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Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Witch Apothecary Halloween Hutch Tour

Happy Halloween, sweet friends. Are you getting ready for  a visit from  spooks, goblins  and witches?  I sure am. I plan to have a grand total of 4 -  grandsons and nephews. Hmm I wonder what they will be?  I am sure they will be quite frightening. Lol. ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ

Please grab yourself  a mug of Halloween brew and a sweet treat-   Peanut Butter Cornflake Bars are on the dessert menu today and they are Mmmm Mmmm good! 

 

In celebration of this spooky day, I thought I would share the Witches Apothecary Hutch tour. Hmm, I think I crammed every inch with spooky goodness.  You know me and country clutter- the more the better for this ole' gal! ๐Ÿ˜€❤ It's just my style. ๐Ÿค—


The old Coca Cola crates and Campbells tin still remain on the top of my hutch. They always stay in place, but I did add a Dollar Tree sign and pumpkin. 


A little Dollar Tree leaf garland helps soften the edges of the top of the hutch and on the 1st shelf is loads of witchy stitches.  


One of my favorite is " Harvest Blessings" by Joyce Reed ,and it can be found in the 2019 Fall issue of "Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher Magazine" I finished it on an old clock base.  


Hazel Ewe, a sweet witch, is enjoying  her day in her witches' cap. Above her is a deadly potion. Oh , please do not drink that; I am certain it would ruin your day.๐Ÿ˜ซ 

Broomhilda is leading a Halloween Parade. I always enjoy a parade. Don't you? 


In the corner  are  a couple of Halloween potion book boxes that were from the Dollar Tree, not only are they cute but great for storage.  On top of the Witches Guide book is "Surrender the Treats "  which was a freebie from Hands on Design(. Information on  it can be found on Cathy's Instagram.  )   . 

Pumpkins were added to the little egg basket hanging from the side of the hutch. 


Let's shimmy on down to the 2nd shelf , shall we?


Annie and the gang are stirring up some trouble in Jacks , Cats, and Chickens.  I finished this stitch on a little wooden box which is now turned on its side. 

Next to Annie is Little Bits Tricks. Isn't that witch the cutest?  Behind Tricks is Pumpkin Head a freebie from Donna at By the Bay Needleart which she posted on her blog on Oct . 17, 2014.   
I just adore Buttons Black from Plum Street Samplers.  I stitched it years ago and added textured ribbon and spiders to the frame. 


In the opposite corner is witches galore including a ceramic witch gifted to me by my daughter. 


The  sweet witch with a jack in hand is called  Spirits and Spells from With Thy Needle.  It is finished on an old tin tray.  My vintage Halloween candle which has been in storage for many years was begging to come out so I obliged and put it next to my stitch. 



The bottom shelf is filled to the brim as well. 



"Treat Delivery " is one of my stitches that I worked on in 2020, but just recently finished; it has all of my favorite Halloween things- a black cat, bat, and a Jack with treats. 


Look at this adorable crocheted pumpkin sent to me by dear Barbara !!! Oh my it is too cute !!!! Behind it is a Homespun Elegance piece called "Oh to Be A Witch" .  My daughter gifted me the precious  black  cat. I think it was from Walmart's 2023 Halloween decor. 


The vintage is scale is filled with witchy cuteness as well. 


On top of the scale  is 2 bowls and vintage doilies. The sweet Halloween berries were also gifts from dear Barbara. Thank you so much ,sweet friend. These gifts just make my day every time I look at them.  Behind the sweet berries, is a vintage Halloween image that I printed and framed.  Smell My Feet Halloween Stamp will probably be a freebie next year if I don't forget . Lol. 


Well y'all that  is it!!!! A hutch filled with witchy goodness! 



If you would like to see previous year's Halloween displays just click the colored links. I use a lot of the the same things but just change them around. 



As soon as my four goblins leave for their trick or treat adventures, all of the witchy decor is flying off the hutch and back into the attic ( Well except for the stitches ; they have totes to fly into). And guess what is going to be marching proudly down the attic steps-  Turkeys!!!! I better get ready for my feathery friends! Thank you for dropping by for a visit and have a safe and wonderful Halloween. 


Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

Wishing you a happy Halloween that is as sweet as the candy you collect! 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!  And sweet Candy Corn Wishes! ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿงต❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy who loved Halloween and all its fun.  Love and miss you, Amo  

































Sunday, October 29, 2023

A Whole Lot of Rambling and A Christmas Freebie

Well a very Happy Slow Stitching Sunday to you, sweet friends. Please join me, I have poured myself a cup of cold chocolate milk  on this sultry sunny day, but I do have iced sweet tea for your sipping pleasure.  Yep it is supposed to get up to 80 today!  So that means the old air conditioner is back to humming for a few more days. I  had cut it off earlier this month , but with the warmer weather I needed the cooler air. Mr. Pinker however says it is freezing in this house; he is cold natured. ⛄❄

As soon as Little Mr. R, my oldest grandson, returns from his grand deer hunting trip , we will be off to visit family including the nephews.  In hand ,will be "Shine on Harvest Moon" . I hope to sit on Mom's  swing  , watch the boys play and quilt the afternoon away of course as  I  chat  away with whoever is out for a Sunday visit. I am sure there will breaks between quilting time for the boys do have pumpkins to carve. 

My fabric is tea/coffee dyed ,and I am ready to roll  all thanks to sweet PJ!   My  Slow Sunday cross stitch  project will be Hinzeit's November Point.  I just love  little monthly stitches. How about you? Thank you , dear PJ.  


It has been awhile since I have posed a To Do List so I am going to try to get back on track. 
 Do you find that you stay on task better if you write your goals down? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants like a wild child?

   I do both! ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜œ๐Ÿ˜ Sometimes I  go strictly by my list ; sometimes I am all over the place but every now and then I do accomplish a little. ๐Ÿค—

Now onto the plans for the week. 
 Hmm.... What Should I do This Week? 
๐ŸŒž1. Add the borders to Father Christmas  which is a design by Country Threads. "

 "Father Christmas " is available  in the book Fast, Fun & Fabulous Quilts which was published by Rodale Press Inc. in 1996. 

The finished quilt will measure 29 x 43 inches. I am used needle turn applique for my Santas. 


๐ŸŒž2.Work on Hinzeit's November Point. 
๐ŸŒž3. Continue quilting on Butterfly Kisses border for at least 15 minutes a day . And yes, I did meet my goal this week of 15 minutes a day stitching. Eeeh!
๐ŸŒž4. Work on November's Monthly Doodle
๐ŸŒž5. Finish Block 1 in the Mr. Snow SAL starting on Thursday. Eeeh! Another Snowman embroidery SAL!
๐ŸŒž6. Enjoy the little Spooks who drop by for Halloween! 
๐ŸŒž7. Quilt on Shine on Harvest Moon. 
๐ŸŒž8.Take down Halloween and begin putting up Thanksgiving decor.

Well that's enough to keep this old gal busy.   

QUESTION: Do you decorate for Thanksgiving or move straight on into Christmas ?

Since it is Santa Sunday for me, I thought I would share my latest ornament that took only a couple of hours to stitch. In fact I whipped this Ole' World Santa up in the time that it took to watch 2 episodes of The Love Boat. Do you remember that 1980's sitcom? 

 Anywhoo, Ole' World Santa is a simple prim stitch that only uses a few floss colors.  I wanted to finish this ornament with what I had on hand so I used some quilting fabric and yarn to finish my little ornament.  I think Santa and his sledding reindeer will look quite nice on my country Christmas tree. What do you think? 


๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„

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. 

๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„


 

A little Sunday Halloween quilt stack on my newest addition to my child's chair collection.  Aaah swoon, a blue chair. ๐Ÿค— 

A couple of weeks ago I saw a sweet orange child's chair at the thrift store. I have a cap on how much I will spend for a chair- $3.00.  The darling pumpkin orange chair was $4.00 so it did not go in my buggy. And I bet you can already guess I was kicking myself for leaving it behind.  When I went back a week later, of course it was gone.  Mrs. Cheapskate stuck to her guns, but boy, do I wish I hadn't๐Ÿ˜€. Lol. 


Oh gosh , please forgive me! I have been a chatterbox! I sure hope I did not talk your ears off.  Well I am off to see what I can get done before the youngin' arrives. I wish you  a Blessed day filled with joy , love,  happiness  and oh, yes some slow stitching time  too! ๐Ÿ˜€

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, ya'll

Melisa 

Santa works his jolliness right into your heart. 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!๐Ÿค—๐Ÿงต❤

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

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 Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday
Joy at Days Filled with Joy for This and That

Carol at Quilt Schmilt  for To Do List Tuesday 















Saturday, October 28, 2023

Witches, Ghosts and a Halloween Stamp Freebie

Enter If you Dare !  There is 3 more days to Halloween! 

Welcome, sweet Witchie Poos. I say that affectionately for I am a witch too, but of course we are all good witches- weaving magic with needle , thread, fabric and floss. Oh ,what mischief we can conjure up this time of the year. 











My large black cat is perched near my Halloween tree which is filled to the brim with Halloween cuteness!

Oh, how I wish you could see it in person;๐Ÿค— it is a lot prettier than the photo can capture . May I say that this is my favorite Halloween tree to date.  

My Halloween tree is perched in an old bushel basket that my Nanny painted years ago. 


I promise you there is a tree in there somewhere underneath all of that Halloween! ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜‚









The top of the tree is the perfect place to hang my hat after a long night of riding on my broom.  

Please forgive Broomhilda's feet stitcking out of the tree' she is a little wobbly on her broom. ๐Ÿ˜„

 


Brewing cauldrons, happy jacks and magical stitches reside in this tree.  Spooky Time is a freebie from Lizzie Kate

With all that is brewing , my memory has failed me on who is the designer of Happy Halloween. Do you know? 

Double double , boil and trouble   -   Little Jack Trifle and  Eeek! A Spider! are two of my freebies that I brewed up moons ago  . 

Little embroidered pillows peek from the branches. 

 


What is that I hear coming from the kitchen?!  


Boo!   Did I scare you? I sure hope not. I have two new ghosts to add to my collection. 


I am so happy to introduce to you Boo and Jack. This my newest stamp that can be whipped up in a few shorts hours.  Is Boo not the cutest ghost ever ? Aaah look at Jack with only one tooth- Now tell me how can you resist him?! LOL. 

 

After making Boo and Jack, I quickly gathered a piece of muslin and drew out a little ghost to make into a wee doll. Hmmm what should I call him? Maybe Casper?

 Anywhoo, the instructions are below on how I made this little guy.  Wouldn't Boo and Jack and even sweet Casper look as cute as a button in a Halloween treat bag? 

CASPER INSTRUCTIONS

1. I traced the pattern onto a piece of muslin folded over onto itself. I added 1/4" seam allowance around the edges which is not on the pattern.  Pin the muslin together and cut the ghost pattern out. 

2. Sew around the edges of the ghost leaving an opening to stuff the ghost. Clip the inner curves being careful not to clip the thread. Turn inside out. 

3. Stuff your ghost tightly with Polyfil. Whipstitch  the hole used for stuffing closed. 

4. I wanted to prim my ghost up so I used a mixture of  white and a dab of black Apple Barrel acrylic paint  from Walmart.  I painted my whole ghost. Sometimes I dipped my paintbrush in water to thin the paint down. Paint the eyes and mouth with black paint. 

5. As the ghost was drying , I pulled out my cinnamon. When the ghost was about tacky dry, I sprinkled cinnamon and rubbed it in with my fingers being careful not to distort any features. Shake off any excess and then let ghost fully dry.

6. Once dry, add a ripped homespun bow.  

Wahlah! Casper is complete! Easy Peasey! 

 I was going to make several of them for bowl fillers, but then I had the grand idea of propping Casper into an old rusty spring for display until the other ghosts magically appear. ๐Ÿ‘ป๐Ÿ‘ป๐Ÿ‘ป

Today I will be weaving my magic needle and working on Casper in a quilt block. How cute will that be? 



๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ

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. 

๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ‘ป๐ŸŽƒ



Well, sweet friends, I am so delighted that you stopped by for a visit. I truly appreciate you. ๐Ÿค—❤๐Ÿ˜˜ 
There will be Trunk or Treats and a Halloween festival going on today. If I am lucky , perhaps a few little ghouls will come visit me before they head to the activities.  Have a spooktacular day and ...

All Through the Nights "Jolly Jack " and my Halloween Jar


As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, ya'll

Melisa 

During the day I do not believe in ghosts, but at night I am a little more open minded. ๐Ÿ‘ป

Hugs and Stitches!!!!๐Ÿค—๐Ÿงต❤

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



Best Witches  a freebie from Waxing Moon Designs