Pinker n Punkin Quilting & Stitching

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Garden Happenings- The Good , The Bad and The Ugly

Look what's going on in the wild and woolly garden today . Hee! Hee!

Expansion. 😲🤪🌷🌷🌷

"Does Mr. Pinker know?" some of you ask.

Hee! Hee! No. Not yet, but he will soon. 😀😁 Actually, his motto is "Happy wife . Happy life!" Sounds good to me.

So I decided to expand the garden by about a foot on one side . Okay maybe 2. I just simply moved the creek rocks, began scratching in the ground and adding some soil. If I do not like it, I can always move them back.

What's my plans? Well, I have lots and lots to seed to plant, plus I am trying to grow more Annabelle hydrangeas .

I am dreaming of marigolds smiling in the sunshine, zinnias and cosmos dancing with the breeze and perhaps , just perhaps some small surprises from seeds that I am planting like Black eyed Susans, Chinese lanterns and much more.

So what about the English Ivy garden? Hmmm well, it is looking a little woolly too. I have yet to start cleaning it up.

A few lingering daffodils are still in bloom. This garden has been evolving for decades. Not much takes hold here. The English Ivy garden used to bigger and more lush. We did have a huge beautiful boxwood that was part of the original part of the garden. ( It was here along with the ivy when we moved into the holler ). But alas it had to be cut down and much of the ivy removed when we had to have the septic tank pumped a decade ago.

The English Ivy has been growing here for decades.

I am slowly seeing what will grow here. Last year I moved some mondo grass into a small section. It seems quite happy so more will be transplanted into this garden this year.

I think I have told you before that we have poor soil . In fact our soil is chert which means it is mostly rock.

Mondo grass in the ivy garden

I haven't talked about one of the rusty crusty gardens . Have I? Some of you know that I adore rusty crusty farm treasures. Well the small rusty crusty garden is needing a good cleaning too. I am sure there are old rakes, birdhouses, and shovel heads to unearth under all of the leaves and debris.

For all of the garden lovers, I will keep you posted as the gardens evolve and grow. Mr. Pinker and I are working our fingers to the bone.

I will leave you with a few more photos of the early Spring in the holler.

Boo koos of marigolds are coming up. All are volunteers.

Yah! a volunteer redbud tree. I will transplant it in the near future.

Volunteer cosmos are coming up.

This is my 3 year old Annabelle Hydrangea . I am trying to root 3 more.

The tansy and bee balm is growing. Lirope, mondo grass, lilies , mint and burning bushes are in the background. They need to be tackled and tamed.

Thank you for the sweet afternoon visit and for taking a gander at "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. " But I have to remember the gardens are just waking up.

As Always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

May all your weeds be beautiful flowers!

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy. Love and miss you, Amo.

Friday, April 17, 2026

Goodbye Easter Quilts , Hello Spring Quilts

It is time to change out the quilts.

I am scooping up all of the bunnies and Easter decor and changing things out. Hippety Hop! Hippety Hop! Off to the totes the bunnies go!

For early Spring, I had a few quilts hanging on vintage shutters in the small foyer.

Front and center was my Easter quilt . Eeeh ! This was it's first year on display.

This is one quilt that I thought I would never finish, but by golly, last year I "quilted across the finishing line". I was happier that an Easter rabbit with a basket full of eggs!

This quilt is made up of 2" squares.

The Easter quilt was quilted with the Baptist Fan pattern.

Another quilt that I had on display was "Garden Blooms" which is a design from Piece o' Cake. It originally was published in 2008 in the "American Patchwork & Quilting" magazine. Becky Goldsmith still has it for sale as a downloadable in her shop.

The 3rd quilt is a top that I will show in the near future. It is made from reproduction Depression Era fabrics.

So what am I changing over to next?

Eeeeh! STRAWBERRIES!

It is Strawberry Season here in my neck of the woods. Many of you know that I have a strong affection for anything "strawberry related" since my family owned a " U-Pick / We Pick Strawberry Farm" years ago.

The foyer is filled with strawberries galore.

Of course, I started decorating by draping quilts over my 3 vintage shutters.

First quilt- Scrapberries

I shared the Scrapberries block in May of 2024.

My Berry Season mini quilt is the 2nd quilt on display. I shared the Berry Season Doodles a few years ago. I stitched the little berry designs in DMC 498. I think it is berry cute- well at least in my eyes.

Because I am decorating the foyer in reds and yellows, I pulled out my Spring Chicks Quilt which I completed in March of 2021.

Those little chicks always make me smile. Plus they remind me of how we used to buy the oldest grandson chickens every year. He loves chickens. I may have told you that Mr. Pinker nicknamed our grandson "Rooster" when he was a babe. LOL.

The 1869 Spring Chick Crock was inspired by the Spring Chick quilt. Like I said I do love chickens. 🐓🐓🐓

Easter foyer shelf

In the coming days, I will share more photos of the strawberry decor and of course stitching and quilt pieces that I am putting on display. I don't know if you are like me , but not only do I love to see quilting and stitching, but I LOVE seeing how they are used and displayed. Seeing displays give me ideas and I need all of the help I can get. Hee! Hee!

As Always...

Happy Stitching and Quilting,y'all Melisa

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy... on building the new. "- Socrates

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

The Easter Tree and foyer

Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes 2026- Early 2026 parade of home freebies.

🌞2026 Love Parade- A Parade of Previous Valentine Freebies- Valentine themed stitches up to Feb. 4, 2026.

🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies.

🌞A Berry Nice Parade- A Look at Past Berry Freebies 2025- Early 2025 berry 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.

🌞Ho! Ho! Ho! Christmas Parade Of Previous Freebies- 2025- A Parade of Christmas Freebies up to the date of November 15, 2025. More Christmas Freebies followed this date.

🌞A Chilly Parade of Winter Stitches 2025- A parade of Winter themed freebies up to the date of Dec. 21, 2025

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Riding the Rails and Four Patch Fun

"Railroads and telegraph and kerosene and coal stoves-- they're good things to have, but the trouble is , folks get to depend on em." - Pa , The Long Winter

Hello, Sweet Friends. Do come in and join me on this lovely Thursday morning. Eeeh I am so excited! Today Melva at Melva Loves Scraps is posting Block 5 in the Little House on the Prairie Sew Along. Last night, I finished Block 4 Rails just in the nick of time to start Block 5. This block was such a pleasure to piece.

I arranged my rails with a pinwheel in the center.

By the Shores of Silver Creek was the book from the Little House on the Prairie series that inspired Melva to create the "Rails" block. As I pieced this delightful block using thrifted fabrics that I have collected over the years, I thought about some of my own family "Rails" stories.

Do you have any railroad stories handed down from your family?

The rail block is framed into a log cabin block.

Most of my fabrics were thrifted.

Like there was Great Grandpa David who as a child joined the Union Army during the Civil War. He not only worked long and hard on the railroad trestle bridge under the leadership of his uncle who was the Captain of a unit, but he became a spy as well. Great Grandpa David lived a long and wonderful life not far from where he worked on the rails as a child.

The dark blue fabric is from a cotton sheet.

Then there was my Uncle Billy and Uncle Al. Their "rails" story was not a happy one. As children Billy and Al, had grand ideas of riding a train and seeing beyond the small rural town that they were growing up in . They had heard grandiose tales of the hobo life .

After much thought, one day, Uncle Billy and Uncle Al who were youngins' at the time, decided to hop on the train as it rolled through the countryside. As the train clanked and rattled by , they each reached and dove towards the train in hopes of a grand adventure. Uncle Al made the jump successfully, but alas Uncle Billy did not. He was pulled onto the tracks and was tragically killed at the tender age of 13. Such a sad story, and I am sure the fate of many who dared to ride the rails during the "hobo days." But Billy was well loved and is still remembered to this very day. ❤🤗

Now back to more quilty stuff.

As I pieced "Rails", I was able to finish 4 more Four Patch Fun blocks which is my Leader/ Ender project.

This was a block introduced by Bonnie Hunter in 2025. I will share my progress on these blocks in the coming days.

Gosh, I have chatted your ears off again. Please, do forgive me.

If you have the chance , drop over and visit Melva. There is still time to join in on the Sew Along . It is free until the end of the event. Plus Melva is hosting a Little House on the Prairie Sew Along Link Party. There you can see others who are participating . Your eyes will be delighted by the beautiful blocks shared in different color ways.

Melva's Little House on the Prairie Sew Along Posts:

INTRODUCTION of the Little House on the Prairie Stitching Along - January 29, 2026

Block 1 Maple Leaf- February 5, 2026

Block 2 Native Star- February 19, 2026

Block 3 Harvest Basket- March 5, 2026

Block 4 Shoo Fly- March 19, 2026

Block 5 Rails- April 2, 2026

Thank you for spending time with me today. My morning will be filled with stitching time. Later this evening , Mr. Pinker and I will be heading back to the ballfields. Those grandbabies are keeping us busy! But what a joy!

As Always...

Happy Stitching and Quilting,

y'all

Melisa

"I've heard of the call of the wild, the call of the law, the call of the church. There is also the call of the railroad. " - Gary Krist