Blog Archive

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Easter Hutch Tour and a Trifle

Welcome, dear friends. I finally got my Easter hutch all situated just in time for Easter.  I have to admit to you I did drag me feet on it, and St. Patty's Day decor hung around a few days longer than it should have.  Would you like to see what a rummaged around the house to put on it? 
 This hutch was built by my husband in the 1990's . I would love to paint it white , but I dare not do that because I know that I would want to change it back . But that is a good excuse to be on the market for another hutch to put somewhere. Lol. 
The top of the hutch never changes; there are Coca Cola crates and tins. I  collect a lot of advertising pieces .
  Well let's start with the top shelf. I pulled out yellow, white and orange Dollar Tree plates to adorn each shelf. 
 I stitched the small of Hands on Designs " Hip Hop Chalk Full" and finished it in a little serving tray that is painted white. I added some Dollar Tree flowers and a crepe paper carrot for embellishment. Next to it is a McCoy vase.

 In the opposite corner is the Dollar General drawers with some Dollar Tree greenery in it,  a little thrifted pitcher on a candle holder, and a glass basket with Lindy Stitches  Peter's Day Out that I finished into a little pin pillow.  


 I finished Peter using some scraps of Sandy Gervais's fabric and Dollar Tree baker's  twine. Can you tell that I love the Dollar Tree? 
 The second shelf is quite bare in by my standards but it will suffice . Lol. You know I like country clutter. 
 Last year, I  stitched the Stitching With the Housewives  "Peep" , "Hello Spring" and  "Crunch"  and finished them on a piece of old Home Interior plaque that I painted white. 
 A little rabbit sits with some  Dollar Tree carrots  in a thrifted bowl and Dollar Tree planter.

  In the opposite corner is a favorite thrift store find-a bunny tea pot elevated by a Fire King mug. 
 Now what's all the clutter on the bottom shelf? Lots more yellows and a bit of stitching.
  In one corner is  a stitched piece in a pretty orange frame, a stack of dishes, a couple of creamers and my juicer with a Dollar Tree bowl  in it .
 I placed an appliqued chick pillow and a hen embroidery  in the bowl. Click here for the hen embroidery called "Luv Chick".

 The house cross stitch was completed in 2018, but I can not remember the designer. Do you know the name and designer?  Oh I love this thrifted frame.  
A sweet porcelain hen sits in the McCoy vase and another hen rests in a small vase with some eggs. A carrot appliqued pillow is below it. 
 On top of my scale is a gifted bowl with my Bunny Hop in it.  

 The Spring Chick quilt is a recent quilt finish that I am in love with. Those colors are all "Me".  
After Easter, I plan to change the hutch decor into a Farmyard Spring vignette in reds and yellows. 
 Hanging from my hutch door is a galvanized bucket with Dollar Tree greenery. 
On the wall beside the hutch is some old advertising pieces and a barrel of faux apples. 
Annie Beez Folk Art  Spring Bunny freebie which I stitched last year is now fully finished and displayed on my lazy Susan.  
Well that is my Easter hutch in a nut shell. Do you change out your hutch seasonally? I did not change this one out until about 2 years ago. It is a fun to come up with a theme and make the changes each season .
Before you leave , I would love to share another little cookie with you. I made my stitch into an ornament/fob but it looks like a  little sugar cookie to me. 😀


This little stitch is called " Nesting Bluebird" . It is an itty bitty stitch measuring only 18 x 18 and on 14 count aida that only measure 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" .  Boy how I love the smalls. I have this one nesting in a little clay pot from - you guessed- THE DOLLAR TREE! 


 Click here if you would like to stitch this little cookie. 


 Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. Have a beautiful day. And as always...
Happy stitching and decorating, ya'll
Melisa 
Let everything you do , be done in love. 
HUgs and stitches





















 

Katie Anne's Saltbox - A Spring Freebie

Good morning, ya'll!!  And Happy Tuesday!  I am so happy you are visiting me today.  Please, come on in, have a seat and let's chat for a bit. 

 Yesterday was a great day for  stitching. I snuggled up on the couch, pulled out several projects and stitched away as I watched my mysteries. Come evening, it was time to head to the grandson's baseball game. I took along a little embroidery project to work on  for when I had a chance. How has your week started off?  I hope good .

 I have been working on another saltbox, and  I'm so excited to share it with you. 

 This one is called Katie Anne's Saltbox. I  know you are probably saying - "Wasn't the last house a green one too? "  Yep ! I promise you I did  not intend to stitch another green saltbox, but let me tell you what happened. 

I was looking in my Basket of Tangles( my unorganized floss basket ), and I saw 3816 Celadon Green having a play party  with 3855, Autumn Gold and 3776, Mahogany Light . They looked so pretty together, and of course, they kept calling my name saying "Pick me , Pick me !"  I just could not resist those pretties so out of the basket they came. So  that is partially how Katie Anne's Saltbox was born. Lol .  

To be honest, I was surprised that this color was called green  so I felt compelled to google "Celadon Green" . According to the Oxford dictionary, it is a "willow green" or "pale gray green" .  Hmmm interesting. I see blues. 

 This house has a little back porch with a kitty on the roof. Of course, you could leave it off, if you wanted. 

 There is a porch swing perfect for sitting and stitching the day away. I used DMC 646 to add the porch swing chains and a slat in the seat as well as the arm rests.  Sweet flowers spill from a basket and spray of flowers are overhead .  I think I would love to live here. 

This stitch is a little bigger than the previous saltboxes measuring 67 x 76 which on 14 count aida or 28 count evenweave that would be about 4 3/4" x 5 3/8" .

  I stitched mine on coffee/ tea dyed aida.   There are nine floss colors in this stitch. Of course, you do not have to have a Celadon Green house, you could change it to your favorite colors .

If you are interested in stitching Katie Anne's Saltbox , please check out the pdfs below. Because I do not have professional software, I am unable to put the pages in one pdf; I apologize for that. 

Click here for instruction page. 


Click here for colored chart. 


Click here for the black and white chart. 

I just love the delicate sweet look of this little house. 
 



If you missed the other saltbox houses , I would be thrilled if you took a moment to check them out.  Just click on the names and you will be directed to the post with the pdfs. They include   Crow Creek SaltboxOphelia Manor on Punkin Holler Lane ,  Willowisp Manor of Holler Lane  ,  Turkey Creek Manor ,  Winter Saltbox  , and Dorothy Mae's Spring House  and      Spring Green Saltbox 


I am so grateful that you took a little time out of your day to spend it with me. I can not tell you how much that means to me. I hope your day is filled with lots of joy and lots of stitching of course. Hope you will come back and visit. I plan to post my tiered trays tomorrow if all goes well. As always...
Happy stitching, ya'll
Melisa

Blessings come in many ways and the nicest come as friends. 
Hugs and stitches, 


Sunday, March 28, 2021

Chicks and Berries

Good morning, sweet friends and happy Sunday. There is no porch stitching today or garden update ; it is a little bit on the soggy side out there, but that is ok. I have lots of plans for the day.  Would you like to hear about them? 

Last week, I shared some little chick embroidery doodles.
 I worked on those this week and have them all pieced into a small quilt.  The plan today is to put it in the hoop and begin the quilting process.
 Hopefully by the end of the week , there will be a finish. Fingers crossed. 

I also plan to do a little prep work on a new embroidery quilt. It is called "Fresh Strawberries" . I think this one will be completed in redwork. If you would like to join me, just click on the pdf's below and stitch away.

Fresh Strawberries Doodles page 1  Click here


Fresh Strawberries Doodles page 2 Click here .
 
 These are hand drawn so they are not perfect but sweet at least to me. 😄🍓🍓 When I babysit my grandbabies, embroidery work is a great no brainer project for me to work on between play time activities.
Speaking of strawberries ,  Woo Hoo! I got two more blocks completed on my strawberry quilt- a rolling pin and a wooden spoon. 
The blocks are slowly growing.  Though where they are going, I do not know. I rarely have a concrete plan. 
As far as stitch work, tonight's plan is to work more on Tree of Life Samplings " Beauty and Grace". It sure would be nice to fill in the windows and door and just  maybe start construction on the roof, but we will have to see . 

Last night, I worked on a little Stars and Stripes Saturday Stitching with this patriotic stitch called "In God We Trust " by The Primitive Hare. It was in the May 2015 Primitive Stitcher and Punch Needle Magazine. 

 At the beginning of the month, I joined Elm Street Quilts in the One Monthly Goal challenge. My goal was  to quilt one hoop on my Easter Quilt. I have been working on this quilt since 2019. I got a hoop's worth of quilting done. Goal met. But it looks like I will have to wait until next  Easter to enjoy a finish. 

So do you have stitching or quilting plans for the day? And have you already started planning for the week? Several sweet ladies share their goals list on their blogs each week, and I love reading them.  I often write mine down in my little journal. It does help me keep a little focused.
Thank you so much for the sweet visit. I know it was a short post, but I sure hope you come back for a visit soon. I hope to share another saltbox sometime this week. Have a beautiful day and as always...
Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll
Melisa 
Kathy at Kathy's Quilts  for Slow Stitching Sunday
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh Scrap
Beth at Love Laugh Quilt  for Monday Making
Judy at Small Quilts Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday
Lynette at What a Hoot! for BOMs Away Monday
A little quilt stack in a vintage child's suitcase. 


Listen to the strawberries- Soak up the sun. Let your ideas ripen and jam to your own beat. 
Hugs and stitches, 



 















Saturday, March 27, 2021

1869 Spring Chick Crock - A Spring Freebie

 Well, it is the last Saturday of March. Boy, has the month flown by. So what have I been all into these last couple of weeks?  Chicks!🐥🐤 Oh, they are just so stinking cute!!! Mr. Pinker went down to the local Co Op, and the chicks are in! We are debating on whether to get a few to raise.  We have had them in the past, and we really enjoyed the eggs once they started laying.  We will just have to see though. 

 Yesterday I posted my Spring Chicks Quilt that I finished this week. It was such a delight to work on.  


I have also been working on these Spring Chicks embroidery doodles,but I will share that in another post. Click here to go to the post with the Spring Chicks freebie doodles. 


Thursday night I decided I needed a cross stitch to go with my Spring Chicks quilt  so I drew up 1869 Spring Chick Crock. 

 A big fat chick rests in a little crock as smaller chicks run around at the bottom.

  I stitched it up in just a few hours.  It is a small measuring only 42 x 40 about the same size of the other 1869 crock stitches. Have you seen them? They are the  Fall 1869 Crock and Ewe Have My Heart 1869 Crock.



 

This stitch only has 8 DMC floss colors including blanc, black, 3825, 721, 931, 3346, 972, 3712.

I finished mine on a thrifted piece that I think is a square candle holder or maybe it is a piece to hold post its. I am not sure, but it was the perfect size for this stitch  

 If you would like to stitch, this piece just click on the pdfs below. I am not a professional designer, and I am not able to  put these on one pdf. I apologize for that.  Click here for the instruction page.         

                          


Click here for the colored chart. 

                                        

Sorry this page is a little cock eyed. 

Click here for the black and white chart.  

                                  

I sure do appreciate you visiting me today and seeing my chick crock. Please come back for a visit anytime; you know how much I love visitors. Have a very lovely day and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Friends are the sunshine of life. 

Hugs and stitches, 







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