Blog Archive

Friday, November 14, 2025

A Jolly Day and Country Christmas Doodles- A Country Freebie

 Good Friday morning y'all. I am happier than a reindeer pulling a sleigh full of presents. "Why?" you ask. Well I have been working on some redwork embroidery and that always brightens my day. 

Do y'all remember last month when I showed you my thrifted enamelware pan that Mr. Pinker bought me last year for Christmas? Well last month, it  was filled to the brim with "Fall goodness"

I have it sitting on a little handmade bench that usually is in front of the window. 

Anywhooo... the fall goodies are gone and Christmas pretties have moved in.  You wanta see it? I sure would be delighted if you joined me as we take a closer look. 

Lookie! Lookie! Lookie! 👀🎅🎄🤶  Christmas! 


Well, it is nothing real fancy, but it spilling over with Country redwork ornies that I have made and shared over the years. 


You can see a peek of what is filling the bottom of the pan which is a vintage doily, some yarn pom pom snowballs and bottle brush trees. 
 
Children's books are sprinkled throughout my house! I love them! And the grandkiddos do too. 

Well this got me to thinking.   Think! Think! Think! 🤔 
Hmmm,  Why not stitch some more Country Christmas Doodles?  Over the years, I have shared several sets of them and I sure would like some more . 

 In years' past, I have displayed these simple redwork ornies  in dough bowls. 
 



Behind my dough bowl is Plum Street Sampler's freebie  called 12 Days of Christmas which was posted on Paulette's blog in 2015. Click on the colored text to visit her post. 
 
And on trees...


And some just sat around waiting to be finished. 😂😀


Soooo... the other day , I grabbed my ever so trusty pencil and notebook paper and got down to the "dirty work" of doodling away. Soon I had four more Country Christmas doodles and in 2 shakes of a lamb's tail they were all stitched up!  Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! 🎅

 A new set of ornies all stitched up and ready for the tree. 



❤ My little doodles are hand drawn and are never perfect.


I traced each design on a piece of  white cotton fabric  measuring about 5". I embroidered the design using DMC 498 using 2 strands and the stem stitch. I then trimmed the block to 3 1/2". 

Once the block was trimmed, I cut a piece of batting and backing the same measurement.  If you are interested in a more detailed idea on how I finished them, I will be posting a finishing tutorial around noon. So if you are in the neighborhood , drop back in  for a sweet as pie visit.

 
The scent of Twisted Peppermint is my jam! 

Alrighty Sweethearts, I am going to grab my paper and pencil again, I have some more doodles dancing in my head like sugar plums and candy canes. See ya' later! 
Oh , and you have a Fantabulous Friday! 

As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"Tis the season to be jolly. " 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃 

 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes- Early 2025 parade of home freebies.
🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 
🌞A Buzzy Bee Parade An early 2025 bee freebie parade.
🌞A Sunny Sunflower Parade for 2025 A parade of sunflower freebies up to July 24, 2025
🌞Pumpkin, Leaves and Autumn Please- A Fall Parade 2025 A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 8, 2025.
🌞 A Parade of Stamps 2025  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to August 14, 2025

🌞Time to Dye-  2024 post on how I tea/ Coffee Dye my fabric. 
🌞Pin Pillow Tutorial - 2023 post on how I finish my pin pillows with chenille trim. 
🌞A Spooky Parade - Halloween freebies up to October  4, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.
🌞Turkey Struttin' Thanksgiving Parade 2025- Thanksgiving freebies up to the date of November 3, 2025. More Thanksgiving freebies followed  this date. 


Last year I bought a set of these darling crocheted coasters at an antique store in Whitney, TX. They are as cute as peppermints! I think I could actually make these. I may give it a whirl since I have some yarn like this in my stash. 

Thursday, November 13, 2025

Dreaming of Turkey and The Maize House - A Fall Freebie

 The countdown is on! 14 more days until Thanksgiving- the most glorious holiday to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives and of course  to indulge and gobble till we wobble ! 

  Oh boy,  I just cannot wait for Mom's homemade cornbread dressing and the turkey breasts that she will roast.  And I must not forget all of the delectable  desserts that will grace the table. Hmmm, 🤔 I better start my diet a little early so I can have an extra helping of dressing. Hee! Hee! 

Gobble Gobble

 Sooo... I have started to prepare a menu for Thanksgiving. Mom used to make EVERYTHING!  But nowadays I give a helping hand along with my sister .  


What am I planning to take? Well here is my preliminary  list of yummies. These are some family faves.  I will provide a colored link for any recipes that I have shared in the past.  

 Cranberry Marshmallow Salad

Over the Top Green Bean Caserole

Candied Yams

Nanny's Cornbread Salad

Slow Cooker Ranch Mushrooms

5 Bean Salad

Potato Salad

Stuffed Celery

Cream Cheese Corn

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

No Bake Snickers Pie


Image from Pinterest. 

I am still pouring over recipe books for something new to bring.  Do you have any suggestions?  

There will be about 18 of us if everyone attends.  After we eat dinner, Mr. Pinker and "our crew" will truck on down the road  for a late night supper with his side of the  family. We will bring in tow sides for there too. It is going to be one grand day ! 

Did you notice my little house ? It is hot off the presses and finishing table and is called The Maize House

It is another grand but simple house flanked by cornstalks. The roof is adorned with a bountiful basket or maize just perfect for cooking for the holidays. 

There are only 6 colors used in this little ole' house. I am consciously trying to use as few colors as possible in some of my houses. Anywhooo... The Maize House is stitched on 14 count Aida that is coffee/ tea dyed. 

I used DMC floss colors :  422, 610, 844, 936, 3011, 3820. 

 SYMBOL       FLOSS COLOR           

      l 422 Light Hazelnut Brown       

X   610 DK Drab Brown

844 Ultra DK Beaver Gray

O 936 VY DK Avocado Green

U 3011 DK Khaki Green

Y 3820 DK Straw  


I thought I would give you a break down on where the colors are. 

BASKET of CORN: DMC 610, 3011, 3820
CORN: DMC  3011, 3820
HOUSE: 422, 936 ( roof , window & door frames, quilt border), 610 (door)
QUILT ON HOUSE: 610 936, 3011
GROUND: 844, 3820
LETTERS/ DATE: 844
DOOHICKEYS : 610

I outlined my house in DMC 936 as an afterthought to make the house pop on my coffee fabric. I did not chart this.

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

If you are interested in stitching this piece,  just grab , the images. For printing tips, refer to the post Tips for Printing which has loads of tips from my sweet friends. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵 🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵







 

If you are interested in stitching this piece, you can find the letters for the initials in The Maize Basket Sampler which I shared last week. 

 

 Alright , Sweetness, I better get off here. I have recipe books to sift through and grocery lists to make. Like I said the countdown is on! 

Now tell me are you dreaming of turkey, ham and all of the trimmings? 

Have an awesome day! 

As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"Family dinners feed my heart. "- unknown. 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃 

 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes- Early 2025 parade of home freebies.
🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 
🌞A Buzzy Bee Parade An early 2025 bee freebie parade.
🌞A Sunny Sunflower Parade for 2025 A parade of sunflower freebies up to July 24, 2025
🌞Pumpkin, Leaves and Autumn Please- A Fall Parade 2025 A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 8, 2025.
🌞 A Parade of Stamps 2025  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to August 14, 2025

🌞Time to Dye-  2024 post on how I tea/ Coffee Dye my fabric. 
🌞Pin Pillow Tutorial - 2023 post on how I finish my pin pillows with chenille trim. 
🌞A Spooky Parade - Halloween freebies up to October  4, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.
🌞Turkey Struttin' Thanksgiving Parade 2025- Thanksgiving freebies up to the date of November 3, 2025. More Thanksgiving freebies followed  this date. 

"Another turkey platter? " asked Mr. Pinker. 
"Yep! It is going in my cart, " I replied with a big grin on my face. "Being just $4, I cannot leave this grand ole' gobbler behind. Besides he can proudly join my flock of turkey platters. " 
Mr. Pinker just smiled and nodded his head. 
" I am one happy gal!" I exclaimed as I fluttered to the checkout counter. 
" Gobble! Gobble !  Hee! Hee! "

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Four Patch Fun Wednesday

Rise and Shine, Sunshine! Another beautiful day is calling your name! 

Do you have any grand plans on the agenda today? I would say that it is a perfect day for you to do something special . Wouldn't you?  ❤  Me? Hmmm- Well , I am going to go visit my family and then I am going to hunker down to my sewing machine.

Monday was just too darn cold for me to venture out so I worked on more of Bonnie Hunter's 2025 Leader/ Ender project called Four Patch Fun

I am piecing my blocks using 2 1/2" units. (unfinished)

You would be so  proud of me . I only screamed "Oh fudge! " once, (yep, I have been watching The Christmas Story)  that is when I had to pull out the GDR aka "Gosh Darn Ripper" . I had placed my four patches in the wrong arrangement in the red block but I soon wrangled those squares in place, and then I was whistling "Zippety Dooh Dah" !  I do need to clean the loose threads from the block though. 

This Four Patch Fun block had to be taken apart, but here it is all fixed. Wheww! 

So far I have 11 blocks pieced . More fabric strips are cut for piecing. 

Later this evening, I will work on the November  Mini Sampler from  From the Heart Needleart, a darling gift from dear Donna. Thank you , Donna. 🤗

And hopefully by tonight's  end I will finish a new house cross stitch which will be making its way to a post very soon. 

A few of my tins . 

Well those are my grand plans. We shall see if they come to fruition. My fingers and toes are crossed. Hee! Hee! 

 May your day be filled with loads of fun and Stitchy plans. 

 As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"If the plan doesn't work, change the plan not the goal. "- unknown 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃 

 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes- Early 2025 parade of home freebies.
🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 
🌞A Buzzy Bee Parade An early 2025 bee freebie parade.
🌞A Sunny Sunflower Parade for 2025 A parade of sunflower freebies up to July 24, 2025
🌞Pumpkin, Leaves and Autumn Please- A Fall Parade 2025 A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 8, 2025.
🌞 A Parade of Stamps 2025  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to August 14, 2025

🌞Time to Dye-  2024 post on how I tea/ Coffee Dye my fabric. 
🌞Pin Pillow Tutorial - 2023 post on how I finish my pin pillows with chenille trim. 
🌞A Spooky Parade - Halloween freebies up to October  4, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.
🌞Turkey Struttin' Thanksgiving Parade 2025- Thanksgiving freebies up to the date of November 3, 2025. More Thanksgiving freebies followed  this date. 

My newest thrifty finds  is the red plaid table runner just perfect for the Christmas season and this 1950's Lily Speed- O- Weave loom- just perfect to add to my vintage "sewing related collection". Eeeeh! I am doing the Happy dance. 💃💃💃 And both finds are RED! One of my favorite colors! 

 I am joining these lovely ladies' link parties. I hope you check them out; they always have so many wonderful projects going on and provide the opportunity for other needleworkers to meet. 

Jennifer at Inquiring Quilter for Wednesday  Wait Loss- Wednesday

Denise at For the Love of Geese for Put Your Foot Down- Thursday

Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday- Thursday

Nina at Creations, Quilts, Art , Whatever by Nina for Off the Wall Friday

Alycia's of Alycia's Quilts for Finished of Not Friday

Michelle  at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauty Pageant - Friday

Monday, November 10, 2025

Monday Rambles

We have flurries! Brrrr! ❄❄❄❄

Good afternoon, sweet friends and Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Were you a busy bee, or did you take the opportunity to sit back, relax and do something that you enjoy? 

Well, it has been a very busy day these last few days since our last visit. I have been getting in lots and lots of grandma time which means loads of hugs, kisses and entertainment. Mr. R., my oldest grandson , got his cast off on Wednesday only to be replaced by a brace which he has to keep on for 7 weeks. His arm is not fully healed but is on its way. He will go back next month for another x-ray.  

Basketball signups will be this week. Both grandsons will play, but Mr. R.  may not get to "officially" play until January. Meanwhile, my youngest grandson , Mr. F. has been enjoying his pitching and batting practice for baseball.  

Over the weekend, they had a sleepover which you know what that means- today, I have spent all morning cleaning the house.   Four young boys on a rampage can wreak havoc on a house. LOL. 🏃🏃🏃🏃

While cleaning in one of my cupboards, I found some sweet handmade Christmas treasures that I bought during the World's Longest Yard Sale over the summer. 



The first little bag which I picked up for a quarter held 2 crocheted red bells and....a darling crocheted Santa Claus. 

Gosh, I do need to learn how to crochet little pieces like this. They make my heart flutter. 🎅 💓

The 2nd bag which I purchased for fifty cents held  precious delicate snowflakes made from plastic canvas. 

White yarn was woven around the snowflake edges. 

The snowflakes are made of 2 layers of plastic canvas , woven with white yarn. 

One snowflake even had some gold thread woven in as well. I believe I will put these on my mantle garland this year. 

Gold thread was woven in 1 snowflake. Cute! 

Now that brings me back to this morning snowflurries. Yesterday the temperatures began to drop from the mid 50's to a bone chilling 27 degrees by this morning. As the temperatures began to drop, I bustled about outside placing the remainder of the plants in the greenhouse while Mr. Pinker began the heater. As of now, my plants were snug as a bug in a rug. 

It spit snow all morning long, but alas, nothing laid. We are expecting 2 more days of cold weather, and then it will warm up to the 60's again. Wheew! Thank goodness! I am not ready for snow. Usually , I am still sporting shorts come Thanksgiving time. 

As the snow fell and the wind blew, I settled into my comfy chair to relax after cleaning the house from the great romper room sleepover this past weekend. Hee ! Hee!  I grabbed my Bow Tie quilt and added in a few more stitches. 

Time to sit down in my stitchy chair to quilt away on the Bow Tie quilt. 

My needle has went around, and around and around each little bow tie block.

Whoopee! It is now time to move the hoop!

11 more blocks to go! 

I am seeing the light of day. 11 more blocks to go. YeeHaw! I am on my last row! 

Well  Sweeties, that is my long ramble for the day. Sorry to be so long-winded.  

Have a humdinger of a day and thank you for the ever so sweet visit !😀🤗

As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"Its snuggle weather!  " 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 


🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃 

 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes- Early 2025 parade of home freebies.
🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 
🌞A Buzzy Bee Parade An early 2025 bee freebie parade.
🌞A Sunny Sunflower Parade for 2025 A parade of sunflower freebies up to July 24, 2025
🌞Pumpkin, Leaves and Autumn Please- A Fall Parade 2025 A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 8, 2025.
🌞 A Parade of Stamps 2025  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to August 14, 2025

🌞Time to Dye-  2024 post on how I tea/ Coffee Dye my fabric. 
🌞Pin Pillow Tutorial - 2023 post on how I finish my pin pillows with chenille trim. 
🌞A Spooky Parade - Halloween freebies up to October  4, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.
🌞Turkey Struttin' Thanksgiving Parade 2025- Thanksgiving freebies up to the date of November 3, 2025. More Thanksgiving freebies followed  this date. 

I am joining these lovely ladies' link parties. I hope you check them out; they always have so many wonderful projects going on and provide the opportunity for other needle workers to meet.

Frederique at   Quilting Patchwork Applique for Patchwork & Quilts - Saturday

Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday

Kate at Life in Pieces for  Stitching Stuff ( Sunday) 

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh Scrap - Sunday 

Melva at Melva Loves Scraps for Sew & Tell- Sunday

Brenda at Songbird Designs for Monday Musings

Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday





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