Pinker n Punkin Quilting & Stitching

Saturday, May 23, 2026

A Slow Stroll in the Garden and a Roundabout. - A Doodle Freebie

Good morning , sweet friends. Please do come in and join me. The coffee is piping hot. Cream ? Sugar? Or do you like it black? Perhaps some iced tea? I am so happy that you joined me on this very lovely day. It is supposed to rain, but I am not sure if it will or not. We sure do need it. We are already in a drought- it is definitely dry as dust here in the holler.

I have enjoyed seeing all of the garden tours in blogland these last few days. It is so interesting to see what is blooming and where. Speaking of gardens , do you mind coming outside with me for a minute to see what is going on this week? We won't stay out to awfully long because it is hot and humid .

I have been working on The Garden Is My Home.

The snapdragons still look pretty. This is my 1st year growing them.

One foxglove bloomed, and I have already snipped the stalk with spent blooms. I still have not put down the mulch. And yes , there still are weeds. Hee! Hee!

The day lilies will bloom soon. Ox- eye daisies are peeking beyond the yard art.

My Stella De Oro Daylilies look mighty poor this year. Usually they put on a spectacular show. Only a few are blooming. 😏💛

I have added a little bit of dianthus to the garden which is now drooping- like I said it is dry as dust.

My oldest Annabelle Hydrangea is beginning to bloom.

I must say I am one happy gardener. The hummingbirds are happy too. I have a lot of hummers this year.

Speaking of hummingbirds, when Mr. Pinker and I were in Arizona for the winter we visited the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. Outside of the visitor center was the most unusual but wonderful raised bed with hummingbird feeders. There were hummers all around , but it was hard to get photos of them.

While we are outside, let's sit on the porch for a minute or two. Shall we?

Yesterday, I was on the top porch and walked down the steps to the bottom patio. Low and behold a big snake was sunning itself. Yikesters! I screamed as it started up the steps to the next patio. Mr. Pinker shooed it away. It was just a rat snake, but it scared the bejeebers out of me! 😱 Such is the life of living in the forest.

I have already checked on the porch. No snakes will bother us as we chat. 🐍🐍🐍

Anywhooo.... After 6 years , I finally fully finished "Americana Sampler" by City Stitcher. I just adore it. I think because it is a red log cabin.

The grandsons spent the night last night. As we sat and watched movies, I worked on more Roundabout Doodles. I will be playing catch up on posting those over the next few days.

So today I would like to share "Bunny's Harvest" . This was supposed to be my April Roundabout, but time got away from me. I will be cutting fabric for this block and begin the embroidery this weekend.

My doodles are hand drawn and are never perfect. ❤

I did finish Welcoming March Roundabout. It was stitched on an 8 1/2" square piece of fabric.

Previous Roundabouts include: Frosty Chill Roundabout, Love Mail Roundabout , and Welcoming March Roundabout Doodle

Well, I guess we best get in the house and cool off before the rain comes . Have I talked your ears off? 😀😁 I sure hope not, but it was such a joy that you stopped by and visited me today.

Remember to do something you enjoy today.❤

As Always...
Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all
Melisa
"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments. "- Janet Kilburn Phillips
Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤
Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy
I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo.

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

A collection of vintage cards- my latest thrifty find.
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, May 21, 2026

In a Bustle and the Little House Heart Block

"Why are you in such a bustle? " asked Mr. Pinker as I brushed past him.

"I have a block to piece. " I hurried into the quilt room as Mr. Pinker stood silently watching .

When all of a sudden... "Clank , Thump, Crash! KaBlam!!!!"

"Oh Butterfingers! " I screamed in frustration as I dodged a small tote tumbling to the floor.

Mr. Pinker rushed to the quilt room doorway.

"What's going on in here?" he inquired.

"Grumble! Grumble! " I snarled. " My rolling cart gave way from the pressure of the totes and .... Boo Hoo... look at all of this mess!"

Mr. Pinker stood wide eyed saying nothing. Slowly but surely, he began to back out of the doorway as I gathered an armload of fabrics and rushed out of the room - only stopping briefly mind you to turn around and stick my tongue out at the protruding mess bulging from the quilt room. 😜"I am out of here! " I said and with that I went to the living room to sort and cut my fabrics.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pinker had quietly retreated to the safety of the downstairs.

Soon I was stroking and petting all of the pretty calicoes and prints . All was good again.

After making a selection of fabrics, I began to cut out the strips for Melva's 8th block called Heart .

"This looks like a fun one to piece. " I said to no one in particular. I could feel a sense of calmness wash over me.

After cutting the fabrics , I went to a spare sewing machine that I had tucked in the corner and began piecing the block. And a short time later, the Heart block was all pieced.

Soon a sweet aroma drifted from the kitchen. Mr. Pinker was baking. I proudly took my block to the kitchen.

" How are you doing? " asked Mr. Pinker.

" I am in love- look at my block."

"Pretty " said Mr. Pinker. "Lookie what I have here. " Mr. Pinker then pulled a Toll House pie from the oven.

"Eeeh" I squealed in delight. Yes, all was good . Well except for the mess in the quilting room. But I will have to muster up some strength to tackle that . Perhaps that is a weekend job. 😏😜

Today Melva at Melva Loves Scraps is posting the last block - that is Block 9 in the Little House on the Prairie Sew Along . So run don't walk and head over to Melva's so you can join in all of the fun.

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

Block 6 Snowflake- April 16, 2026

Block 7 Kitten in the Corner- April 30, 2026

Block 8 Heart- May 7, 2026

Block 9 Prairie Rose - May 21, 2026

As Always...

Happy Stitching and Quilting,

y'all

Melisa

" Courage and kindness, loyalty, truth and helpfulness are always the same and always needed. - Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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 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

🌞Let's Dye Some Fabric- A tutorial on my process of dyeing Aida using Rit dye.

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

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

Joy at Days Filled with Joy for Home Matters

Brenda at Songbird Designs for Monday Musings

Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Witches, Pilgrims and Thrifty Finds

What's going on in the holler today? Well, a little bit of this and that and a whole lot of nothing! LOL. 😀😏

Oh bother, here comes Miss Witch Hazel McPumpkin, sweeping up a storm when she should be working on her cottage. Cackle! Cackle!

Please forgive her green complexion . She had a bad bowl of toadstool soup, but she will be fine and dandy come Halloween time.

I work on Halloween stitches on Wednesdays for at least 15 minutes.

Pickings have been slim at the thrift stores lately , but over the last few weeks I have added 2 stinkin' cute Halloween jack- o- lantern mugs for my small collection.

2 thrifty Halloween mugs to add to my collection

Hmmm... what else can I show you? Well, I am making progress on Susannah's dress in Celebrate the Harvest , a new design I am working on.

On Thursdays I work on Thanksgiving stitches.

I found this turkey planter the other day at the thrift store for $1. 27. Gobble ! Gobble!

And... I am ready to sew down the binding on Little Red Four Patch .

I guess there is a few things going on in the holler today.

So ... What are you working on today?

As Always,
Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all
Melisa
Thank you for the sweet visit.
"Wednesday : it's almost, sorta, kinda, close to,just about , nearly the weekend . " - unknown.
Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤
Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy. Love and miss you, Amo.

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

More sidewalk chalk artwork from my grandson

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

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Summer Quilt Stamp- Summer Freebie

Good morning, y'all and a very lovely Tuesday to you. How was your weekend? Mine was fine and dandy, but fairly busy.

With all of the weeding and planting in the gardens, I did not have the opportunity to stitch the latest Summer Stamp until late Sunday evening.

As I stitched on Summer Quilt , my head went into the clouds as I began dreaming- dreaming of a summer picnic.

A picnic is a state of mind and can be made anywhere. _ unknown

When my girls were young, we would often lay a quilt out on the ground, set up an array of summertime munchies like hot dogs , chips and cold drinks and enjoy a lazy afternoon. Sometimes the girls would sit on the quilt and make clover necklaces and bracelets by interlocking the stems around the clover blooms. Did you do that as a kid?

By late evening, the girls were running amuck trying to catch lightning bugs so they could gingerly place them into a jar. That is what we call slow living on the farm. I do miss those days .

Summer Stamp was stitched on 14 count Aida.

Now we have the grandsons and nephews who often come over and spend the night. Rather than having picnics , they enjoy time in the pool . When nighttime comes, they like for us to build a fire in the fire pit. It does not take long for them to gather their roasting sticks to toast marshmallows and make s'mores. Hmmm...Since school will be letting out on Friday, I better make sure our pantry is well stocked with marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolates ; I am sure there will be a sleepover by the week's end- that is if I am lucky.

Anywhooo... Summer Quilt is all stitched and ready for a summer picnic.

Summer Quilt was stitched with the following DMC colors: 223, 815, 930, 932 and Blanc . Of course, if you decide to stitch Summer Quilt, you could stitch it in whatever floss colors your precious heart desires. ❤

If you are interested in how I dyed my 14 count Aida, I shared the process in a previous post entitled Let's Dye Some Fabric

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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.

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If you missed any of the previous posts in respect to the Summer Stamp SAL , below is a schedule with links back to the appropriate posts.

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SUMMER STAMP SCHEDULE

April 2nd Summer Stamp Introduction

April 7th Stamp Stamp Border

April 14th Summer Stamp Header

April 21st Summer Stamp 1 "And the Garden Grows"

April 28th Summer Stamp 2 Summer Harvest

May 5th Summer Stamp 3 Summertime Treat

May 12th Summer Stamp 4 Sunflower Strut

May 19th Summer Stamp 5 Summer Quilt

May 26th Summer Stamp 6

June 2nd Summer Stamp 7

June 9th Summer Stamp 8

June 16th Summer Stamp 9

June 23rd Bonus Summer Stamp 10

June 27th Final Reveal

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I am not sure what I will get into today. The house does need a good cleaning, but then there are some lovely fabrics that are calling loudly - " Yoo Hoo! Come play with me! " Hee ! Hee! Nine times out of ten , I end up playing with my fabrics rather than tackling the house chores.

As Always...

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"A picnic is more than eating a meal; it is a pleasurable state of mind."- Dee Dee Stovel

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. Summer days are not the same without you . I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo.

🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

A Summer themed tiered tray.