Blog Archive

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Blessings and Berries- Blooms of the Heart 2026 Berry Freebie

Hey, there Sunshine! How are you doing on this lovely Summer's Day?  I sure hope you are feeling as fit as a fiddle and as fine as dandy!

It has been a good week in the holler thus far. As my Nanny would say- "I've been keeping the roads hot "which means I have been out and about for the last few days.  Not doing anything special but visiting family and dipping in and out of thrift stores. So you know I am one happy gal! 😀

This bright sunshiny yellow afghan is my latest thrifty find for only $1.99. 😲 Eeeh what a steal! I have already draped it onto my stitching chair . It will be nice to throw over my legs during the chilly evenings. 

 I will show you some of my other  finds in the next coming days. 

Sweet Gail, sent me a Blessing Box with a couple of advertising tins to add to my collection. 💛💙

But wait. What makes them extra special is they were from her collection . AND...

They are musical tins. 😀 Just turn the little key and sweet melodies delight the ears. 

The Morton's Salt tin plays "Singin' in the Rain." If you would like to enjoy a little "ear worm" just click the colored link to listen to Gene Kelly singing "Singin' in the Rain" on Youtube. Such a delight. 


Right now I have the sweet musical tins sitting on my "mitten table" ( The table where I store the boy's winter mittens and tobaggans). But I am already dreaming of moving the Morton's Salt to the blue hutch and the Old Dutch Cleaner will be incorporated into my fall display with my brown crocks. 

Oh, what fun I will have weaving them in and out of displays throughout the year. Thank you so much, Gail for blessing me with your treasures and kindness. 🤗 You brought me such joy. 

Hmmm... what  else is going on?🤔 

Well, I have a special berry stitch to share with you. It is hot off the presses. In fact, I just finished it last night.  It is called "Blooms of the Heart" and is in memory of my sweet sis, Amy. ❤


Of course, if you decided to stitch this simple stitch, you do not have to finish it as a berry. You could finish it any way your sweet heart desires.  I just have an affection for berries. 


Blooms of the Heart was stitched on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed Aida. 


Have you ever made a berry? A couple of  years ago, I posted a Berry Making Tutorial. My advice when making a berry is to cut your fabrics large. You can trim down as you go if you decide the berry or cap needs to be smaller. 

The Berry Sampler (Amy's 2026 berry sampler) which I have not shared, Blooms of the Heart Berry and Berry Bouquet- A Sampler for Amy


Usually , I stuff my berries with a combination of polyfil and  sawdust from Mr. Pinker's workshop . But this year, I decided to fill it with something different- oodles and oodles of fabric scraps that I have collected.  I will show you the project that these scraps are from later this week. I simply cut the little scraps to wee pieces and stuffed them into the berry. 

Scraps from a quilting project were used to fill "Blooms of Heart" 

I made my berry oversized and stitched wonky "X's" along the seam line . I always do this on my berries. 

 Usually, I like to add bits of lace and all kinds of things to my strawberry caps. But I really did not frou-frou the strawberry cap up much this year; I just kept it simple. 

 I cut a strawberry cap from a gray wool skirt. I tacked it down over the top of the strawberry using blanket stitches. I then cut strips of silk from a jacket . I created loops from the strips and secured them with 2 overlapping buttons on top! Wahlah! My strawberry cap was complete! Easy Peasy! 

Amy's 2023 berry which I have not shared, In My Heart She Blooms 2024 berry, and Berries for Amy the 2025 berry

FLOSS  : SYMBOL  MOTIF:
       DMC 221 ( X) Flowers
DMC  223 ( C) Flowers
DMC 730 ( G) Stem , Leaves
DMC 830 ( • )  Date and center of flowers
DMC 869 ( V) Doohickeys and small heart
DMC 924 (H) Basket
DMC  926 ( U) Basket

The basket was stitched in blues . My sweet sis had beautiful gray blue eyes. 

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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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NOTE:The drawn berry outline on the chart is NOT a stitching or cutting line,but I used it as a reference line  to visualize the berry while stitching.






NOTE: I use the  berry template as a loose guideline for constructing my berry. I add a generous seam allowance . So my berry is a lot bigger than the template. If you find your berry is too big to your liking , you can always trim the fabric. 



It brings me so much comfort to create the little samplers and berries in memory of Amo. I think she would smile from ear to ear if she saw them. 


The Berry Sampler, Amy's Strawberry Basket SamplerBerry Bouquet- A Sampler for Amy and Amy's Berry collection. 

Gosh, I do think I have talked your ears off.😁 
I do apologize for being so long winded today. Please, do forgive me. But I am ever so grateful that you joined me.

May your day be a filled with joy and...



As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Friendship is a blessing that warms the heart and soothes the soul.  "

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister  thrifting buddy, and best friend, Amy 
 I love and miss you even more with each passing day. You are my blessing.  Love you , Amo. 

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 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes 2026- Early 2026 parade of home freebies.
🌞2026 Love Parade- A Parade of Previous Valentine Freebies- Valentine themed stitches up to Feb. 4, 2026.  
🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 
🌞A Buzzy Bee Parade An early 2025 bee freebie parade.
🌞A Sunny Sunflower Parade for 2025 A parade of sunflower freebies up to July 24, 2025
🌞Pumpkin, Leaves and Autumn Please- A Fall Parade 2025 A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 8, 2025.
🌞 A Stomping Stamp Parade 2026  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to June 2, 2026

🌞Time to Dye-  2024 post on how I tea/ Coffee Dye my fabric. 
🌞Pin Pillow Tutorial - 2023 post on how I finish my pin pillows with chenille trim. 
🌞A Spooky Parade - Halloween freebies up to October  4, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.
🌞Turkey Struttin' Thanksgiving Parade 2025- Thanksgiving freebies up to the date of November 3, 2025. More Thanksgiving freebies followed  this date. 
🌞A Christmas in July Parade of Past Freebies- 2026 A Parade of Christmas Freebies up to the date of July 6, 2026. More Christmas Freebies followed this date. 
🌞A Chilly Parade of Winter Stitches 2025- A parade of Winter themed freebies up to the date of Dec. 21, 2025
🌞Let's Dye Some Fabric- A tutorial on my process of dyeing Aida 🐔

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Please forgive me on being way behind on answering sweet messages and visiting. I am like a chicken with her head cut off right now. LOL. But I will get it together soon.  Do you ever feel like that? LOL  

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