Bee Haven Cottage- A House Freebie

 A very lovely Tuesday morning to you, sweet friends.

Is your day off to a delightful start? I sure hope so. What do you have planned today? Anything fun or is it going to be one of those relaxing pj kinda day? Hee! Hee! 

I spent the day in my pjs yesterday sewing up a storm. Eeeh! It was wonderful!  It had been a little over a week since I had worked at my machine so I was excited as all get out. I will show you what I worked on in a later post. 

Thank you so much for all of the sweet well wishes. I have had two mishaps over the last few weeks which left me with broken ribs, but the last one was a fall down some slippery , wet camper steps after a rain. So do be careful when you go out on rainy days.  I think getting up and moving around is doing wonders. It is hard for me to sit and relax. I know some of you are the same way. 

The other day I picked up a "new to me" vintage cookbook published in 1979. Hmmm...🤔 When did 1979 become vintage? LOL. Is it? Maybe not.

 Anywhoo... the Joy with Honey cookbook is choked full of recipes that include honey. And it has the most adorable illustrations. 

The bee illustrations in the book were created by Vicki Dorsey

Speaking of honey... Let me show you my latest house finish. 

It is called Bee Haven Cottage. I finished stuffing it and stitching the seams closed last week. 

 I think it is sweet as ooey gooey , yummy to the tummy honey! 🍯Well maybe not that sweet, but sweet nonetheless. 😀

I think it is a perfect addition to my bee collection. What do you think? 

Bee Haven Cottage is surrounded by tall and small bee skeps and there is even one on the roof. 

But watch out for the ginormous bees! Yikes! I wouldn't want to be stung by one of those would you. 😀  Buzz! Buzz! 

 

Bee Haven Cottage was stitched using 12 DMC floss colors which includes: 

DMC 353, 414, 610, 730, 780, 781, 783, 844, 948, 3722, 3857, and 3859. 

I am sorry. I got snap happy on taking photos of Bee Haven Cottage. LOL

Since we are talking about colors , let me break down where the floss colors are located. 

🧵BORDER/ VINE: DMC colors 730, 353 and 3722

 🧵 GRASS: 730

🧵BEE SKEPS: 610 ( the bench) 780, 781, 783, and 844

🧵BRICKWORK: 3857, 3859

🧵WINDOWS: 948, 844

🧵DOOR: 948, 610

🧵ROOF: 414, 844

🧵BEES: 783, 844, 948

🧵FLOWERS: 948, 610

🧵PATHWAY: 414

Of course, you could use any colors that your sweet heart desires if you decided to stitch Bee Haven Cottage. 

Bee Haven Cottage was stitched on 14 count Coffee/ tea dyed Aida that I dyed myself. Using 14 count Aida, it measures around 5 1/8" x 5 5/8"  with a Design size of 71 x 78. 

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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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Another recipe from the Joy with Honey. I will be trying this Five Bean Salad recipe at our next get together. 

Now that Bee Haven Cottage is fully finished. I need to FFO Sunflower Haven that I showed sneak peeks of a few weeks ago. 

Sunflower Haven is being stitched on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed Aida. 

Plus I have started a new fall house.  It seems like I am slowly working through my lack of mojo. I guess it takes just a small spark to get the wheels turning again.  We shall see if this is it. 

I best get off here before I become a chatterbox. I know you have places to go and people to meet. So I wish you a BEEAUTIFUL DAY!  Love ya'! 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Be your own kind of beautiful.  "- 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

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

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

I hope to post a Bee Hutch Tour sometime this week. So I hope you will drop back by for a Country Clutter tour. 

August Already? and Tiny House in the Beeyard- A Tiny House Freebie

Here we are! The dog days of Summer. How is it August already? Wheew this summer is flying by! Soon the little ones will be making their way back to school ; in fact our munchkins only have a few more days.

I have been bustling about the house making changing here and there. 

First, I changed out my apron hanging from the  vintage Hoosier top. A little yellow apron brightens up the corner that it hangs from. 

It makes for a quick grab for those busy baking days. 

I even added a few sunflower pics to the Hoosier top .

Country clutter on top of the old Hoosier

Now isn't that spiffy? 😀

The Hoosier top holds old crocks, cookie jars and salt and pepper shakers. The tobacco prints behind the Hoosier were given to the tobacco farmers as a gift during the tobacco sales at the warehouses years ago. 

To be honest, I really do need to rearrange everything. It has become a catchall .  😏 

 

Back in the living room ,  I hung the $2.00 Dresden Plate quilt that I bought years ago. 

The buffet is decorated with bee decor . The large scales were my Aunt Dot's and were always displayed on this buffet at her house. I never remove them; it is a fond memory of my Dot Dot who was like a 3rd grandma to me.  

The colors remind me of the 1970's . Do you remember the Harvest Gold appliances and linoleum or am I showing my age? Hee! Hee! We even had a Harvest Gold bathtub. 😏💛  Hmmm ... how did I go down that rabbit hole. LOL. Oh well. 

Over the next few days, I will be changing out my decor to bees and sunflowers. The sunflowers will easily transition into fall decor by the end of the month. 

Time to put away the country summer decor. 

August's Tiny House is all finished and ready for display. It is called Tiny House in the Beeyard. Now you know I had to have a bee themed stitch . Hee! Hee!

 

I went around and around on what the house colors should be, but after much debate decided to stitch mine as a brick house using DMC 3857, 3858, and 3859. A little star is nestled down below the house's eaves. 

    The following DMC floss colors were used in the making of Tiny House in the Beeyard:

🐝 782- bees, bee skeps

🐝 898 border, bee skep tables 

🐝937 grass

🐝 948 star, bees' wings

🐝3371 bees, bee skep holes, roof, windows, door

🐝 3857 house

🐝3858 house

🐝  3859 house

If you decide to stitch any of my designs , feel free to choose your own floss colors. I always use whatever floss colors I have on hand at the time and what suits my home decor. ❤ And if you are not digging the star, just fill in the siding and Wahlah! Your House in the Beeyard is complete. Hee! Hee! 

 Tiny  House in the Beeyard was stitched on 14 count tea/ coffee dyed Aida.  I posted on how I dye my Aida in 2024  in my Time to Dye- post. 

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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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A finishing tutorial was shared in January 2026

Like all of my Tiny Houses, the Tiny Summer House is finished in the same manner into a wee pin pillow with a bit of print fabric and lace. I shared the measurements in  my January 13, 2026 post along with the 1st house in the series, Tiny Winter's Day House. ( There will be 12 houses all together.)

If you have missed any of the other houses and are interested , just click on the colored links and you will be transported back to the post and the charts.

 Tiny Winter's Day House, Tiny Love House , Tiny March House , Tiny Tulip House ,

 Tiny Tomato House, and  Tiny Butterfly House

Tiny Summer House, 

Around noon I will be posting , my latest Roundabout embroidery. So if you are in the neighborhood drop by for a quick visit.  I promise , I won't chat your ears off. 😀🤪😅

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"August still stretched before us - long , golden and reassuring like an endless period of delicious sleep.  "- Lauren Oliver

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy . This is such a hard month. My mind is racing with memories of our last few days in August. 

 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. 

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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. 

🌞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 

Miss Homestead Blessings

 "Finish me! Finish me! Finish me! " screamed "Homestead Blessings. "You have had the frame for nigh 8 months . What is holding you up it ?" it asked. 

        "Homestead Blessings was a free stitch that I shared in August of 2025. 

I just rolled my eyes and walked away each time it made it's case. 

Then one day , I moved "Homestead Blessings" to the table beside my stitching chair. It began to squeal in delight for it thought that it was going to be fully finished. 

But lazily , I sat it down on the table and saunteered away. 

"Boo Hoo," cried the little stitch as the solid black frame sat smuggly knowing it was not going to be used anytime soon. 

Then a few weeks later a strip of brown fabric was gingerly placed beside "Homestead Blessings" . It did not say a thing, but smiled meekly as it sat wondering was today the day. 

Fast track 2 months later, as I sat in my stitching chair, I eyed "Homestead Blessings" . Quietly I heard a whisper- "Finish me... Finish me..."

I popped up and said, "Today is the day!"

"Homestead Blessings squealed in delight. "Really? " it asked. 

As I picked up the little stitch . I swear I saw   Mr. Thrifted Black Frame give a faint smile as well.

 

 I found this frame for a dollar over a year ago at the thrift store. 

As usual, I did not give myself a lot of finishing allowance, but I would make do. I always do. 

"Now, little Miss Homestead,  this is not going to be anything fancy. Do you understand?  " I asked. " Just a lick and a promise." 

"Yes, yes, I understand, " she said as she nodded in gratitude.  

I smiled for I knew all she wanted was to be finished. 

I did not give myself a lot of finishing room so I added 1 1/2" strips of calico. 

I cut a few strips of fabric and sewed them to each side of "Homestead Blessings. 

And then -like I said, with a lick and a promise I popped her into Mr. Thrifted Black Frame. That old grump even twinkled when Miss Homestead joined him. 

Not a perfect finish , but it now can be put on display. 

Now the 2 will live happily ever after. 😀

So that is my tale of the finish of Miss Homestead Blessings. 

Do you have a stitch or a craft that is calling your name, but you just keep putting it off?  I certainly have many more begging to be finished. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"It's not where you start- It's where you finish that counts.  "- Zig Ziglar

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy . 

 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. 

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🌞A Spooky Parade - Halloween freebies up to October  4, 2025. More Halloween pieces followed this date.

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Home of Faith , Family and Freedom- A House Freebie

Good morning, lovely sweet friends and Happy Saturday. Is your weekend off to a bright and delightful start? I sure hope so.

Let me introduce to you the newest addition to the farm. 

Bowzer!

Isn't he a cutie patootie? He just appeared one day which means someone dropped him off. 

Some of you may remember Petunia the pot belly pig who  was dropped off at the bottom of the driveway a couple of years ago. 

Petunia the Pig now lives at another farm. 

Anywhooo... I was not sure about Bowzer when I first met him. But he is very gentle, and his goofy smile soon won me over.  He is a porch dog which means he likes to lounge on the porch most of the day and does not venture far .   We officially put on a collar the other day so he has a home. 🐶

Bowzer has a long tongue . He always has his mouth open smiling. 😀

Now on to stitchy stuff. 

I am making progress on Sunflower Haven which I started earlier this week. Today I will be adding the windows, foundation stones and roof. 

Sunflower Haven is being stitched on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed Aida. 

Home of Faith, Family and Freedom is my newest addition to my neighborhood. I have to admit- it is also a new favorite "house finish".

 This patriotic house is surrounded by a vine of red, white and blue flowers. 

Small crosses and hearts are scattered throughout. 

This home truly speaks to me. What do you think about it? I do hope you like it. 

It was stitched on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed Aida. 

If you are interested in how I dye my fabric check out my post called Time to Dye which I posted in 2024. 

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I use only 7 DMC floss colors which include: DMC 221, 610, 730, 732, 746, 844,  and 924.

I enjoy stitching houses so much. I feel like I am stitching my dream homes. 

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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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QUESTION : Do you have suggestions for  "theme" related homes that you would like to see?  I always get excited when you give me  ideas. 😀❤🤗

Well, Sweeties. I  better put on my construction hat and get to roofing my Sunflower Haven house. Soon it will be time to pull out the sunflower  and bee decor. 

Have a beautiful day. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"There is nothing like staying home for real comfort.  "- Jane Austin

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy .

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

🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠

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🌞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 Stomping Stamp Parade 2026  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to June 2, 2026

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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. 

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