Butterflies and Candy Corn- A Halloween Sampler Freebie

 Hey there, Punkin and a very Happy Sunday to you! How are you doing on this fine Sunday morning? I hope good. 

 Hmmm ... 🤔 Where are all of those golden yellows, burnt orange and crimson red leaves? 🍂🍂🍂Sigh.  They are not here in the holler yet. 

We still have a lot of green leaves for it to be mid October.

But my burning bush is changing colors to bright red, and it is putting on berries. 

Watch out when looking up in the trees. Kerplunk! The black walnuts are falling to the ground. The husk will be good  for dyeing  fabric. 

Walnuts are beginning to fall. 

My sweet friend , Alex sent me some  beautiful vintage calico butterflies to applique. 

There are 12 pretty butterflies ready to be appliqued. 

My mind has been fluttering as to how I will set them. But I will wait to tell you my plans when I do a little more digging in my sewing room for background fabrics. I do know I want this to be my 2027 butterfly quilt for my sweet sis. So I am very excited. Thank you dear, Alex. I was brought to tears. 🤗❤

Meanwhile Berries and Butterflies is stalled .

Why ? you ask.

Well I am on a mission to finish the  Pretty in Peach Butterfly quilt.  

Pretty in Peach quilt top - December 2025

A cable design is being quilted in the borders. 

Around and around the borders , I go. Soon this quilt will  be ready to be bound. 

Candy Corn Plant Sampler is all stitched . 

Candy Corn Plant Sampler and Pumpkin Blossom Inn

A thrifted frame is perfect as a temporary finish until I find a frame that fits the sampler better.

 

To make it fit, I simply framed the sampler with bits of leftover fabric strips. 

Hmmm... What do you think? Do you think we can shoo those crows away so we can pick some candy? Hee! Hee!

 

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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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OOPS / CORRECTION-  Oopsie  Daisy- I made a mistake on the charts. Please note if you decide to stitch this piece. The crow on the top candy corn near the letter "C" is missing one stitch in the beak which  is stitched with DMC 645. 

NOTE: I made a mistake and left off one stitch in the top crow's beak. 

Well, that's the Sunday Happenings in the holler. A little bit of this and that and a whole lot of nothing. 😀

I will be sitting down and working on a new house stitch today and working on my Halloween Stamp sampler. 

Thank you for taking time to visit me today. I always enjoy when you drop by to keep me company.

 Have I told you that you make my day special? Love ya'! 😘

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"The best part of one's life is friendships.   "- Abraham Lincoln 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

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

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

 

Patriotic plates purchased while thrifting in Arkansas. 

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A thrifty find while in Arkansas. -Eeeh!  A vintage plate!

 

The thrift store had a number of vintage plates probably from one person's collection. This one had a little note attached. 

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 

Bee Buffet and a Little Bee Freebie

 Great Grandma Annie's buffet is filled to the brim with late summer goodness. 

There are chickens.

And trays with doileys and stitches galore. Lots of bees are buzzing about! 

Aunt Bea's Summer Home, Mary's Basket  Strawberry Pinkeep,  Bee Berry , Itty Bitty Bee Pinkeep, and a darling bee stitch gifted to me from dear Barbara ❤

Little skeps - stitched and woven. 

Hive Sweet Hive and Mini Bee Sampler  

Buzz Buzz . More Bees! 

Buzz Buzz  and  Little Bees

Baskets and bowls are perfect to wrangle those stitches in. 

Yep! the buffet is filled to the brim! 

There is Dot Dot's old brass scales that has been on the buffet nigh 50+ years, and her old red kerosene lamp. Such sweet memories. 

 

And the backdrop- A $2. 00 quilt. Can't beat that with a stick!😁 

A little stitch just for you. 

Little Bees!

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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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OOOPS/ CORRECTION: In the directions on the floss list, I listed DMC 646 with the symbol U. There is NO Symbol U in the chart, but 646 IS USED FOR THE LONG STITCHES along the bees' in flight path. 

FLOSS  : SYMBOL  MOTIF:

DMC 420 (Y) Bee     

DMC 543 ( W) Bee Wings     

DMC 646 ( ) Long stitches for bees' flying path

DMC 829 (O) Wording

DMC 838 (X) Border

DMC 3371 ( • )  Bees

Country Cottage Needleworks " Bumblebee" 

Thank you for dropping by for the sweet Saturday visit. The bees will be buzzing into their bins as pumpkins, squirrels and all things fall take their place. 

Enjoy your day.

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others.  "- Saint John Chyrsostom

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

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

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

 

Bee Haven Cottage

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💙💙💙 BLOGGER BLUES 💙💙💙

Oh dear, Blogger is  "acting up" again. I am not receiving updates on my Reading List. So I do apologize if I miss any of my sweet blogging friends posts. I am trying to pop in to see if you post each day.  

Tiny Butterfly House Freebie and A Roundabout

"Far up in the deep blue sky, 

Great white clouds are floating by; 

All the world is dressed in green; 

Many happy birds are seen, 

Roses bright and sunshine clear

Show that lovely June is here. " 

- F. G. Sanders

Happy June, Sweet Peas! 

Should I start the official countdown? Hee! Hee! 

Okay here goes! 

207  days until Christmas

179 days until Thanksgiving

153 days until Halloween

33 days until July 4th

and 

20 days until Summer! 

As fast as the year is going, those days will be here in no time.  Slow down 2026! Don't you agree?

Yesterday , Mr. Pinker went to visit his family . So I indulged in a quiet evening of stitching, and by golly, I got a lot completed. 😁

One of the stitches that I worked on was the Bunny Harvest Roundabout , a freebie doodle that I shared earlier.  

I stitched this little bunny using 2 strands of floss using the back stitch and lazy daisies for the  carrots' leaves.

 

I used the following floss colors just in case you are interested: DMC 921 (  middle carrot) , 470 ( carrot greens) , 898, ( the bunny) , 517 ( jacket) , 3766 ( wind) , mystery light blue for the collar ( DMC 932 would look lovely) , mystery lilac for the scalloped border, and JP Coats 00169 orange for the two  end carrots. 

Last Tuesday,  dear Di at Quilting is Blissful Blogspot, shared her beautiful Polka Dot Girls embroidery and her  Bunny Harvest Roundabout . Oh, I do invite you to hop over and visit, Di. You will be gobsmacked by all of the wonderful projects she works on. Her Bunny Harvest is adorbs, and I love the floss colors she used for the scalloped border- it is pure cuteness! 

Since I finished the embroidery work on Bunny Harvest, I pulled out some fabrics to play with. I have an idea for my roundabouts which I will share in the next few days .

Fabrics pulled for working with the Roundabout embroideries. 

Speaking of Roundabouts. May I introduce "Sweet Melody", June's Roundabout embroidery?  

My doodles are hand drawn and are never perfect. ❤

"Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly." - Pablo Neruda

UPDATE: JUNE 30, 2026 Sweet Melody is all embroidered . 

Sweet Melody Roundabout , I used 2 strands of floss and used the backstitch. 

I  used the following floss colors:

 

🐦DMC 3346 ( leaves),

🐦  DMC 898 ( tree limbs) 

🐦 DMC 783( beak, claws)

🐦DMC 930 ( bird)  

🐦DMC  760 (Music notes) 

🐦DMC  3687( scalloped border) 

As an afterthought, I add a little bow to the birds neck using DMC 815. 

I back stitched a "string"  to the birdies neck and then tied a small bow and  tacked it down on the embroidered string. Now she is all "fancy-fied"! Is that a word. Hee! Hee!  

The Roundabout was stitched on 8 1/2" x 8 1/2"  (unfinished) white fabric. 

It is framed with 20 -  2 1/2" squares (unfinished) 

The Roundabout Block  with Scrappy Borders Measures:  12 1/2" x 12 1/2" ( unfinished)

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Tiny Butterfly House is my latest addition to the "Tiny House Series" .  A quaint little rustic, dark purple cabin on stilts with a little side porch. Butterflies flutter all around.  I think I could sit on the stoop outside the doorway and watch the butterflies at this little old house. Could you? 

Actually, the house colors are not purple at all , but for some reason my "tricky" eyes see them that way. I used DMC floss colors  451 ( Very Dark Shell Gray) and DMC  3860 ( Cocoa)  for the house siding.  

As always, I just used what floss colors I had on hand  and at the moment I was stitching "Tiny Butterfly House" I wanted a purple house and I was determined to stitch from my stash.  I may stitch it again sometime in brighter colors. 

 If you were to look into my fabric or floss stash, one  color you would see that I am lacking in is the color purple. I am not sure why I do not have many purple fabrics and flosses because I do think it is a pretty color.  💜💜💜💜💜

Stitching Tiny Butterfly House made me realize that I do need to add purple flosses to my stash in the near future.  💜💜💜💜💜

Tiny Butterfly House is stitched on 14 count tea/ coffee dyed Aida that I "baked " on low in the oven. Can you tell the fabric got a bit toasty? But that is ok. I like it anyway.   Plus I am not going to waste even the teeniest of cloth. Hee! Hee! 

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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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OOOPS/ CORRECTION:  I apologize. I made a mistake in the charts. On the row of butterflies , the 3rd butterfly , I accidentally charted 1 extra stitch in the upper wing. Omit that stitch . 

The 3rd stitch in the wing where the scissor tip is pointing is a mistake. Please omit . 

Dear Annelies from Quilts and Siggies blogspot shared her finish of Tiny Tomato House early last month. She is stitching all of the  Tiny Houses as one large piece . Oh gosh, her piece looks wonderful. If you have the chance pop over to visit, Annelies. She always shares the most beautiful needleworks including her own and antique pieces.

And sweet  Di at Quilting is Blissful Blogspot, shared her Tiny Tomato House stitch this past Tuesday . She changed the colors creating a darling pink house since it was her birthday month and instead of the tomatoes she added the sheep from the Tiny March House and went with a sewing themed house- cute as a button.  

I cannot thank everyone enough for being so supportive and encouraging as I stitch and share the Tiny Houses. It is a joy to hear that so many of you are enjoying them. 

"You don't have to bloom all at once- even spring unfolds petal by patient petal. " Dede Hawkins

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 and

 Tiny Tomato House

Well , Sweet friends I will let you go. I have a Summer Stamp stitch to work on. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Huh? 

 Fingers crossed that the electricity will not go off like it did last week , so I can get the next stamp posted on time. It is still raining here. 

 How about in your neck of the woods? 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

" The wings of transformation are born with patience and struggle. "- Janet Dickens

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!

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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.

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🌞Pin Pillow Tutorial - 2023 post on how I finish my pin pillows with chenille trim. 

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

 

Don't forget there is a correction above in the chart. Omit the 3rd stitch in the butterfly wing in the 3rd butterfly.