Blog Archive

Friday, January 30, 2026

A Great Day of Stitching and Applique

"Ya' want to build a campfire? " asked Mr. Pinker. 

"Sure, " I replied with glee. "In all of the years we have been traveling westward , we have never built a campfire- out here at least. "
 

Mr. Pinker and I pulled our chairs up to the small fire and watched the sun set.  It had been a good evening.


Earlier during the day, Mr. Pinker went  to a coin hunt. "Find some tokens, Hon! " I yelled at him as the participants went out to search.  

As Mr. Pinker hunted with his detector and rake, I sat back as pretty as you please and worked on Annie Beez Folkart's "Every Heart Beats True", a darling gift from my dear friend Robin. Thank you , Robin. I am loving this stitch. 🤗

 

It was not long before I had the border and words stitched. I looked up occasionally to see if Mr. Pinker was making any progress. Ever so often I saw him bend down , grab a coin and slip it into his bag. Eeeh will he find a token , I wondered. 

Within the hour, I had completed a pretty good amount. Then the horn blew . All coin hunters were to come off the field. Mr. Pinker came back to our sitting spot . "Any tokens? " I inquired. 

"Nope not a one, " he replied, "But I did make the entry fee back and then some for a grand total of $31.00. Yee Haw! " 😀 

I gave him a big thumbs up and went back to working on another project - starting the Summer Stamp SAL  which I will share in the coming months. Meanwhile Mr. Pinker went to the gathering of coin hunters to see if he won a prize . 

 A sneak peek at one of the Summer stamps

Earlier I had stitched up a few borders for the Summer Stamp SAL in brown but was just not feeling it so I pulled DMC 930 and gave it a try. Hmmm I think I like it I told myself. 

Time ticked away . It was not long before I looked up to see Mr. Pinker heading my way with a gold pan in his arms.  "Aaaw you won a prize. " I said with a nod. 

"Nope! Skunked again! " he replied with a grin. "I bought this little baby. "  LOL .He was one happy camper. 

"We have had a busy day, Sweetie.  Let's head back to camp for lunch. " I chimed.  We hopped into our side by side and lickety split made our way down the roads and through the washes.  

Once we were at "home", Mr. Pinker pulled some chicken out of the fridge and began to cook up a storm. What's a girl to do when one's hubby is cooking- well stitch of course. It was time to work on Little House Needleworks "Farm Life"

Progress as of January 22, 2026

Old Mr. Ripper came out only once to take out the wagon when I misplaced it. Grumble ! Grumble! But it did not take too long to have it in place. I will be adding pumpkins to it soon. 

To round off my evening I pulled out some applique and whipped up 2 strawberries from my Berries and Butterflies quilt

The berries are appliqued on an 8 1/2" background (unfinished). 

Yep it was one fine day indeed! The only thing that would have made it better was roasted hot dogs and s'mores. Yum! Yum! Hee! Hee! 

Thank you dear Sonja for the threads you sent me. I carry them with me when traveling. 

I am so very grateful that so many of you have been visiting me these last few weeks. Especially since I am "off my regular schedule" . It truly means the world that you spend a bit of your time with me. You make me feel awful special - that is for sure. 

I wish you a lovely day and thank you again . See ya' around the campfire! 


As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"When life is sweet say thank you and celebrate. " 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ 

 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes 2026- Early 2026 parade of home freebies.
🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 
🌞A Berry Nice Parade- A Look at Past Berry Freebies 2025Early 2025 berry 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 Parade of Stamps 2025  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to August 14, 2025

🌞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. 
🌞Ho! Ho! Ho! Christmas Parade Of Previous Freebies- 2025- A Parade of Christmas Freebies up to the date of November 15, 2025. 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
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Wednesday, January 28, 2026

An Evening in the Desert- Wordless Wednesday

Good Wednesday morning, Sunshine and welcome . I hope you are doing well and staying warm. It has been rather nice where we are at. Mr. Pinker and I enjoyed an evening ride yesterday to an old mine. I snapped a few photos and thought I would share them in a Not So Wordless Wednesday post. I hope you enjoy. 🤗🌵








 Have a bright and beautiful day, Sweet Peas and thank you for the sweet visit. 

As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"Always add a sprinkle of joy to your day. " 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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


An Arizona Sunset! How beautiful! 
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 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes 2026- Early 2026 parade of home freebies.
🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 
🌞A Berry Nice Parade- A Look at Past Berry Freebies 2025Early 2025 berry 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 Parade of Stamps 2025  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to August 14, 2025

🌞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. 
🌞Ho! Ho! Ho! Christmas Parade Of Previous Freebies- 2025- A Parade of Christmas Freebies up to the date of November 15, 2025. 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
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Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Bucket of Winter- A Winter Freebie

Are you sick of seeing winter stitching? 🥴🥶

Good morning. I just thought I would pop in with a snowman special. You know how I hip hop through the holidays and seasons. 


Like many of you , I like to stitch for Christmas throughout the year. Last year before I left on my vacation, I finished A Bucket of Winter.  This little snow fella would be perfect as an ornament , but I chose to finish him on a Dollar Tree easel chalkboard that I found in the craft section. The wooden snowflake , black gingham ribbon and faux greenery  is from the Dollar Tree as well. Gotta love the Dollar Tree! ❤



"A Bucket of Winter "looks perfect nestled with some of my other snow stitches like: Snow Basket  Winter Haul   and Prim Winter Blessings

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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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Thank you so much for stopping by to see my little snow fella. I wish you a sunshiny day! 

As Always, 

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

"When life gives you too much snow, build a snowman.  " - unknown.

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy. Love and miss you, Amo. 



Monday, January 26, 2026

Parade of Homes 2026

Good evening, Sweeties. I meant to post this post a few weeks ago, but as always time has escaped me. Anywhoo... each January I like to share a parade of homes that I have shared over the last few years for reference. 

  I have tried to organize them by a month or theme.  If you see any that you are interested in knowing more, about click on the colored text ,and you will magically be taken back to that post. I hope you enjoy.

JANUARY / WINTER THEME

Mary Elizabeth Coat's Winter Saltbox


Tiny Winter's Day House


Winter on Pine Berry Lane 

Winter Manor

Winter Saltbox

A Cold Winter's Day- Dot's Saltbox

Prim Winter Blessings

The Star Spangled Winter Home

FEBRUARY THEMED

Dorothy Mae's Spring House

Elizabeth Hartline's Saltbox

Elizabeth Hartline's Saltbox is nestled in a darling tobacco basket ornament gifted to me by sweet Shelly. 

Love Grows Here


Filled With Love This is a smaller piece 



MARCH THEMED



APRIL THEMED






MAY THEMED



JULY / PATRIOTIC THEMED


Summer House  is a larger piece. 

Little Liberty Manor ( This is a smaller piece) 


Mollie William's Homestead with Sarah Jane's 1776 Saltbox  and Freedom Saltbox

Lucinda Hawkins Liberty House

The Blue House

My new dough bowl filled with sweet wool pennies. 




AUGUST THEMED






SEPTEMBER THEMED







1803 Autumn Home  This is a larger house






An Autumn's Day



Crows in the Pumpkin Patch

The gorgeous crocheted pillow was a gift from dear Barbara. I love it! 










OCTOBER THEMED

 


Candy Corn House with Autumn's Saltbox


NOVEMBER THEMED

 The Blessing House








FARMHOUSE THEME


Can you guess which are the most popular this past  year?  

Well for the 2nd year in the row 

#1 is Spring Green Saltbox 

#2 Winter Saltbox

The #3 spot for the most popular post happened to be two quilts which warmed my heart. 

Wild , Wild Roses Quilt

Wild , Wild Roses pieced and awaiting a border. 

Miss Autumn 16 Patch 

Autumn 16 patch is made up of 2" squares ( 2 1/2" unfinished)

It is always hard for me to choose a favorite particularly since so many of them are named after my family members, but as of right now - Pumpkin Blossom Inn is still my favorite. But the Maize House was a delight to stitch this past year. 

If I have missed any of the houses that should be in the parade, please let me know. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and looking at my little village.Have a wonderful day, Sweeties. 

As always...

 Happy quilting and stitching, y'all

Melisa
"Home is the heart's nesting place. "-


Hugs and Stitches!!! ðŸ¤—❤🧵


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


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A Great Day of Stitching and Applique