The Changing of the Quilts

 Goodbye Spring Quilts ! Hello Summer Quilts!

Way back in the month of May, I meant to change out my quilt display in the little foyer- that is where I have 3 vintage thrifted shutters that I drape seasonal quilts over. 

BUT... my Spring quilts hung on like a tick on a hound dog through the month of May into June . Miss Lazy Bones aka ME just did not have the energy or the inclination  to make the change.  All the while my patriotic quilts were steaming mad that they were not out and about frolicking for the season. 

Well yesterday, I rummaged through the quilt room and made the change. "We are coming out!"  screamed the Patriotic Quilts! 

"NOPE, " I said . The Summer quilts smiled politely as I scooped them up.  While the Patriotic Quilts boohooed in tears. 

So let me show you who is on display for the summer season. 

Front and center on the thrifted shutters is my Summer Days Quilt that I finished in 2023.

For weeks I shared little Summer doodles , that were used to create this quilt. It still is a favorite. 

Links for the embroidery designs can be found in the  Summer Days  reveal in December of 2026

I had wanted to hang Grandma's Love on the 2nd shutter, but alas I had to remove it because it was too bulky.

Sooo....my 2nd favorite vintage quilt top went in its place. 

This quilt top was purchased about 20 years ago for only $6.00 and some change. It is called Otto's Quilt. 

Why do you ask? 

Well , look at this! Right in the center is embroidered the name "Otto G.  MAR 1944" . Swoon! ❤🤗  

I am not sure if Otto made the quilt or if it was made  for Otto. 

Aren't the prints yummy! I love the use of blues, lilacs and reds. How clever. 

And look at the darling vintage cowboy fabric. Was Otto a little buckaroo?!  Ride em' cowboy!🤠

Aaw and the little critter fabric! Again- cute as a button! 

Maybe Otto's quilt should be my 2027 Focus Quilt.  Hmmm... I will think on it. 🤔

The little Basket quilt rounded out my 3rd shutter.  I call it Little Miss S. Quilt named after my daughter. The yellow floral fabric was made from a her baby dress and the yellow plaid is from a man's shirt. 

As an afterthought, I went back and added one more quilt to my shutters.  Do you see it among all of the clutter? 😀 I promise you. It is there . Hee! Hee! 

It was my little Eggs and Chicken Quilt. I shared these little doodles as a freebie way back in 2023. 🐔

I have to say , I am now happy that I have made the change. Soon  all the patriotic country clutter  on the vintage foyer shelf will march back to their bins and closets and new summer decor will take their place, but don't be surprised if some patriotic lingers in place- this is a big year!

So tell me . Do you have a favorite place that you like to decorate for the seasons? 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"You don't have to change your entire life overnight, just  do one thing a little better than you did yesterday. Then do it again.   "- unknown

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy

 I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

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Buzzing Bees and "1776" - A Patriotic Freebie

"Well that stitched up in 2 shakes of a lamb's tail," I said to Frat as I was sat on the porch.     

Frat just chirped an unhappy chirp. She was a little peeved and was in no mood to chirp sweetly. And... Yep, she had already built a nest in the 2nd fern before I could deter her.

Look at those delicate finch eggs. I was careful not to disturb them. She has already been back on her nest. 

A short while earlier , I brought my basket of stitching supplies and sat on the porch. 

The rain had gave way to sunny skies. I listened to Frit and Frat, the House Finches, and from a distance I could hear Mr. Pinker rumble and grumble. 

"What's going on I asked, Frit? " I then laid down my stitching and walked to the garage. 

As I approached, I could smell a sweet aroma drifting with the breeze.  Mr. Pinker had been to the bee yard at the farm and brought back some supers to extract the honey. Bees were buzzing all around . 

And the honey smelled delightful. 

The super with frames of honey. 

"Whatch' doing, Hon?"  I asked as Mr. Pinker picked up the hive tool to separate the frames. 

The J Hook Hive tool is used to open up the super, pry apart hive bodies and lift heavy frames. 

Mr. Pinker looked up as bees darted around his head. 

"Some of these supers are full. It is time to extract some honey , Honey,  "he replied with a smile.  

The  bees continued buzzing all about; they were none too happy on this muggy day. 🐝🐝🐝🐝

"It smells divine," I said as I touched the frame with my finger to gather a drip of honey for the tasting. "Tasty too. "

A frame of capped honey

 Mr. Pinker stood by his work table with the hooded veil covering his head  while I meandered from the frames to the extractor with not a care in the world that the bees were buzzing all about. 

"Buzz, Buzz, Buzz" went the bees. 🐝🐝🐝

Mr. Pinker soon went to work - uncapping the honey. 

 Cutting the caps off the combs to expose the honey. 

I watched curiously. " It smells so sweet! I think I could eat the whole bucket. " I said with a smile knowing good and well I could never do that. 

Glistening uncapped honey.

Mr. Pinker continued working . He was hot and the bees were still buzzing mad. "Will these bees find their way back to the barn?" I asked. 

"Yep, they will be fine." he replied.  He was doing the extracting at the house and not at the beeyard. So I was a bit worried that so many bees had rode along in the truck to the house . 

Once the a frame was uncapped , it went into the honey extractor. This is an old extractor given to us by my uncle many years ago. It is hand cranked and made in the good ole' US of A. 

Antique honey extractor

Soon Mr. Pinker had two frames in the extractor , and he began to hand crank and spin the honey out of the combs. 

Two frames are put in the extractor and then the honey is spun from the combs. 

CRANK ! CRANK! CRANK! RATTLE AND ROLL!

Once Mr. Pinker had extracted the honey from the frames, he would open up the valve and the honey would drain into the strainer and into the food grade bucket, but I did not stay to watch that process. 

The extracted honey will drain into the strainer and then into the food grade bucket until bottled. 

As Mr. Pinker cranked and cranked and cranked, the bees began to buzz by me. I turned and headed back up the hill intent on not getting stung. 

"Hey , where are you going? " asked Mr. Pinker. 

"It looks like you and the bees have  got it all under control , Hon. I have got stitching to tend to. " And with that I sprinted up the hill , up the steps, pass Frat the House Finch and into the sanctuary of a cool living room. 

It was not long before I had popped "1776" into a thrifted frame that my sweet baby sis gave me years ago. Because I gave myself little finishing room, I had to add a little bit of patriotic fabric to fill the frame. Hey at least it is a finish. Hee! Hee! 

This is a "Choose Your Own Color" chart. If you are interested , I used DMC floss colors-  Blanc, 815, 3750, and 3852. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

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. 

    🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵 

Well Sweeties, that's what has been going on in the holler- Bees, birds and a little bit of stitching.  Hmmm, now what can I get into today? Hee! Hee! 

Have a bee-autiful day and thank you so much for dropping by for my Thursday tale. 

I am going to continue patriotic stitching all through the year.

 Are you ? 

My buffet is filled to the brim with patriotic goodies. In the background in the frame is Waxing Moon' Design's Patriotic Trio Houses- a favorite stitched years ago. 

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey. " - Winnie the Pooh

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗

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

🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯🐝🍯

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

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Summer Joys Roundabout

 Two posts in one day. Aaaw . Why not? But I promise, I will not chat your ears off in this one. I just wanted to leave you with a little doodle . You can do anything with this doodle. Embroider , color, punch needle- whatever your sweet heart desires, and your imagination dreams up. 🤗

Gardening is endless even in the summer time of heat.  There is weeding, watering and of course harvesting fruits, vegetables and lovely flowers for sweet bouquets. July's Roundabout doodle is called Summer Joys.  With gardening season in full swing, there is plenty of watering and of course flowers to pick. 

Summer Joys was stitched using 2 strands of floss using the back stitch , the lazy daisy stitch for the flower leaves, and French knots in the flowers. .  Of course, you can use any stitch that you please. 

JUST IN CASE YOU ARE INTERESTED

The following floss colors were used : 

🏵Watering Can: DMC 312,  783 ( Star)

🏵 Leaves and Stems: DMC 986, 3346

🏵 Flowers #1 & #3: DMC 783 (Petals and French Knots) , 3862 ( Flowers Stamens) 

🏵 Flowers # 2 & #4: DMC 498 ( Main Flower) , 3688 ( Upper Petals)  

🏵 Scalloped Border: DMC 498

My doodles are hand drawn and are never perfect. ❤

The block is framed with 20-  2 1/2" squares( unfinished).  The embroidered block measures 8 1/2( unfinished) .  

After framing the embroidered block, the  roundabout measures 12 1/2" squared unfinished. 

Don't forget; there are other doodles in the series. If you have missed any of them, just click on the colored links, and you will be whisked away  to  the appropriate post. 

Frosty Chill Roundabout

Love Mail Roundabout

Welcoming March Roundabout Doodle 

Bunny Harvest Roundabout 

May Flowers Roundabout

Sweet Melody Roundabout 

I am still debating on how I will lay out my quilt once all of the roundabouts are embroidered. Should I add sashing around each block or make the blocks bigger? Hmmm... I am not for sure. There will be 12  seasonal blocks so I still have time to think on it.

Well Sweet Peas, I am off to draw August's roundabout. Perhaps I will even start it today. 
 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"In the circle of life , everything is connected.  "- 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 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 Stomping Stamp Parade 2026  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to June 2, 2026

🌞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 

 

Nastariums are in bloom. 

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

Frederique at   Quilting Patchwork Applique for Patchwork & Quilts - Saturday

Angela of  So Scrappy  for Scrap Happy Saturday

Joy at Days Filled with Joy for Home Matters