Friday, August 29, 2014

a Little Front Porch Stitchin'….

today I can tell there is a change of weather coming ~
it feels like mid to late September with the cool breezes this morning…

...perfect time for me to stitch a little on the porch swing.


sit a spell with me, won't you?

 I'm not stitching anything in particular,
just letting my hands stitch a few pumpkins & such ~
nothing planned except random-ness ;)




stitches aren't perfect, but that's the way I like them.

I have a few little antique black frames that I want to use,
... so this finished stitch will be framed by one of them.

they will be available at the Gathering here in September…


i think this is a 40ct linen, not sure ~ it is a homespun and I love how primitive & early it looks

~ From my porch swing, 
I can see our volunteer gourds growing along our fence and gate…


gourds on the gate


these are yellow 'spinner' gourds



wart-y & bumpy & beautiful!




they are growing side by side with our tomatoes, fig, sweet annie & basil
getting along very nicely, thank-you ;)


cool, aren't they?




on the side of the house,
{behind me when I'm sitting on the swing}
are my beautiful mysterious passion fruit vines ~




creepy & alien-looking
and I love them…


love their 'stripes'

 while stitching, 
I hear a commotion over by the chicken/kitten coops ~
I look up to see Roxy bringing an offering to Lazy…


Hi Roxy!


Hi Lazy!

 "Wanna PLAY"?


good dogs
{even though Roxy is still a hot mess puppy, she is getting better. REALLY she is}

I can see the kitten coop from my perch 
and watch as Roxy heads over to offer her stick to the kittens…




...little does she know it, but the kittens and their momma are outside of their coop 
and are hunting for lizards in the woodpile behind the coop….


can you spot all 4 kitties?

yep!
that's Boogie Sugar-Britches hiding in there…


…oh those eyes...

 by now, Roxy has it figured out…
the cats are out and the game is ON!


"wanna play? wanna play? wanna play?"

 Minew (momma-cat) says 
"NO"

the kittens and Roxy get along fine,
...not-so-much with the momma!
she 'tolerates' Roxy….
barely.


"…but I just wanna play…." :(

 and I can always count on my hubby Peter 
...to care for all of our friends here ~
they love him as much as he loves them
(but not as much as I love him!)


Hi Pete!
Thank You for taking care of all of us!!
xoxoxox

Hoping your day is a beautiful one,
...spent with those that love you most!!


* Blessed be *
 Lori

Thursday, August 28, 2014

FALL~ing

I've decided that today
 will be the start of my annual Fall-Cleaning…

I like to clean in the Autumn as opposed to Spring
for some reason ~

So I am taking it room-by-room,
... beginning with our little Dining Room

here is what my green cupboard looked like dressed for Spring/Summer:


rabbits, seashells, lots of white ironstone...


i love the chippy green paint on this cupboard

….. and here is what it's displaying today:


tucked-away most of the ironstone, pulled out the pewter...


added my wooden bowls, some turkey feathers and a candle…
will add fresh bittersweet once the berries are out completely.
I cannot believe how very fast this Summer has gone ~
Labor day is a couple of days away!
I do enjoy the Autumn though, and wish it were here year-round…
Fall is my favorite season hands down.

and speaking of fall ~
here is Iggy,
FALL-ing asleep (again) on the bed.


zzzzzzzzzzzzz

How many of you have begun your Fall decorating?
I see by the blogs and FB photos that I am not alone ;)

Working on finished goods for the 
Gathering here at the farm on Sept. 20th and the 
Online show here on this blog on Sept. 28th…

I'm making some unique pumpkin dolls at the moment ~
I think you'll like them!

Enjoy the rest of your day my Friends ~
* Blessed be *
 Lori

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Finished ~ and available!!!

She is finished.
&
L O V E
 her
.



she now needs a name….

 all hand sculpted...
...all hand-stitched.


she is whispering something….

here she is on my little green shelf
setting amongst old photographs & shoe pincushions…


quiet…can you hear her?



ruffled & ruched
and ready to go…but where?


Crone's cap tied down 
for a magical flight to Somewhere…





wondering…waiting
not-so-patiently!

...seemingly ready to burst into the sky!!


something wicked this way comes….

Now offered for your amusement & bidding pleasure on
EBAY ~



* Blessed be * 
Lori

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Progress ~


preliminary painting done….



...painting completed.



glass eyes, flax hair & ear-bobs added….

….her  clothing is next :)

* Blessed be * 
Lori

Soggy Sunday ~


Working on a couple of items for the Gathering of Primitive Friends Show
 here at the farm in September {20th to be exact} ~ 

...I cannot believe it is a month away (less than even!)

needle and thread have been busy ~
so has wool….

pin-wheel


love the colors


using my usual simple whip-stitch 
to edge these onto the velvet backing ~
I prefer this look to the blanket-stitch….
(Joan is sighing right about now)



I am using coordinating and contrasting thread colors for this project
{that will soon cover a box}

 just a more primitive look to me…
not that I dislike the look of a nice blanket stitched edge,
I just prefer this 'lighter' look of the thread
 instead of the heavier pearl-cotton usually used for penny-rug or wool appliqué.



love my old blue calico quilts and how the blue off-sets the oranges in my project :)


and here She is again ~
she will be painted today
{after finally drying in the oven for a bit}
the humidity here has been a bugger…



'She' is awaiting her final touches...


 you can see her actual size a little better now, 
...with me holding her.



can't wait to bring her to life….


I'll be choosing her glass eyes too,
wonder 
'witch' color they will be?



...the better to see you with my dear….

I'll post more photos of her later this evening.

Have a relaxing Sunday my sweet Friends,
&
* Blessed be * 
Lori

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Creativity ~

H E L L O!

...a nice Saturday here in the shop ~
taught Patti how to cross stitch!!



started her off on 18ct aida ~ 
but also showed her how to count threads 
on linen so she can work her way into that :)
so far so good!

counting, counting.....

intense concentration going on here ~


she is a left-hander too but has no problem at all picking this up...
taught her how to hook a few months ago and she is now enjoying working on her first crow rug too!
 I've been playing with paper clay  ~
creating crazy things like this:


hello dearie

she will be a wizened old Witch...
the years have not been good to her ~


troublesome times have put their marks on her haggard face

she is beautiful in my eyes though!


old crone

she does have a rather large beak, does she not?


oh that schnoz!

all that fine detail will come to life more once she is painted and aged...
she will have a full head of hair and will be clothed
although she is just a 
'bust' doll...


wrinkles, warts & pox

 she will have piercing blown-glass eyes
and she even has pierced ears that will be adorned with ear bobs made from
antique Victorian Mourning jewelry parts in my collection....



see you soon, my Pretties...

hoping this 
H U M I D I T Y
goes away soon...

I hate it and it makes for rather-slow drying of my clay work...
be back soon with the finished photos of her :)


* Blessed be *
 Lori