On the Road Again...

A great big howdy , ya'll. I just wanted to pop in for a short visit to say, I will be off line until the 1st of July. Mr. Pinker and I have hitched up the ole' wagon and headed on our usual June vacation. Hopefully, we will find adventures and no mayhem as we hit the trails. I hope the rest of your June is a fabulous and productive and filled with stitches. I will talk with you later , my friends. As always....

 

Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Travel far enough to find yourself! 

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I will miss your call this year. Love and miss you., Amo ❤❤❤

Amy's Pinkeep - A Special Freebie

Good morning, sweet friends . Welcome. 

Forty years ago this month, I  along with my sister and brother were anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new sibling.  All the family members had made bets on what the new baby would be. Would it have a head full of hair or mere whisps? Blue or Brown Eyes? How much would it weigh? All of our guesses were written down to see who would come the closest in respect to our guesses. Dad thought for sure he would have another boy, but I just knew I would have a baby sister.

 Soon the day arrived and my baby sister arrived .  It was not until a couple of days later that I laid eyes on my little sis.   I immediately  wanted to reach out ,  grab her and smother her with kisses. She had a head full of  brown hair . So sweet and tiny as all babies are. Mom had dressed her in a little pink dress with socks that were too big for those teeny feet. Mom and Dad named her Amy.  

From the very minute she was born, she was a spit fire. Papa soon settled on his nickname for  her-  Flaming!  or Flaming Amy which was so appropriate.😀🤗🔥   As she grew up, I always thought she was a whole lot of country with a little rock and roll.She loved to hunt , fish , go junkin , but was very feminine at the same time. She is such a beauty. 

Today I will be working on a very special stitch that I designed for my baby sis who gained her angel wings almost 10 months ago . I love and miss her so much.  

This piece is called Amy's Pinkeep. A simple basket  filled with blooms. I think Amo would approve. As I stitch and make progress, I will certainly share photos.   I really should not call this a pinkeep though- it is rather large. 

This stitch only has four floss colors. I am using DMC 902, 782,730 and 844. 

                 

If you would like to add this humble stitch to your stitch list, I would be deeply honored. Just check out the links to the jpg below. 

Click here for the Instruction page. 

Click here for the Colored Chart jpg.

Click here for the Black / White Chart. jpg

Yesterday, I shared a few country photos on a Wordless Wednesday post. Many of those photos were taken at Amy's. She loved living out in the country. She had some darling prim gardens . 

                 

I want to thank you for taking the time to visit me today. I also want to thank all of you who have been so kind and supportive of me these last few months with the passing of my sis. Your visits,  words of comfort, prayers and warm thoughts have meant more than mere words can express. You have kept me motivated and I truly appreciate you. Have a beautiful day, my friends. As always...

Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Side by side or miles apart; sisters will always be connected by heart!!!

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. You will always be in my heart. Love ya' Amo!❤❤❤

Wordless Wednesday- Country Life

Good morning, dear friends. I thought I would share a Wordless Wednesday post again. ( Not totally wordless lol) . Just a few country photos for the day. 

 

Mrs. Parker's old house across the road. 

Thank you for dropping in for a visit. Ya'll come back now, you hear.  Have a beautiful day! As always...

Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll

Melisa

There is peace and tranquility that can be found in the country.  

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵 

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love you, Amo. 

The Grand Old Flag and Another Patriotic Wordie Bowl Filler Freebie

Good morning, sweetie pies and Happy happy Flag Day. This is another one of my favorite holidays- just because it is a special day to honor  Old Glory. 

My oldest grandson painted the little birdhouse for me. I treasure it. 

 June 14, 1777 was the day that the US flag was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.  The Flag Resolution stated :"Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." 

 It was not until 1916 that Woodrow Wilson issued a proclaimation making June 14th Flag Day and by 1949, Congress proclaimed the 14th National Flag Day.

 Well that is a bit of a history lesson today.  📖 Well not quite. I do love all of the nicknames for our nation's flag. 

Other names for the American Flag: 

Stars and Stripes

The Grand old Flag

Old Glory

Red , Whtie and Blue

The Star Spangled Banner

Stars and Bars

                     

In celebration of this special day, I am going to continue my progress on my flag blocks that I have been working on.

I know . I know . You have seen these about 50 billion times. I bet you are saying finish these already . Lol.  I am thinking the same thing. Oh boy, do I need more time to do all the things I want to do. 

 Any whooo! I thought I would share the measurements that I am using just in case you would like to work on some yourself . Of course, you can make your flags any size that you want. 

These are the measurements that I used to create my flag block. 

DK  BLUE-   CUT 1- 3 /12" x 4 1/2"

WHITE- CUT 1 -  1 1/2" x 5 1/2" 

               CUT 2 - 1 1/2" x 9 1/2"

RED-      CUT 2  1 1/2" x 5 1/2"

               CUT 2   1 1/2"  x 9 1/2" 

This is an easy peasy block to put together. 

One of the last gifties from my dear sister , Amy. 

A couple of weeks ago, dear Emma on Instagram suggested the word "Justice" for a Patriotic Wordie Bowl Filler. Great idea. Thank you , Emma. I will be stitching this little piece today to add to my bowl fillers. 

Click here for chart. 

Before you go , can I tell you another  interesting fact about this day? It is the US. Army's birthday.  Thank you again to all of the men and women who have served in our nation's military. You are our hereos. 

I am so grateful that you stopped by for a visit today. Have a wonderful and blessed day and as always...

Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Our flag does not fly because the wind  moves it...It flies with the breath of each soldier who died protecting it.  

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵 

Dedicated to my sweet baby sister Amy. I love and iss you, Amo. 

Love my country patriotic clutter.

An Afternoon Visit

 Good afternoon, ya'll and welcome. Thank you so much for stopping by for a a visit.😊😘😘

       

 Well I have been as busy as a bee this past week. 

 The attic was reorganized and the boxes are back in the attic right in the knick of time. I was sweatin' up a storm last night putting the last bit of Halloween up.  I did keep a few things down; these things have not seen the light of day in a few years.

 One piece was this old wringer from my Granny's log cabin.

                        

 I just have it pushed in the corner in the kitchen right now with a tin and lamp on it. 

              

 I also kept Grandpa's  long wooden crate down which is well over 100 years old. 

          

In years past ,  I have  displayed it on the dining table with Santas in it. I have no idea where I am going to put it, but I can imagine little quilts folded in it. 

On Wednesday, I took the grandbabies to Summer Story Hour at the local library. This summer's theme is the Ocean. The kiddos had to have their photo in the shark's mouth.

 They checked out 30 books to read for the week.  They also enjoyed pool time throughout the week. 

Later in the week, I picked the last of the strawberries . I canned 27 pints of strawberry jam this season. My youngest grandson gave me a 2 thumbs up when he tasted it and promptly asked for toast. 👍👍🍓🍓

Mr. Pinker and I have also been enjoying the first harvest of  squash and zucchini. Mr. Pinker made a squash casserole the other night. Yummmmy!   I have been enjoying the summer squash in salads. 

As far as stitching , Hmmm! Not so productive. But I did get a bit completed. 

First , dear PJ sent me  Lizzie Kate's 4th of July Flip It.  I stitched it into a little pillow and have it displayed on my patriotic tree. I love it!!! Thank you so much, PJ.  I do have plans to stitch it again with another finish in mind. 

Have you seen sweet Miss Vicki's  new freebie at Stitchy McFloss blogspot? It is called Mama's Flowers. 

Gorgeous  design and it was designed in memory of her dear mother.  Vicki is so kind, generous and talented. It is always a delight to visit her blog. Please pop by and visit her too. I know many of you do already. 

 This is my 2nd time working on blackwork. I loved every stitch. I am going to  finish mine as an ornament. 

Other freebies that  Miss Vicki has shared are Be Blessed and ....

Love . 

 

I also began a new house sampler. I am enjoying the colors in this piece. I hope to finish it soon. 

As far as quilting , I have not completed much at all .  Summer activities have certainly taken priority. 

I want to thank everyone for all of the kind words and compliments on my last freebie, Hive Sweet Hive. I truly appreciate each and every one of you , and I hope you enjoy it. Dear Deborah certainly made this stitch possible. Thank you , Deborah .

            

Well that is all that I have been up to these last few days. I hope that you have been enjoying the warmer weather . Thank you again for the sweet Monday visit , my friends.  As always...

Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Everything good and magical happens between the months of June- August. Happy Summer. 

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵 

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

Wordless Wednesday- Nanny's Farm

Good morning, dear friends. I thought I would share a Wordless Wednesday post again. ( Not totally wordless lol) . It's hay time! The grass has been cut and  raked . Let the baling begin! 

Thank you for taking the time to pop in for a visit . Have a beautiful day! As always...

Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll

Melisa

It's the little things that can make a big difference!  

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵 

Amy's tree. 

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. It seems like a few short months ago that we were on the hill trying to get the key out of the tractor. Love and miss you. 

 

Looking for Junk

Good morning, Sunshine! Welcome, my friends.  How was your weekend? Busy with summer time fun? 

Saturday I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed in search for yard sales. Oh, bummer! No sales in town so I drove on to the next community where there is only a Dollar General and a gas station . As I was driving, I came to an abrupt stop when I saw there was a church yard sale on the hill. Eeeh ! This is the same church that I purchased the Red Bow Tie Quilt last year for only $2.00. I was hoping I would find a treasure like that again. 

No quilt today! But I did find a few goodies. Nothing to write home about, but I will share a few of them anyway. 

I was able to get a number of vintage children's books to add to my collection. Do you remember any of these?  As I child I loved The Old Woman and Her Pig. 

I also bought 2 bundt pans. Red and blue-Can't pass those up!  I also purchased a large basket to put the kiddos chips in, a rooster mug and the step stool. Nothing was over a $1 so I was super happy. 

                           

Later in the evening I worked in the quilt room . I hope to share my progress on my projects later this week. 

If you are working on the Oh Say Can You Sew QAL from Primitive Gatherings, Clue 3 will be released today. I still have a few more hour glass blocks to make and I do have to square them up. 

It is LIST TIME . Yep! Time to write down those weekly goals. Eeeh ! I was pretty productive last week. Can I keep up the momentum? I sure hope so. Let's see what I accomplished last week. 

Did I Get er' Done?   Well.... Last week's goals were:  

✅ 1. Begin putting boxes back into the attic. I am reorganizing the attic as I go so more boxes to go.

✅ 2. Continue working on Oh, Say Can You Sew Quilt Along. 15 more hour glass blocks to go. 

🇽Then trimming is in my future.

 ✅3. Work on Truckin' Along Tuesday cross stitch. 

 ✅4. Begin a new Patriotic bowl filler cross stitch. 

 ✅5. Work on Butterfly quilt 

 ✅6. Quilt on Easter quilt

 ✅7. Make more flag blocks. 

 Woo Hoo! I got 99% of what I wanted accomplished done though I am a bit disappointed that I did not finish the Oh, Say Can You Sew Clue #2. But that's ok. It's not a race.  So I will do my happy dance. 💃💃💃💃💃 This week's plans is the same as last week. 

 What's the Plans for the Week?  Well....

🌞 1. Work on my Summer Days quilt blocks.

🌞 2. Work on OH, Say Can You Sew QAL.Finish clue # 2

🌞 3. Piece more flag blocks. 

🌞 4. Quilt on Easter Quilt. 

🌞 5. Truckin' Tuesday cross stitch. 

🌞 6. Let's not forget organizing and packing the attic . 

Alrighty, my friends that is my Monday ramblings. Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. I wish you the most fantastic week! As always... 

Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Not all who wander are lost, some  are just roaming,  looking for junk! lol. Happy junking! 

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵 

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy and my Nanny -both who loved searching for goodies at yard sales . 

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.  

   Beth at Love Laugh Quilt  for Monday Making

Judy at Small Quilts Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Linda at Texas Quilt Gal for To Do List Tuesday - Tuesday