Woo Hoo, I Met My Goal!

Good evening, ya'll. Thank you so much for stopping by. I just wanted to share a quick post . 

Last month, I linked up to Elm Street Quilts blog in the One Monthly Goal challenge and Woo Hoo, I met my goal. My plan was to finish this small four patch green quilt which I finished this weekend.  Right in the knick of time. Wheww!

This little quilt is perfect for St. Patrick's Day and I have already tried to sneak it into my decor . 

Since that was a small goal ,I also set a 2nd goal of making at least 20 yo yos to add to my yo yo quilt project. Check✔ .I completed that too. Here are some of the yo yos in my newest addition to my spring decor - a metal truck from Walmart. 

My project for tonight is to work on Tree of Life Samplings "Beauty and Grace". I want to add a few more stitches into the house. I am loving this stitch. 

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

Happy Quilting and Stitching, ya'll

Melisa

I am joining these lovely ladies in their link parties. Please hop over to see their beautiful quilts and find links to other quilters

Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh Scrap

 

Doing the Happy Chicken Dance- A quilt top finish

Good evening and happy Friday, dear friends. It has been a rainy, dreary day today, but that has not dampened my day. I have been puttering around the house pulling out spring decor and playing in the Quilt Nest. 

 It was a  perfect day to bring a little sunshine into my quilting with some yellow nine patches.  Two and a half inch squares were cut from scraps of yellow and white fabrics.  In no time,   a few squares were made as my mind brewed over what the final result will be. I haven't settled on that yet. 

I also did a little strip piecing of some crumbs and scraps which will probably  be turned into a bee related quilt. 

                    

Speaking of bees, some bee skeps are in the works.

                       

 I made a bee skep quilt  last year and loved it . I do think I need another. 

For the last few weeks, I have been working on my chicken quilt.

 I started off with nine patches. Those nine patches were incorporated into Puss in the Corner blocks. 

Then I began appliqueing sweet chickens. 

 This week I have pieced the blocks together.

                      

 Today I added simple borders using strips of black and red fabrics, and now I am ready to quilt Woo Hoo! I am doing the happy chicken dance. 🐔🐥

                               

 Just need to choose a backing. I can not wait to have this quilt hanging in the kitchen. 

But first, I still need to add some eyes and decide if these hens will get an appliqued wing or not. 

Well that has been my day in a nutshell or should I say egg shell.  Have you been doing something that you love? I sure hope so. Thank you so much, dear friends for visiting. Have a lovely weekend and as always...

Happy Quilting, ya'll

Melisa

I am linking up to some wonderful blogs. I hope you will check these delightful ladies out. They have beautiful quilts and a whole lot of fun going on in their neck of the woods plus links to other amazing needleworkers. 

Angela at So Scrappy for Scrap Happy Saturday. 

Alycia at  Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop

Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation 

Michelle from Bolt to Beauty for Beauty Pageant 118

Friends are like quilts ; they never lose their warmth.

You Are My Lucky Charm- A St. Patrick's Day Freebie

Good morning, sweet friends. I just wanted to pop in with a small, simple,  quick stitch for St. Patty's Day. This is "You are my Lucky Charm" . I stitched this piece to add to my pin pillows . Wouldn't it  be great for a tiered tray or dough bowl display? So if you are interested choose your favorite green and this little pdf and stitch away. You will have it completed in a jiffy. 

Click here for the pdf. 

Have a very beautiful day filled with joy. And as always...

Happy Stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Well wasn't that a quick post with a quick stitch. Lol. I would love to see your stitches. You can always Direct Message me or tag me on Instagram and use #pinkernpunkin quilting. 

May love and laughter light your days. 

A Crazy Question & Erin Ewe - A St. Patrick's Day Freebie

Welcome dear friends. I have a crazy question. Have you ever wondered what a leprechaun's hat is called?  I was thinking about that as I was stitching my newest St. Patrick' Day piece; so being the "Curious George" that I am,  I  had to google it. I found that a leprechaun's hat goes by many names such as an Irish cap, a newsboy cap, an Irish tweed cap, a cabbie cap, or an ivy cap. I find little trivial things so interesting. lol.😃 My children would be shaking their heads right now if they heard me rambling on about such. 

This is my newest St. Patty's Day stitch that I whipped up for my decor. It is called "Erin Ewe'. Some of you know that I am on a sheep kick right now.  Speaking of sheep - let me ramble off some sheep trivia that I learned in respect to Ireland. 😆😘

SHEEP TRIVIA 

-  In 2016 there were more sheep in Ireland than there were humans with a population of 5.2 million sheep to the 4.8 million people living in Ireland.

- Most of the sheep living in Ireland are Scottish Black Faced Mountain Sheep which are white sheep with black faces. 

- Large numbers of foreign sheep were brought to Ireland starting in 1500. 

- Sometimes sheep are painted so the owners can easily  identify their sheep. 

Ok. That is enough of me talking about sheep, but it was fun for me to do a little research on them. If you would like to read more about the Irish sheep, check out this article at Hillwalk Tours  Blog  .

Now back to my stitch. As I was saying, this is Erin Ewe who is lazing about in an Irish tweed cap with sprigs of shamrocks for her munching pleasures. A little wool blanket is placed on her back with a tiny shamrock motif woven in it as well. Oh, I think she is so cute. 

I finished Erin Ewe into a little pin pillow with scraps of fabric. 

Erin is a small measuring 34 W x 33 H.  I stitched her on 14 count tea/coffee dyed aida which brought the measurements too around 2 3/8" squared.  

I used only 5 DMC floss colors which were 782, 3346, 3345, blanc, and 310. Because it was blocks of color, Erin stitched up fast.

If you would like to stitch Erin, just check out the pdfs below. I am sure you could have her stitched up in less than a couple of hours. 

For instruction page click here . 

Click here for the colored chart. 

Click here for the black and white chart. 

I hope to work on a few more sheep stitches in the future ,and of course I have got to get back to my chicken stitching. And bunnies are calling my name too. Wheew ! There is so much I want to stitch.  

I'm hoping to add a big button shamrock in the middle of the green gingham fabric. 

Well thank you dear friends for the sweet visit. You always brighten my day. Stay warm, safe and healthy and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

I would love to see your stitch. Please tag me on Instagram and use #pinkernpunkinquilting or you can always Direct Message me. 

May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need most. 

Are you Feeling Lucky? St. Patty's Stamp Freebie

Top of the morning to you and welcome friends. Lol I know it is not even March, and here I am talking about St. Patrick's Day.  Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

                                     

 When I was a child , I always made sure that I wore something green to school on March 17th because I knew I would get a pinch from an eagle eyed friend if I didn't. Do kids still do that?  Even today, each year I make sure that I wear my green on that special day. My daughter does all kinds of cute things with the her children. The week of the 17th she will serve Lucky Charms or green eggs for breakfast as well as all kinds of green foods like celery, broccoli and green applesauce . She and the kids always do some type of St. Patrick's Day craft with rainbows, shamrocks or leprechauns.  On that special day, the boys wake up to see small footprints throughout the house where a leprechaun had visited during the night.  How fun!  

I do not have too much St. Patty's day decor, but I am slowly growing a collection. In fact I did not start stitching anything St. Patrick's day until last year.

 This wee  stitch is  called St. Patty's Stamp and the little leprechaun is named Lucky . Doesn't he look a bit like Lucky from Lucky Charms cereal?  Lucky  is surrounded by shamrocks and bits of gold. 

                

 I used 6  DMC floss colors to stitch this stamp which includes  782, 3347, 310, 986, 967, and 918, but you could choose your favorite colors. I just used what I had in my stash. 

 I stitched this up in about 1 1/2 hours on 14 count tea/coffee dyed aida. It is a small so it was a quick stitch . It just measures 35 x 35 . See I did say it was little. 

I finished it on the same stand that I have been using for the other little stamps. I bought this at the Dollar General about mid year  in 2020. I love it because of the little clip which makes it easy to change out the pieces.  

Some of you have probably figured out I'm sort of thrifty and always love to reuse things. So let me tell you about my finishing fabrics- Lol I love to use clothing. The large background piece is from my college robe. (" What that grandma still has her college robe? Lol I refuse to say how old that is😄) . The 2nd background fabric is from homespun den curtains. I just do not throw away anything, but at least I reuse those things. 

If you would like to stitch St. Patty's Stamp , just check out the pdfs below. Remember I am not a professional designer nor do I have professional software so I am unable to put each page on one pdf. I apologize for that. 

For the instruction page click here . 

Click here for the colored chart. 

Click here for the black and white chart. 

Hmmm , eye or no eyes?  I was looking at my previous stamps.  I did not stitch eyes on my Santa stamp , but I did on the other 2. One dear stitcher on Instagram posted a photo of Cupid without eyes, and it looked darling. I think that would be cute for Lucky too or add tiny French knots.  Just an idea. 

                      

Last month I posted my Cupid Stamp freebie. It turned out so cute - well at least in my eyes. 

 If you missed Santa Stamp or Frosty Stamp, just click on the names and you can go back to those posts for the charts. 

               

Well now I am going to work on my hutch; pulling out anything green and of course adding Lucky to the mix.  Once I get it all decked out I will post a photo.  Thank you so much for the sweet visit and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

I would love to see your stitch . If you post on Instagram, please tag me and use #pinkernpunkinquilting or you can always Direct Message me.   - thank you so much, dear friends 

May love and laughter light your days and warm your heart and home... - an Old Irish Blessing

           

Happy President's Day & a Little Quilting

Happy President's Day. I pulled out a few patriotic cross stitch pieces to celebrate the day.  Digging through my picnic basket of patriotic stitching made me so excited . I think I need a patriotic start tonight, but I have not decided what it will be yet. 

 

The little round cross stitch is called "Flag Day in the Potting Shed" by With Thy Needle and Thread. I have 2 Lizzie Kate pieces  " Liberty " which  is a freebie  and can be found here  and "USA Squared" .  The little pin pillow is from Shepherds Bush called "Home of the Brave. 

I finished the binding on the Valentine's quilt last night. A great way to end Valentine's

                                         

I had strip pieced this quilt from strips and crumbs from other projects in 2020. I was thrilled to include 2 fabrics from my girls' childhood clothing. I had completed the piecing and quilting last year so all that was left was the binding.  I look forward to displaying this quilt next February.  

                           

I was so surprised on Valentine's Day by hubby.  About a month ago, we went to a little antique shop. I was on the search for some jadeite and vintage Santa or snowman mugs, but instead I spotted this quilt top. I mulled it over but ended up leaving it behind which I regretted.  Hubby snuck back and got it one evening. I was thrilled when he gave it to me last night along with a dozen roses and some sweet smelly candles. 

This quilt is hand pieced and a little wonky. There are so many wonderful retro fabrics from clothing and feedsacks. 

The color combination of scrap older quilts is what really tugs at my heart. 

Doesn't some of those fabrics look like the 1960's or 70's? 

I wonder how many decades are represented in these fabrics. Oh that bold red. 

I can not wait to get this full size quilt in a hoop. I have to search for some backing fabric in the Quilt Nest and order some batting and then we are good to go. 

So in the works this week will be the scrap blocks that I have been working on as a leader/ender project. It is a combination of some nine patches and rail fence blocks. 

I have been playing with the blocks on the floor. It is going to be a small quilt. I am planning on draping it over a bench in the future. 

Well I am off to the Quilt Nest to do a little piecing. Hope you have a lovely evening and thank you so much for the sweet visit and as always...

Happy quilting, ya'll. 

Melisa

I am linking up to these sweet ladies wonderful blogs. I hope that you will check them out. There is a lot of fun always going on there. 

Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts with Design Wall Monday

Beth at Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap

Happy Valentines Day , Love Trifle Freebie and a Little Rambling

 Happy Valentines Day, dear friends. Do you have big plans or are you going to have a nice quiet day at home? I have to admit both sound wonderful.   

With Thy Needleworks Holiday Hoopla Valentine's Day

I finished With Thy Needlework's Holiday Hoopla Valentine's Day. I finished it on a little rough cut wooden paddle that I painted white . I added some ruffles. I can remove it and change it out if I please. 

We have a lot on going on in my neck of the woods this weekend, so I am not sure how we will be able to celebrate Valentine's. Normally, we go out for a wonderful meal at my favorite restaurant where I order Tex Mex Chicken Fajitas. I get mine extra hot. However, I  do not think that will happen unless we call our order in. Mr. Pinker was thinking about maybe grilling steaks ; that sounds yummy.  I will just have to see what the day has in store for us. I am sure he will sneak a little bit of cheesecake into the house ( another favorite of mine). 

Do you know how much I appreciate you  for taking time to visit me on Instagram, my blog and Pinterest? You make my heart swell. I want to thank you and tell you how blessed and grateful that I am. 

I have an itty bitty stitch for you. 

This little piece is called "Love Trifle" and is super quick to stitch because it is soooo tiny. So if you are interested choose your favorite brown, red and green and enjoy. 

I used DMC 3345, 221, and 938 and stitched on 14 count tea dyed scrap aida. 

Doesn't it look like a little cookie?  I told you it was small- measuring 19 x19. 

I finished mine as a little ornament and used tea dyed ric rac to embellish and hide the seams. 

If you would like to stitch this teensy piece, just click on the pdf below. 

Click here for Love Trifle. 

                    

The little house is called Dorothy Mae's Spring House which was a freebie earlier this week. It is my current favorite house. These two look great paired together. 

For the last few weeks, I have feverishly been working on a new Valentine's quilt. 

Heart blocks were made from simple four patches. 

I figured out a simple layout and decided no borders.

Soon I had it all pieced and ready for quilting. I decided to free hand hearts and swirls for the quilting.  

 I finished the quilting last week. 

The binding was completed this week 

I had it ready for display just in the knick of time. 

Oh I love this cute little quilt . I can not wait to have it out for next Valentine's and enjoy it the whole month. 

 

I posted my Valentine's tree on Instagram this week. This is a little raggedy white tree perched in a bushel basket, and it is filled with any thing red and sweet. 

I have included a lot of sweet Valentines from my daughters and yes even Barbie. My girls and I were big Barbie girls.  My oldest daughter loved looking back at the old cards and got tickled that I would save them. 

Christmas balls, candy boxes, and little dolls are tucked all throughout the tree. 

This sweet ornament was sent to me from my dear friend, Sharon and is perfect to hang on my Valentine's tree. It even has some of the jadeite green in it  which I so love. 

My little bear all dressed in his red vest hangs out on the doll high chair. Normally a sweet Raggedy Ann has the honor of manning the chair in February. It was a nice change. 

Thank you so much for the sweet Valentine's visit and hope you have had a beautiful day filled with joy, laughter, and love and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

I sure would love to see your stitch. If you post it on Instagram, please tag me and use #pinkernpunkinquilting or you can always Direct Message me.  Hugs. 

Sheepish Ewe's Baby Alphabet is all stitched up. Now to FFO it.