Chicks and Berries

Good morning, sweet friends and happy Sunday. There is no porch stitching today or garden update ; it is a little bit on the soggy side out there, but that is ok. I have lots of plans for the day.  Would you like to hear about them? 

Last week, I shared some little chick embroidery doodles.

 I worked on those this week and have them all pieced into a small quilt.  The plan today is to put it in the hoop and begin the quilting process.

 Hopefully by the end of the week , there will be a finish. Fingers crossed. 

I also plan to do a little prep work on a new embroidery quilt. It is called "Fresh Strawberries" . I think this one will be completed in redwork. If you would like to join me, just click on the pdf's below and stitch away.

Fresh Strawberries Doodles page 1  Click here

Fresh Strawberries Doodles page 2 Click here .

 

 These are hand drawn so they are not perfect but sweet at least to me. 😄🍓🍓 When I babysit my grandbabies, embroidery work is a great no brainer project for me to work on between play time activities.

Speaking of strawberries ,  Woo Hoo! I got two more blocks completed on my strawberry quilt- a rolling pin and a wooden spoon. 

The blocks are slowly growing.  Though where they are going, I do not know. I rarely have a concrete plan. 

As far as stitch work, tonight's plan is to work more on Tree of Life Samplings " Beauty and Grace". It sure would be nice to fill in the windows and door and just  maybe start construction on the roof, but we will have to see . 

Last night, I worked on a little Stars and Stripes Saturday Stitching with this patriotic stitch called "In God We Trust " by The Primitive Hare. It was in the May 2015 Primitive Stitcher and Punch Needle Magazine. 

 At the beginning of the month, I joined Elm Street Quilts in the One Monthly Goal challenge. My goal was  to quilt one hoop on my Easter Quilt. I have been working on this quilt since 2019. I got a hoop's worth of quilting done. Goal met. But it looks like I will have to wait until next  Easter to enjoy a finish. 

So do you have stitching or quilting plans for the day? And have you already started planning for the week? Several sweet ladies share their goals list on their blogs each week, and I love reading them.  I often write mine down in my little journal. It does help me keep a little focused.

Thank you so much for the sweet visit. I know it was a short post, but I sure hope you come back for a visit soon. I hope to share another saltbox sometime this week. Have a beautiful day and as always...

Happy quilting and stitching, ya'll

Melisa 

Kathy at Kathy's Quilts  for Slow Stitching Sunday

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh Scrap

Beth at Love Laugh Quilt  for Monday Making

Judy at Small Quilts Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Lynette at What a Hoot! for BOMs Away Monday

A little quilt stack in a vintage child's suitcase. 

Listen to the strawberries- Soak up the sun. Let your ideas ripen and jam to your own beat. 

Hugs and stitches, 

 

A bit of March Rambling and OMG

 Hello, dear friends and Happy March! Can you believe it is already March? This year seems like it is flying by. Doesn't it?  

This stitch is a freebie called the "Lion and the Lamb"and was designed by Linda Stolz of Erica Michaels . It can be found on Rainbow Gallery's website. Click here  . 

Have you seen Helen D.'s sweet St. Patty's Day freebie that she so generously shared on her Flosstube # 76 ?  Hope you will pop over to see her lovely stitches and get this little freebie. Thank you, Helen. It was a delight to stitch.  I finished mine into a little pin pillow and added a ripped strip of gingham around the seam which I tied into a bow. I would like to add a little charm or button to the bow but will have to wait till I find the perfect piece. 

 I started my day off with a little quilting. I have been working on my bee skep blocks that I started last week.

 I plan to work more on those tonight. I just need to cut out  more skeps. 

What is this mess of scraps you ask? Well  a tray full of quilt block possibilities. I have a design drawn on paper, and so another applique project is going to be worked on to go along with  Angela's green challenge of So Scrappy. Hopefully, I can have some progress on that later this week.

For the last 2 months I have participated in Elm Street Quilts  One Monthly Goal quilt challenge. This is where you set one goal to complete during the month. It is a great motivator to get some things done that you might not have completed as quickly. Well this month I am going to work on hand quilting my Easter Quilt again. My goal is to get at least 1 quilt hoop completed. I am hand quilting it in the Baptist Fan pattern.

Quilts are being pulled out for spring decorating. The house is a mess as I pull out bins of spring. 

A bit of Spring has sprung on the buffet with Waxing Moon Designs "Easter Trio". 

So what is on my agenda for the rest of the evening? Well I have bee skeps to applique and a cross stitch house to start.  Hopefully, I can make some good progress and update you later this week. 

Before I leave, can I tell you how much you brighten my day with your visits ? You really do. I truly feel blessed. Have a beautiful first week of March and as always..

Happy Quilting and Stitching, ya'll

Melisa

I am joining these lovely ladies for their blog link ups . I sure hope you will check them out. 

Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Beth at Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making

I have enjoyed seeing so many wonderful quilting and stitching projects on IG and the blogs that I visit. I wish I could comment and tell you all how much joy it brings me. You bring me a lot of motivation to get into gear and be productive. Thank you so much. 

 

 

Can I Get it Done?

 Happy Monday and Happy February!!!. I am just popping in with a quick little post. I am linking up  to Patty's link party at Elm Street Quilts - One Monthly Goal challenge. Yesterday I posted my completed goals for January. Woo Hoo. I completed three goals. This month I have 2 small goals on my list. 

Goal #1  Hand quilt this small quilt. I pieced this in January, but I want it completed and ready to display for March for St Patty's Day. 

Goal # 2 Make 20 more yo yos for my yo yo quilt. I  will probably do as I did last month and choose one color to focus on. 

        

Now as far as this week , I plan to continue working on my chicken applique blocks. I have a few blocks started, but I do need to add a wing and and a button eye to each chicken. I have four more chickens to cut out and applique; then I will be ready to start piecing the quilt together.  This is another small quilt. 

                                            

I am joining these ladies in their wonderful link parties. I hope you hop over and check out their lovely quilts and discover new blogs. 

Beth at Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework  for Oh Scrap

Judy at  Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  for Design Wall Monday

Thank you ladies for hosting these wonderful link parties. 

Wish me luck and thank you for checking out my quilting goals for the month. 

Happy quilting, 

Melisa

A Bit of Productivity

  Well Happy Sunday to you. I hope your week is starting off well. Can you believe January is coming to an end? Last night I was looking through my stitching/ quilting journal  and evaluating my progress for the month. Have you ever thought about when you are the most productive?  I  think I did pretty good for the month; though I do have to admit, I  have  found that January usually is not my most productive month. I think my productivity is affected from coming off the highs of Christmas, the change of the decor and the winter season. To be honest, right now  I am more drawn to sitting quietly and quilting on larger projects and here and there pulling in a few cross stitch pieces.  My mind wanders to warmer weather and patriotic quilting and stitching. Oh how I look forward to the summer.  

This is my progress on Tree of Samplings "Beauty and Grace" . 

I started 15 new cross stitch projects this month . Ten of those were my own design.  I completed 12 of those cross stitches and fully finished 9 of those. 

This is Winter Blues by The Stitchy Kitty. 

Frosty Stamp was a freebie of mine that I designed and completed this month. 

Winter Salt Box was one of my favorite January stitches completed. 

By the middle of the month, I was focusing on Valentine stitching. 

Luv Ewe was also a January freebie  . I also created this little redwork pin pillow. 

Three redwork pilows were created and finished in January  including Luv Chicken and Luv Moo . and five redwork quilt blocks. 

I enjoyed my time in the Quilt Nest this month too . Seven  new doll quilts were started and three were completed .

I pieced this little green quilt though it is not quilted yet. 

Peppermint Twist a  2019 little quilt was completed and later the binding was added. 

I pieced and later finished Little Boy Blue Quilt. 

I also joined Angela of So Scrappy in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and created the first five blocks in a row quilt. She is hosting the RSC 2021 challenge where she is providing tutorials on a quilt she is designing.  The Hashtag blocks are the first blocks. 

Vinney Valentine was  started and completed inspired by Angela's monthly color challenge. January's color was pink.  I can not wait to see what February's color is. 

It is time for a new quilt for the kitchen so fabrics were pulled and blocks were made. I hope to progress further this coming month.  

 This month I was committed to working on 3 UFOs too . And who got me inspired? Why it was Patty at Elm Street Quilts. She has a link party for One Monthly Goals, and after drooling over her blog in 2020, I decided to take on the challenge. So I set 3 small goals. Do you want to see what I did? 

 Goal 1 was to hand quilt 1 1/2 hoops on my Easter Quilt which I started in 2019.

                              

I have about a third of the quilt completed. I will quilt on it tonight for Slow Sunday Stitching with Kathy. 

 I am quilting this quilt using the Baptist Fan pattern . It is such a joy to work on.  

Goal 2 was to add borders to the Cherry quilt that I started in 2018 .  I worked on this goal on Saturday- there is nothing like waiting to the last minute. This little quilt lingered in the Quilt Nest for sometime.  I added a simple border  with some pretty reproduction fabric. This little quilt reminds me of a vintage tablecloth. I can not wait to quilt it.   The little quilt behind it was purchased at the Goodwill for just $1.99. It has different little teapots and vintage lace and buttons on it. I knew I would put it out in February for Valentine's.  I am linking to Angela of So Scrappy for Scrap Happy Saturday . 

Goal 3 was to construct a minimum of 20 yo yos that I started in 2016.  I ended up constructing  exactly 20 yo yos in the turquoise colors. In February, I hope to add some more to my growing yo yo basket.  I think I will focus on one color at a time.

 

I already have some yo yos attached for the beginning of a new quilt.

I plan to construct a house tonight as I work on one of my own little designs. I started this little sampler last night. There are only a few colors in this piece which makes for a relaxing stitch.  As I stitch, I will also contemplate my February goals which I will soon post. 

Thank you so much for visiting and seeing the UFOs that I worked on for January. Every little stitch moves me forward to a finish. 

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

 

Bunny Hopping into 2021 with Quilting Goals

 Happy New Year! I am hopping into the new year by joining Patty at Elm Streets Quilts in her link party One Monthly Goal.  This is where you set a goal in quilting and try to complete it in the given month. Check out Patty's blog where you will not only see her beautiful quilts, but  will also find links to other quilters. I think it will light a fire in my booty to complete some of those UFOs.  I am committing to 3 small goals. 

Goal #1 is to complete 1 1/2 hoops of quilting on my Easter Quilt. I started this quilt in 2019 and hope to work towards a finish by hand quilting a bit each month. 

                              

Goal# 2 Add borders  to this small Cherry Quilt that I pieced/appliqued in 2018. 

              I apologize for the wrinkles. 

Goal # 3 Construct at the minimum 20 more yo yos for my yo yo quilt that I began in 2016 .

 

Can I do all of this with all of the other projects going on?. Time will tell, but thanks to Patty. I am pulling them out of hibernation and am going to  be bunny hopping towards some progress.  

Let's have an AWESOME year of quilting, stitching and crafting . And as always...

Happy Quilting, ya'll

Melisa

      Be happy! Be Positive! Be Awesome!