Friday Happenings

It's Friday! It's Friday Yeee Haw! It's Friday!

 Good morning, Sweet friends . How are you on this lovely fall day? 

I have had a long week of cleaning and organizing in the quilt room. Slowly but surely, I am making progress, but I will spare you the photos of the room bulging of stacks of fabrics and UFO's galore. 

QUILT ALONG ALERT! QUILT ALONG ALERT!

Kathleen Tracy of Sentimental Stitcher is hosting a Scraps Stars QAL. She posted the introduction information and tips on making star points in her October, 2, 2026 post. 

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This week, I have been working on Little House Needlework's Sheep Virtues. A sweet gift from dear Donna.  ( Thank you Donna. I am loving every stitch. 🤗)

Sheep Trifle

Today , I will work on the sheep and the border.  I am stitching the Sheep Virtues as one large piece. There are 5 stitch spaces between each design. 

Time to move onto the sawtooth borders in "Oh My Stars and Pumpkins" , a sweet gift from Cheryle.💗 Thank you , Cheryle ; this is bringing me so much joy. 

 

A wavy line was handstitched in the tan border using an off white thread. 

Soon it will be time to turn down the black binding and whip it into place. 

Oooh Let me show you a couple of my thrifty finds from a couple of weeks ago. 

While in Texas, I picked up a vintage pottery pitcher from the 1990's and the darling crocheted pumpkin. 

The pitcher was made by Ellis Pottery from Marshall , Texas. The family began their business in the late 1800's.

Ok Sweeties, that is my update this week - cleaning, stitching and quilting. Now I best put on my apron and head back to that quilt room. There is more cleaning to be done. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"I can't get finished cleaning up my room because I get distracted by all of the cool stuff I find.  "- unknown

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

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

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

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🌞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.

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🌞 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. 

🌞Ghosts, Goblins and Jacks Galore - 2026 Halloween Parade - Halloween freebies up to September 16, 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. 

🌞A Christmas in July Parade of Past Freebies- 2026 A Parade of Christmas Freebies up to the date of July 6, 2026. 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

🌞Color Tinting Embroidery Designs - Explanation on how I use crayons to color my designs for hand embroidery. - July 9, 2026

Just Stitching and Quilting

In 2 shakes of a lamb's "cat's" tail ,   Prim Cat and Pumpkins Pinkeep   was all stitched up, and it didn't take long to fully finish it into a simple little pillow either ! 

Sometimes it feels good to work on something super simple. Doesn't it? 

Prim Cat and Pumpkins Pinkeep was stitched on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed Aida. 

 Yee Haw! A new house is in the works.

Oh bummer, I am sorry to inform you that the house under construction already has an infestation problem. 🐿 Hee! Hee!  Should I shoo the squirrels away?! Hmmm... I don't think so. I will see what mischief they get into first.

The Squirrel House is nearing completion. 

On the Halloween Stitching Front...

Witch Hazel has cast a spell on  me and has me  going out of my comfort zone. She was adamant that her house must be purple, and there was no convincing her otherwise. 💜

What's a girl to do? But to STITCH! STITCH! STITCH! on a  plum purple house as ghostly spirits watch  my every move. 👻👻👻

ON THE QUILTING FRONT... Well...

Four more blocks were pieced on Melva's Irish Chain Stitch along. 

I thought I was on a roll and ready to sew my blocks into rows when..... SCREECH!  STOP! 

I laid my blocks out and realized I did not have enough. Oh Fiddlesticks! I had miscounted. I need 8 more chain blocks and 7 more yellow blocks. So I will be working the "Chain Gang"! 

As I was stacking my blocks I paused when I saw one block had a mistake. EEEEK! Do you see it ? I placed a green square in the corner when there should have been a red one. Thankfully, that will be a super quick fix. Sooo.... Mrs. Jackie Ripper will be coming out today.  And I may rework some of the other blocks with the dark blues. Sigh. 😏😊

Oopsie - daisy! I made a mistake. I need to do some ripping! 

So these are  my projects for the week. 
Have you made your plans for the week?  I  would love to hear what you are working on. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"A busy day is a good day.  "-

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

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

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

A fall Sunday quilt stack on my favorite sunny child's chair. 

 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. 

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🌞Ghosts, Goblins and Jacks Galore - 2026 Halloween Parade - Halloween freebies up to September 16, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.

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🌞A Christmas in July Parade of Past Freebies- 2026 A Parade of Christmas Freebies up to the date of July 6, 2026. 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

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The little crocheted pumpkin was a thrifty find from Texas and the green glassware was picked up in Arkansas on my recent trip. 

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. 

Frederique at   Quilting Patchwork Applique for Patchwork & Quilts - Saturday

Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday

Kate at Life in Pieces for  Stitching Stuff ( Sunday) 

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh Scrap - Sunday 

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

Carol at Quilt Schmilt  for To Do List Tuesday 

Raining Cats and Jacks! And a Prim Halloween Freebie

It's raining cats and "jacks"  in the holler! 🌧🐱🎃

Happy Happy Saturday, sweet friends.  We finally are getting a spot of rain after a long dry spell. 

But before I get into my post , let me thank everyone for the sweetest compliments and visits on my last couple of posts. Blogger is giving me the blues and is not allowing me to reply back. Aaargh! 😜Maybe it will be better behaved tonight. Fingers crossed!

But back today's happenings. What to do on a rainy day? Well stitch and quilt ! Hee! Hee!

  Last night , cats and jacks jumped out of my attic as the rain began to fall. That is my Halloween decorations. 

Soon they were making their way onto the hutch. The theme of the hutch all started with Walmart's newest cat cookie jar. Swoon! Meow! Thumpity Thump!  I love it! 🤗😺🧡🎔

The cat cookie jar is my newest Halloween piece from Walmart. They have the dog cookie jar too. 

By night's end, most of the goodies were on the hutch . Today I will continue to wrangle those Halloween pieces and change out the quilts.

But I do want to work on a little Prim Cat and Pumpkins Pinkeep . 

UPDATE: OCTOBER 3, 2026- It did not take long to stitch up Prim Cat and Pumpkins Pinkeep , and I fully finished it - all in a few short hours. I added a gourd pin with a scrap of fabric and some buttons to one corner. Prim Cat and Pumpkins is stitched on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed Aida. 

Prim Cat and Pumpkins Pinkeep was stitched on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed Aida. 

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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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Have you started decorating for Halloween yet? 

Oooh While I am thinking about it , let me skip down memory lane for a moment and share some snippets and links to past Halloween hutch tours. 

Ghostly Hutch Tour 2025- My hutch was filled with lots of ghosts.

 

Boo Hoo, 😢 there was no Halloween Hutch Tour in 2024. Mr. Pinker and I were camping in Texas.

BUT  What about 2023? Hmmmm

Aaah yes, I shared my Witch Apothecary Halloween Hutch  for 2023. 

2023 Halloween Hutch - Witch Apothecary 

2022 was dedicated to all things Jack- o- lanterns in my  Jacks, Jacks and More Jacks  October hutch theme. There were 45 Jacks on this hutch. Wheww! That's a lot! 

A Modge Podge of Halloween was the theme of my 2020 Halloween hutch. 

So how are you spending your day today? Is it starting to feel like Fall in your neck of the woods?

Well Punkins, I am off to see what I can get into. I hope you find a little joyful mischief to brighten your day too. 

Thank you for the sweet Saturday visit! Love ya'! 😽🧡

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"I'm  so glad  I live in a world where there are Octobers.  "- L. M. Montgomery

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

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

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

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🌞A Buzzy Bee Parade An early 2025 bee freebie parade.

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🌞Autumn Parade March- 2026 Fall Parade A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 10, 2026.

🌞 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. 

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🌞Turkey Struttin' Thanksgiving Parade 2025- Thanksgiving freebies up to the date of November 3, 2025. More Thanksgiving freebies followed  this date. 

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

🌞Color Tinting Embroidery Designs - Explanation on how I use crayons to color my designs for hand embroidery. - July 9, 2026

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Yesterday, I shared my Pumpkins, Pumpkins and More Pumpkins Hutch Tour. If you would like to see all of that country clutter, just click on the link. 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins and More Pumpkins Hutch Tour

 It's time to change the hutch decor! In 2 shakes of a lamb's tail I had dismantled my "sunflower decor" and added my orange Dollar Tree plates to the small wooden hutch , Mr. Pinker created nigh 20+ years ago. Little doilies and Christmas lights were added for a bit of sparkle.  

With a hop , skip and a jump, I rushed out to the "she shed" to fetch my pumpkin cookie jar and the rest of the "pumpkin themed serviceware" rolled out of the attic. The "bones" were in place for my Pumpkin themed hutch . Now to get down to the nitty , I thought. Pouring in the clutter. Hee! Hee! 

The plates and large pieces are out . It is time to add in the decorations to the hutch. 

On the top of the hutch where the tins and the Coca Cola crates stay year round, I just added an Autumn four patch quilt and a couple tins in the Autumn colors. "What's in the tins? " - That is where I store some small  kitchen Christmas decor.  Christmas plates and mugs are stored in the bottom of the hutch. 

A little Four Patch quilt was carefully draped over the Coca Cola crates . 

Now let's work on the first shelf. Anything orange in color was fair game to be put on the hutch including old pitchers and a tall rooster. 

My only new addition was the pumpkin butter dish. 

Fall 1869 Crock  is a fall favorite. I have stitched a whole series of "crock " themed pieces over the years and I have a few more in mind.

Do you have any suggestions for a crock stitch? 

The sweet velvet pumpkin was a gift from dear Patricia . Thank you , dear friend. 🤗

The middle shelf was filled with more pumpkins. 

Pumpkin themed bowls cups and a cookie jar fill the 2nd shelf along with some stitching. 

I store the little pumpkin cups in the big pumpkin cookie jar when  I put these items away for storage. 

In the vintage bowl, I stacked plates, pumpkin cups and a biscuit cutter. In the background is my Autumn Jar- from the Mason Jar Series. 

A Pumpkin or Two was a quick stitch that I shared a year or so ago.

 

 The little pumpkin gravy bowl was filled with a stitch called Pumpkins and behind it is a wool applique that I worked on about 20 years ago. 

Can you tell that I love pumpkins and crows? LOL 

My Autumn Pumpkin Wool Applique was created from pieces of thrifted wool clothing and after completion it was   just popped into a thrifted frame. Wahlah! 

The bottom shelf was filled with a modge podge  of country clutter. Wheew ! Where do I start? There are stacks of little plates, mom's pumpkin pie plate  and a mason jar filled with  pears. 

I store small fall themed items in the pie dish when not in use. 

Oh and there is stitching  and other crafty pieces too . Like...

Little Prim Punkin  a small yarn punched piece that I shared last year. I just used thrifted yarns and whipped this prim punkin up for the fall season. 

Little Prim Punkin was yarn punched using thrifted wool yarns. A very easy peasy craft and quick too . 

 Fall Y'all  and  the Pumpkin Pie Stamp are nestled among jello molds, salt and pepper shakers and small plates. 

The painted wooden spoon and salt and pepper shakers were gifts from my sweet sis. 

And I must not forget the Mini Pumpkin Sampler .

Underneath the Mini Pumpkin Sampler, you may have spotted a little quilt

Mom's Pumpkin Pie was created in the 90's .   My how my applique has come along since then. 😀😄

Lots of teeny wonky scraps were sewn up and a big pumpkin pie was appliqued over the squares. 

Of course I had to include Mom's Pumpkin Pie recipe at the time. 

That's my fall Hutch in a Pumpkin Shell!  A lot to see . Right? Well, these roly poly's are coming down today! 🎃

There are black cats, ghosts and ghouls that are grumbling in the attic ready to take their place. 

Sooo... I will be trying to wrangle them into place. Perhaps if I get it done, I will show you next week where the cute jacks and cats landed. 

Hmmm... Now where do I store all of this clutter when it is time to put it away? Well let me show you .

In the toy room is a gigantic armoire which holds a lot of stuff including the following themed items : sunflowers, Halloween , Fall , Thanksgiving and Patriotic. 

This armoire holds patriotic in the bottom drawer and in the basket on the shelf. Fall and Halloween is in the large section of the  armoire

In the armoire are stacks upon stacks of small shoe box totes that are labeled. Here I have pulled out my Fall Salt and pepper shakers. They are wrapped and tightly  packed.

Fall Salt and Pepper shakers are stored in shoe boxes. 

My Pumpkin themed pie dishes , bowls and such are stored in the attic. 

I wrap all of my breakables with newspaper or plastic wrap that I buy at Harbor Freight on a spool. This gives the pieces a little protection from any chips. 

I wrap all of my breakables in plastic wrap for protection. 

Do you see the yellow bowl in the background? It sits high on the counter. In it are  some of my salt and pepper shakers that rotate in and out of the seasons.  I use every nook and cranny to store my clutter. Hee! Hee! 

Now as far as my stitching storage- well I haven't perfected that yet. I did buy another armoire a while back,  so I am aiming to organize and store some in there, but that story is for another day. 😏😊

Gosh, I guess I have rambled long enough. I do hear the moans and groans of my Halloween decor calling so I best get to work. 

So tell me . Do you have a special place that you like to decorate seasonally? 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Create something special that brings joy to your day.  "- 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy  who loved decorating for the holidays even when she was just a youngster. 

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

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Picked up these pretty vintage calicos in Texas while thrifting. 

 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- 2026 A parade of sunflower freebies up to September 3, 2026

🌞Autumn Parade March- 2026 Fall Parade A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 10, 2026.

🌞 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. 

🌞Ghosts, Goblins and Jacks Galore - 2026 Halloween Parade - Halloween freebies up to September 16, 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. 

🌞A Christmas in July Parade of Past Freebies- 2026 A Parade of Christmas Freebies up to the date of July 6, 2026. 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

🌞Color Tinting Embroidery Designs - Explanation on how I use crayons to color my designs for hand embroidery. - July 9, 2026