It's A Wrap for Blooms for You

"Eeeh!" I squealed in delight when I spotted the little wooden box at the thrift store. I quickly picked it up and twirled around in joyful celebration when I saw that it only cost $1.59. "I have plans for you! ," I exclaimed as I plopped it into my cart. 

A few weeks ago I shared a little chart called Blooms for You.

 It was a simple stitch with just a few flowers blooming. Well I finished stitching it while on the camping trip, but it has been waiting in the wings to be finished. 

Once home I auditioned Blooms for You onto the box. Seeing that the stitch fit for what I had in mind, I was ready to get straight to work.  The box was painted in a wide array of colors. I pulled out several containers of brown paint and got to work. After receiving numerous coats of paint, I let the box dry for a day or two. 

Blooms for You was stitched on 14 count tea/ coffee dyed Aida. I trimmed and pressed my stitch before fully finishing it. 

STEPS FOR FINISHING BLOOMS FOR YOU

1. I used a dry brush to paint the box . After drying I gently sanded the surface.

2. Trim the stitched piece to the desired size and iron fusible webbing to the back. 

3. Cut mat board or cardboard to 4 1/2" x 5" . 

4. Cut batting and layer on top of mat board. I tacked mine down with touch of Alene's Tacky glue. 

5.  Center the stitched piece to the mat board and fold excess fabric around the edges, lace in place. 

6. Center the stitched piece to the wooden box. Using tacky glue , adhere the stitched piece to the box . Place a large book or weight on top until dry. 

7. Using tacky glue attach trim to the edge of the stitched piece.

8. Enjoy!

Oooh now don't you think this will make a great seed box? 

Have a bright and beautiful day and Happy Stitching!

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"Every flower blooms in its own time. "- Ken Petti 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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

I spy a wonky heart rock. 

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 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

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Finishing "Blessed" Into a Pillow

  Good afternoon, y'all.  Earlier today , I posted the Blessed - 5 year IG Anniversary chart, and I thought I would share I how I finished it. 

 This post has a lot of photos so I do apologize. 

Now I am no expert on finishing and some of you may cringe on my finishing techniques, but  I figure it is better done than sitting in a basket of shame. Don't you? Hee ! Hee! So please, oh please do not call the CSFP on me that is the Cross Stitch Finishing Police .👮🚓🚨 If you do , I promise I will run to the hills with needle and thread in hand🏃🪡🧵. Hee! Hee! 

First, I trimmed my Blessed stitch piece to 2 6/8" x 5". I know that is a strange measurement, but I play "chicken" with my edges and have the tendency to give myself little margin because I try to conserve fabric. Anywhoo... 

I then cut  5  - 1 1/2"x 3 1/2" strips of fabric to work with. 

Trimmed  cross stitch piece and cut strips for finishing. 

I pieced the strips using a 1/4" seam allowance,  and then sewed those strips to the stitched piece.  I then squared up the piece by trimming. 

The strips are sewn. I am fixing to sew the stitched piece to the strips 

I pinned a bit of crocheted lace in place along seam line and sewed a tacking stitch down on each side. 

Pinning the crocheted lace in place along seam line. 

Tacking the lace near the edges of the stitched piece. 

After looking at my piece , I decided to trim a tad off the bottom.

I trimmed mine so my piece would measure 5" squared. 

I measured my stitched piece to determine size of backing (measurements may vary for your piece  depending how much you trim and your seam allowance). Mine measured 5 " squared.  

Measuring my piece and squaring it up. 

I cut 2 pieces of fusible interfacing like PF 44   5" squared (one for stitched piece and one for backing) 

I cut the fusible webbing, backing and muslin . 

I cut my backing fabric slightly larger than my stitched piece. 

I also cut a piece of white muslin about 5 1/4' . ( This is a tip that I saw on Vonna Pfieffer's video). 

Follow manufacturer's instructions and adhere fusible to back of stitched piece and to the back of the backing fabric. 

Adhered fusible to stitched piece and another to backing fabric .

Layer white muslin on the back of the stitched piece . Trim any excess white fabric off.  

Pin muslin in place. 

Muslin pinned in place

Placing right sides together , sandwich stitched piece and backing fabric.  I add extra pins.. 

Pinned and ready to sew. 

I used  a 1/ 4" seam allowance and backstitched at the corners.  I completely sew off the edge of the fabric . Lift the presser foot turn the fabric and begin at the edge. 

Sew off the edge and backstitch corners. 

I left a 2" opening along the seam line. Sometimes I leave the "stuffing opening in the seam line; sometimes I make a small hole  in the backing fabric after I have sewn all the way around ( that is a preference choice and is totally up to you ) 

Trim excess backing off of the pillow form and clip the corners to reduce bulk.

Trimmed and corners clipped .

Press seams open. 

Press seams open.

Turn inside out . Using your chopstick. Smooth out seams inside pillow form. 

Turn inside out and smooth out seams and corners. 

Stuff with preferred stuffing.  I pull my polyfil apart and then stuff it tightly small bits at a time pushing it with my fingers and chopsticks. Stuff until it is at the tightness that you prefer. 

Filling pillow with polyfil.

Once stuffed bring seams together and pin closed.  On this piece , I used tan cotton thread to blind stitch and close the opening. Sink your knot into the fabric and take tiny stitches along the seams. Sink your ending knot into the pillow and pull the string out the backing and clip. 

Pin seam together and whip stitch closed. 

Once I have finished my pillow, I like to turn my pillow over , spritz it with water and press my pillow with an iron slightly. This is a personal preference for a flatter look that I prefer.  -Again that's just a personal preference. 

Wahlah!  Your pillow is finished. 

Wheew , I do not hear any sirens yet!  Do  you think I did ok on finishing this little jewel? I  sure hope so.  When I finish a pillow  , I always think about my Nanny who was a doll maker and a wonderful seamstress. I hope I did her proud . I am always inspired by her many finishes that I own and treasure. 

 I also  invite you to visit these wonderful ladies who are amazing finishers and who share their techniques on Youtube.    Vonna Pfeiffer and  Helen D. .

Thank you for taking the time to see how I finished my little pillow. 

As always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"It takes good effort to begin  and great effort to complete a task." 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love and miss you so much.❤❤👼  You were and still are a blessing in my life. 

Thank you for the sweet visit.

"Snow Tart" A Winter Freebie

Hello there ,  Winter Sunshine!!!  Mr. Pinker and I are out and about enjoying the beauty of nature and having loads of fun on our camping adventure , but before we left home,  I had the chance to finish a small winter stitch  called "Snow Tart" .

  "Snow Tart " is a simple and quick stitch and can be whipped up in two shakes of a lamb's tail. In fact, I stitched this  in a little over 1 1/2 hours- that's not too bad , is it?  

DMC 221 is the floss color that I used, but wouldn't it look so lovely in blue?

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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. 

Remember all of my designs are for personal use only. Please do not sell my designs, rename or rechart my designs for profit. Yes that has happened. 😔

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I finished mine into a little tart tin.  I am no expert and in fact, I am a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal, but here is how I finished my stitch into a tart.

RECIPE FOR TART FINISH

INGREDIENTS

tart tin

scissors

thread

needle

cross stitch

cardboard or mat board

glue

batting

backing fabric

DIRECTIONS:

🧵1. After stitching the design. I found that it would fit in a 3 1/2" tart tin. I used a template to  draw out 4 circles on a piece of cardboard . I used cardboard because I am thrifty and  that is what I had on hand. 😀

🧵2. I glued 3 of the cardboard circles together using Aleene's Tacky Glue and set them aside to dry.  

🧵3. I took the 4th circle , used it as a template and cut out backing fabric larger than my circle. 

🧵4. Using needle and thread, I created a running stitch about 1/4" from the edge of the fabric and then gathered it around the  4th cardboard circle and secured it.

 

🧵5. Once the other circles were dry, I cut 5 layers of batting into slightly smaller circles and layered them on top of the cardboard circle.  

🧵6. I then  followed the same process as I did in creating the backing circle by gathering the stitched piece to the batting covered cardboard circle.  I then laced my cross stitch .  

🧵7. I took the "Backing Circle" and the "Stitched Circle" placed them together and using needle and thread whip stitched the circles together. 

🧵8. I just sat my finished cross stitch on top of the tart tin. It did not fit snug down in the bottom of the tart. Mine is more like a lid where I can store trinkets in the tart.  I will use the tart tin for other finishes after winter. 

I am hoping to create some more tart finishes this year, and my mind is already in the clouds dreaming of the next one.  

Well, Sweeties, that's my stitch for the day. What do you think? Do you think it looks ok? I am pleased for my 1st "tart finish". 

Before you leave, I want to thank you for dropping by for a sweet visit. It always brightens my day when you come by. Have a beautiful day and ...

 As always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

The first snow is like the first love. - Lara Biyuts

Warm Wishes and Snowman kisses! 

Hugs and Stitches!!!

Dedicated to my sweet Baby sister, Amy . I love you, Amo.  ❤

Prim Rudolph Ornament- A Christmas Freebie

May I tell you again how excited I am to have my Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer quilt finished? Lol! 

I shared my finish yesterday, and I am still over the moon. I think because it took so long.  Oh, and of course there is a lot of red in the quilt- you know me and my love affair with the color red!!!❤❤❤

Welcome, y'all and a very lovely Tuesday to you. 

Finishing this little quilt inspired me to create a quick stitch, called Prim Rudolph. 

Isn't the white plastic reindeer the cutest? It is from the Dollar General this year. 

 It is just a simple flying reindeer with some scattered snowflakes. A winter blizzard is Rudolph's favorite weather to fly in.  

Santa Clause sampler and Prim Rudolph

So let me tell you about my finish.  I bought this string of unfinished wooden snowflakes at the Dollar Tree this year. 

Because I have been into junk journaling here of late, I decided to do what my Nanny would say is "Messin' and Gommin". That means playing messily with paint,  glue ,  paper and even the glittery stuff.  Eeeh! I just love a bit of  sparkle!  

After stitching the piece , I drew out a circle on a piece of cardboard and added 2 layers of batting. I layered my cross stitch on top and using needle and thread gathered the stitch on the back . In order for my stitch to fit on the Dollar Tree snowflake, I lost some of my stitched snowflakes, but I was ok with that. 

Then I took off one of the snowflakes from my string and painted the snowflake white. After it dried thoroughly, I decoupaged a small section of Rudolph sheet music which I found as a freebie from Pam Kessler on her blog House of  Hawthornes.  In order to cut the holes into the paper of the snowflake, I pushed a toothpick through the front side of the covered wooden snowflake and smoothed it over on the back. It took some time and was sticky, but I sure do enjoy making a mess. 😁😀✨  Next, I  decided to add a little sparkle an sprinkled iridescent glitter on the snowflake.  Once everything was dry, I centered my Prim Rudolph in the center of the snowflake and adhered it. You can not see much of the music sheet, but it was all about the process for me. 

 Prim Rudolph is a "Choose your own colors " chart, but if you are interested I used DMC 610, 3371, Blanc and 815. The design size is 43 x 33 and if stitched on 14 count aida like mine it would measure around 3 1/8" x 2 3/8".

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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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My designs are for personal use  and enjoyment only. 

Tomorrow my youngest daughter will be arriving home for the holidays. 

I am very excited to have her home for the next few weeks! So today I will be refreshing her room , washing linens and such.  Well I am off to get some of those chores completed and then perhaps I can enjoy some stitching time in the afternoon. 

 Are you enjoying a day of crafting or is it a chore day for you?

Thank you for spending a few minutes of your day with me and I wish you the most lovely day. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

Love , Create, Enjoy! 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy who loved he Christmas season as much as I do.  I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

Rudolph Freebies that might interest you. 

Yukon's Christmas List and other freebies-  Cross stitch freebies from Beth at Heartstring Samplery. 

Printable Rudolph Sheet Music- free printable vintage sheet music provided by Pam Kessler on her blog House of  Hawthornes

Rudolph Cross Stitch Freebie- A free cross stitch from The Stitcherhood. 

Reindeer  Embroidery Hoop Ornament- A darling quick embroidery from Heather at Homemade Heather blog. 

Mary's Basket Strawberry Pinkeep - A Berry and Basket Freebie

A Berry good day to you, sweet peas!  😀🍓

I have made many wool strawberries and have even made  a cross stitch berry or two, but I have never designed my own berry. 

So with a bit of sweet  encouragement , I decided to give it a whirl.  

( Thank you, Sharon; I sure hope you like this berry🤗). 

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  I decided to stitch something simple . It is no secret that I love baskets and blooms so I created a little basket of flowers surrounded by buzzing bees- something that can be whipped up in a couple of hours. 

 This stitch is called Mary's Basket Strawberry Pinkeep in memory of my Granny. Granny lived in a little log cabin deep in the woods. She often would explore her property and relocate flowers to whatever container she had available for planting . She certainly had a green thumb.  

Mary's Basket before being finished as a berry. 

Mary's Basket Strawberry,  Freedom Saltbox , and Lucinda Hawkin's Liberty House ( I haven't shared this one yet. ) 

If you are interested in stitching Mary's Basket Berry  ,grab the images below. Many of ya'll know but I always encourage you to read my little disclaimer and note about getting my charts. 

NOTE: Normally I have been able to create links to the charts and instructions which were in JPG form. For some reason, recent updates on Google Docs. has prevented me from doing that and I am not able to create a pdf without having to deal with storage issues.  Many dear stitchers say they right click, save the image and then print.  I think some have copied and pasted it to a Word document that they can print off as well. I hope you are able to find a way to enjoy this chart. You will have to click each page to save. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding and for all of the helpful tips and ideas. 

I stitch my little designs for fun and to decorate my home. I feel very blessed by this community and love sharing my little charts, but I am not a professional designer. And I do not have professional software. Thank you for understanding . I am always grateful for your kind encouragement , your visits, and for stitching my little designs.

 For printing tips, refer to the post Tips for Printing which has loads of tips from my sweet friends. 

I stitched my berry on 14 count aida that I tea / coffee dyed ( Click here to see how I tea dye my fabric) . 

You certainly do not have to finish Mary's Basket as a strawberry.  But if you do decide to finish it as a strawberry there are many great tutorials on the web and Youtube on how to  turn your cross stitch into a strawberry finish. Below are 2 sweet ladies that have videos on Youtube. If you know of any others, please let me know. 

GREAT TUTORIALS OS STRAWBERRY MAKING

1. Vonna Pfeiffer- 

Making your cross stitch into a Strawberry - Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher

2.  Helen D. - Flosstube Extra: Strawberry Tutorial

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THIS IS HOW I CREATE MY STRAWBERRY. Now, ya'll, I am not an expert and I have been known to take thrifty shortcuts. Lol. But here goes..... 

1. Iron the piece. 

2. To the backside , add a light Pellon interfacing such as P44F.  ( When I do not have interfacing , I make a lining for the strawberry from scrap lightweight fabric. ) 

3. I have provided a strawberry template. You may need to resize it to fit your stitched piece. 1/4" seam allowance needs to be added when cutting the fabric. 

4. Center the strawberry template over the stitch. Be aware of where you want the design to go when centering the template . I used a pencil to draw the strawberry design onto the back of the stitch. This will be my sewing line. Cut 1/4 " around the strawberry shape. 

5. Sew the sides together. I slightly curve the tip rather than making it pointy. 

6. Turn the strawberry to the right side and using a blunt instrument  such as a chopstick to smooth out the point. 

7. Along the top of the stitch with needle and thread create a long running stitch for gathering later. 

8. I stuff my strawberries with sawdust and polyfil. Where do I get my sawdust? From Mr. Pinker's workshop.   As I stuff, I use my wooden chopstick to pack the material. 

9. I begin by packing the tip with sawdust and then add layers of fluffed polyfil and sawdust. 

10. When I have the strawberry stuffed, I pull the thread along the top of my strawberry and draw it to where it is almost closed . 

11. I then tie it and begin adding more stuffing and sawdust using the chopstick to stuff the gathers along the top of the strawberry as much as possible. 

12. Once that I am satisfied with how the strawberry is filled. I close the small hole at the top . 

13. I then add the cap . This is where you can be creative as you want to be. I added a wool cap to my strawberry and used the blanket stitch to attach the wool to the strawberry. I embellished the top with a large button and a jute twin bow.  You can add lace, ribbons, flowers- whatever you imagine!!! 

14 .Afterwards, I used a  2 strands of floss and created large x's along the seam in the back of the strawberry. 

WahLah! Your berry is completed!!!

 I am in hopes that bigger berries are on the horizon , but I am quite happy with my first berry. And I am even happier that you stopped by to see my sweet berry. 

Have a sweet day, my friends and ...

As Always...

Happy quilting and stitching, y'all

Melisa

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵

The bloom may be brief but the memory of its beauty will last a lifetime. - Doe Zantamata

Just a few more stitches and this basket will be complete. I will be sharing it on Friday. I hope you will drop by to see it. Hugs. 

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy .I miss you , Amo . Love ya.