Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Happy Autumn ~


Delicious Autumn ~ My very soul is wedded to it…
and if I were a bird, I would fly about the Earth
seeking successive Autumns!
~ George Eliot



Endless skies
golden paths
&
turkey feathers ~




crunchy leaves underfoot
and pumpkin-spice-everything…




the comfort of my needle & thread,
wools & linen ~


"My favorite word is 'pumpkin'…
you are a pumpkin,
or you are not.
I am.

~ Harrison Salisbury


woodsmoke curling from our chimney
and the weight of heavy old quilts on our beds ~




 watching the stars at night
while listening to the owls in our deep backwoods…




holding hands to keep our hearts warm ~
wearing wool socks and boots.




"We are in for a perfect spell of weather now…
everyday luminous ~
every night brimmed with stars.
Picnics at noon,
supper by the applewood fire at night
and a walk in the cool moonlight before bed."
~ Gladys Taber

Wishing you all a magical Autumn my friends!
{please don't forget to vote for Notforgotten Farm again today}

Blessings from the Farm ~
 Lori

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

On to the Next ~

as Jason Hawes from Ghosthunters would say…
"on to the next…"

so I am doing just that,
moving on to the next phase in my creative-cycle!

what's that you ask?
well, I am working on the model for the upcoming Oct/Nov/Dec 2015

If you're interested in becoming a member of the LSHC,
click on the link above or to your right on my sidebar ~

this project will be a 
~ Samplermaker's Ornament ~




...not necessarily one that will hang on a Christmas Tree, 
but one that can adorn your sewing room, stitching spot or leave up all year long.




I made good progress on it last evening,
while Peter brought Hannah back to Richmond…
I had a few quiet hours just to stitch & relax after such a busy weekend :)

Before I went to bed, I sat the WIP {Work In Progress} down in front of Matilde, 
one of my little Witch dolls ~ 
in hopes she would pick up the needle and have a finish for me by morning…
yeah, no.

well, at least using my Sit 'n Stitch Hoop Stand that Peter made me
makes it a little easier to work on…
almost as good as having a third hand I think!

These little stands were flying out the shop door during the show ~
to those who purchased one, please let us know how you like it??




 Today is printing/packing/shipping day then
a trip to town to see Miss Joan before she leaves for a fun trip to Pennsylvania,
...then back home to stitch.

~AND~
oh my stars! THANK YOU for the VOTES!!!!
In the now-infamous words of dear friend Pat:
Whahoooooooootie!

Don't forget to VOTE again for us today ~ 
you can vote up to SIX {6!!!!!} times a day, EVERY day until October 19th!!



Hoping you all have a wonderful, Last-Day-Of-Summer!!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~
 Lori

Monday, September 21, 2015

It's HERE!!!!


Voting Day has COME!



to vote, you MUST be a registered member of www.Marthastewart.com 
which simply means you need a valid email address to sign up and be able to vote ~ easy-peasy!  

Here are the answers to those many questions you may have about voting ~
click this link below:


CAST YOUR VOTE for Notforgotten Farm by visiting 
this link  then clicking on the green 'VOTE' button beneath my photo on that page…
and remember: you can vote up to 6 {SIX!} times a day until 
voting ends on October 19th 2015


thank you all for your continued support & kindness

~ Blessings from the Farm ~
Peter, Lori & Hannah

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Gathering of Primitive Friends Show 2015 ~ and a SHAMELESS plug!

The weather yesterday for the show was
Sunny & Hot. 
Yep…H O T.
but, 
these girls came out early to be the first in line…
~ die-hard stitchers born of linen & thread they are!

sitting there, waiting for the bus? 
no ~ laughing & carrying-on in their ever wonderful way together.

from near & far they came ~ 
from up the Canadian Wilderness {kidding} down to the Carolinas
…and everywhere in-betwixt ~ and between.


hey {hay?} girlzzzzzzzz


bored? 
on the contrary ~ they played with our donkeys.




and Daisy & Pinocchio love them as much as we do ~





{{ hurry, come on in before they get in there…}}





here is how it looked 
before the throngs of prim-loving-stitchers came in :)




neat & tidy




organized and somewhat-presentable




lots of new hand dyed wools & velvets from Blackberry Primitives ~




new patterns from Primitive Gatherings ~




hooking stuff. punch needle stuff. 
all kinds of stuff.




our little pattern room was stocked very well ~
Sandra Sullivan from Homespun Elegance sent along a trunk show for us to enjoy!
Thank you Sandra ~ you'll be here next year, won't you?





and a display of my newest designs greets you at the door ~




lets head on back outside before the gate opens
and visit with our wonderful dealer friends!

oh look! ~ the line is getting longer !!!

*waving*



We had a new dealer with us this year, 
Claudia was demonstrating her spinning and offering her beautifully dyed & spun yarns…



Hey Lee!!!
Lee & Robin/Millstone Mercantile


Joan & Arthur Spalding/Olde Rectory {on the left}
and Jack & Kathy Newman/Everlastings {on the right}






Dorrie & Susan from Olde Threads


while Susan is shopping in Mandy/Bittersweet Folk Art's booth!



a pan of some of the booths ~


Our humble farmhouse with friends Becky Carney/Wing & a Prayer {on the left}
with Becky Noland/Death by Thread {on the right}


another long-shot…

from left to right...
Miss Nellie/Janelle Larkin    ~    Teresa's Primitive Treasures/Teresa Miller   ~   Don & Donna Smith/Southern Star   ~   Jane Umstead/Sunflower Stitches

some random snaps ~




Hi Jack!

oh & just LOOK at that cute little WITCH with the great legs!!
{and the doll is sweet too}
that is my BFF Joan ~ holding her new doll made by Mandy/Bittwersweet Folk Art


here is a closer look at Jane's booth: Sunflower Stitches
this talented lady has become one of my most prolific students!!!


A Wing & a Prayer/Becky Carney


Janelle/Miss Nellies Primitives


and
here are a few photos that I kindly 'borrowed' from friends
 ~ hoping you don't mind?
{{I was so busy that I didn't even get a snap of everything I wanted to}}

here is my beloved, demonstrating his hand tool prowess ~
Peter had set up an amazing display of his wood working tools, 
from antique tools from his grandfather & father, to a Draw Knife bench 
~ even a Pole Lathe that uses our pine tree branch as a spring!


love you

 and if you were wondering by now just where those women that were first in line went to?
they somehow ALL ended up on my front porch….

Here, Robin is trying to direct us as to where to stand for a photoshoot  ~
 Donna likened this to trying to herd cats….
I {as usual} am talking back, and Nan looks as rebellious as me.
ha!




but, it all worked out…
somehow we came together and got these:
photo #1




and
photo #2




All-in-all, a great day ~
We were visited by almost 300 folks who came through our gates and donated!!!!

~~~~~::~~~~~

Peter & I would like to THANK YOU all for coming out to the show ~
for your support of who we are & what we do…
I cannot think of a better circle of friends to have and it's a HUGE CIRCLE ;)

we would like to thank our steadfast vendors,
 … many of whom have been with us for all past 7 {yes SEVEN} years!!
~ we love you all ~

We want to thank Jeff Dunn and family of the Masters Inn for offering-up
wonderful fresh hot FOOD that kept us all going throughout the day!

Our heartfelt thanks to Chris ~ without your help we would be lost…love ya man!
and to Chris' wife Sarah & daughter Kallie who greeted our guests at our gate…
~ thank you sweet girls!

a very sincere Thank You to my sister Louisea and her hubby Tom ~ 
for all that you do to help us, in every little way…
~ much much love.

and
 to our daughter Hannah ~
who took time from her busy college/work schedule to help out this year.
~ we love you pumpkin.

~ and one more thing if you wouldn't mind reading please ~
I know the shop is small, and I surely know it gets hot and crowded.
~ and we do apologize :) 

When Peter built the shop was first built seven years ago, 
we had no idea how much our business would grow..

we wanted a place where we could work from, 
where folks could come play & gather for classes & such...
~ but now, because of our wonderful friends & customers
…. we have out-grown it!!!

We would like to put an addition on to the shop that is specifically a classroom, 
~ and we want to offer rooms upstairs from the classroom 
where guests can stay for overnight/weekend/retreat visits too.

With the kind support of our customers, 
and our many hours of hard & happy work,
we have been blessed to be able to make a nice living ~ 

please know that purchases of our products by you are put to good use by us :)

we are putting Hannah through college and aside from every-day living expenses,
the monies earned by us from sales go directly back into our business for you, 
~ our customer & friend.

-----> so, here is our shameless plug:
Beginning tomorrow, Monday September 21st ~ 
please please please head on over to the
Martha Stewart American Made Contest 
you can click on the words directly above or on my sidebar




with YOUR help and votes,
Notforgotten Farm has a good chance of winning the Grand Prize of $10,000.00 ~
and with those winnings, if we would be so blessed to win them,
we would fulfill our dream of creating a bigger place for our friends to come & gather !!

so please head over to the link above, that is our Nominee/Finalist page ~
read a little about us if you're unfamiliar. Read all about the contest and what it stands for 
then, cast your vote.

Peter & I want you to know that we feel like we have already won a wonderful prize in our hearts
 just by becoming finalists in the running…and all thanks to
~ YOU ~

with much gratitude and all of our affection,

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 
Peter, Lori & Hannah
{…and Pinocchio, Daisy, Roxy, Minew, Sugar-Britches, Mickey, Tigger, Iggy, Peaches, Barbara, Esther, Bobby, Bunny-boy, Fred & Ethel, The entire Hen House, Roosty and the Lone Guinea, 
and all of our wild fur & feathered friends here too!}

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Calm before the Storm ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

One full day to go before we open the gates once again to our
Gathering of Primitive Friends Show
here on September 19th
{this Saturday!}
10:00 - 4:00

I am in the final stages of insanity completion for many projects, 
but still have lots to do…

my little sewing room is on it's….ear.




I chose to capture it in it's crazy-stage…between project beginnings and finishes.
I also chose black & white photos to not shock you too much 
{it looks like Walt Disney threw up in here with all of the colors of wools, paints, fabrics and threads!}
*I apologize, Mr. Disney…I have thee utmost respect.*




half-sewn projects hanging from the rafters & lamps…
fabric scraps are absolutely everywhere.

but it's ok.




~ this is normal for me at this point.
this is my Zen.

buzzing and humming along to my own beat and rhythm 
enjoying the processes of my creative flow.




I will bask in this mess for a little while longer…
then after the show I will begin the clean up.
~ until the next wave comes!!




I have heard from SO many of you that will be coming out to visit us Saturday!!
*YAY!*

the weather-man is predicting beautiful sun & some-what warm temps, 
...so please remember to dress accordingly for an outdoor show.

if you will be bringing a fur-friend along with you, please be respectful of others and leash them :)
{we love fur-friends!!}

~}}}}} AND {{{{{~

PLEASE don't for get that VOTING BEGINS for the Martha Stewart American Made Awards
at 9:00 A.M. on Monday September 21st!!!!
{{this coming monday!!}}



If you haven't heard, 
we were humbly nominated and are now finalists in the running for the Grand Prize!
and just by being nominated we feel as though we have already won a wonderful prize…
the support & friendship of SO many of you!!

We thank you all for leaving us a comment on our nominee page ~
if you haven't left a comment there, and would like to share one,
please click the link below:

We appreciate the kind words so very much!

Well, I'm back to work now ~ 
may your day be filled with beautiful things & folks who love you the most!!


~ Blessings from the Farm ~
 Lori