Thursday, July 25, 2024

A Tale and "Sew Day Basket" - A Sewing Freebie

 Hip Hip Hooray! It's a holiday!

Well it should be! It is National Thread the Needle Day! 

There is multiple meanings for "thread the needle", but for us crafters- well we know ,  it is the perfect excuse to sit back and enjoy a day of slow relaxing stitching!  I look for any excuse to sew. How about you? ๐Ÿ˜

For the last two years, I have celebrated this special day with  sneak peeks  of my grandmothers' sewing boxes  and all of the goodies that they stored in their baskets. Great  Grandma Annie had the most unusual things in her basket.  If you would like to take a peek , just click on the colored link above. ⬆

Great Grandma Annie's early 1900's sewing basket

I also shared Grandma Annie's Sewing Basket ,a quick wee stitch, dedicated to my great grandma whom I never met, but who is near and dear to my heart. ❤๐Ÿ’–

Last year I shared , warm memories of my Nanny's "Junk Room" which is what she called her sewing room. That was where all of the magic took place . Little Raggedy Anns and Andys would dance their way out of the "Junk Room"  and into the hearts of us youngin's. In memory of Nanny, I shared the Sew Stitch Tomato Pinkeep- a big ripe tomato ripe for the "sewing" . 

Hmmm what should  I share this year?!๐Ÿค” 

How about another peek into a vintage sewing basket? I am always game to see what is lurking among the needles and threads aren't you? ๐Ÿ˜€๐Ÿงต๐Ÿชก

A few years ago, Mr. Pinker and I was taking a long romantic stroll in the thrift store on our usual date night when I spotted it - a big copper colored sewing basket ! Hallelujah! Eeeeh!

Vintage sewing box bought in 2019 at the Goodwill

With a click of my heels and a rattle of my buggy, I sped across the aisles right to the display case where the basket was showcased. 

As I stood there waiting patiently, another shopper spotted what I saw, and she rushed right behind me.

"Can I  help you ? " asked the cashier' 

" You sure can! I  would like to see the sewing box in the case, please!" ๐Ÿ˜

She quickly pulled it out  and sat it on the counter. 

"Are you going to buy that?" asked the other shopper.

" I do believe I will ," I said with glee. 

 She looked it over and said , "You are getting a great deal; I would have liked to had it too.  Enjoy. "   She turned away and continued her shopping .

Meanwhile I took a moment  to open the box to see what was in it. "Eeeh! Wooden Spools and lots of goodies ! Score!", exclaimed to no one in particular. ( Hmmm,  I swear I heard the loud speaker say " Husband of Crazy Lady on aisle 1 needed" )  Hee! Hee!๐Ÿ˜€๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคช๐Ÿคช

Anywhoo,  I proceeded to do a happy dance all the way to the other side of the counter to the  cashier. Mr. Pinker just rolled his eyes and smiled.

 When we got to the car he said , "How much did you pay for that?"  

With a grin a mile long, I  said, "HOLD ON TO YOUR BLOOMERS! $3.99!"

"  Yahoo! "I yelled out the window .

 Mr. Pinker  shook his head and said "Oh my!  Contain yourself,  my crazy little thrifty quilt lady!!!!" ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜„

Now let's see what is in the sewing box. Shall we? 

Wow! This is a neat and tidy box.  I am going to call  this Miss Tidy's Box. You will not find my sewing box this neat. Hee! Hee! 

This is the 1st tray of vintage sewing items. 

The first tray is filled with lots of spools of thread and zippers all made in the good ole' USA.  

Items from the first tray. Colorful zippers and old wooden spools. 

 

Snaps , buttons and a needle envelopes

Vintage needle envelopes. 

The 2nd tray is even neater. Oh , boy! What goodies will we unearth? 

The 2nd tray is neat as a pin.

Buttons, elastic, Hem tape, buckles, buttons. Hmmm I wonder if Miss Tidy made clothing. ๐Ÿค”  

Seam binding $.19 - Wow ! Those were the days. 

Goodies in the 2nd tray of the box. 

Oh yes! I believe Miss Tidy was a seamstress. The bottom  section of the box has a Dressmaker's Tracing Paper from Kmart at only $.68 a pop. 

A peek into the bottom compartment of the sewing box. 

Carbon Paper, lace , labels , 

Some of the items in the bottom of the vintage sewing box. 


  Miss Tidy was very tidy -she did  not have any crazy items like Great Grandma Annie had in her sewing basket. ๐Ÿคฃ

There are a lot of great vintage items with fantastic packaging . 

While looking through Miss Tidy's sewing basket , I learned a lot of things. She made clothes, used a lot of browns, blues and burnt red threads, enjoyed using snaps in her clothing and purchased most of her items from Kmart. I also learned she was probably a Tennessee gal based on the matches case. Hmm. I wonder if anyone will ever study my sewing basket. Hee! Hee! 

 How about a stitch?

 My newest quick stitch is called "Sew Day Basket"

It is a wee stitch that can be stitched up in 2 shakes of a lamb's tail! 


 I finished Sew Day Basket using 2" fabric strips and ribbon from Hobby Lobby. 

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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. 

๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต 




Needle and Thread

Oh my, I have been chatty today. I hope I did not talk your ears off. But I sure do appreciate you stopping by to celebrate with me and to listen to my  crazy tales. 

Now tell me. Have you pulled out your needle and thread yet? ๐Ÿ˜€


As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"Gather your threads of life and stitch them into joy!"

Hugs and Stitches!!! ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿงต

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy ,   I miss and love you so much.   ❤๐Ÿ‘ผ Also dedicated to my Nanny , Great Grandma Annie and Miss Tidy for the great sewing basket. .

The vintage sewing box was a thrifty find that I purchased in April in Whitney ,TX




































Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Bee Yard - A Bee Freebie

 Hello there, Beeeautiful! Welcome! 

Mr. Pinker went out to the bee yard the other day and checked the bees.

 He said one hive did not look too good.  Oh, bother!   I have my fingers crossed that it will make it. 

These bees look healthy though.  Aren't they amazing? 

Though I have my bee stitches on display somewhere year round , at the end of July and August I pull them out to be on full display.  

Mini Bee Sampler   and , Honey Jar- From the Mason Jar SeriesHome

I will continue stitching bees and sunflowers into August. What do you stitch this time of the year? 

๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ

My newest bee stitch is called Bee Yard. It is a super simple stitch and fairly quick too. 

I finished Bee Yard on a wooden plaque that I purchased at the Dollar Tree in the craft section a couple of years ago.  The burlap ribbon is also from the Dollar Tree. 

 I painted the board white and then mounted my stitch on foam board along with some batting. I also covered two other boards with complimentary fabrics.  

Black / White gingham fabric and a yellow fabric were used for finishing. 

Lots of little bees are buzzing about in this bee yard. ๐Ÿ˜€๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ




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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. 

๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต๐Ÿงต 


Well Sweeties, I better buzz. I know you have places to go, x's to be crossed and quilts to quilt! Have an awesome day doing what you love! 
Love ya!


As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"Spread  a little sweetness wherever you go!๐Ÿ๐Ÿฏ"

Hugs and Stitches!!! ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿงต

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I miss and love you so much.   ❤๐Ÿ‘ผ


Shaggy the stray  is still  hanging about. I can not get close to her, but she is not running away which is a good sign. 

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Lemon Squeezey Summer Hutch Tour

 I skipped the watermelons and went straight for the lemons!  


Welcome y'all.  It's that time! Yep ! Time for another Country Clutter Tour.  

Usually in July , I decorate the hutch and kitchen with  watermelons and chickens, but this year I decided blueberries and lemons were on the menu. 

Soon I cleaned off all of the tins from the "Take Me Out to the Ballgame " patriotic hutch and pulled out my lemon plates. These were new purchases from the Dollar Tree. 

Playing off the blues in the lemon plates , I pulled out a couple of thrifted ironstone dishes.  Aren't they lovely? 
 Behind my plates is a string of white Christmas lights that I  plug in to give the hutch a little more light. 


Soon the hutch was filled to the brim with "lemony goodness" ! Filling every square inch possible is just my style.  Shall we take a look?!



It is rare that anything changes on the top of the hutch. I keep my Coca Cola crates and bottles on top along with the Campbell's Soup tin which is filled with plates.  I did decide to leave the Co-Op Chicks sign out . I just love it. ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ”

I also left the forsythia vine draped  from the top just because I love the color. 


On the top shelf is a couple of stitches including "Home on Berry Lane" , a stitch I have not shared and  Blueberry Basket


This gorgeous lavender sachet made from a vintage embroidery was a gift from a dear friend! I love it!!!๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’› Thank you , Susan.  


An old blue pitcher completes the top shelf decor. 


Let's slide down to the 2nd shelf. 


In the vintage juicer, I added a small Hull bowl filled with thrifted faux lemons. 

 A little ceramic blueberry pie is beside it.  Isn't the graphics gorgeous on the Mendets package?  The Menndets is from the 1950's and were used to repair pots and pans- another thrifty find.


On the yellow riser is From the Heart Needleart's freebie called Floral Pinkeep.   Teetered on top of a small stack of vintage lemon cups  is Bee Berry 


Did you notice my newest vintage doily? ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ˜€ You can see a bit of it in the photo below. I believe it is a grape design- so stinkin' cute! 


The blueberry pie dish is also recent thrifty find. It does need some touch up paint , but I turned it to its good side.  Below it is Aunt Betty's  at Blueberry Buckle Lane which is one of my favorites' of 2023. 

Vintage Fire king, a cookbook, platters, salt and pepper shakers and my scales round out the bottom shelf. 


So that is it! Now tell me are your craving lemon blueberry squares with a cold glass of lemonade right now? Hee! Hee!   I am ! 


 I am so very grateful that you dropped by to visit me today! 


I wish you a Sun Shiny Day! 

As always,

Happy Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

"Life is short , squeeze all you can out of it! "

Hugs and Stitches!!! ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿงต

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I miss and love you so much.   ❤๐Ÿ‘ผ

Sunny Sunflowers are being embroidered. 










 

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A Tale and "Sew Day Basket" - A Sewing Freebie