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Thursday, February 19, 2026

Desert Rose Quilt - A Thrifty Find

 Over the hills and through the wash to the thrift stores I go!


 Eeeh! I am spinning in delight!  Whenever Mr. Pinker and I travel, we love stopping at thrift stores, yard sales and antique shops to see what treasures we can unearth! And lookie here! I found a gorgeous quilt  that I am calling Desert Rose!   Isn't it a gem? 

My latest thrifty find. 

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this is an Irish Chain design. 



It was pieced using 4 different fabrics.


And the red centers were fussy cut to showcase the beautiful, yellow roses. 

The body of Desert Rose is machine quilted with swirls and waves. Aaaw so pretty. 




The borders were quilted with soft scallops. 


I thought it was a steal at $17.99 ! But wait! I got it for 25% off that price! Woo Hoo! I was doing the happy dance all the way to the truck. 


So what do ya' think? Do you think I made out like a bandit? LOL. I sure do. 


Like always, I am sad for the quilter that pieced it. It is such a beautiful piece, but I am thrilled that I could give it a forever home. Plus it is a wonderful souvenir from our camping trip. 



I have to admit it was a wonderful day thrifting and to  make the day even more special, I not only bought 1 quilt , but I bought a 2nd one that I will share with you next week. It drew me in like a bee to honey. 🐝🍯

Gnarly and twisted wood


So tell me. Have you found any extra special thrifty finds lately?  I would love to hear about them. 




Thank you for the sweet visit and have a beautiful day! 




As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. " 

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
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ 



Monday, February 16, 2026

Peaceful Days

Good Monday Morning, Sunshine! Rise and Shine!  How are you doing on this lovely day? I do hope you the winter days are treating you well. 


Mr. Pinker and I have been enjoying some quiet , peaceful days at camp. 

Ever so often we take the side by side and head up into the hills or maybe to town in order to fetch water, but otherwise we are taking it slow and easy. 

I am slowly but surely making progress on my "Pretty in Peach" Butterfly quilt. This is the 3rd mourning quilt that I am making in memory of my sweet baby sis. 

 I thought I had a larger hoop stashed in the old truck camper, but when I pulled it out from behind the fridge, I realized it was my small one. Oh well, it will do until I get home. 😏

 

 I finished quilting the 1st butterfly.  I am moving on to the "nine patch variation "  block. 

This block is 15 " squared ( finished). 

 I am going to quilt a flower motif in these blocks. It did not take long to pull out some cracker boxes and make cardboard templates to aid in drawing the quilting lines.  I imagine that is what my Great Grandma Annie did. Do you do the same? 

 What else have I been working on? Hmmm, Well I started the border for "Winter's Welcome"  which is one of my creations. Fingers crossed the borders will meet. Hee! Hee!

The beginnings of "Winter's Welcome " using 14 count Aida which has been dyed with Rit Charcoal Gray Dye.

  And... I  dusted off "Gathering Love" and pulled it out of the long forgotten WIP basket.  Maybe it will be finished this year. We shall see.  

Working on a lovely lass in "Gathering Love" ( one of my designs).

Oooh I almost forgot! I have been on a roll crocheting little hearts. 😀❤ I am an absolute beginner so they are not perfect, but goodness, they are so much fun. 

I have been referring to 2 lovely ladies who have posted  wonderful tutorials on Youtube-  GS Crochet - How to Crochet a Heart- Beginner's Tutorial    and  Retired Happy- Valentine Ready...


Well , Sweeties.. I am off to get my morning coffee and then sit back and quilt for a spell. 

Now let's go and rock this day! 

As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

y'all

Melisa 

"You make the world a better place. " 

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.
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🌞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
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ 

Make today so awesome that yesterday is jealous.

 








Thursday, February 12, 2026

All Wrapped Up


It is all wrapped up in a neat little bow! That is my bow tie quilt. It is all finished! Hip Hip Hooray! 


 I actually finished Otis Payne's Bow Tie quilt in December, but with all of the hustle and bustle I simply forgot to show you my finish. 😏


 This little Alabama beauty was purchased as a top  in 2024 on the World's Longest yard Sale for just $8.00. Eagle eye Mr. Pinker spotted the top at a small antique store.  My heart skipped a beat when I saw it ( You know my love for all things "red". ) 


 I named it after a relative to remind me of  him and the place of its purchase though I do not believe that Otis would have worn such loud bow ties. Hee! Hee!  Aren't some of the bow tie fabrics snazzy?!


  There are 121 bright and beautiful bow ties in this quilt. I hand quilted this quilt in red thread. 


The backing is a pretty mottled fabric purchased years ago, and it is  bound with some pretty blue calico print.


So what took it's place in the hoop? you may ask. Well, Tumbleweeds did. I am slowly but surely  making progress on it.   


Alrighty, I am off to work on Tumbleweeds. Thank you for stopping by to see my Bow Tie quilt and may your day be filled with hours of stitching and...


 As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"If you wanna be somebody you got to rock a bow tie. "- 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.
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🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 
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🌞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. 
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❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ 

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Spinning Hearts - An Itty Bitty Freebie and Chocolate

 Good morning , Sweet Friends and Happy Tuesday.

I just wanted to pop in with a small freebie that I hope to begin today.  It is called Spinning Hearts- just a wee stitch to make into a pinkeep , a tag or whatever suits one's fancy.  It is a Choose Your Own colors chart- I have not figured out what floss colors I will use, but I will certainly let you know in future posts.


🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

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. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

 

OOPS/ CORRECTION: On the top heart - right side along the heart border-  a symbol has been left off for  "Y" .

 I will correct the chart when I am able. Please forgive me for the mistake. 



I just may do a bit of baking this evening- perhaps something chocolatey!  Yum! 



Old Fashioned Chocolate Cobbler/ Pudding Cake

INGREDIENTS
1 cup of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons of baking cocoa
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of milk
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1/4 cup of baking cocoa
1 1/2 cups of  very hot water
 Vanilla ice cream ( optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 " x 9" baking dish. 

2. Mix flour, granulated sugar,  2 Tablespoons of baking cocoa,  baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, mix milk, oil, and  vanilla until smooth. Add nuts. Add liquid mixture to the flour/sugar mix and stir to combine . Pour into prepared baking dish.  

4.  In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar and 1/4 cup of baking cocoa . Sprinkle over the batter followed by adding the chocolate chips .  Pour hot water over the batter.  Do not stir. 

5. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is dry.  Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

6. Spoon warm cake into the dessert dish and spoon sauce from the pan onto each serving. 

✴7. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 


Heart & Keys

I am off to stitch and bake. I hope your day is a delightful one! 

As Always....

Happy stitching, Y'all

Melisa

"Life is what you bake of it!  "- Unknown

Hugs and Stitches!!!!


❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes 2026- Early 2026 parade of home freebies.
🌞 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.
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🌞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. 
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❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Monday, February 9, 2026

Monday Musings- Embroidery and Journaling

 Sometimes I forget to truly enjoy my slow stitching time. At times it seems like I am in such a rush to finish this project or tackle another. Yesterday I sat down and worked on "The Garden is My Home" embroidery. I shared this little doodle way back in July of 2025. 


 Here and there I have been working on it a little at a time.  As I worked on pulling the floss colors for the flowers, I realized that I am really enjoying taking my "own sweet time" with this stitch.  I still have a few motifs to work on . I believe I will add French knots to the center of the flowers. 

One of my favorite "artist" Youtubers that I like to watch each day is Janet Nash.  Janet works on a variety of projects like gentle journaling, slow stitching, painting and embroidery. She is a joy to watch and so inspiring. She truly seems to enjoy the process of creating. If you have a chance, pop over and visit her. Like Janet, another joy that I indulge in is journaling. 

Clippings from pamphlets ready to be pasted into my journal

I try to journal every day, but that is not always possible.

I use maps and pamphlets and lots of "junk" in my journals. 

 My journals are not pretty like Janet's but they are filled with writings, clippings and doodles. They are  a pleasure to work on  especially if I can take the time to "really enjoy the cut and paste process".  
Working on arranging a page. 

So tell me .Do you sometimes forget to slow down and enjoy the simple joys of creating? 


I fold decorative papers over the journal page edges. 

As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"If you hear a voice inside you say 'you cannot paint' then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. "- Vincent van Gogh 

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
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

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