Tiny Summer House - A Summer Freebie

 Happy Happy July, Sweet Peas. 

Down by the lake there is a little  cozy cabin that I find quite interesting. It has been there for years, but what fascinates me is that it is blue. Being a Curious George , I  did a little research as to why this cabin might appear this way. Here's what I found.

BLUE CABIN TRIVIA

💙Log cabins that appear blue are caused by a natural microscopic fungus. The pigment often occurs in pine and fir trees and is left behind when bark beetles bore into the sapwood. As the fungus grows, it leaves a bluish gray discoloration to the wood. The blue stain becomes part of the wood.  This staining is often called "denim pine" .  Denim pine does not in any way affect the integrity of the wood.  Some cabins are  even painted or stained blue purposely. 💙

Well now that was interesting- at least for me. I hope it was for you too. I don't know about you, but I learn something new everyday. 

Last month after taking a drive, I decided that I had to have a tiny blue cabin of my own- hence here is Tiny Summer House all ready for the summer season with blue logs,  watermelons and bright little daisies for the summer season picking. I think it is a cutie patootie.💙 How about you?  

Graphic from Pinterest

If you decide to stitch any of my designs , feel free to choose your own floss colors. I always use whatever floss colors I have on hand at the time and what suits my home decor. ❤

    The following DMC floss colors were used in the making of Tiny Summer House:

🍉498- watermelon

🍉523 cabin chinking

🍉869 daisy centers

🍉898 border

🍉924- logs

🍉 3362- watermelon rind

🍉3363- grass

🍉 3371 roof, windows, doorway , watermelon seeds

 🍉Blanc- watermelon rind, daisies

Summer Tiny House was stitched on 14 count tea/ coffee dyed Aida.  I posted on how I dye my Aida in 2024  in my Time to Dye- post. 

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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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A finishing tutorial was shared in January 2026

Like all of my Tiny Houses, the Tiny Summer House is finished in the same manner into a wee pin pillow with a bit of print fabric and lace. I shared the measurements in  my January 13, 2026 post along with the 1st house in the series, Tiny Winter's Day House. ( There will be 12 houses all together.)

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 ,

 Tiny Tomato House,  and Tiny Butterfly House

Around noon today, I will be posting my latest monthly Roundabout doodle. Each month , I share a little doodle with a seasonal theme. You can use the doodles in any way you wish  - for coloring, embroidery or what have you. I am embroidering mine. By the end of the year, I will have a year's worth of blocks to create a quilt. So if you are in the neighborhood stop by to see the new roundabout and my progress on the quilt blocks. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit me on this hot first day of July. Now let's grab a glass of iced tea , sit back and stitch a little .😀 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"The power of finding beauty in the humblest of things makes home happy and life lovely.  "- Louisa May Alcott

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!

🌞Parade of Homes 2026- Early 2026 parade of home freebies.

🌞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.

🌞 A Stomping Stamp Parade 2026  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to June 2, 2026

🌞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. 

🌞A Spooky Parade - Halloween freebies up to October  4, 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. 

🌞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. 

🌞A Chilly Parade of Winter Stitches 2025- A parade of Winter themed freebies up to the date of Dec. 21, 2025

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

Summertime Treat Stamp - Summer Stamp SAL

 Rise and Shine, Sunshine!  Are you ready to hit the floor running? I sure am  though I am not sure what all I will get into today other than  continue working on the Summer Stamp SAL.

Today I am sharing Stamp 3 called " Summertime Treat". A sassy little crow is ready for a hot summer's day with a couple of fresh picked  juicy, ripe cherries and a big slice of watermelon.  Yum! Yum! 

Watermelon Stamp ,Summertime Treat Stamp, Summer Chicks

Summertime Treat was stitched with the following DMC colors: Blanc, 223, 310, 782, 815, 930, 3345, and 3346. 

 I used 1 strand of DMC 3346 to backstitch the cherry stem. 

 On the large sampler, I used 1 strand of DMC 223 to outline the tablecloth so that it would stand out on the  Rit Lemon Yellow  dyed Aida. 

I outlined my tablecloth on the Summertime Treat stamp with DMC 223 so it would stand out more. 

If you are interested in how I dyed my 14 count Aida, I shared the process in a post last week entitled Let's Dye Some Fabric

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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 will keep it short and sweet today. But I would like to leave you with a couple of older photos from 2022 from my Summer Days Embroidery SAL. I shared  an embroidery entitled "Summertime Treats " with 2 bluebirds. 

"Summertime Treats " embroidery design that I shared on March 24, 2022. 

In 2022,  I shared 12 hand embroidery designs  for the Summer Days Quilt which I completed by the end of that year.  It makes me one to start a new embroidery project. 🤗

Have a beautiful day and keep those needles threaded. 

If you missed any of the previous posts in respect to the Summer Stamp SAL , below is a schedule with links back to the appropriate posts.  

SUMMER STAMP SCHEDULE

April 2nd  Summer Stamp Introduction

April 7th  Stamp Stamp Border

April 14th Summer Stamp Header

April 21st  Summer Stamp 1 "And the Garden Grows" 

April 28th Summer Stamp 2 Summer Harvest

May 5th  Summer  Stamp 3 Summertime Treats

May 12th  Summer  Stamp 4

May 19th  Summer Stamp 5

May 26th Summer Stamp 6

June 2nd Summer Stamp 7

June 9th Summer Stamp 8

June 16th Summer Stamp  9 

June  23rd Bonus Summer Stamp 10

June 27th Final Reveal

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting,  y'all

Melisa 

"When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat."-  Mark Twain

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy who loved to work on the farm and loved being out in nature . I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

  🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

 Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!

🌞Parade of Homes 2026- Early 2026 parade of home freebies.

🌞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.

🌞 A Parade of Stamps 2025  A parade of stamp cross stitch design freebies up to August 14, 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. 

🌞A Spooky Parade - Halloween freebies up to October  4, 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. 

🌞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. 

🌞A Chilly Parade of Winter Stitches 2025- A parade of Winter themed freebies up to the date of Dec. 21, 2025

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

Chores, A Recipe and A Patriotic Stitch

 I am home!  Welcome y'all. 

Big Ole' Red and the old camper barreled into the driveway a little before midnight. It is time to unpack , wind down and tackle those "back home chores" .Whew where do I begin? 

First up, laundry.  Loads and loads of it. 

The enamelware pan is my newest thrifty find along with the tattered quilt. 

Then the gardens. Pull weeds, harvest vegetables and water, water , water. 

 Yep! We have squash to harvest. 

And zucchini. Bring on the zucchini bread. Hee! Hee! 😋

Will I be able to slip in some stitching time? I sure hope so. 

I finished the Patriotic Mini Sampler while camping. Soon I will fully finish this little jewel. 😀

P.S.- I corrected the charts on the post and added some enlarged ones.   

A recipe I am going to try-

Creamy White Bean Chicken Chili

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cups onion, chopped

1/4 cups of corn oil ( I will use olive oil)

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes

3 ( 15. 5 ounce ) cans of great northern beans with liquid

1 cup chicken broth

2 ( 7 oz. ) cans of diced green chiles , drained

3/4 cups of sour cream

1/2 cup of green onions, sliced

1/4 cups of cilantro chopped 

salt / pepper

Hot sauce or jalapenos to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in large stockpot. Add onion, garlic , cumin, oregano and red pepper flakes. Saute until onion is tender. Add chicken to stockpot and saute until browned. Add beans , broth, green chiles. Simmer until chicken is cooked through. Stir in sour cream, green onion and cilantro. Season to taste with salt, pepper, hot sauce or jalapenos. 

Every year I like to add a new patriotic stamp to my collection. I hope to start Summertime U. S.A. soon.  

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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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OOOOPS- CORRECTION: I am sorry but there are 2 mistakes in the chart. Along the rind, I mislabeled 2 stitches "R" when it should have been "W". You may spot them in the photo where I have the points of the scissors. I do apologize. If you decide to stitch this little stamp, remember to take note of that.  ( My printer is a little goofy right now , so I will probably not reprint this. It is an easy enough fix to make on the chart. ) Thank you . Hugs

CORRECTION NEEDED: The "R" in the rind should be "W" at 2 points. 

Alrighty, y'all, I better get to work. We are not unloading the camper yet. We still have another camping trip on the agenda very soon.  

Oh , before I leave, I just have to thank you for following along with me on my camping adventures. We had a root tootin' time on the road and I am so very grateful you joined me from afar. 

Now you have a terrific Tuesday. 

Mini Patriotic Jar Stamp and Pop Goes The Fireworks Truck Stamp

As Always, 

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

"Home is the heart's nesting place.  " - Unknown

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy. Love and miss you, Amo. 

Watermelon Stamp- A Summer Freebie

 Well good morning, dear friends. Today is going to be a very busy,  but so much fun. I have been invited to the a neighboring county fair to judge quilts.

 I have been doing this for about 10 years. I was not sure if the fair would take place this year. But Woo Hoo! it is. There is always so many fabulous quilts,  and I always come back pumped up and ready to quilt! 🧵

 Some of the fair exhibits are in an old school building. As soon as I enter the hallway I know I will be greeted with tables upon tables of fruits and vegetables  . Judges will be busy buzzing about determining which  entries are the prize winners.  Oh, what a hard task. Well with that in mind -  I thought I would share my Watermelon Stamp  especially since I am sure I will see some big juicy ones at the fair. 🍉🎡

 Do  you think mine is a prize winner? lol. Well, all that matters is that a watermelon tastes good- isn't that right?  

 I stitched this little design last year . It is a small with a design size of 35 x 35. I stitched mine on   - you guessed it-   my usual 14 count tea / coffee dyed aida. 

 I finished this little stitch on a piece of batting wrapped foam board on a little Dollar Tree chalkboard plaque. I just love those thrifty quick finishes. 

If you are interested , just click on the pdfs below .

Click here for the instruction page. 

Click here for the colored chart. 

Click here for the black and white chart.

I will soon be off to marvel at the quilts .  If I am able, I will try to get some photos to share as well. I hope you have a wonderful day . Big hugs and many blessings and as always...

Happy stitching and quilting, ya'll, 

Melisa

There is something that feels all American about a county fair. 

Hugs and Stitches!!