Blog Archive

Saturday, May 2, 2026

Berries , Berries and More Berries Hutch Tour

 Rise and Shine, Sunshine!  Please do come in  and join me on this lovely Spring day. I hope you have some pep in your step  and joy in your heart today. 

Believe it or not, I have not posted a country clutter tour since December! Wowzer!  But don't worry , I have still been piling in the clutter. Hee! Hee! 😀😁  I would be delighted if joined me for this year's first "Colorful Country Clutter " tour .

 I know this is not for all, but I am a maximalist . I enjoy the  humble jumbles of knick knacks and whatnots. Now my collections didn't happen overnight , but have been in the decades of making.  So if you are up to it, let's go check out my hutch all decorated in the Strawberry theme. 


My hutch is not very large. Mr. Pinker built it for me almost 30 years ago, and it has been tucked in the corner of the small kitchen ever since we moved here. 

After removing all of my Easter decor ... ( Hmmm I failed to show you the hutch with all of the bunnies. If you would like to see that just let me know. ) ... I added my red Dollar Tree  and thrifted strawberry plates. I kept the white valances which I am using as shelf runners on the hutch.  I use a string of white Christmas lights which I tuck among the clutter to bring a little twinkle to my hutch. 



I rarely change what is on the top of the hutch. The old large Campbell's soup tin holds dishes.  I added the Toll House cookie tin which holds Christmas kitchen salt and pepper shakers . ( I am always interested in where maximalists store their stuff. Are you? ) I bought the Coca Cola crates years ago at an Estate Sale. The old coke bottles have been found in creeks and such. 


Shhh... Don't tell anyone , but I have a plate addiction. And I refuse to get help. Hee! Hee!  Little saucers are stacked in the corner on the top shelf with a Hall pitcher purchased at the World's Longest Yard sale sitting on top.  More little tins are added to the mix . Vintage children's  toy kitchen utensils are carefully placed in a juice glass.  My sweet sis gifted me the strawberry bottle opener. 


I often leave some of the same old things on the hutch from season to season such as the little glass salt and pepper shakers as well as the white ones. They were some of the last gifts from my sis. 🤗 She was like me and loved to go to yard sales and thrift stores, and boy, could she find the bargains. 

Sitting above the little wooden strawberry sign is  Strawberry Jam Jar   from my Mason Jar series. ( And yes, I still have more jars in my mind to create. ) 


Years ago I found this little crewel work at the thrift store for under a dollar. It is still one of my favorites. 

Well we made it through the 1st shelf.  Are you up to seeing more? If so, let's hop on down to the 2nd shelf.  Hippety Hop! Down we go! 


Ok, Ok. I will admit to another addiction -TEAPOTS! Gosh, I love them. 

I have 2 strawberry teapots. This little beauty came with the teacups.  And there are  more salt and pepper shakers- a third addiction. Hee! Hee!  ( When I store my strawberry items, some of the  salt and pepper shakers are stored in the teapot for safe keeping. )


Front and center is Amy Lou the Berry Picker   which was made in memory of my sweet sis. It holds a very special place in my heart. Below it are some of the strawberry stamps that I shared last year including Strawberry Quilt Stamp,   Strawberry Jam and Biscuits Stamp  and Berries For Sale Stamp

Faux berries are tucked in an old measuring cup. 


Right on top of the old vintage tea canister is  Mini Strawberry Sampler  which I shared a couple of years ago. The  Strawberry Ice Cream Stamp is placed in the vintage red tea glass. Isn't that drinking glass gorgeous? It was another World's Longest Yard Sale find. 

 


Wheww! Are your eyes crossed yet? 👀😜😅 I sure hope not because we are shimmying on down to the bottom shelf. Shimmy shimmy! 

On the bottom shelf, I place a simple red and white quilt made from 3 1/2" ( unfinished) scraps. And then I went to town layering in all kinds of berry goodness. 

In the corner is my 1 and only strawberry themed cookie jar. ( My cookie jars are usually stored in the "she shed") . In the old juicer, I placed a 1990's Dollar General jam jar.


The jam jar sits on a little postcard quilt that I made decades ago using scraps and ink stamps. 


 Strawberries and Cream Stamp


Last year, Dolly Parton had a Spring collection at the Dollar General. When I saw the measuring cup with strawberries on it, I could not snatch it up quick enough. 

 

 Strawberry , a freebie found on the Lizzie Kate website, fits perfectly in the measuring cup.   




Lastly on the vintage scale are some gifted small platters from my sis which are filled with vintage pot holders, berries and "Sweet Strawberry " which is a freebie from Caroline at Cosmic Handmade.  



Well that's my Berry themed hutch in a nutshell   I mean berry basket . Filled to the brim . Right? Hmmm or can I squeeze in one more berry piece? LOL.  Gosh, I better not try. It is bursting at the seams as it is. 


It was berry sweet of you to join me today. If you have the chance, stop back by tomorrow. I will be sharing  my BERRIES stitch which I have shown in previous posts. 

Spring on the Farm  and Berries

May your day be as sweet as a strawberry! 🍓

As Always, 

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

"Life is like strawberries- sometimes sour sometimes sweet .  " - unknown.

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy , the sweetest strawberry picker. It is just not the same without you, Amo.  Love and miss you, Amo.  Also this is dedicated to my Nanny . Today is her birthday. Happy Heavenly Birthday. Nanny I love you to the moon and back! 

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

 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 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




 



Friday, May 1, 2026

May Day Quilting , Stitching and Tiny Tomato House Freebie

A very Happy May Day to you , sweet friends.

Have you ever danced around the Maypole?  No,not me though I have to admit it sounds like a whole lot of fun. 


As a child, we would make small paper cone baskets and fill them with flowers to welcome in the new month and the warm Spring weather. 
Purple Majesty is in bloom. 

Today, I will be celebrating May Day in the sewing room. I  am still plugging away on  Bonnie Hunter's 2025 Leader/ Ender project called Four Patch Fun

I am working with 2 1/2" squares and strips. The finished block size will be 8 ". 


These blocks are being made with scraps primarily in the red, , white , blue color way.  35 blocks are completed. I still need more, more, more! 



Of course, I am sneaking in some Christmas fabric.  Christmas fabric seems to end up in all my quilts. Hee! Hee! 

Some Christmas fabric in the mix. 


Oh, I am so excited to share with you the latest Tiny House stitch- Tiny Tomato House!    I am quite smitten with it. 🤗



The little house is flanked with a small tomato vine and a spool of thread on the opposite side of the house. Below it are 3 ripe tomatoes.

 

I am finishing all of my Tiny Houses the same way as teeny pillows with a bit of crocheted lace.  I shared the measurements and how I made the Tiny House pillows in the post with Tiny Winter's Day House.


 🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

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 have missed any of the other houses and are interested , just click on the colored links and you will be transported back to the post and the charts.


 On Monday, my sweet friend, Dianet at parchesdeamorblogspot posted her adorable finish of my Tomatoes stitch on her blog.  I do hope you will visit her because she made some changes and made it ever so special. What did she do? Well, she added some applique. Talking about cute! ❤🍅❤ So I do hope you will drop by  Dianet's for a visit. She always has so many lovely projects in the works and she offers the most beautiful freebies as well.  Thank you , dear friend. 
So with that, today I am going to work on fully finishing my "Tomatoes" cross stitch as well.

Later, Mr. Pinker and I will be heading to the ball field. The grandsons are staying super busy with their ballgames having practice or games at least 6 days a week. We are enjoying every minute of watching them. 

Have a marvelous day, Sweeties! 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

" A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. "- Mother Teresa

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 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. 

The berry hutch in a soft glow of lights. 


Please forgive me for being so behind on visiting. It has been another one of those weeks.🙄 I think we all have them from time to time. Right? Hopefully, things will slow down soon.  Thank you so much , for your love , understanding and support. Love ya' ! 

Thursday, April 30, 2026

The Snowflake Block- Little House on the Prairie SAL

 Have you heard! Have you heard!  Today Melva at Melva Loves Scraps is posting Block 7 in the Little House on the Prairie Sew Along. Eeeeh! 


I have to admit I was a little intimidated by Block 6 the Snowflake block But with Melva's easy peasy instructions, I whipped up the Snowflake block without a hitch. 
"All day and all night, the house trembled, the winds roared and screamed, the snow scoured against the walls and over the roof..." - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Now is "my piecing" perfect? Well no , but that's just me! So please don't mind the imperfect points or any wonkiness. Of course, you see that in all of my quilts. Hee! Hee!  

 

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

"Soon the snow would come. Then the log house would be almost buried in snowdrifts, and the lake and the stream would freeze."- Laura Ingalls Wilder

I am using fabrics in my stash some of which have been thrifted. 

Remember Melva is offering this Sew Along for free until the end of the event which you can find more information on Melva's website in the Introduction of the Sew Along.  Thank you , again Melva for all of the quilting fun! 🤗

The other day I was at the thrift store and found 2 more books from the Little House on the Prairie series to add to my collection.  I promptly started reading On My Way Home

Alrighty, Sweeties, I better get to work on Melva's newest addition. I wish you a beautiful day . 


As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake. "- Sara Raasch

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy . You always had so much fun during the winter time when snow blanketed the ground. 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 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. 
More Strawberry decor 

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.

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

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



Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Let's Dye Some Fabric

 Fabric ✅

Salt ✅

Rit dye ✅

Hot water ✅



Welcome y'all. What am I doing? Well messin and gommin' as my Nanny would say.😁😀 

Actually today I am going to dye a small piece of 14 count Aida , and I thought I would  take you along with me and share how I  do it. But before we begin,  please, oh please. I beg of you . Do not call the cross stitch or "fabric dyeing " police on me.  This might not be the right way , but it is my way of dyeing fabric, and I have been pleased as punch through the years on how my fabrics have turned out. 

Alrighty, let's get started . Shall we? 


Remember when you are messin' and gommin' , cover your work area to protect it from the dye or any spills. Plastic gloves are handy to protect your hands from dye stains as well. 

I dyed the fabric Lemon Yellow for the Summer SAL. You can see the marbled effect from scrunching the fabric.  Oh bother, the little dark smudge is dirt from the garden. I will get that out shortly. 

First off, let's look at the dye that I am using.  I am using a liquid All Purpose Rit dye which is good for fabrics such as cotton, wool, nylon, linen and silk.  I usually buy mine at Walmart. 

This bottle of dye has been well used. 

 Now let's talk about the salt. The salt is supposed to intensify the colors and help with the dye absorption . The general rule is 1 cup of salt for 3 gallons of water or 1 lb of fabric or one part salt to 16 parts water.  But I am not dyeing that much. I just have this little bitty piece of fabric . So what do I do? Well I eyeball it! Remember, I have told you in the past that I fly by the seat of my pants. My philosophy is "If I don't like the results, I can redye it or dye another piece of fabric. " 

Now what about the water?  Well you want it to be hot at 140 degrees or higher. 

Now let's dye a small batch of  Aida. I will be dyeing my fabric in a pickle jar. Sometimes I use a milk jug that I have cut the top off of. 

🌞1. Heat up your water. I heated mine in the microwave. Be careful. It is hot ! 

🌞2. Dissolve the salt in the water.

Water is heated. Time to add the salt. I am eye balling it for a small batch. 
 
🌞 3. Shake your Rit dye before you begin. Add the dye to your "dyeing"  container .I start off with a couple of cap fulls.    
Then add your dissolved salt water to your container. ( To be honest I do not add much water to begin with.)

 I used 2 cap fulls to dye my small piece of fabric.
I did not add much water. I will add more after I add my fabric  if it needs more to be submerged. 



🌞 4. The fabric that I am dyeing today measures 12" x 18".    I wet my fabric and then .I scrunch and wad  it  because I like "marbled or splotchy" effect that is sometimes  created while dyeing.  Immerse your fabric into the dye. If there is not enough dye water to cover the fabric, carefully add more salt water. 

 I wet my fabric and scrunch it before adding it to the dyeing jar. 

🌞5. I use a wooden skewer to stir my fabric around. Then I let it sit.  Ever so often I check the intensity of the color. For example, I do not let my gray fabrics sit in the dye too long because I just want a light gray . 

Using a skewer to stir my fabric. 

To test your dye before immersing your fabric, you may want to take a small snippet and place it in the dye beforehand. If the dye is too bright or intense, add more water. If it is not intense enough add more dye. I would start with just a cap full and see how it goes.  I leave my fabric in the dye from 10 minutes up to an hour or longer.  I often pull the fabric out and check the color. Remember that it will dry lighter than what is shown. 
Once  I think that the color is to my liking, I pull it out of the dye. Now this is a judgement call based on how you want your fabric to look. 
Rinse the fabric in cool water until the water runs clear. 

I hang my fabric out to dry. If the fabric is not dark enough , I return it to the dye bath after adding more of the color. 
Hanging fabric outside to dry. 



The fabric is dyed , pressed and ready to be stitched on. 

So that is how I dye my fabrics. 

As always, I encourage you to have fun, do research and dye your fabric to your liking using your favorite method. It is all about the enjoyment and the experience of living and learning in my book. Right?  

Happy Dyeing , friends. 

As Always, 

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

"The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you .  " - B.B. King

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

A Sampler for Lois Ann. 
I dyed this fabric using a Charcoal Gray which I rinsed pretty quickly out for a light affect. 

A Cup of Christmas Cheer- Santa Mug  was dyed with Rit Aquamarine. I then boiled it in a tea bath which gave it a vintage aqua/green look. 

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

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Berries , Berries and More Berries Hutch Tour