The Tale of a New Start

Hello, Sunshine and a very Happy Saturday to you! 

It was a very blustery day in the holler yesterday. The trees were whipping and cracking all about. The birds flew from limb to limb, and the leaves whirled and swirled to the ground. 

Wow! Look at my flag snapping in the howling wind! 

I soon retreated into the house to avoid the winds and the few sprinkles that descended from the sky.

     

 "Hmmm what  should I do ? " I  asked as I admired the pretty fabrics that my daughter sent me. 

Soon I spread the pretty  2 1/2" strips out on the cutting board enjoying all of the pretty florals. 

" Dare I start another quilt today?" I asked  Annie who sat quietly on her rocking horse with her own wee quilt.  

"I do think I will! "I exclaimed.  Annie just smiled sweetly.  

As the wind howled outside , a glorious quilt came to mind.

 After giving it some thought , I hopped over to Diann's blog, Little Penguin Quilts , searching back  through her previous posts- just searching for the quilt that has been burned into my mind for nigh 2 years. As I eagerly scrolled through Diann's previous posts,  I  admired all of the pretties and took notes of future projects . In no time,  I came to it in  Diann's April 1, 2023 post called  "A Slowly Stitched Finish " .

 "There it is! I" shouted. 

"What dear ? " asked Mr. Pinker who appeared like a ghost  into the room. "Who are you talking to? What did you find?  " 

 "I am just talking about a quilt, dear. "It is a beauty that Diann created called Dancing Pluses. " 

As I pulled out my rotary cutter, Mr. Pinker looked down at the cutting mat;  he knew what was fixing to happen .  So off he went to see what he could get into on this blustery day. 

 Since this month's RSC challenge is dark fabrics, I thought why not piece some dark Plus blocks. With a swish and a swoosh, the rotary cutter was cutting away. Soon I had the 1st block ready to piece. 

As I was merrily sewing away, all went dark in the house. 

"Bummer ! " I shouted!    

The lights went out! I got up and looked outside the window. No rain, but a few small limbs had been stripped from the trees . 

As I made my way back to the sewing machine, the lights turned on .

"Eeeh we are back in business! "

 Again , I started sewing away and guess what happened. Yep ! The electricity went off again.  😲

 This "back and forth" with the electricity went on all evening long.  Frustrated I  called Mom.  As everyone knows, moms make everything better . Yes even power outages.  🤗 

"Is your electricity flickering on and off? ", I asked Mom. 

 "No, but the I saw the electric company's  truck down the road from your house working. "   And "POOF!" - right then and there the electricity came back on and stayed on -- see I told you moms make everything better. Hee! Hee!     

By the end of the day, I was able to get 4 blocks pieced . Like Diann's blocks , mine measure 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" unfinished. 

 Rather than tempt the "power fates" and start piecing some brown blocks,  I called it a day and stepped back to admire the Dancing Plus blocks that I was able to piece.   

 Thank you so much, Diann for the constant inspiration. 

Well that's my story, and I am sticking to it! 😀🤗

 We did not get the rain that we were hoping for, but it was a nice cool day. 

Thank you for stopping by to hear my tale of a new start.  I think I will tempt the fates today and try to piece more blocks. Fingers crossed the electricity stays on! 

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"It is all about which way you look..."

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗🧵

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I miss and love you so much.   ❤👼

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.

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

Frederique at   Quilting Patchwork Applique for Patchwork & Quilts - Saturday

Angela of  So Scrappy for Scrap Happy Saturday

Graphics from Pinterest.

 

Otis Payne's Bow Tie Quilt

  Hello , Sunshine! How about a thrifty Thursday post? I have not done one of those in a blue moon.  Well, actually, I have been showing you some thrifty finds in previous posts, but oh well, here goes. 😉😀❤

A  few weeks ago, Mr. Pinker and I went on the World's Longest Yard Sale route. Down the valley and up and over the mountains we went.

 As soon as we reached the bottom of the mountain the skies opened up and it began to rain cats and dogs. 

Oh bother! As we pulled off the side of the road to avoid driving in the heavy rain, we saw yard salers covering up their wares with tarps and plastic. The sales would have to wait. We sat patiently until the rain died down, and then we went merrily on our way into town. 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat as we waited for the sun to shine and the yard salers to open back up. Once we filled our bellies, we made our way to a quaint antique store. Mr. Pinker and I divided up and around and around I went, weaving in and out of aisles. 

Soon Mr. Pinker came to me and said , "Did you see the quilt tops in the booth back there?"  

"How did I miss that?"😲 I followed Mr . Pinker back to a tightly packed booth, and I spotted a red beauty hanging on the rack smiling brightly. Eeeeh !  "You did it, hon! " You spotted a quilt top for me! " I exclaimed in glee. 

 Lots of fabulous fun fabrics in this beauty. I just couldn't take my eyes off of it.

 I gathered it up and looked for the price tag and then I spotted it! "Eeeeh ! Sold"  Wow what a steal! 

  I named this quilt Otis Payne's Bow Tie .

 

 It is another Alabama beauty that I am anxious to put in the hoop, but it will have to wait for awhile. 

Alrighty, Sweeties, that's my find for the day. What do you think about it? I am swooning. Of course, you know me - a red quilt always makes my heart go thumpity thump! 

Have a beautiful day and...

 As Always...

Happy quilting and stitching, y'all

Melisa

"Thrifting is more than shopping , it is an everyday adventure"- Unknown

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵

Dedicated to my sweet baby sister, Amy who loved to go to yard sales and thrift stores. Boy , could she find the deals.  I love and miss you so much, Amo! 💗💗💗

Wordless Wednesday Late Summer on the Farm

 Yee Haw! It is Wednesday! We are half way to the weekend, and that is always a good thing. Welcome, Sweeties. Today  I thought I would share some late summer snapshots of the farm in this Not So Wordless Wednesday post .  I hope you enjoy!

Big Bad Brad and Gertie

We are still baling hay . 

Edna looks bright eyed and bushy tailed. Doesn't she? 

 Molly and her babe. 

We have a lot of groundhogs this year. One of them  has made a entrance along the fence line. 

Have a wonderful relaxing day, sweet friends and... 

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Every day is a good day on the farm

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗🧵

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I miss and love you so much.   ❤👼

Thank you for the sweet visit. Y'all come back now, you hear. 

A Pumpkin or Two- A Fall Freebie

Here a pumpkin; there a pumpkin! Everywhere a pumpkin, pumpkin!

Good morning, Sunshine! 

DOLLAR GENERAL ALERT!  

Dollar General has these cutie patootie  fall signs / hornbooks for a dollar.  Wow ! What a deal! Of course, 2 jumped right into my cart, and being quite smitten,  I was just unwilling to shoo them away. 😂  I thought these would be darling for finishing. 

 

I knew exactly which stitch I wanted to put on one of these hornbooks. A Pumpkin or Two which I worked on a few days ago.

 

I really liked the cute designs on both of the hornbooks so I chose the "Fall , Fall, Fall" one and flipped it over and began  painting the backside with white paint. It took 2 coats. The little hornbook soaked the paint up pretty quickly. 

Here is  "A Pumpkin or Two" all finished !  I am pretty happy with it. 

I stitched "A Pumpkin or Two " on 14 count coffee / tea dyed aida.  It barely fit on the hornbook. I was hoping to add a ruffle , trim or another fabric covered board underneath , but I was not able. However , if  I  stitched it  on a different count fabric, I could have done that.  Anywhoo, let me tell you about the measurements. 

The  finished mounting board was a smidge under 3" x 4" . If you use the same finishing piece and size fabirc, my advice is to cut your mounting board  3 1/4" x 4 1/4" and then slowly cut it down to size it to  fit on the hornbook. It is a tight fit, but I went with it anyway. It was a cheapo finish. Hee! Hee! And you know I like that!

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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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 I quilted a blue butterfly last night.  On to the next block!  

On Saturday , I started "Tiny Blackbird" from Blackbird Designs. Thank you dear Barbara . I am enjoying every stitch. ❤🪡

Time to change out the mantle . The  summer mantle was decorated in blue transferware and yellow pottery. 

I got a head start for Christmas and put up my Christmas garland on the mantle and draped lights , fall leaves and florals for the Autumn season. Come Christmas time, I will just take out the florals and decorate the garland for Christmas.  The fall mantle has blue pumpkin plates from the Dollar General and lots of pumpkins. 

Well that the Tuesday Happenings in the holler. Have a pumpkin spice kind of day,  Sweeties and ...

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"Autumn leaves and pumpkins please. "  

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗🧵

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I miss and love you so much.   ❤👼

Berry Season Quilt and a Harvest Season Doodle

 Eeeeh Berry Season is complete! 

Good morning, y'all and a lovely day to you! Yep, I have  a finish!

 It has taken me all summer, but I finished Berry Season the other day - the quilting and the binding. 

Hmm now why did it take me so long ? Lol I do not know , but it I guess I was dragging  my feet in the berry field. 

 I shared the Berry Doodles earlier this year and stitched them on 4 1/2" ( unfinished)  pieces of fabric.

 These little blocks were perfect to pair with four patches that finished at 4".  

Last year, I bought the beautiful strawberry fabric online. I was thrilled when I saw it in person .   I think it was perfect for this mini quilt. What do you think?

  Hmmm you  know what they say- if you have a finish, then  by golly, you need a new start! Hee! Hee! I believe that is a saying LOL - Well I am sticking to it!   Soooo.....

Can I interest you in Harvest Season?  These are my doodles that I will be working on.  I will stitch them on 4 1/2" pieces of fabric and then piece them into a  quilt.  But I was thinking they would be awfully cute as wool applique as well. 

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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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I am chomping at the bits to show you the darling giftie from my sweet pea,  friend Stacy. Is that little Strawberry Picker not the cutest ? I just love it!!!!  Aaah and that tad of lace- how precious .  You rocked my day, Stacy. Thank you. 😘

The border is complete on a new fall freebie. It is going to be a small that I will share in the near future. 

The grandbabes start fall ball today so I will spend the evening snapping photos, cheering and of course, slipping in a bit of stitching. I plan to work on my applique pumpkins that I showed yesterday. 

Enjoy  your day and ...

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in awhile"  -Unknown

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗🧵

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I miss and love you so much.   ❤👼

 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. 

Susan at Quilt Fabrication for  Midweek Makers Wednesday

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

Joy at Days Filled with Joy for Home Matters