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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🌞 Root A Toot Toot Patriotic Parade Early 2024 patriotic freebies. 

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🌞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. 

🌞Ghosts, Goblins and Jacks Galore - 2026 Halloween Parade - Halloween freebies up to September 16, 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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🌞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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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 

The Maize Basket Sampler - A Thanksgiving/ Fall Freebie

 Good Tuesday morning, Autumn Sunshine! Welcome! It would be such a joy if you joined me for a cup of coffee or perhaps some tea.

 This morning I will be enjoying some apple slices for breakfast. Please don't be bashful and do grab you a plate of some as well. 

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. 

 I would love to show you my latest Fall stitch. Yes, I am still stitching fall as well as Christmas . What's a girl to do? I am a seasonal stitcher , but I do love working on all of the holiday pretties. 

Anywhooo... my latest stitch is called The Maize Basket Sampler which could be whipped in no time. It has a simple basket of a bountiful harvest of corn  and a big, plump, prim pumpkin followed by a pretty alphabet. 

 I stitched mine on 14 count Aida which I coffee/ tea dyed myself. 

Six DMC Floss Colors were used in this piece including: DMC 301, 610, 782, 831, 844, 3011. But of course if you decided to stitch it you could  use any color that your heart desires. 

I thought I would give you a break down on where the colors are. 

BASKET: DMC 610

CORN: DMC  3011, 782

PUMPKIN: DMC 301, 610, 831

ALPHABET: 844

This little sampler will go along with a house stitch called "The Maize House"  that I will be sharing hopefully next week. When I fully finish  The Maize House , it will join my bowl of fall houses which I have shared previously.  The links to all of the houses can be found in yesterday's Turkey Struttin' Thanksgiving Parade 2025. 

My finish for  The Maize Basket Sampler  was inspired by the ever so talented and my sweet friend, Carol of  Stitching Dreams blogspot. In September, she shared her Little House Needlework's "Be Merry" finish where she used a bit of fabric and trim and fitted her piece into a frame- just darling.     I was able to fit mine in a thrifted 5" x 7" frame. Thank you , Carol for always being an inspiration. Please do hop over and visit , Carol. You will be so delighted by her beautiful  blog. ❤🤗

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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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Alrighty , Sweeties, I will not keep you any longer. I know you have a busy day ahead of you so do take care and enjoy each and every moment. 

I will leave you with a photo of one of my favorite stitches that I keep out year round . It is a darling freebie from Lori at Notforgotten Farm. - "Keep A Thankful Heart".   Thank you Lori for sharing it with us. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. "- Willie Nelson 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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

. 

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃 

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I will be taking down the foyer shelf decorations. Time for Santa to pull his sleigh of reindeer in and nestle in for the upcoming Christmas holiday. 

Days at Camp and Mini Halloween Sampler - A Halloween Freebie

Is it still summer? Hmmm well it feels and looks that way at camp. 🤔

All sorts of flowers are in bloom like...

Morning glories...

Asters...

Black eyed Susans...

and Queen Anne's Lace. 

The days are warm , bright and sunny which makes me jump for joy! 

But are there signs of fall? 🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

Well sure... 

The sawtooth oak acorns are falling. 

Corn has been harvested.

Golden rod is on it's last leg of blooming.

And a few trees are changing color and losing their leaves. 

I have been spending my time strolling the fields of turnip greens and fields of long gone corn crops as the sharecroppers have come and gone with their combines . The other day I watched the farmers as they came in to harvest soybeans. They had a very busy, long day.

Late this evening, I plan to work on a new stitch. It is another wee sampler with stacks of Jacks waiting for the Halloween season. It is called Mini Jack Sampler. I haven't figured out what colors I will use yet, but I will probably pick and choose from the floss selection from my "Halloween Stamps".  

If you are interested, I am posting Mini Jack Sampler as a "CHOOSE YOUR OWN COLORS" chart. I will certainly update this post later with my progress and the colors that I use. 

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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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Well Sweeties, that is my ramble for the day. I do apologize for not being able to visit like normal . We are off grid right now except for the occasional excursion to town. I do hope the days are treating you well.

Have a lovely day!

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,

 y'all

Melisa 

"I always get to where we are going by walking away from where I have been. "- Winnie the Pooh 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

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

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

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An old outhouse sits near the  camp. It brings back memories of Granny's outhouse, but hers was a 2 seater . There was always a Sear's catalog in her outhouse . 

Happenings in the Holler and The Jane Shuff Sampler Freebie

Good morning, y'all and Happy Tuesday. 

It's going to be a slow day here in the holler. 

A little yellow pig is at home in the sunflower tiered tray. 

  While Mr. Pinker is out and about, I will begin the morning working on Blackbird Designs "Bird in Hand" a sweet gift from dear Sonja. Thank you , Sonja. Though my start is small, I am already loving it. 🤗❤

Working on the border. 

A little heart quilt is nearing a finish. My needle and thread will be winding its way along the border today. 

Yesterday, Mr. Pinker and I went to town and did all of our grocery shopping for the week, and of course, we stopped at the thrift store. I came home with a few clothes and this glorious transferware platter.  Our Goodwill has gone through some changes. The prices have gone sky high, but at times you can find a deal particularly on Mondays for Monday Mania. 

This platter was just 77 cents. What a steal. 

Eeeeh! Well it is finally happening! Do y'all remember me telling you how the pool liner busted in May just as we filled up the pool? Well we finally have it replaced and the water is going in. A little bit of water is added each day. Soon the rest of the railing will be put on and the pump reattached.  It will take a few days, but soon the grandbabes and nephews will be splashing about and this ole' grandma will be too. 😂🏊💦💦💦 We gotta have some escape from the heat. 

A few weeks ago, I shared my Country Red, White and Blue Hutch Tour. The hutch was filled to the brim with all things red , white and blue including The Jane Shuff Sampler. I had a sweet inquiry about this sampler which just warmed my heart.  I started to look back and realized that this was one of the samplers that I had free hand stitched. So I promptly began to chart it up. I am sharing it today. 

I stitched this piece in 2020. I believe at the time I used JP Coats threads . I used 3 different blues, 2 reds and a white. So I am sharing this as a CHOOSE YOUR OWN COLORS CHART. 

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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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I am doing a happy dance! 💃💃💃 I have a finish!  I fully finished Herrschners Winter's Night Music Boxes which are freebies and are available on their website. A while back  dear Nancy on IG showed her beautifully stitched pieces and   I had to add them to my stitching list.❤  A simple round finish with homespun, jute cord, and rusty bells did the job for me. 

Well I better get off here. There are Kitchen Sink aka Paper Chain blocks calling my name and then there is stitching to be done as well. 

May your day be filled with love, laughter and lots of stitching and quilting! 

 As Always, 

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

"Peace is always beautiful. " - Walt Whitman.

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy. Love and miss 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 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

🌞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.