A Foyer Filled with Crows!

 Crows, Crows and More Crows!

Welcome, Sweet friends and Happy, happy Thursday! 

Do you think you are up for another country clutter tour today? 

Aaaw come on. It may make your head swim and your eyes cross . LOL, but I promise you there is a whole lot to see.🥴🤪🤓 

Hmmm... How much can I cram into a small space? Well I whole lot Hee! Hee! 

Let's go check out the thrifty shelf dressed in its "Autumn Glory!"

Lots of stitching and vintage items on the old shelf.

A whole lot of crows came to roost for the fall season in my little foyer including the darling crow stitch. Hmmm... Think! Think! Think! 🤔 Here we go again! My mind escapes me. Do you know what this stitch is called and who is the designer?

UPDATE: Thank you to all my stitching friends who reminded me of who the designer was of the crow stitch. It is called "Salem Event" by Irena Veber sold by Oleysa at More Little Stitches.

Usually I hang Blackbird Designs freebie called the "First Offering" in the foyer, but not this year.

My little thirfted bookcase was filled to the brim with my old brown pottery and other treasures.

There are bowls layered in bowls with little stitches including an old acorn stitch and Pumpkin Crow .

There are checkerboards, stacks of plates and brown pitchers.

The little checkeboard pumpkin was painted years ago using a thin wooden pumpkin form found at the Dollar Tree. The little Harvest Crow was a freebie from 2009 that I stitched years ago from Pinterest. You can see the chart on Robby's blog called Cash Strapped Crafting.

More crocks and bean pots with little doilies and rolled quilts.

Salt and Pepper shakers, old utensils and a vintage tin completes the fall look.

The darling Old Dutch Cleanser tin was a gift from sweet Gail. Swoon. I love it! Thank you, Gail. 😘🤗

Oh, yes the shelf is filled to the brim! Can I add one more thing? Hmmm.... I am not sure. 😁

A little pumpkin and doily sits perfectly for the harvest season on an old potato masher.

In the pitcher is Heart in Hands' "Harvest Alphabet". I think that is what it called. Oh gosh, my mind is failing me again.

In the teeny cedar chest is a freebie called "Just A Little Autumn" from San- Man Originals.

Below the cake stand is the "Sunflower 1869 Crock". I don't believe I have shared it yet.

More crows, pumpkins and gourds on Granny's old drawer that is used as a shelf.

Little Bits Pumpkin Haul

Amber bottles are a favorite to display during fall season.

Harvest Home was finished on a thrifted tin plaque.

The warm glows of orange , yellow and browns warms my heart for the fall season.

Most of the items have been collected or crafted over the years. Lots of memories are displayed on those old bookcase.

So that is my fall shelf in a nutshell.

Overflowing, yes! But I sure am happy with it!

If you would like to get a closer look at the quilts hanging in the foyer, check out last week's post The Changing of the Quilts- Autumn Crows.

Do you have a favorite area that you like to decorate for the Fall season?

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Autumn has arrived. I hear it in the whispering of the leaves.  "- Anujj Elviis

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy  who enjoyed all that Autumn had to offer.

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

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

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Mr. Pinker and I have been thrifting as we travel. I picked up a small Pyrex bowl along with some doilies .

Are you familiar with this Pyrex pattern? The pretty peachy pink will be perfect for spring decorating to add to my vintage Christmas decor. For a $1.99, I couldn't leave this sweet bowl behind.

The doilies match the bowl perfectly and were just fifty cents. Have I told you , I have an addiction to doilies? LOL

 

Apple-icious Hutch Tour

 "Uh-oh!" replied Mr. Pinker as he stared at me wide- eyed. I was busy dismantling all of the bee decor displayed on the little country pine hutch. 

Bye Bye, Bee decor! 

"Is it redecorating time? " he asked with a grin. 

"It sure is, " I said  as I began to pull out my new themed decor.

"What is it this time?" he inquired. 

"Apples, silly. Didn't you notice all of the reds?" I replied with a smile.  

Blessed 4 YR IG Anniversary Chart

Mr. Pinker nodded and retreated to the safety of downstairs for he knew it would be no time that plates galore and lots of knick knacks and stitching would be flying this way and that as I puttered with my little country hutch.

Little saucers, plates and a vintage Betty Crocker cook book

 

"Hmmm... now how many plates can I pack onto this wee hutch? " I asked myself. 

I layered in lots of thrifted and Dollar Tree red and white plates on one shelf after the other. 

Then bits of Watt's pottery was tucked here and there. Some stacked on little saucers. 

It was not long before the first 2 shelves were filled to the brim. I have to admit that I stepped back and gave myself 2 pats on the back. My "Apple-icious Hutch " was coming together. 

I even added in my Dolly Parton cookie jar.- So sweet. 

Once I reached the bottom shelf, I began to throw in a modge podge of all things red and apple related. 

The vintage juicer was filled with a bowl of old jello molds.

 The newly thrifted potato masher was good to hold some tins and I even included a little stitch called STAMP 1 - A BASKET OF APPLES,

The darling hand appliqued and quilted apple pie quilt gifted to me from dear Donna inspired me to add my Betty Crocker Pie Parade  Cookbook.  

"Ooooh that looks pretty! " I said to no one in particular. 

As I continued layering , I ran to my "stitching basket" and snatched up my newly completed Apple Jam Jar  which I shared a few weeks ago. 

"Eeeh perfection!"

The Pear Stamp soon followed. 

It was not long before the 3rd shelf was overflowing with apples galore!

After stepping back, taking a look and dusting myself off, I went to the downstairs door and yelled , "Honey, come here. Quick!"

Mr. Pinker came barreling up the stairs. 

"What's up buttercup?" he asked. 

"Lookie! Lookie! My hutch is all decorated for September.

My kitchen is decorated in reds so the apples themed hutch fits in perfectly. 

"OOOPS wait! " I ran back over to the hutch, surveyed around me and chose a red tin to add to the top of the hutch. Most of the items on the top of the shelf always stay there, I just change out a little nook each month which this time I added an "Old Maid Raisin Cookies" tin. 

"Now look , Sweetie. "

The old hutch is decorated with all things red. 

"Hmmm... Yeah, " replied Mr. Pinker. " A lot of stuff. "

"Yep! Just the way I like it, " I replied with a twinkle in my eye.

"I know . " Mr. Pinker replied ( Hmmm... I swear I saw him roll his eyes. Hee! Hee!  Oh well) 

 Finally, Mr. Pinker nodded and said , "It's pretty, but I would rather see an apple pie. "

"We shall see. We shall see, " I said with a grin and with that I began thumbing through my recipe books . 

STAMP 3 RAKING LEAVES

Well, Sweethearts, that is my "Apple-icious Hutch " Tour in a nutshell. I know it is a lot to take in, but loads of color and clutter is my style. I am so very grateful that you dropped by for visit. 

Just give me a few hours and I will have that apple pie out of the oven.  

Have a super duper day, friends and remember....

You are the apple of my eye! 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Hope is like an apple seed- it grows into sweetness.  "- 

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

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

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

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Blessings and Berries- Blooms of the Heart 2026 Berry Freebie

Hey, there Sunshine! How are you doing on this lovely Summer's Day?  I sure hope you are feeling as fit as a fiddle and as fine as dandy!

It has been a good week in the holler thus far. As my Nanny would say- "I've been keeping the roads hot "which means I have been out and about for the last few days.  Not doing anything special but visiting family and dipping in and out of thrift stores. So you know I am one happy gal! 😀

This bright sunshiny yellow afghan is my latest thrifty find for only $1.99. 😲 Eeeh what a steal! I have already draped it onto my stitching chair . It will be nice to throw over my legs during the chilly evenings. 

 I will show you some of my other  finds in the next coming days. 

Sweet Gail, sent me a Blessing Box with a couple of advertising tins to add to my collection. 💛💙

But wait. What makes them extra special is they were from her collection . AND...

They are musical tins. 😀 Just turn the little key and sweet melodies delight the ears. 

The Morton's Salt tin plays "Singin' in the Rain." If you would like to enjoy a little "ear worm" just click the colored link to listen to Gene Kelly singing "Singin' in the Rain" on Youtube. Such a delight. 

Right now I have the sweet musical tins sitting on my "mitten table" ( The table where I store the boy's winter mittens and tobaggans). But I am already dreaming of moving the Morton's Salt to the blue hutch and the Old Dutch Cleaner will be incorporated into my fall display with my brown crocks. 

Oh, what fun I will have weaving them in and out of displays throughout the year. Thank you so much, Gail for blessing me with your treasures and kindness. 🤗 You brought me such joy. 

Hmmm... what  else is going on?🤔 

Well, I have a special berry stitch to share with you. It is hot off the presses. In fact, I just finished it last night.  It is called "Blooms of the Heart" and is in memory of my sweet sis, Amy. ❤

Of course, if you decided to stitch this simple stitch, you do not have to finish it as a berry. You could finish it any way your sweet heart desires.  I just have an affection for berries. 

Blooms of the Heart was stitched on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed Aida. 

Have you ever made a berry? A couple of  years ago, I posted a Berry Making Tutorial. My advice when making a berry is to cut your fabrics large. You can trim down as you go if you decide the berry or cap needs to be smaller. 

The Berry Sampler (Amy's 2026 berry sampler) which I have not shared, Blooms of the Heart Berry and Berry Bouquet- A Sampler for Amy

Usually , I stuff my berries with a combination of polyfil and  sawdust from Mr. Pinker's workshop . But this year, I decided to fill it with something different- oodles and oodles of fabric scraps that I have collected.  I will show you the project that these scraps are from later this week. I simply cut the little scraps to wee pieces and stuffed them into the berry. 

Scraps from a quilting project were used to fill "Blooms of Heart" 

I made my berry oversized and stitched wonky "X's" along the seam line . I always do this on my berries. 

 Usually, I like to add bits of lace and all kinds of things to my strawberry caps. But I really did not frou-frou the strawberry cap up much this year; I just kept it simple. 

 I cut a strawberry cap from a gray wool skirt. I tacked it down over the top of the strawberry using blanket stitches. I then cut strips of silk from a jacket . I created loops from the strips and secured them with 2 overlapping buttons on top! Wahlah! My strawberry cap was complete! Easy Peasy! 

Amy's 2023 berry which I have not shared, In My Heart She Blooms 2024 berry, and Berries for Amy the 2025 berry

FLOSS  : SYMBOL  MOTIF:

       DMC 221 ( X) Flowers

DMC  223 ( C) Flowers

DMC 730 ( G) Stem , Leaves

DMC 830 ( • )  Date and center of flowers

DMC 869 ( V) Doohickeys and small heart

DMC 924 (H) Basket

DMC  926 ( U) Basket

The basket was stitched in blues . My sweet sis had beautiful gray blue eyes. 

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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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NOTE:The drawn berry outline on the chart is NOT a stitching or cutting line,but I used it as a reference line  to visualize the berry while stitching.

NOTE: I use the  berry template as a loose guideline for constructing my berry. I add a generous seam allowance . So my berry is a lot bigger than the template. If you find your berry is too big to your liking , you can always trim the fabric. 

It brings me so much comfort to create the little samplers and berries in memory of Amo. I think she would smile from ear to ear if she saw them. 

The Berry Sampler, Amy's Strawberry Basket Sampler, Berry Bouquet- A Sampler for Amy and Amy's Berry collection. 

Gosh, I do think I have talked your ears off.😁 

I do apologize for being so long winded today. Please, do forgive me. But I am ever so grateful that you joined me.

May your day be a filled with joy and...

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Friendship is a blessing that warms the heart and soothes the soul.  "

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister  thrifting buddy, and best friend, Amy 

 I love and miss you even more with each passing day. You are my blessing.  Love you , Amo. 

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

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🌞 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. 

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Please forgive me on being way behind on answering sweet messages and visiting. I am like a chicken with her head cut off right now. LOL. But I will get it together soon.  Do you ever feel like that? LOL