Butterflies and Candy Corn- A Halloween Sampler Freebie

 Hey there, Punkin and a very Happy Sunday to you! How are you doing on this fine Sunday morning? I hope good. 

 Hmmm ... 🤔 Where are all of those golden yellows, burnt orange and crimson red leaves? 🍂🍂🍂Sigh.  They are not here in the holler yet. 

We still have a lot of green leaves for it to be mid October.

But my burning bush is changing colors to bright red, and it is putting on berries. 

Watch out when looking up in the trees. Kerplunk! The black walnuts are falling to the ground. The husk will be good  for dyeing  fabric. 

Walnuts are beginning to fall. 

My sweet friend , Alex sent me some  beautiful vintage calico butterflies to applique. 

There are 12 pretty butterflies ready to be appliqued. 

My mind has been fluttering as to how I will set them. But I will wait to tell you my plans when I do a little more digging in my sewing room for background fabrics. I do know I want this to be my 2027 butterfly quilt for my sweet sis. So I am very excited. Thank you dear, Alex. I was brought to tears. 🤗❤

Meanwhile Berries and Butterflies is stalled .

Why ? you ask.

Well I am on a mission to finish the  Pretty in Peach Butterfly quilt.  

Pretty in Peach quilt top - December 2025

A cable design is being quilted in the borders. 

Around and around the borders , I go. Soon this quilt will  be ready to be bound. 

Candy Corn Plant Sampler is all stitched . 

Candy Corn Plant Sampler and Pumpkin Blossom Inn

A thrifted frame is perfect as a temporary finish until I find a frame that fits the sampler better.

 

To make it fit, I simply framed the sampler with bits of leftover fabric strips. 

Hmmm... What do you think? Do you think we can shoo those crows away so we can pick some candy? Hee! Hee!

 

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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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OOPS / CORRECTION-  Oopsie  Daisy- I made a mistake on the charts. Please note if you decide to stitch this piece. The crow on the top candy corn near the letter "C" is missing one stitch in the beak which  is stitched with DMC 645. 

NOTE: I made a mistake and left off one stitch in the top crow's beak. 

Well, that's the Sunday Happenings in the holler. A little bit of this and that and a whole lot of nothing. 😀

I will be sitting down and working on a new house stitch today and working on my Halloween Stamp sampler. 

Thank you for taking time to visit me today. I always enjoy when you drop by to keep me company.

 Have I told you that you make my day special? Love ya'! 😘

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"The best part of one's life is friendships.   "- Abraham Lincoln 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

 I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

 

Patriotic plates purchased while thrifting in Arkansas. 

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🌞Ghosts, Goblins and Jacks Galore - 2026 Halloween Parade - Halloween freebies up to September 16, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.

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A thrifty find while in Arkansas. -Eeeh!  A vintage plate!

 

The thrift store had a number of vintage plates probably from one person's collection. This one had a little note attached. 

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 

Witch Hazel's Cottage- A Halloween House Freebie

Do come in, my Pretties and join me for a spell! Cackle! Cackle! 

Witch Hazel McPunkin has a brew of "something" boiling up in her large black  cauldron. I am sure she is willing to share a bit of the ghoulish gruel if we so dare. 

Welcome, Sweet Peas and Happy Happy Thursday. It seems like it has been a spell since our last visit.  Doesn't it? 

All is well in the holler. I have been busy with my own broom and duster giving the house a good "fall cleaning" . 

Meanwhile, Witch Hazel has been doing the same thing- Sweeping away.  Whisp! Whisp! Whisp! 

Witch Hazel's Cottage is stitched on  coffee/ tea dyed 14 count Aida. 

Witch Hazel McPunkin's Cottage is the newest addition to my "house collection" . A grand purple cottage- just perfect for a good witch. 

Witch Hazel has a full house with ghosts and all of her pets like an owl , bats and of course Minerva , her beloved, prowling black cat. 

Sixteen DMC floss colors were used in the making of Witch Hazel's Cottage including: DMC Blanc, 301 , 436, 610, 645, 730, 780, 832, 838, 922, 975, 3021, 3041, 3052, 3371, and 3835. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

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. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

My favorite witch of all times is Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched.

Do you have a favorite witchy poo?

Graphic from Pinterest

Witch Hazel insisted that I share my slow stitch progress on Autumn Acorn.  The embroidery work is  completed  . I shared this little doodle earlier this fall .

 I decided to applique  the acorn and then embroider the details using DMC 898. Soon Autumn Acorn will go into the hoop. 

Well my friends, I best get back to the cleaning detail. There is laundry to be folded  and dust bunnies to shoo away.  I wish I could say "Hocus Pocus" and all would be magically clean and put away. Oh well. 😏 Perhaps by this afternoon, I can spend some time with needle and thread. 

So tell me how has your week been thus far? 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for  our wits to grow sharper.  "- Eden Phillpots

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy  who made the Halloween season magical. 

 I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

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🌞Ghosts, Goblins and Jacks Galore - 2026 Halloween Parade - Halloween freebies up to September 16, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.

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🌞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. 

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🌞Let's Dye Some Fabric- A tutorial on my process of dyeing Aida

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Just Scrappin' Along!

"What's on the plate ?" asked Mr. Pinker.

"A whole lot of crumbs and scraps, "I replied "And I am bound and determined to whittle those little suckers down. "

I earnestly began piecing the scraps from the orange and brown bin . 

With a Zooom, Zooom, Zooom and a Snip, Snip, Snip,

I soon had a little bitty quilt mat pieced into small rows . I am  calling this quilt  "Tobacco Row" because it reminds me of the tobacco fields once that the burley tobacco was cut and removed from the field in late August.  

Tiny crumbs are pieced in wonky fashion into 2" rows. 

A  tobacco field in Kentucky

"Look, Sweetie! " I yelled to Mr. Pinker . A little quilt. 

Mr. Pinker glanced up and gave me a nod. Clearly he was not as excited as I was. Oh well. 😏😁

Next I moved to piecing the larger orange scraps in the bin.  From the large crumbs, I pieced a big patchwork of "oranges".

More crumbs and scraps pieced into a larger piece of fabric. 

"Are you about done, dear? " asked Mr. Pinker as he poked his head into the quilt room. He dared not to enter too far for he might be put to work or God forbid an avalanche of fabric might come tumbling down from their precariously stacked perch on the shelves. 🥴🤪

 

"No, a roly poly patchwork pumpkin is on my mind. Give me another 30 minutes or so, " I cawed. 

I then went merrily back to work. With chalk and scissors in hand, I cut out a round happy scrappy pumpkin and a tall crow and leaf. 

I then cut out a background square measuring 18 1/2" unfinished and added 3 1/2" ( unfinished borders). 

Rough cut applique pieces being auditioned to applique. 

Seeing that I made some progress and knowing that I emptied a few scraps out of my orange bin, I decided to take a break and head to the living room to see what Mr. Pinker was up to.  

To my surprise and delight, Mr. Pinker was busy bustling about in the kitchen. "Super is ready, " he said with a smile.

"Yee Haw! " I exclaimed. 

Creamy pasta with tomatoes, peppers and homemade biscuits

I think I am one lucky gal! 

I will be working on the scrappy pumpkin quilt this week. I plan to use needleturn applique to stitch that wonky punkin down . If all goes well, I will have this quilt on the wall in no time. This will be my 15 minute a day project for the week. 

Alrighty, Sweeties! I am grabbing my needle and getting to work! What are you working on today? 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"When life gives you scraps, make a quilt.  "- 

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.

🌞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 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- 2026 A parade of sunflower freebies up to September 3, 2026

🌞Autumn Parade March- 2026 Fall Parade A parade of Fall themed stitches and doodles up to September 10, 2026.

🌞 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

🌞Color Tinting Embroidery Designs - Explanation on how I use crayons to color my designs for hand embroidery. - July 9, 2026

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