Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Early Work Mercantile & the Ole Time Christmas Show

Hello Friends & Folk!
I have been working on some new items for the December 1st
update...

I will be offering hand drawn & colored, Fraktur-inspired tokens ~
framed under glass in my hand painted frames and done on my own hand-parched papers...

I get a lot of my inspiration from old children's books so I pulled out a few here...
I love how they look, feel & smell ~ the papers are so fragile & the illustrations so very quaint.

my color palette is reflecting a simple winter & holiday theme,
holly berry red
mistletoe green
north star gold...
faded, muted...beautiful mixed with the black ink from my pens...

watch for my online update later this evening.
AND
If you will be in the Fishersville, Staunton, Waynesboro Virginia area
Friday evening (December 2nd) 6 - 8:00 OR
Saturday (December 3rd) 9 - 3:00
Stop in at the Fishersville Expo Center for the Ole' Time Christmas Show!
Donna Smith from Southern Star Antiques puts on a great show and I'll be there with my handmaids, needlework supplies & patterns...some small antiques too...
it's a great show to put you in the mood & spirit of the Holiday!!

hope to see some of you soon ~
blessings from the farm,
Lori

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Testing the Water ~ or bobbing for Apple iMacs


This is my first post using my new iMac ~
WOW...you guys should have told me from the beginning how easy this is!
I'm in LOVE with this newfangled thing :)

anyhoo, just posting a couple of snaps to see how everything looks }


I am working on things slowly but steadily & surely...
Thanks for your patience with me!!!
Have a CREATIVE day!!

blessings from the farm,
Lori

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Just what the Doctor ordered...

an APPLE a day & here's mine:
still in the box & looking like something from the galley on the Starship Enterprise to me!


I will be unpacking this baby tomorrow, as we will also be getting our high speed internet ~

can you all give me a WOOHOO!!!!!
I am so excited about this, but know that it will take a little time to get used to.

SO

with the workload that I will be having these next few weeks,
I have chosen to refund those of you who have ordered and have been patiently waiting for yours. right now I still can't obtain some of the patterns, and definitely don't have the 2 new ones charted up yet and DON'T want you to wait any longer....
~I feel better doing this so please accept this as a sincere thank you and your refund will be there for you...I have begun issuing them already, but as you know, paypal can sometimes be slow ~ AND I have a couple of hundred orders to go through but I WILL get to yours!
I will refund in order of purchase ~ meaning, if you ordered & paid on November 4th, 5th, etc...you will receive your refund back sooner than those of you who ordered on (for example) November 12th., 13th...etc...


As soon as I get things back in order, the computer up & running and everything comfy for me again, then I will relist the new designs again in my etsy shop if you would still like to purchase them...
As far as orders for any other (older) patterns, potpourri, frames...etc from my etsy shop, those will also be refunded at this time & I surely apologize for this, but with the extra workload upon me now I just won't have time to process them...
And for those shops that are waiting for orders for the NEW patterns (only) I will get them to my distributors asap.


If you visit my etsy shop, you will see that i have hung my "ON VACATION" sign up.
yeah...i WISH I was on vacation!!!!!!!
but,. that is there so that no new orders can be placed at this time...again, I will reopen it asap ~


If you have any questions regarding your order placed, please don't hesitate to email me at not4got@aol.com

And,
the shop will be CLOSED on Friday December 2nd & Saturday DECEMBER 3RD
as I will be setting up and vending ath the Fishersville Expo Center for the Ol'e Time Christmas Show (see my sidebar)

SO there ya have it...a long-winded, hopefully clear post that helps me better serve you and not make you wait for something that you've paid for.

(((I don't like doing things like that & want to be fair to all of my customers!!! )))
Thanks for understanding!!!

I'll be back in a day or 2 and will be using my new iMac!!
can I get a woot wooot again!


blessings from the farm,

Lori

Saturday, November 26, 2011

~ Open House Pics ~

I am exhausted.
but feel so full of friendship & thanks.
Alot of work goes into having an open house
~ but they are SO worth it when I get to see friends & folk from near and far....
it was a beautiful day here at the farm, warm-ish and sunny ~
...didn't have to bother heating up the woodstove in the shop even...
(not that we would have needed it, it got pretty full today, and we women can generate some good heat while shopping!!)

so, here are some pics of the day...

but before you continue down, please first let me acknowledge :

Peter ~
you hold my heart in your hands...
you work so hard to make me happy
((& I know I'm not easy to get-along with))
...Thank you for Loving & putting up with me.
I Love You.

Felicia ~
for your Friendship, crazy sense of humor
(I thank God that you 'get me')
and your always-willing-to-help attitude...
I Love You.

Joan ~
for your Friendship,
your uncanny ability to remember small details
& your always-willing-to-help heart...
(you are learning to 'get me'...we do have FUN, don't we?)
I Love You.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{{{ok...enough of that stuff}}}


and
on with the show~

here is Flea (left) & my SIL Chrissy, looking at a book before the doors opened this morning...
(Chrissy was in her jammie-bottoms, but you didn't hear that from me...notice how I only snapped them from the waist up?)
they are both beautiful......

Below is a snap of the 'Big Table'...the one I try to squish everyone around when I hold a class...
it is in the middle of the shop, smack in front of the counter & woodstove...
you can see Miss Joan's BIG doll couple....
masterful needlework indeed!
(oh yeah, you can see one of my little black bear heads-on-a-bobbin pinkeeps)

here is what you see when you first come in the door to the shop:
a small table flanked by Hitchcock chairs (one is signed) from CT...an up-ended box holding a small yule tree...hanging tobacco hands, dolls, books, magazines...Oh My!


...to the left of the table is a display of quilt-shop quality cotton prints (repro Civil War era) ~ above that are my seasonal cross stitch models...


around the other side of the 'pattern room' is where you'll find wool for rug hooking & applique,
carded wool roving for needle felting, & needle punch supplies & patterns...


here is Joan's WONDERFUL early punched tin pie safe, in Oyster-white paint...
I've decorated it with my rolled pillar candles, old feedsacks, fresh greens and
flicker candles...


here is an 'arial-view'...(ok, I stood on a chair)
of Sherry Kristoff's
(www.fromsherryheart.blogspot.com)
most-awesome, impeccably stitched & hooked heArtwork....
I devoted an entire table to her wares...


when the box of her Goodes arrived, I literally had to sit down and
look over everything....I can't believe the tiny stitches, perfectly turned edges and LOVE that she pours into each of her creations....
(there are a few of her items left, if you see anything that fancies you, email me QUICK!!)


above is another view of Sherry's outstanding work...
Below is a shot of the front portion of the shop...
"Sherry's table", a corner cupboard, ...and other needful things.


below is a quiet-corner of the shop, near the woodstove ~
a cupboard-on-wheels holds muslin, weavers' cloth & rug linen...


a general view of the shop ~ showing the middle table and other stuff we all need...


and the BIG white cupboard ~ dressed in seasonal frippery...
old tin, white ironstone, & some more good things...


My thanks to all that came out today,
and that support me in my frivolous ways...
I love what I do & I love you too.

blessings from the farm,
Lori

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanks Indeed.


Every year I compile a list of 'things' I'm Thankful for...
here is this list for 2011:

~ Good Health
~ A Cheerful Disposition
~ A Good Outlook
~ A Loving Husband
~ A Beautiful Daughter
~ A Strong, yet Gentle Mother
~ Kind & Loving Siblings
~ Treasured Friends...


~ 3 Smitten Kittens

~ A Snug Farmhouse
~ A Comfy Stitching Chair
~ A Toasty Woodstove & A Full Load of Wood
~ Enough to Eat
~ Plenty of Everything I Need
~ Creative Hands
~ The Blessed Country in which I Live

Wishing you ALL a
Thanksgiving Day
filled with Love, Laughter & Light~



blessings from the farm,
Lori

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

hello.

Hello Friends!



just chiming in here to say...
I am now the proud owner of a Mac!!!!
BUT
I won't have it ready to go until next week...
you see,
since we live so far out here in the country, we don't yet have highspeed internet ~
but we do have satellite TV and are awaiting the hook-up for our internet via that.
{{not only will I not know how to USE my new computer, but I can do it faster too! LOL}}
kinda like the old
"Drink more coffee ~ do stupid things faster and with more energy!!" mantra, no?
so THEN I will be able to chart my patterns and get the new ones out for you...
you all have been so kind & patient with me during this...I cannot thank you enough :)




in the evenings I get 'me' time to create,
and I have hundreds of antique cabinet card photos,
I keep them in boxes and wanted to put them to good use and came up with these:

yes, they are a little "BLING-y"
but I like the look of them on my tree
(one or two only, not all of them at once ~ but hey ~ that's just me, you could do a whole tree in them...a white feather tree would look pretty with them all on there)
and, the pic at the top of this post shows one finished 'friend' made from that hand dyed turkey red mohair... ( and a little blue friend setting next to him)
they'll be waiting for good homes here in the shop for saturday's open house.

Speaking of the open house,
the shop will be CLOSED black friday in preparation of the open house~
we will open promptly at 10:00 saturday morning :)
see you all soon, & have a Happy & Blessed Thanksgiving!!!!!






blessings from the farm,
Lori

Monday, November 21, 2011

Monday, monday ~

Do you like Monday's?
I do.
especially rainy Mondays in November....
when the house is snug, the chores are done and a potroast is bubbling on the woodstove
filling the farmhouse with a wonderful smell ~

I can remember even as a child, liking Monday's...
it meant a fresh start ~ a new beginning.

Before I get to work,
I thought I'd snap a few pics for you...these are mainly random,
but I thought they were pretty :


~ Faux Holly & Old Lace ~



~ The Turkey Red mohair I dyed yesterday ~
(and what it looked like before)

~ A Shelf in my Sewing Room ~
(I hung my ribbon-rolls across for better access)


~ a tiny Tinsel Tree ~
(decorated with glass garland, an old stocking, origami storks made by Hannah & some grubby white candles in their wire & ball holders)


~ Little Friends on top of my inspiration board ~
(the Squirrel is Steiff and was found at a fleamarket for $2.00! yay for me!)

I have LOTS to do on this rainy November Monday,
so I better get to it...
I'll share what I make from the red mohair tomorrow!


blessings from the farm,

Lori

Sunday, November 20, 2011

{{ fini }}

So, tell me what do you think...
could you give them a warm home to hibernate in for the Winter?
I could!


just playin' & having some fun with the dyepot today!

~ will be making some of my little bears with this beautiful olde red color soon ~


and I'm feeling another GIVEAWAY coming soon :)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

hoping you all have a sweet & peaceful Sunday my friends ~

blessings from the farm,
Lori

Saturday, November 19, 2011

The Fur is Flyin' ~


Playing with Mohair.....



these are large, approx. 9" round (4 1/2" across)...


Do you remember, a couple of posts back,
... I showed you the Mohair fabric that I hand dyed?
here are some Ted Heads waiting to be finished into ornaments ~
you can see the before & after colors better now....
they are waiting for their distressing and jingle bell hangers.


I'll be offering them at the open house next Saturday,
and then in my etsy shop...
I am canceling my picturetrail update, as I just haven't had the time to really get things done for it with the computer crashing & back orders...
I will be updating my etsy shop with finished goods though,
I'll let you know when I've listed :)


on another note,
it looks as though I WILL be getting a new MAC computer!
woot woot!!
I will need to 'prolly take a college course to learn how to use it though ~
so PLEASE be patient with me???


{{{thanks for all of your emails about how much you all LOVE your Macs!}}}

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!!



blessings from the farm,
Lori

Friday, November 18, 2011

{{ Perpetual Change }}

Some things never change,
like Iggy sleeping in his cradle here in my sewing room...
(do you think he feels embarrased? naaaahhhh...just look at that smug look on his face...)


or the fact... that like me, he enjoys a good magazine...
(the new xmas issue of FOLK is *awesome!*)
actually, he enjoys sittng in my lap while I'm TRYING to read a good magazine...

but,
somethings are constantly in progress around here...
like:
my sewing room ~


it's small,
but it has beautiful natural light,
is upstairs from the front room where our woodstove is,
so the wood floor is toasty on my stocking-ed tootsies
and
it's my favorite room in this old farmhouse...


but, like everything else I do~
I like to change things up quite often, and as I mentioned in my previous postings
I am cleaning & preparing for the Holidays...
which to me means changing the curtains to my white ones to let in more light,
and putting alot of our everyday items to make room for our favorite holiday collectibles & such.


and at this time of year, when we're all so busy, it really pays for me to get more organized!
So I've been playing in here, in between printing & shipping what orders I can ~
by the way, I truly appreciate your emails of concern regarding the CRASH of 2011, and am so thankful that you all have patience with this situation & with me in general!
~ I did talk with the computer-guy this morning,
and it doesn't sound good...fried motherboard or some-such nonsense that I don't have time to try to understand....
I have had great feedback from folks out there that use & LOVE their Apple (MACS) and it looks as though that will be what's on the horizon for me...perhaps Dear Old Santa will place two under the tree this year? One for me and one for Hannah as she'll need one for college as well....
oh well, one step forward, two back...
I have ALOT of work ahead of me but
as I said,

some things never change...


Hoping you all have a loverly November afternoon!


blessings from the farm,
Lori

Thursday, November 17, 2011

little things ~

Not being able to have my
big workhorse computer these past days
has found me appreciating the downtime more than I expected I would ~
don't get me wrong, I am still panicked about the
Black Screen of Death
but I HAVE had to slow down a little...
and in doing so I'm realizing that I guess I really did need to do just that.
{{I will hopefully hear from the 'puter-doc this eve with the final outcome}}




So,
I have been doing what any blog-crazy, primitive/vintage,
farmhouse/farmlife-loving girl would do...I've been visiting some new blogs!
(you can see them on my sidebar)




I turn to them for inspiration ~ the homes & decorating are so pretty.
I love the blogging community & how I feel when I get comments on my posts ~ I do love to hear from you and want to know how you are & what you're up to...




I've also been cleaning my sewing room/studio ~ changing things out since I've been getting ready for the holidays...
here are a few of my favorite things that make my little heart sing~




~my primitive 'bling'~



~warm chocolate chip cookies~






~a NEW sewing basket (and a kitten for company)

~Reese's Xmas Trees~


~ANYTHING in glass jars~



~old quilts~



~vintage sewing baskets~



~vintage sewing tins~


can you see a pattern forming here? hahaha :)


It still amazes me that you all allow me to come into your lives for a minute or two everyday.
I value each & everyone of you for your thoughts, friendships & insightful comments
and I thank you for that!!!




Hoping you all have a wonderful day~
blessings from the farm,


Lori

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

**IMPORTANT UPDATE** PLEASE READ!!

I cannot believe it...
my MAIN computer...the one that holds ALL of my designing software, programs, pictures & files has (shudder)
CRASHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in complete shock over this...this is my busiest time of the year (wasn't I just saying that?)
oh my stars & garters...what to do?
I brought it's brain to the computer doctor and I'm awaiting the diagnosis...
but I fear the worst.,..
it is a dinosaur...
an archaic monster..
a workhorse
that has been my life-line
for the past 8 years,....
*sniff*...
SO

what does this mean for my customers????
it means that those who have ordered the NEW patterns
(Feeding the Reindeer & Merry Yule)
will have the option of getting a refund,
or waiting until I'm up & running again before I can mail you your patterns,...
I AM SO SORRY for the inconvenience...
this ALSO includes SHOP ORDERS for the same 2 patterns...

(all of my other, 'older' patterns I have in 'hard copy' form, so I can get those orders mailed out)
I have been so busy trying to get the NEW orders out that I didn't yet have the chance to make

'hard copies' of the 2 new ones...

WAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
....a tough lesson learned there, my friends.

so please, PLEASE let me know if you want to be refunded by emailing me here at not4got@aol.com....

you have no idea how upset I am.
I want to cry (some more) and just bury my head in a hole somewhere.
:(

I am now going to submerge myself in a hot bath.

then drown my sorrows in Hot Chocolate & Choc Chip Cookies...

...and hopefully be able to sleep tonight thinking about this mess...


i appreciate all of you, your constant support and ever-encouraging kindness...
I love what I do and am blessed with a great life, family & friends like you who can relate to life's ups & downs...I will do my best to have this situation fixed asap!
(geeez...lately it has been one thing after the other...hope the stars align again soon!)
LOL


How many of you out there use a MAC computer?




blessings from the farm
Lori

A White Christmas ~ Primitive Farmhouse Style

Some simple snaps of the farmhouse in transition for the holidays...


my Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus in the sunny kitchen window...


my coffee-potted & funnel-topped feather tree in the diningroon ~



a view of a window dressed with a favorite scrap of early lacework...



My tarnished silver waiting for tea & gingerbread ~



here's the mantle ~ semi-decorated...



I love white bottlebrush wreaths !!!


more snaps to come soon!
(I'll share pics of the shop too, but right now it is a wreck!)


Have a beautiful Tuesday my Friends!


blessings from the farm,
Lori