The Changing of the Quilts

It's time to change the quilts. 

Goodbye Patriotic quilts! 

Hello Late Summer Quilts!

The 3 vintage, thrifted shutters that I have propped against the wall are all decked out for the month of August. 🐝🌻

It is "Bee and Sunflower Time" in the foyer, and some bright and  sunny quilts hopped out of storage in order  to celebrate . 

Front and center is the Scrappy Bee Skep Quilt. I shared how I created this simple quilt in 2021 along with the applique pattern.

 

Over the Bee Skep quilt, I pinned a little quilt called "Buzz"  that I embroidered a few years ago . Last year it was displayed on the Coca Cola crate on the hutch. 

 On the 2nd vintage shutter, I draped a simple yellow patch quilt top that I purchased at the thrift store years ago. It was certainly cheery enough to enjoy for my late summer quilt display.  Don't you think? 😀💛

A little chicken wall hanging joins the yellow/ white patch quilt.  I appliqued this small quilt years  many years ago using scraps from the bin. Oh, I do love chickens! 

"Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds baked into a pie. "

The quilt on the 3rd shutter in the back is called "Four and Twenty Blackbirds" . 

There are 24 crows on this quilt . 

Some are appliqued, but most of the birds are  quilted in.

 This quilt is always displayed in the fall when I pull out my crow decor. 

Speaking of fall, I am already dreaming of fall decorating. Are you? 

Meanwhile though, I will enjoy the sunny colors for a while longer.  

Have a sun shiny day!  

 As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Change can be beautiful .   "- unknown

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy

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

🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

Maple leaf quilting 

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 

Sunflower Strut Stamp- Summer Freebie

 Hello , Sweet Friends. This is just a quick drop in to share the latest Summer Stamp called Sunflower Strut. 

Two sassy crows are strutting their stuff near a large glorious sunflower. 

Sunflower Strut was stitched with the following DMC colors:  310, 782,  898, 930, 3345, and 3799. 

Sunflowers and Crows and Sunflower Mason Jar

If you are interested in how I dyed my 14 count Aida, I shared the process in a previous post entitled Let's Dye Some Fabric

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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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If you missed any of the previous posts in respect to the Summer Stamp SAL , below is a schedule with links back to the appropriate posts.  

                🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

SUMMER STAMP SCHEDULE

April 2nd  Summer Stamp Introduction

April 7th  Stamp Stamp Border

April 14th Summer Stamp Header

April 21st  Summer Stamp 1 "And the Garden Grows" 

April 28th Summer Stamp 2 Summer Harvest

May 5th  Summer  Stamp 3 Summertime Treat

May 12th  Summer  Stamp 4

May 19th  Summer Stamp 5

May 26th Summer Stamp 6

June 2nd Summer Stamp 7

June 9th Summer Stamp 8

June 16th Summer Stamp  9 

June  23rd Bonus Summer Stamp 10

June 27th Final Reveal

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I will keep it short and sweet  today.  Have a beautiful sun shiny day! 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,  y'all

Melisa 

"When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat."-  Mark Twain

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy who loved to work on the farm and loved being out in nature . 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 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

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

A peek into the wild and woolly garden as of May 10, 2026

Summertime Treat Stamp - Summer Stamp SAL

 Rise and Shine, Sunshine!  Are you ready to hit the floor running? I sure am  though I am not sure what all I will get into today other than  continue working on the Summer Stamp SAL.

Today I am sharing Stamp 3 called " Summertime Treat". A sassy little crow is ready for a hot summer's day with a couple of fresh picked  juicy, ripe cherries and a big slice of watermelon.  Yum! Yum! 

Watermelon Stamp ,Summertime Treat Stamp, Summer Chicks

Summertime Treat was stitched with the following DMC colors: Blanc, 223, 310, 782, 815, 930, 3345, and 3346. 

 I used 1 strand of DMC 3346 to backstitch the cherry stem. 

 On the large sampler, I used 1 strand of DMC 223 to outline the tablecloth so that it would stand out on the  Rit Lemon Yellow  dyed Aida. 

I outlined my tablecloth on the Summertime Treat stamp with DMC 223 so it would stand out more. 

If you are interested in how I dyed my 14 count Aida, I shared the process in a post last week entitled Let's Dye Some Fabric

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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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I will keep it short and sweet today. But I would like to leave you with a couple of older photos from 2022 from my Summer Days Embroidery SAL. I shared  an embroidery entitled "Summertime Treats " with 2 bluebirds. 

"Summertime Treats " embroidery design that I shared on March 24, 2022. 

In 2022,  I shared 12 hand embroidery designs  for the Summer Days Quilt which I completed by the end of that year.  It makes me one to start a new embroidery project. 🤗

Have a beautiful day and keep those needles threaded. 

If you missed any of the previous posts in respect to the Summer Stamp SAL , below is a schedule with links back to the appropriate posts.  

SUMMER STAMP SCHEDULE

April 2nd  Summer Stamp Introduction

April 7th  Stamp Stamp Border

April 14th Summer Stamp Header

April 21st  Summer Stamp 1 "And the Garden Grows" 

April 28th Summer Stamp 2 Summer Harvest

May 5th  Summer  Stamp 3 Summertime Treats

May 12th  Summer  Stamp 4

May 19th  Summer Stamp 5

May 26th Summer Stamp 6

June 2nd Summer Stamp 7

June 9th Summer Stamp 8

June 16th Summer Stamp  9 

June  23rd Bonus Summer Stamp 10

June 27th Final Reveal

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,  y'all

Melisa 

"When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat."-  Mark Twain

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy who loved to work on the farm and loved being out in nature . 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 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

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

Rodster, the Gals and a Fall Doodle or Two

 Good morning, Sweet Peas and Happy Saturday. 

Isn't she a pretty gal?

I was telling Mr Pinker the other day, that I had not been out to the farm to see Rodster and the gals in quite a spell. I missed the crew.  Soon we jumped in the old farm truck and chugged on out to the farm. 

Rodster looks unamused.  "Aren't ya' glad to see me fella? "

I was delighted to see some beautiful morning glories trailing up the fence post and  along the barbed wire fence. 

Lovely pink and white blooms.

I will gather seed from these when the pods dry and plant them next spring in the holler where right now I have only blue ones in bloom. 

" Morning Glory is the best name, it always refreshes me to see it. "- Henry David Thoreau

There's Edna!  "Won't you come see us, Sweetie? "Nope she is ignoring us. LOL. Ole' Edna- you never know what mood she is going to be in. Hee! Hee!  Ginger looks awful relaxed though. 

 

That afternoon  I was able to finish the "Little  Prim Punkin" yarn punch that I started a week or so ago using the thrifted wool yarns I bought over the summer. I may attach it to a basket or wooden box later. 

❤ My little doodles are hand drawn and are never perfect.❤

Fall Checklist is in the works! 

First, I dyed my white cotton fabric with a tea/ coffee mixture. I then cut my fabrics . 

Here are the cutting measurements:

Tea dyed fabric: 8 1/2" x 10 1/2"

Brown borders:  Cut 2  - 2 1/2" x 10 1/2" 

Cut 2- 2 1/2" x 12 1/2"

I sewed the 2 1/2" x 10 1/2" strips to the bottom and top of the tea dyed fabric. I then sewed the  2 1/2" x 12 1/2" borders to the sides. Wallah! I was ready to trace the design. 

❤ My little doodles are hand drawn and are never perfect.❤

It was not long before needle and thread were weaving a magical fall pumpkin and a sassy crow. I will continue working on "Fall Checklist" this weekend. 

UPDATE: OCT. 3, 2025 - Fall Checklist all complete.

Last year I created the Spring Checklist  and then the Summer Checklist.  They were  simple prim embroideries with  a simple border around each. 

I added a running stitch in DMC 898 1/4" away from border edge in the stitchery block. 

Summer Checklist  ( for doodle)          Finishing Instructions for Summer Doodle ( for measurements and finishing instructions. )

That is what is happening in my neck of the woods. What are you up to this weekend?

Have a beautiful day and ...

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. "- Confucius  

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

🌞 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. 

Summer At the Mill House

A wonderful Wednesday to you, sweet friends! 

How has your week been thus far? I hope it has been filled with joy and productivity. Mr. Pinker and I have been busy bees. 

Monday we ran our usual weekly errands - groceries and such. By mid afternoon, I had put on my apron and began bustling about with duster in hand. It is time to change out the decor to fall . 

I am doing the happy hoe down! A new house stitch is completed-  just a little log cabin located on top of a quilted hill. It is called "Summer at the Mill House". 

Large sunflowers are in bloom at the Mill House. Oh bother, there is no scarecrow!   It seems like there are a number of crows at the Mill House as well.  Shoo crows ! Shoo! 

I stitched Summer at the Mill House on 14 count Aida that I coffee/ tea dyed myself. 

Nine  DMC floss colors were used in creating the Mill House which includes: 610, 782, 822, 838, 840,  3011, 3012,  3857, and 3858.  

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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. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵 🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

So what do you think? Could you live at Mill House surrounded by gigantic sunflowers and cawing crows? I sure could. 

Well, I better get back to the tasks at hand- cleaning and fall decorating.  The countdown is on- 26 more days until Autumn!  🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂

Enjoy your day! 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, ya'll

Melisa 

"August is the bridge between summer and autumn. " 

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

🌞 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.