Four Patch Fun Wednesday

Rise and Shine, Sunshine! Another beautiful day is calling your name! 

Do you have any grand plans on the agenda today? I would say that it is a perfect day for you to do something special . Wouldn't you?  ❤  Me? Hmmm- Well , I am going to go visit my family and then I am going to hunker down to my sewing machine.

Monday was just too darn cold for me to venture out so I worked on more of Bonnie Hunter's 2025 Leader/ Ender project called Four Patch Fun. 

I am piecing my blocks using 2 1/2" units. (unfinished)

You would be so  proud of me . I only screamed "Oh fudge! " once, (yep, I have been watching The Christmas Story)  that is when I had to pull out the GDR aka "Gosh Darn Ripper" . I had placed my four patches in the wrong arrangement in the red block but I soon wrangled those squares in place, and then I was whistling "Zippety Dooh Dah" !  I do need to clean the loose threads from the block though. 

This Four Patch Fun block had to be taken apart, but here it is all fixed. Wheww! 

So far I have 11 blocks pieced . More fabric strips are cut for piecing. 

Later this evening, I will work on the November  Mini Sampler from  From the Heart Needleart, a darling gift from dear Donna. Thank you , Donna. 🤗

And hopefully by tonight's  end I will finish a new house cross stitch which will be making its way to a post very soon. 

A few of my tins . 

Well those are my grand plans. We shall see if they come to fruition. My fingers and toes are crossed. Hee! Hee! 

 May your day be filled with loads of fun and Stitchy plans. 

 As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"If the plan doesn't work, change the plan not the goal. "- unknown 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃 

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🌞Parade of Homes- Early 2025 parade of home freebies.

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🌞A Berry Nice Parade- A Look at Past Berry Freebies 2025- Early 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. 

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🌞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. 

My newest thrifty finds  is the red plaid table runner just perfect for the Christmas season and this 1950's Lily Speed- O- Weave loom- just perfect to add to my vintage "sewing related collection". Eeeeh! I am doing the Happy dance. 💃💃💃 And both finds are RED! One of my favorite colors! 

 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 needleworkers to meet. 

Jennifer at Inquiring Quilter for Wednesday  Wait Loss- Wednesday

Denise at For the Love of Geese for Put Your Foot Down- Thursday

Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday- Thursday

TGIFF at Melva Loves Scraps for Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday- Friday

Nina at Creations, Quilts, Art , Whatever by Nina for Off the Wall Friday

Alycia's of Alycia's Quilts for Finished of Not Friday

Michelle  at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauty Pageant - Friday

Monday Rambles

We have flurries! Brrrr! ❄❄❄❄

Good afternoon, sweet friends and Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Were you a busy bee, or did you take the opportunity to sit back, relax and do something that you enjoy? 

Well, it has been a very busy day these last few days since our last visit. I have been getting in lots and lots of grandma time which means loads of hugs, kisses and entertainment. Mr. R., my oldest grandson , got his cast off on Wednesday only to be replaced by a brace which he has to keep on for 7 weeks. His arm is not fully healed but is on its way. He will go back next month for another x-ray.  

Basketball signups will be this week. Both grandsons will play, but Mr. R.  may not get to "officially" play until January. Meanwhile, my youngest grandson , Mr. F. has been enjoying his pitching and batting practice for baseball.  

Over the weekend, they had a sleepover which you know what that means- today, I have spent all morning cleaning the house.   Four young boys on a rampage can wreak havoc on a house. LOL. 🏃🏃🏃🏃

While cleaning in one of my cupboards, I found some sweet handmade Christmas treasures that I bought during the World's Longest Yard Sale over the summer. 

The first little bag which I picked up for a quarter held 2 crocheted red bells and....a darling crocheted Santa Claus. 

Gosh, I do need to learn how to crochet little pieces like this. They make my heart flutter. 🎅 💓

The 2nd bag which I purchased for fifty cents held  precious delicate snowflakes made from plastic canvas. 

White yarn was woven around the snowflake edges. 

The snowflakes are made of 2 layers of plastic canvas , woven with white yarn. 

One snowflake even had some gold thread woven in as well. I believe I will put these on my mantle garland this year. 

Gold thread was woven in 1 snowflake. Cute! 

Now that brings me back to this morning snowflurries. Yesterday the temperatures began to drop from the mid 50's to a bone chilling 27 degrees by this morning. As the temperatures began to drop, I bustled about outside placing the remainder of the plants in the greenhouse while Mr. Pinker began the heater. As of now, my plants were snug as a bug in a rug. 

It spit snow all morning long, but alas, nothing laid. We are expecting 2 more days of cold weather, and then it will warm up to the 60's again. Wheew! Thank goodness! I am not ready for snow. Usually , I am still sporting shorts come Thanksgiving time. 

As the snow fell and the wind blew, I settled into my comfy chair to relax after cleaning the house from the great romper room sleepover this past weekend. Hee ! Hee!  I grabbed my Bow Tie quilt and added in a few more stitches. 

Time to sit down in my stitchy chair to quilt away on the Bow Tie quilt. 

My needle has went around, and around and around each little bow tie block.

Whoopee! It is now time to move the hoop!

11 more blocks to go! 

I am seeing the light of day. 11 more blocks to go. YeeHaw! I am on my last row! 

Well  Sweeties, that is my long ramble for the day. Sorry to be so long-winded.  

Have a humdinger of a day and thank you for the ever so sweet visit !😀🤗

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"Its snuggle weather!  " 

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- Early 2025 parade of home freebies.

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🌞Pumpkin, Leaves and Autumn Please- A Fall Parade 2025 A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 8, 2025.

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🌞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.

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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

Piecing Peppermint Pinwheels

 Howdy do, Honey Pies and a very Wonderful Wednesday to you! How are you doing on this lovely Fall day. Me? Well I am fine and dandy.  Do you know the ole' saying  "When the  cats away - the mice will play"? Well Mr. Pinker is out working so  I will have the whole day here to myself - quilting the day away . Imagine me with my arms filled with fabric as I swirl about in glee!  Though I will miss Mr. Pinker as he traipses out in the woods,  uninterrupted  quilting time is quite welcomed. 

                        

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Yesterday I sat down to the sewing machine as Burl Ives serenaded me on the cd player .It was not long before he whisked me away to a winter wonderland filled with sleigh bells ringing and jingling, and the halls were being decked. 

Soon I was joined in-  singing "Fa la la la la la  la la la la..." as I cut my 2 1/2 strips.

Mr. Pinker broke my  concentration when he entered into the sewing room singing   "Fa La La La La ! La La La La!" in his booming voice. "  Whatcha' working on? " he asked

Tickled by his singing I chuckled  and then replied with a smile , " Well, I am whipping up a batch of Peppermint Pinwheels ."

"Hmmm sounds yummy! "  He looked down at my blocks that I had already laid out. "But that does not look like anything I would eat. Don't you already a gazillion  projects in the works? "

"I sure do! " I said merrily." What's wrong with a gazillion and one, " I reasoned.

"Not a thing, " he said as he smiled and  walked away humming a little Christmas diddy. "

 My Peppermint Pinwheels are going to measure 8 1/2" squared unfinished  ( 8 " finished). 

If you would like to make some of your own, here are the measurements I am using. ( I like to write them down here just in case I forget in the future. 🙄LOL)

CUTTING FOR 1 BLOCK

CUT 1- Red fabric  2 1/2" x 18 "

CUT 1- Green fabric  2 1/2" x 18 "

SEWING

1. Sew the red and green fabrics together using 1/4" seam allowance. Press. 

2. Subcut strips into 4 1/2" lengths. 

3. Layout block as shown  and piece. WAHLAH! A super simple block . 

If you are using scraps, just simply cut 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangles for your block. You will need 4 of each color. 

                        

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PEPPERMINT PINWHEELS RECIPE 
YIELDS : 18
 INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of softened butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons of baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of peppermint extract

1 teaspoon of red food coloring

DIRECTIONS: 

🍪 1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy ( about 3 to 4 minutes) , stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs , one at a time  and continue beating well. Add extracts and beat. 

🍪 2. In a medium bowl, whisk, flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture , beating until well combined. Divide dough in half , beat food coloring into one half of the dough. Wrap the dough in portions in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

🍪 3. Roll each piece of dough between sheets of parchment paper to form a rectangle around 11"x 9" and 1/4 " thick. Remove top pieces of parchment and stack dough on top of each other. Roll layered dough to 12" x 10" trim edges . Starting at one long side, tightly roll dough into a log using the parchment paper to help roll. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 

🍪 4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

🍪 5 . Unwrap dough . Trim ends. Using a serrated knife, cut log into 2/3 inch slices. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet. 

🍪 6. Bake until set - about 12-15 minutes. Place on cooling rack. Cool completely. 

       

OK back to the sewing machine I go! I have  at least 10 more blocks to piece  for the day. 

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May your day be filled with sugar sprinkles and peppermint kisses. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

" You are the peppermint to my mocha. "- unknown 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy who enjoyed baking sweets and treats.  I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃 

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🌞A Berry Nice Parade- A Look at Past Berry Freebies 2025- Early 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.

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🌞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. 

 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 needleworkers to meet. 

Jennifer at Inquiring Quilter for Wednesday  Wait Loss- Wednesday

Denise at For the Love of Geese for Put Your Foot Down- Thursday

Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday- Thursday

TGIFF at Melva Loves Scraps for Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday- Friday

Nina at Creations, Quilts, Art , Whatever by Nina for Off the Wall Friday

Alycia's of Alycia's Quilts for Finished of Not Friday

Michelle  at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauty Pageant - Friday

The Maize Basket Sampler - A Thanksgiving/ Fall Freebie

 Good Tuesday morning, Autumn Sunshine! Welcome! It would be such a joy if you joined me for a cup of coffee or perhaps some tea.

 This morning I will be enjoying some apple slices for breakfast. Please don't be bashful and do grab you a plate of some as well. 

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. 

 I would love to show you my latest Fall stitch. Yes, I am still stitching fall as well as Christmas . What's a girl to do? I am a seasonal stitcher , but I do love working on all of the holiday pretties. 

Anywhooo... my latest stitch is called The Maize Basket Sampler which could be whipped in no time. It has a simple basket of a bountiful harvest of corn  and a big, plump, prim pumpkin followed by a pretty alphabet. 

 I stitched mine on 14 count Aida which I coffee/ tea dyed myself. 

Six DMC Floss Colors were used in this piece including: DMC 301, 610, 782, 831, 844, 3011. But of course if you decided to stitch it you could  use any color that your heart desires. 

I thought I would give you a break down on where the colors are. 

BASKET: DMC 610

CORN: DMC  3011, 782

PUMPKIN: DMC 301, 610, 831

ALPHABET: 844

This little sampler will go along with a house stitch called "The Maize House"  that I will be sharing hopefully next week. When I fully finish  The Maize House , it will join my bowl of fall houses which I have shared previously.  The links to all of the houses can be found in yesterday's Turkey Struttin' Thanksgiving Parade 2025. 

My finish for  The Maize Basket Sampler  was inspired by the ever so talented and my sweet friend, Carol of  Stitching Dreams blogspot. In September, she shared her Little House Needlework's "Be Merry" finish where she used a bit of fabric and trim and fitted her piece into a frame- just darling.     I was able to fit mine in a thrifted 5" x 7" frame. Thank you , Carol for always being an inspiration. Please do hop over and visit , Carol. You will be so delighted by her beautiful  blog. ❤🤗

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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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Alrighty , Sweeties, I will not keep you any longer. I know you have a busy day ahead of you so do take care and enjoy each and every moment. 

I will leave you with a photo of one of my favorite stitches that I keep out year round . It is a darling freebie from Lori at Notforgotten Farm. - "Keep A Thankful Heart".   Thank you Lori for sharing it with us. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. "- Willie Nelson 

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- Early 2025 parade of home freebies.

🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 

🌞A Berry Nice Parade- A Look at Past Berry Freebies 2025- Early 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. 

I will be taking down the foyer shelf decorations. Time for Santa to pull his sleigh of reindeer in and nestle in for the upcoming Christmas holiday. 

Turkey Struttin Thanksgiving Parade 2025

 I am baaaack! Hee! Hee!

 Two posts in a day? Aaaw why not. Anywhoo this is just a short one. Since it is the first week in November and  the turkeys are strutting about,  I just had to share a short parade of previous Thanksgiving related stitches with you. 

All of these are freebies that I have shared. If you are interested in any of the charts , just click on the colored link and you will be transported back to the post.   I hope you enjoy this parade.  🦃🍁

Block 11 Harvest Blessings

Pickin' in Turkey Holler

Blessed - 5 year IG Anniversary 

Be Ye Thankful

Mini Turkey Sampler

The Blessing House

November Turkey Doodle freebie

Blessed 4 YR IG Anniversary Chart

GIVE THANKS

TURKEY HOLLER SALTBOX

  

Priscilla Ewe

Turkey Creek Manor and  Thanksgiving House. 

Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving

Fall 1869 Crock 

Blessed

 Blessed Two Year Instagram Anniversary Chart.

2022- Three Year IG Anniversary Chart

Mystery Autumn Stamp SAL - Stamp 9  -  Cornucopia Stamp Freebie

Pumpkin and Bittersweet Sampler

If the good Lord is willing, more fall / Thanksgiving stitches will be coming this way soon. So please stay tuned and thank you for the sweet afternoon visit. 

 As always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Be present in all things and thankful for all things- Maya Angelou

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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