I Lost A Week

 Sniffle , Sniffle, Cough , Cough

Oh bother, that was how last week was for me. A winter bug hit me like a ton of bricks, and I spent days in bed . 

In between naps, I watched Andy Griffith, but other than that my days lingered with the sniffles. " I have lost a whole week, " I told Mr. Pinker yesterday.  "I think I lost a couple of pounds too." Hee! Hee! I did not have an appetite at all.  But Mr. Pinker  was  a trooper and made chicken noodle soup which certainly put me on the path to recovery.  

Santa's Hens

What all did I miss out on this week as I swam in a mountain of tissues? Well, the grandsons' first basketball games (though I did watch a little via Facetime), the Christmas parade ( 1st time in 10 years) and all of the Christmas chores that I was anxious to tend to.   Anywhoo, I am feeling fit as a fiddle now. 

 In fact, I felt so good last night, that I finished the applique and the embroidery work  on the freebie from Bunny Hill Designs called A Merry  Little Christmas,. I needle turn appliqued my pieces and added a snowflake button for the toboggan pom pom. I also changed the words to " A Very Merry Winter " so I can keep it out throughout the winter season.  It will go into the hoop this week.  

As I was looking through my little unfinished quilt tops, I found a wee 4 patch to put in the hoop as well. 

 Are you ready for Christmas yet? No not me. 

My youngest daughter and her new hubby are coming home for the holidays so I do need to clean , wash sheets and such.  Oh, and then there is the wrapping of Christmas presents, and I must not forget the grocery shopping. Busy , busy , busy.  Now how can I get that lost week back? 

Mom and I are narrowing down our Christmas menu. One of the sides that I will bring is my "Over the Top Green Bean Casserole". Green bean casseroles used to linger around as a leftover until I made this one and now it is one of the family favorites and is gobbled up in no time.

 

OVER THE TOP GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup onion diced

1 1/2 cups of mushrooms , chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

2 cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup.

1/4 cup of milk

1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese

salt  ( to taste)

pepper  ( to taste)

dash of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

4 ( 15  oz) green beans , drained

1 1/2 cups of French fried onions

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Cook bacon. Reserve grease ( 2 Tablespoons). Place the 2 Tablespoons of bacon grease in skillet , add onions. Cook until translucent. Add mushrooms - Cook until brown. Add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Stir in mushroom soup , bacon, green beans. Mix.  Add milk and cheese. Mix . Add dash of salt, pepper and Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning .  Stir in half of French fried onions. Pour into casserole dish . ( I bake mine in the iron skillet) . Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. After baking, top with remaining French fried onions. Bake for 5 minutes. 

"Jingle , Sparkle, Joy" is a freebie from Deborah at Midsummer Nights Musings blog in the October 22, 2008 post. 

New thrifty finds to add to my milk glass collection. 

Did you have one of these little chairs when you were a child ? I did - a  little yellow one.  I found this little chair for $4 recently and the thermos for just 50 cents. What a steal! The crock and enamelware plate were thrifty finds as well. I will be showing some of my latest "treasures" in future posts.  Before and after Christmas is a good time to go on "treasure hunts." 

Well Sweeties, I am going to see if I can catch up with all of the goings on. I wish you a wonderful start to your week and...

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"It is easier to keep up than catch up. " - Gretchen Rubin  

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗🧵

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

A Day of Quilting

"What ya' want to do today?" asked Mr. Pinker. 

"I want to spend the whole day sewing," I said with a sigh as I slumped on the couch. 

                              

"Well get up and get going,"  said Mr. Pinker  with a grin. "What's stopping you? "

"Aaaah, I sure do wish my sewing room was cleaned up. I am a Messy Missy in my quilt room." 

"I know, I know, " said Mr. Pinker as he shook his head. 

"I sure could us a big strong man to help me clean it. "I said with a sly grin.  Hee ! Hee! 

Mr. Pinker stared  intently at the TV. I could clearly see he was pretending he did not hear that statement.  😳😀📺

           

"Alrighty,"   I said as I jumped from the couch. "Off I go." And with that I hip hopped to the quilt room in search for fabrics for a little quilt. 

"Hmmm  what color fabrics should I use ?" I  said, as I rummaged through piles upon piles of fabric and scraps. "Eureka I found it ! "I shouted as I spotted a stack of country fabrics. 

Fabrics waiting to be cut. 

"What dear ?" asked Mr. Pinker as he sat in the living room.

More country fabrics. 

 Hmmm  he heard me.

 "  Aaww ,  I found a broom, dear.  Do you want to come help me clean? "I asked jokingly.  Hee! Hee ( Can you see the devil in me?😀😜😂) 

All I heard was crickets in response. 

                                                   

Oh well, who wants to clean when I can play with fabric. The cleaning detail will have to wait until I get a better plan on how to lure him into the quilt room. Hee! Hee!  

                                 

With a swish and a swoosh, soon my rotary cutter was cutting away on red and neutral fabrics. 

1 1/2" squares cut. 

And then with a  "Hum Ho Hum" the sewing machine began to sing as I pieced little friendly stars. 

Wee  half square triangles. 

Soon Mr. Pinker peeked ever so quietly around the corner of the doorway. 

Wonky stars and four patches

"Whatcha doing, dear? Cleaning?"  asked Mr. Pinker

"Nope that train has left the station. I am working on 

 a darling freebie from Bunny Hill Designs called A Merry  Little Christmas,"  I said as I concentrated on getting the perfect 1/4' seams.  ( That rarely happens. ) 

"That's going to be cute, "Mr. Pinker said . "You need any help? 

This time he heard crickets.  "Chirp Chirp! "

 I stared at my sewing machine like I didn't hear him. Hee Hee! 

Then I said , "No, I will get you to help the next go around." 

The background is pieced. 

 Lol. Mr. Pinker has never operated a sewing machine in his life. Hmmm , on 2nd thought , I could have got him to press the quilt squares though.  

Oh Darn it - a missed opportunity! 😝😅

Anywhoo, I got a day of working  quietly in the quilt room. Then Mr. Pinker and I went out to eat.  I say it was a good day for us both. 

I will needle turn applique my pieces. 

No, the quilt room did not get tidied, but there is always tomorrow unless I find a squirrel to chase. 

TO DO LIST

1. Finish appliqueing A Merry Little Christmas

2. Quilt on Scrapberries

3. Work on a cross stitch project or 2. 

So tell me are you enjoying any time in your sewing / craft room?  

Thank you for stopping by to visit me today. 

Oh by the way , I  really did find a broom if you want to help me tidy. Any takers? Hee Hee!  

Have an awesome day, Sweeties.

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

A good day is a day spent quilting.  

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗🧵

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

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.

Carol at Quilt Schmilt  for To Do List Tuesday 

Images from Pinterest. 

Finish It Sunday

It has escaped! It has escaped! It has escaped the WIP basket!

            

 The No Name Sampler  finally made a break from the WIP basket after being exiled there for weeks.  😁😀😅

Good evening, y'all and Happy Sunday. 

 It all happened when I sauntered by the old basket and then that sampler just attached  itself to my hip and made its way to the couch. 

"Stitch me! Stitch me! " It pleaded!

 " Aaah you are back," I said to the sampler as I eyed it lovingly. "Why of course I can add a few more stitches into you as long as I do not have to frog any. Hmmm now where is my bag of flosses," I inquired as I looked around the room. 

Can you guess what has happened? Yep, I misplaced my trusty ziploc bag of "No Name Sampler flosses". Oh well, since I am flying by the seat of my pants  , I looked through my stash to find the house color( DMC 3072)  and began to stitch again.  This will be a project that I will work on today as well.   

🎄🎄🎄  CHRISTMAS SAL ALERT   🎄🎄🎄

Joy at Days Filled With Joy is hosting her free annual Christmas SAL. This year she is sharing a beautiful Advent  embroidery design. Her stitches are always so sweet and relaxing to work on . At the top of her blog is Freebie tab to click on and visit. 

                        

Friday was a fine day to work on finishing several projects one of which was Mistletoe Kisses . After much thought, I   decided to turn it into a little bag. After finishing it, I ran downstairs in glee. 

"Honey Pie," I said to Mr. Pinker. "Can you brave the cold weather tomorrow and go down to the river and shoot down some mistletoe for me? Pretty please. " I asked as I batted my eyes innocently. Hee! Hee!   

"Why sure, " replied Mr. Pinker  . " Are you going to hang it in the doorway?"  

"Nope. I have a finish !" And with that I whipped out  Mistletoe Kisses to show Mr. Pinker.

 " Quite nice , " he said . " I think I can do my part in finishing your project. "

 Sooo on Saturday Mr. Pinker braved the temps of 20 something degrees on a mission for mistletoe. Fortunately, it is easily found in our area and in 2 shakes of a lamb's tale Mr. Pinker had a large bunch of mistletoe for my enjoyment for the season. 

 Mistletoe Kisses is a freebie from Silver Creek Sampler  and is available on their website with several other darling freebies. 

 

Being on a "Finishing High" , I went to my basket of Finishes to see what else I could finish into an ornament. 

" Aaah yes! " JBW Designs Christmas Sampler, I want that on my
tree today, " I said to no one in particular.  

Dear Karen , sent me this darling chart earlier this year, and I stitched it while camping this summer at a tractor pull. ( Thank you , Karen, I just love it! )   As I looked it over, I  bit my  lower lip as I remembered cutting the fabric short ( that's the quilter in me  or maybe that is Miss Cheapskate coming out in me-  wanting to be thrifty and not waste fabric.😏😐 )

 " Not much fabric to play with, " I said to myself. " A Christmas tree it will be !" 

Soon I wrapped the fabric around a triangle . It was a tight fit but I got it. By this time it was 10:00 at night and Mr. Pinker came  sauntering into the room. 

"Uuh ,  dear. I have another mission for you. " I said with a smile. 

"Can you go outside and snap off a little branch for a tree trunk?' 

"Sure . " said Mr. Pinker.

 After explaining the size. He ran outside in the bitter cold and got a little stick.  

"Now what would I do without you," I said to Mr. Pinker.  As quick as a whip,  the ornament was done. 

And by the night's end it was on the tree. 

Scrapberries is still in the hoop.   I have been  quilting on it every day this week. 

I have most of the top and bottom borders completed. 

I will continue quilting on the side borders this week. 

Well, Sweeties, I  have certainly been a chatterbox this afternoon. I do appreciate you taking the time to visit me and listen to my old tales. 

Have a blessed and beautiful day and ...

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling- Edna Ferber 

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗🧵

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

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 and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Carol at Quilt Schmilt  for To Do List Tuesday 

And The Snow Fell ... House Freebie

Have you got snow yet?  We had a few flurries earlier in the week , but nothing to write home about. It sure has been downright cold though. Brrrrr!  Thankfully, by Monday we will back into the mid 60's. Now  I do think I can handle that. 

A new addition has been added to my ever growing neighborhood. I call this piece "And the Snow Fell... Or The Cardinal House". 

 

A sweet vine of blooms encircles this grand red house.  A darling cardinal is making its way home.  

Up on the housetop is a deer. Hmmm perhaps it is Rudolph or maybe it is Dasher. 

 With all of the flakes, it looks like a cold day at The Cardinal House.  

So what do you think? Do you think this would be a good home to get cozy in? I sure do.

The design size of And the Snow Fell is 88 x 83 and on 14 count aida that measures about 6 1/4"x 5 7/8". I stitched mine on 14 count aida that I coffee/ tea dyed myself. 

There are 17 DMC floss colors in this piece which includes: 301, 317, 318, 355, 420, 610, 646, 730, 731, 815, 830, 838, 934, 936, 3371, 3858 and Blanc. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

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. 

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Well, I am off to see what mischief I can get into. I wish you a lovely day . 

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Friends are good for the soul. 

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗🧵

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

Peace, Joy,  Love  is a freebie from Lizzie Kate designs. 

Thank you for the sweet visit! 😘🤗