Sweet Ramblings Plus Heart & Keys - An Itty Bitty Stitch - A Valentine Freebie

Eeeh ! It is snowing outside! Just a few flurries. 

Welcome ya'll and happy, happy Friday. It is doubtful that the snow will lay here in the valley, but it is always exciting to see a flake or two. 

The mystery is solved !  Kathleen Tracy of Sentimental Quillter has been hosting a Valentine Mini Mystery Quilt Along . I completed the final step yesterday. 

Very few fabrics were used, and it was a quick and easy little quilt. Hop over to her blog for more info if you would like to create one yourself. 

I finished a new itty bitty stitch  called Heart & Keys. It took less than an hour to stitch . I finished it into a simple pin pillow. 

As I was stitching , I thought of my Granny's Log Cabin. She had a door between the kitchen and living room that had a window , porcelain door knobs and used a skeleton key. As a child , I was fascinated to see an old door like that. When Granny  received her angel wings ,  the door came home with me . 🚪❤😊

 Click here for chart. 

I am officially pulling out my Valentine's decor tonight. 

I have an idea for the hutch. I hope I will be able to create what I envision. 

My favorite Valentine stitch is still  Roses, Hearts and Chickens  that I stitched last year.    Next to it is Heart & Home , the companion piece for Heart & Keys. 

I finished the binding on Lizzie Kate's freebie Peace Joy and Love this week. Now this little piece will make its way into the Christmas cross stitch bin. Lol. See you in a few months, sweet stitch. 

Well that is my Friday evening ramble about quilting , stitching and such. Thank you so much for the sweet visit, my friends. 

As always....

Happy stitching and quilting, ya'll

Melisa 

 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 needleworkers to meet. 

Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday- Thursday

Alycia's of  Alycia's Quilts for Finished of Not Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict  for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop-Friday

Rebecca Grace at Rebecca Grace Quilting for TGIFF- Friday

Michelle  at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauty Pageant  - Friday

Wendy at Wendy's Quilts for Peacock Party - Friday 

Frederique at  Applique Patchwork Quilting   for Patchwork & Quilts     - Saturday

Angela of  So Scrappy  for Scrap Happy Saturday

 A very little key will open a very heavy door. 

Hugs and Stitches!!!

Dedicated to my sweet sister , Amy.  Love  and miss you. ❤❤👼

Dorothy Mae's Spring House Freebie

Happy Tuesday, ya'll. Please come on in and visit for awhile. Chocolate chip cookies are warm from the oven( hubby's favorite), and the mason jars are filled with  sweet iced tea.

One of my favorite things to stitch is homes, and I have been busy working on a new one to add to my growing collection. 

This big ole' home is called "Dorothy Mae's Spring House". It is named after my great aunt who loved the color pink. Aunt Dot  who we affectionately called Dot Dot was like another grandmother to me. My sister and I always  loved to go over to her home, and it was always a treat to have the opportunity  to spend the night. The bedrooms were so pretty with lovely linens, glassware and antiques. My favorite bedroom had twin beds painted white, and she had pieces of milk glass sitting on the dresser as well as photos of family members who had long passed.  Her home was so warm, girly and special just as she was. Now Dot Dot did not live in a big pink house like this but a little rancher in a quiet community not far from a little spring that emerged from a cave. Though her home was small, it sure felt grand to us kids. 

                   

Birds and flowers surround this big pink home. Aunt Dot loved roses, but because she never married she did not have time to garden. Her days were spent working and then she would retire to her home for an evening of working through her puzzle books and  watching the nightly game shows while snacking on crackers and cheese with her favorite soda, Tab. I haven't had one of those in awhile. Do your remember Tab in the little pink can? Lol.  But anyway I had to include a small bouquet of her favorite flower displayed in a little basket perched on the roof of the house. 

Dorothy Mae's Spring House

I stitched my home on 14 count tea dyed aida. I am an aida girl . The stitch is 71 x 72 which on 14 count measured to about 5 1/8" squared.  Eight DMC floss colors were used including: 782, 3345, 938, blanc, 221, 223, 3371, and 801.     

 

I would be very honored if you stitched Dorothy Mae's Spring House.Of course it does not have to be pink. Not everybody is  a pink girl like Aunt Dot and me.  

If you are interested, just check out the pdfs below. I am not a professional designer nor do I have the ability to put the pages all on one pdf. So each chart is on a separate page to print.  I have also included an alphabet and number page in case you would like to leave off some motifs and add your initials or the year. 

Click here for the instruction page. 

Click here for the colored chart. 

Click here for the black and white chart. 

Click here for the alphabet/ numbers chart. 

I have stitched several little homes and posted them on my blog for freebies. If you haven't seen them, I invite you to check them out . They include   Crow Creek Saltbox, Ophelia Manor on Punkin Holler Lane ,  Willowisp Manor of Holler Lane.   and Winter Saltbox . 

I have stuffed these little homes into a basket. I think I need a bigger basket. There is one extra home in my basket I have not posted, but I hope to post it in the future.

Thank you so much for the sweet visit today and for allowing me to share memories of my dear Aunt Dot . I hope you have a very blessed day and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

I would be tickled pink to see your stitches. You can always tag me on Instagram using #pinkernpunkquilting or Direct Message me.     

Today is your day! So go for it! 

Cupid Stamp A Valentine Freebie

Happy Saturday.  There is still a few more days until Valentine's, and I am still enjoying stitching up a few smalls for the big day. It has been such a joy to see all of the pretty Valentine stitches on IG, and I have been so inspired by the finishes. I really do not have that many February cross stitch pieces, but it is slowly growing.  I do have to admit that seeing so many stitchers move on to spring stitching is making me want to do the bunny hop and join right in though. 

Yesterday I posted photos of my hutch, and one of the designs displayed was my Cupid Stamp. 

                     

I purchased this white photo stand at the Dollar General last year and knew that I wanted to display stitching on it. 

                       

Last month, I had the Frosty Stamp displayed on it. So this month, Cupid is making an appearance. Cupid has a similar build as Frosty. 

    

This is a small measuring 35 x 35. I stitched mine on 14 count tea dyed aida.  There are only 7 floss colors in this piece which are DMC 783, 223, 801, blanc, 310, 498, and 967. 

I finished mine on foam board that has been covered with batting. Homespun and some dress fabric from my daughter's childhood clothing were used for finishing fabric. 

                      

The ribbon was from the Dollar Tree. I bought every spool my DT had, because it is just so pretty.   Lol I guess I was being a little greedy , but crafty items go pretty fast at my Dollar Tree, and the manager says she never knows what she will get in. 

I would be delighted if you put this little stitch on your future stitch list.  If you are interested, just check out the pdfs below. 

Click here for instruction page. 

Click here for the colored chart. 

 Click here for black and white chart. 

 If you missed Santa Stamp or Frosty Stamp, just click on the names and you can go back to those posts for the pdfs. 

               

My imagination is running wild with some other ideas for this little stand . I think a leprechaun should make an appearance next. Have you noticed how each character has the short legs and the flared out hips?  Lol. 

 I hope that you have a wonderful Valentine's and are able to do something special with someone you love. Thank you so much for dropping by to see me. I always love visitors and enjoy reading your sweet comments. I can not begin to tell you how much your support means to me. I hope to post again tomorrow with a quilt and stitching update if all goes well. 

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Keep being awesome and stay positive. 

 Hugs

Prim Winter Love- A Winter Freebie

  They are back! That is my cardinals. We have fed the squirrels and the cardinals all through the year, but come fall time both the cardinals and squirrels did a disappearing act. I knew where the squirrels were. They were in the trees which surround us and skipping through the yard and woods in delight as they  gathered all the walnuts, acorns and pine cones ; they were filling their bellies full . But I had no idea why the cardinals were being elusive. 

Cardinals have always held a special place in my heart.  In fact, they rank in the top 5 of my favorite birds. In no particular order they are the chicken, crow, hummingbird, cardinal, and turkey. Of course, I love all birds though.  Do you have a favorite bird? 

The last ornament in the Prim Winter series is "Prim Love". It is a simple little design with  a male and female cardinal. The male has a little heart as a gift to  the female. This would be cute all the way through Valentines. 

I used DMC flosses that I have on hand which were the same that I used in the other ornaments. The floss colors used were #221, 898, 895, 310, B5200, 920, and 436. 

Scattered snowflakes fill the background. If you do not feel like doing a lot of counting on the snowflakes, stitch them last and then put them where they are pleasing to your eye - that is what I did. 

 This stitch is a small measuring 33 W x 45 H . I stitched mine on 14 count tea/coffee dyed aida which brings it to a measurement of about 2 3/8" x 3 1/4" . 

If you would like to stitch Prim Winter Love, just check out the pdfs below. Each page is in its own pdf download.

For the instruction page , click here .

For the color chart, click here  . 

For the black and white chart, click here . 

Have you seen the other four ornaments? If not, just click on the names below to go back to their posts. 

   Prim Winter Home, Prim Winter Peace   Prim Winter Joy ,   Prim Winter Faith 

Since this is a cardinal post , I wanted to show my sweet cardinal cookie jar, my mom bought me a few years ago with matching salt and pepper shakers. I always enjoy it each Christmas season. 

Well I am off to enjoy a little stitching time. I hope you are too . Have a fabulous day and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Thank you so much for the sweet visit and for checking out this little ornament. If you decide to stitch it and post it on Instagram , I would love to see it . Just tag me and use #pinkernpunkinquilting or you can direct message me.