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Showing posts with label Free Winter Doodle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free Winter Doodle. Show all posts

Thursday, July 9, 2026

Playtime ,Thrifting, Toys, and Doodles- A Christmas Freebie

 Eeeh! I have my crayons out, and I am ready to color! 



Happy Embroidery Thursday, y'all. Welcome! Do come in and join me  as I sit down for a little playtime with my colors and colored pencils. 

But first ! How about a thrift haul?  😀

Over the July 4th weekend , Mr. Pinker and I found ourselves meandering along the aisles of 2 thrift stores looking for junk / treasures. Would you like to see  what jumped into my buggy? Aaw come on and take a gander. 😁😀

You know I cannot resist anything that is red. The big red pot will be perfect for making soups, or perhaps dying fabric. Or who knows-- it may be used for decorating, but for $3.00 I could not leave it behind. By the way, this was the most expensive treasure I bought. So not too bad. 


Two little Fiestaware mugs jumped into my buggy as well. I could not shoo them away since they were red and yellow. Can mugs be cutie patooties? They are to me. ❤💛❤💛

 

To all of those vintage collectors out there. Do you know who made this bowl?  The hand painting reminds me of Blue Ridge Pottery which I collect, but I know it is not that. 

 

Nanny had bowls similar to this . She would serve fresh fried taters in them. Yum Yum! Oh how I miss Nanny's cooking. 

Four little gravevine milkglass cups will be perfect to use anytime of the year. 

Is there more you ask? Well there sure is! 

I found this little mass produced quilted sham for a buck. Of course, this can be used on a pillow, but I will fold it and use it for a shelf or table runner. Cute! Cute! Cute! 

And now to my favorite finds which gave me a nifty thrift high! Vintage games and toys for my toy room. 🤗

There is Cooties and Bridg- It , a fully packed Tool Chest and the little bead counting toy. Swoon. Can you hear my heart go "Thumpity Thump!"  American made and made around the 50's . ❤❤❤❤

And in the Cootie box was a little chalkboard set. A little extra something- something. 

Do you remember these little horns that you could get at the Five and Dime stores decades ago? Or am I showing my age? Hee! Hee! 


"Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons." - Unknown


While we are here, let me show you the little toy quilt  I made years ago. It is  being displayed with my rough and tumble Raggedy Annie and Andy that I bought years ago. They have gone through some rough times before they came to live with me. Well, let me rephrase that- they were well loved as all dolls should be. Right?  Now they live in a retirement home where they are loved but looked at. 😄

Alrighty now! Since we are in the toyroom. Let's get to playing. 


Like I said at the beginning of my post, I have my crayons out, and today I am going to be coloring up some doodles on fabric. 

 My newest set of doodles are called A Very Vintage Christmas. 

 A little doodle just for you. ❤❤❤


            My doodles are hand drawn and are never perfect. 


I think a small Christmas quilt is in order. Don't you?

A plethora of small embroidered Christmas  quilts. 


So let me show you how I am color tinting my doodles on fabric. I am not sure if it is the right way , but it is how I tint mine. 

🧵1. First , I draw the image onto my piece of fabric. Usually , I use a light mechanical pencil. Today I used  a Frixion pen.  NOTE: If you use a Frixion pen before embroidery and you heat set the crayons, the ink will disappear. ( Speaking from experience. 😏😜😀)

🧵2. Next, I use a white crayon and using small circular motions I color the areas I want to tint. 

Color the areas in want to tint with white crayon in small circular motions. This helps the colors to look a little more vibrant and helps in adding depth.- Well at least in my opinion. 

🧵3. Then comes the fun part! Adding the other colors. I layer in colors starting with the light colors using small circular motions. Slowly, I build on those colors with different shades adding depth. 

Ad color a little at a time starting with lights and using darker colors to shade. 

🧵4. I then use my colored pencils to add a little deeper shading. I do not have an affinity for any particular  name brand of pencils. Most of my colored pencils came from the thrift store.

More color is being added and the tinting is getting darker( though it will lighten once pressed) 


🧵5. When it is time to set the color, I place a pressing cloth and paper towel under and over the embroidery piece . This will pick up the "extra" wax and color when pressed and protects your iron. Remember, if you use a Frixion pen to mark your embroidery lines, it will disappear when you press your piece. If that happens just retrace your lines, and then you are ready to embroider. 

Use a pressing cloth  and/ or napkins to protect iron . This also absorbs excess wax as the piece is heat set. The colors will lighten. 

While the grandsons are here today, I will be lounging at the pool working on the embroidery work of this little beauty. 

Sooo... tell me. Have you ever color tinted your embroidery work? And do have any nifty tips and tricks to share? Inquiring minds want to know. Hee! Hee! I am always excited to learn something new . Aren't you? 

Well Sweeties, I am off to play. I wish you the most delightful day. And remember - Stay young at heart! 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"What one loves in childhood stays in the heart forever.  "- Mary Jo Putney

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy who remained a kid a heart even into adulthood. She was always up for an adventure and never let grass grew under her feet. 
 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 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 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



























 














Saturday, January 10, 2026

Frosty Chill Roundabout Embroidery- A Doodle Freebie

 And a lovely Saturday to you, Snowbunnies. 

Hot off the presses is "Frosty Chill", the first of a little monthly roundabout embroideries that I will be working on throughout the year.

Frosty is stitched on an 8 1/2" unfinished piece of white fabric using the back stitch. 

 

Aaw now isn't he a handsome jolly fella. 💙⛄

I pulled out some winter blue fabrics to sift through in order to finish him into a little quilt. My inspiration came from Diann at Little Penguin Quilts .   She finished her monthly hearts into little wall hangings last year and shared all of her monthly heart quilts in her November, 29, 2025 "It's Almost December" post. They were so stinkin' cute! ❤ ( Thank you , Diann 🤗)

Anywhooo... after making a selection of fabrics. I was ready to get to work.  I chose some lights and darks. 

 

I cut the dark squares into fourths. 

I then placed a dark square on each of the light blue fabrics corners. I drew a diagonal line from point to point and sewed 1/4" from the drawn line. 


The goal was to make snowball blocks.  Yikes! What has happened to my snowballs. Well I just pressed on for I was rushed for time. 

Once that I pieced the blocks together , I cut 2 1/2" strips from an old blue shirt and added borders to all 4 sides. Wahlah! Frosty was finished.  Oh  bother, The snowballs do not look too "snowbally". Oh well, I may jazz them up as I continue to work on Frosty this month. 



Once Frosty is quilted he will be displayed on my old Hoosier cabinet. This is a project that I am taking along with me on my trip. Fingers crossed I will get the fella quilted soon. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

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. 

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵 🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵



        ❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ 

Meanwhile I have already started embroidering February's block. 


        ❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ 

UPDATE: JUNE 6, 2026- By June, I changed my plans for the my Roundabout blocks. I decided to make a larger quilt.  Let me show you what I did. 

So I took apart the Frosty Chill block . 
Frosty McChill mini quilt fixing to be taken apart with Jack the Ripper
 
I then decided to  frame the block with 20-  2 1/2" squares( unfinished).  The embroidered block measures 8 1/2( unfinished) .  


After framing the embroidered block, the  roundabout  measured 12 1/2" squared unfinished. 



Thank you for dropping by for a Saturday visit. I will be sharing tales from the road soon.  
Happy Trails and ...

As Always...


Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"Warm wishes and Snowman Kisses. " 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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

I spotted my first "heart " rock of the year. ! My sweet sign . 


❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ 

 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 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.

Thursday, January 1, 2026

New Year, New Starts and Fresh Beginnings - And a Winter Doodle

Happy, Happy New Year's! 

Mmm Do you smell that?  The hog jowl and turnip greens are cooking . And is that cornbread in oven? By golly , it is! Soon we will be sitting down  to the table for our traditional New Year's meal. 

Grab ya' a plate and join me . 🤗 I would be delighted if you would. Plus  this gives me the  opportunity to share my New Year's start. 

Some of you may remember my   Tumbleweeds  quilt top which I shared in August 2024 . I picked it up for just $15.00 from a thrift store in Alabama. Oooh what a steal! 


It is time for this beauty to go into the hoop!

Mr. Pinker hip hopped out of the way as I stretched a vintage sheet and my batting out on the living room floor. It was not long before I had Tumbleweeds all smoothed out and ready to move the hoop in place. 
 

This quilt has a patriotic vibe to it. Don't you think?  - Perfect for our 250th Birthday! 


But this is not the only quilt I want to work on this year. 


4 QUILTS I WANT TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THIS YEAR

🧵1. Alabama Beauty- I bought this quilt a few years ago at the 2023 Worlds' Longest Yard Sale. I have been as slow as molasses about quilting it , but it has been a joy to work on for  a few minutes each week. Hmm. Should I finish it this year? I just may try and do that! 


🧵2. Pretty in Peach Butterflies- I began this quilt in 2025  while in Arizona. It is my 3rd quilt in memory of my sweet baby sister. I want to complete it this year. 


🧵3. Peppermint Pinwheels- Now this quilt top makes my heart go thumpity thump! ❤❤❤ I am super excited and hope to have it in the hoop this year. Perhaps by July. 


🧵 4. Rainbow Sherbet-  And last but certainly not least ole' Rainbow Sherbet which has been hanging in the mix for a few years now. I sure would like to get at least 1/2 of it quilted. We shall see though. 


Now that I have my quilting resolutions over with,  let's talk about embroidery. I have a hankering to start a new project.  Soooo...  Frosty Chill is a perfect little doodle to kick start my year.  I am embroidering Frosty Chill on a 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of white fabric. 

Frosty Chill embroidery and Winter Jar- Mason Jar Series

A little doodle just for you. 💙☃❄



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

Alrighty , Sweeties. The cornbread is piping hot. We better chow down. Thank you for joining me as we welcome in the new year. 

 " Every moment is a fresh beginning. "- T.S Elliot -

 As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,y'all

Melisa 

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.  "-Socrates 

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 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. 
❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ 

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