER 30th ~

cannot be guaranteed to be shipped BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

and, we thank you whole-hardheartedly

 for your continued support of what we do ~

Peter & Lori

~ Short & Sweet {and cold!} ~

♥ Hello Friends & Folk ♥

 and a happy bright and COLD December day to you!

the wind is whipping around out there, 

making our already cold temps feel so much colder...

but,

I've got my love to keep me warm...

 here is my 

"...to this Place" rug all hooked 

and bound with wool.

the design itself measures approx 13" x 23" 

... and that's before the binding was added ~

neat & tidy

love this finished-look!

 

here is the back ~ 

yes, I leave plenty of room between loops and rows...

I hate a lumpy rug :(

{{although I see a few spots where I'll add a few more small worms}}

then stitched on a patch of old ticking to use as a label ~

I use a gold sharpie to write my labels with ~ 

... the color looks faded & old.

I loved working on this, and will have the mailed paper pattern, 

PDF downloadable pattern and pattern on linen available soon for you ~

I'm working on a few more hooked designs, 

~ then will list them all in our Etsy shop soon!

I don't offer kits for these, 

I just simply use wools from my scrap basket & piles, saved and collected from here & there ~

If I can remember the names of some of them, I'll pass that info along for you :)

Until then, keep warm and keep busy!

Blessings from the Farm ~ 

Peter & Lori