Gingerbread and Autumn Beginnings- A Fall Freebie

 It feels so so good to be back into the sewing room. 

Over the week , I sat down with a bunch of 2 1/2" scraps that I previously cut...

And worked on blocks for Melva's Sew Along called Lala's Irish Chain SAL.  

12 perfectly imperfect blocks pieced and a few more to go.  ( Don't look too carefully at my seams; I was off my game on this particular day. ) 

I am still waiting on a fabric order . A jelly roll awaits me to use for this quilt.  So I  am waiting on pins and needles. Hee! Hee! 

Meanwhile, I picked up this bundle of fabrics for a $1.00 at a yard sale. Soon they will be whittled down into 2 1/2" strips.  

Aren't they scrumptious? 

Excuse me a minute, while I do a Happy Jig for I have a finish!  💃💃💃

The blocks are framed with 2" finished squares. 

       Roll and Bake  ,   A Bowl of Gingerbread,  A Plate of Gingers  and   Gingerbread and Marshmallows

Yee Haw! Roll and Bake has its final borders. 

I added 4" borders.

With four patches as corner blocks made of 2 1/2" squares (unfinished). 

The photos are making the corner blocks look lighter than they are. 😏 Oh well...😀

Christmas fabric from the thrift store will make a perfect backing for Roll and Bake.

Backing fabric for Roll  and Bake. 

A new stitch is in the works, and  it is called Autumn Beginnings .

UPDATE:  August 21, 2026

Autumn Blessings is now finished. 🌻

These are the DMC  floss colors that I used for "Autumn Beginnings"  . 

FLOSS  : SYMBOL  MOTIF:

       DMC 610 ( U and T)       Border and pumpkin stem

DMC  782 ( Y)  Sunflower

DMC 3781 ( • )  Sunflower center

DMC 301 ( O) Pumpkin

DMC 919 (X) Pumpkin lines

DMC 730 ( G) Sunflowers stem and pumpkin leaf 

 Seeing Vicki's latest posts at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting certainly has got me in the fall mood. Did you see her gorgeous Maple Leaf quilt   and her Orange Pineapple and Stick and Stones quilts? Adorable!  Hmmm... I need to make a Stick and Stones. 

 Anywhoo.... Autumn Beginnings is just a simple stitch to wet my appetite for more fall stitching.  If all goes well, "Autumn Beginnings" should stitch up in two shakes of a lamb's tail. 

Autumn Blessings is a CHOOSE YOUR OWN COLORS chart. I will be stitching it in muted colors and will certainly update this post in the future with my floss colors and finish.

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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, that's what is going on in my neck of the woods on this fine sunny Friday. 

What are you up to? 

A Summer Display

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"When you focus on the good , the good gets better.  "- Unknown

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy 

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

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

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. 

Jennifer at Inquiring Quilter for Wednesday  Wait Loss- Wednesday

Denise at For the Love of Geese for Put Your Foot Down- Thursday

Nina at Creations, Quilts, Art , Whatever by Nina for Off the Wall Friday

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

Michelle  at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauty Pageant - Friday

Joy at Days Filled with Joy for Home Matters

Gretchen at Gretchen's Little Corner for TGIFF

Lizzy's Prim Pin Keep - A Prim Freebie

 Happy Tuesday, ya'll! Hope your day has been a good one. I have been piddling around working on a little prim pin keep- a super quick stitch and finish . So I thought I would pop in with a quick little freebie.  

If you are interested ,just choose your favorite floss , a scrap of fabric  and this little chart and stitch away! I bet you will have it done in a blink of eye since it is so simple. 😉😀

It is a small only measuring 40 x 35. I stitched mine on 14 tea dyed aida.  I  added a little heart from hubby's old shirt before making it into a little pin pillow. 

Click here for the pdf. 

Thank you so much for stopping in for a quick visit and have a fantabulous day!!! And as always... 

Happy Stitching, ya'll

Melisa

Any day spent with a needle in hand is a good day. 

Hugs and Stitches, 

Tomato Pincushion Tutorial

You know that anyone who sews loves a good ole' pincushion. Pincushions have dated back all the way to the Middle Ages in Europe where they were called pimpilowes , pin pillows or pin poppets. They  were typically filled with cotton, wool, horse hair, sawdust or even emery  powder in order to sharpen the pins.  

Tomato shaped pincushions came  into fashion during the Victorian times. It was believed that placing a tomato on the ledge of the window would ward away evil spirits, and guarantee prosperity. When tomatoes were out of season, red balls of fabric were fashioned and placed on the ledge where pins eventually were stored. 

 So are you ready to make a tomato pincushion? There are a number of ways to make a tomato pincushion which I have tried a few, but the following instructions is how I made mine today. 

Let's begin with the supplies:  
3 1/2" x 10” scrap piece of red fabric for tomato
2” scrap of red fabric,  ( from same fabric you are making your tomato)
2- 3” green wool fabric scraps, 
embroidery floss of your color choice,
thread
needle
florist sand
doll making needle
batting or polyfil (optional).
thimble (optional)
pliers (optional)

Are you ready? Let's go !

1. Cut your red piece of fabric to a 3 ½” x 10” rectangle.

2. Fold fabric in ½  placing right sides together and using about a ¼” seam allowance, sew down the short side of the fabric creating a little tube. 

3. About a ¼” from the bottom of your tomato unit , stitch a running stitch leaving long ends of thread so you can gather the bottom afterward.    I used a double cotton thread, but you could also use floss.   Gather and cinch closing the ends securely.

4. Now turn the tomato right side out. Using a pencil or chopstick delicately make the folds of the bottom of the tomato pleasing. 

5. I then ran another running stitch at the top of the tomato form - about ¼” from the top leaving long ends of thread so later I can gather it. I am not ready to gather yet though. I just wanted to have the running stitch ready before filling my tomato. ( You can do this after filling the tomato; it is up to you. I just found it easier to have the gathering stitch already in place. ) 

6. Now you are ready to fill. I first put a little quilt batting or poly fil in the bottom but this is optional.

7. Then I poured florist sand into the tomato form. Now this can be a little messy , but I just used a little spoon. Fill leaving about an inch of space from the top.  Tap sand in place so it can settle a bit. Next I added a little batting or polyfil to cover up the sand. 

8. Now it is time to close your tomato. Gather the running stitch that you had made at the top and cinch the top closed securing the edges and closing the hole completely. 

9. Using about a yard of 2 strand embroidery floss  color of your choice  and a long doll making needle ( a long needle just makes it easier) , make the grooves of the tomato . I started at the bottom  going through the core of the tomato, wrapped the floss to the top and went through the top to the bottom. I then went to the opposite side of the tomato to create an even spaced groove. Do this all around the tomato . This will tighten up the tomato too. Adjust the folds of the fabric as you go by adjusting fabric and floss to keep the puckers looking nice. Tie floss off.  Now with this step I did use a pliers to help pull the needle through and a thimble to push the needle. You may do just fine without having to do this -try what works best for you.

10. It is time for the green top of the tomato. Free hand  draw a 6 pointed star or a star burst template.  ( I just used my star burst pattern that I use for my strawberry pin cushions). Using the template cut the top out of felt or wool.  I ended up cutting 2 tops per pincushion for a layered look , but you can use one if you like.

11. Tack the green wool tops to the top of the tomato with a little fabric glue , tack stitch in place leaving the edges free for a 3d effect. Add a button. ( as I did)  OR Whip stitch  the green top of your tomato laying down each edge.  It’s your tomato. Have fun. 

12. I next took the 3" scrap of red fabric and cut out a quarter size circle. I added the circle to the bottom of the tomato just to cover the indentation. This is totally optional.

13. Now your pincushions is complete . Put some pins in it and enjoy. Happy Stitching, ya'll.