Red, White, and Blue

Another year is half-over! Can you believe it? Six months...six whole months of 2014 have already flown past. Unfortunately, our June has been quite rainy and just hasn't felt much like summer. I remember the Junes of my childhood being hot and dry and even smelling like summer--the freshly mown grass, the chlorine in the swimming pool, the delightful scent of mom's sweet peas wafting in as I walked through our back door. And how about the fragrance of those freshly laundered bed sheets dried on a clothesline in the back yard! Ahhh... I want a summer like that again! Of course, we all tend to glorify the "good old days" from time to time. There were also the bee stings, the sunburned cheeks, and the scraped knees from falling off bikes or roller-skates or swings, weren't there?

One thing that always says "summer" to me, though, is the 4th of July. Although I'm not a big fireworks fan, I do love the red, white, and blue fever that sweeps the country this time of year. I truly enjoy patriotic stitching--almost as much as I do stitching Christmas ornaments! This year, I'm adding four new finishes to my bowl of patriotic smalls. First up is one by a new-to-me designer, "Freedom Crow" by Primitive Stitchin'. I stitched it "over one" on 28 ct. Stormy Gray Jobelan and a variety of DMC and GAST threads. As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly how I wanted to finish it off.

"Freedom Crow" design by Primitive Stitchin'

I had purchased these 4" round metal decorative hanging "things" (plates? discs?)  from a local craft store last winter with the intent of using them for Christmas ornament finishing. But, the size and shape of this finish was just perfect for a patriotic piece--especially with the cutout stars that surround the perimeter.

I simply finished it into a round 2-inch shape, glued it to the center, added some DMC 221 cording, made a new hanger out of some homespun, and voilà!

And here it is in its new home hanging from a wooden shelf by my kitchen door... I am so pleased with the way this one turned out and I'm happy to have found a new designer, too. I purchased the pattern through Pattern Mart, which made for an instant download!  It's a great way to buy charts when you don't want to wait for mail delivery--immediate gratification!

 

My next finish is a freebie from The Nebby Needle which you can find right here. If you look at the photo of the model you'll notice that mine looks very different because I stitched it on black. I used 28 ct. black Monaco and stitched it "over one" with GAST (Picket Fence and Wheat Fields), and WDW (Brick and Dungarees) threads. Don't you love those tiny American flags in each corner? Make sure to extend the border if you add little stars as I did...

The Nebby Needle "God Bless America" freebie

To finish it off, I made a flat ornament (without a hanger) while following Vonna's excellent tutorial. This cute American flag printed fabric and some handmade DMC 221 (I use that color more than any other, I think!) finished it off so well. How do you like it? Thanks so much to Bonny of The Nebby Needle for sharing her cute freebies with us!

This cute new freebie from The Stitcherhood just came out last week. You can find the chart here. This one stitched up very quickly--just a few hours... I used DMC 221, 311, and 680 (for the July 4 portion) on 40 ct. antique white Newcastle linen.

The Stitcherhood 4th of July freebie

The finish is a simple, little pillow using the colors of the design in the finishing fabrics. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful  Stitcherhood freebies, Maria! I know I'll be stitching more of them very soon...

And, finally, a teeny tiny finish that started off as something totally different. I found this very old chart called "Patriotic Stocking Stuffers" by Need'l Love and thought the Uncle Sam stocking would be a perfect addition to my patriotic bowl of finishes. Well, the problem is--I stitched it on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle which made it way, way too small to turn into a stocking as there was no way to turn it inside out once you had stitched it to the backing fabric! Hmm... what to do? Well, I simply eliminated all but the main motif, extended the border down both sides, repeated the top border, and added a bunch of smyrna stitches in the background for color.

A teeny Uncle Sam finish

He is very tiny--just an inch wide by 2 1/2 inches long so I added fabric, blue mini ric-rac, and a fabric yo-yo topped off with a star to beef him up a bit. He is backed by the gold and burgundy star fabric shown in the background. I love the final look of the little pillow so much!

And here is a photo of all four of my new patriotic creations. Which one is your favorite? I have to vote for the Freedom Crow, but the teeny Uncle Sam is a close second!

My bowl of red, white, and blue finishes is starting to overflow so I have moved a few of them to other places in my home. But, here you can see all of them in one photo...

All of these were stitched and finished over the past five years. Can you believe that before I began my blog in 2009, I didn't have a single patriotic finish? I love them so much and wish I could keep them on display even longer, but the fact that they are seasonal makes them that much more special when I bring them out each summer. Here is one last picture that you should be able to click to make larger so you can see them better.

I received a special package from my blogging friend, Robin (no blog yet!), who wanted to thank me for sharing an old PS chart with her. I was so touched by her generosity and told her nothing at all is expected when I lend a chart or send a Random Act of Kindness to someone... Truly! But, her gifts were so wonderful, I wanted to share them with you here. She sent a beautiful chart, a lovely blue stitching pocket which included a packet of needles and a new pair of scissors, and a cute ort container. Didn't she spoil me? Thank you so much, Robin--I am thrilled with my goodies!

Gifts from Robin

Blueberry baking is still going on here and last week I made some wonderful Blueberry Banana Bread. Oh, it was really tasty--so moist and delicious. And, it freezes well--always a plus in my book! I know some of you told me you made the Blueberry Buckle from my last post--did you enjoy it?

Blueberry Banana Bread

I really appreciate all the well-wishes for my heel problems that I mentioned in my last post. The Plantar Fasciitis keeps acting up, but it is not unbearable. I'll have a really good day here and there, a really painful day now and then, and in between it is just bothersome. I'm really babying it and have tried to incorporate other exercises into my workout routine rather than the treadmill. I've been riding the exercise bike a bit and lifting my light weights which I'm actually enjoying. The strange thing is that even with the drop-off in my treadmill routine, I've actually lost a pound--strange, eh? I think it is because I'm just not as hungry these days. Either that or I'm losing muscle weight?

Anyway, I am just hoping my foot will be all better before we go to visit our youngest son in Washington, DC next week. For any of you who have been there, you know what a lot of walking is involved! I'm hoping to talk him into spending a day in Old Town Alexandria in Virginia. Have any of you ever been there? Any advice as to what to do or see, places to eat, etc? I'd really appreciate your thoughts!

Well, my friends, I hope you've enjoyed this red-white-and-blue post. I doubt that it holds much interest for those of you outside the United States, but I thank you for bearing with me. Do any of you have special plans for the long weekend? My husband will be returning from a 400+ mile bike ride in Montana and Canada on the 4th of July so I'll be planning a nice picnic with a tasty dessert for his homecoming. And then this weekend we hope to head up to Ohio for a pool party with my brother-in-law and his family assuming the weather cooperates. I hope your holiday is fun and relaxing--be careful around those fireworks!

Thanks for stopping by and for your always welcome and appreciated comments! Bye for now...

I wish all of my U.S. friends
 a happy and safe 4th of July!