Popping In With Some Patriotic Finishes

Happy 4th of July! It's the final day of a nice long weekend here in the United States and I hope you've enjoyed some time with family and friends like I have. We had our 4th of July get-together with my husband's family in Ohio yesterday--delicious beef tenderloin cooked on the grill, roasted potatoes, creamed corn, strawberry-spinach salad, blueberry-banana bread, apple crisp. Yum... an all-American feast to be sure! What's on your menu for today?

Before I show you my patriotic finishes, I want to thank you so much for the wonderful comments about my previous post and my Patagonia pictures. I tend to use my blog as a kind of journal for not only my stitching, but also traveling, baking, gardening, and wildlife photos, so I'm glad that you enjoy these things just as much as photos of my stitching. Well--almost as much! I think if you're one of my regular visitors, stitching is your true passion and that is why most of you visit, right?

So, I'm happy to report that I have two new patriotic finishes for my red, white, and blue collection...  First up, is a this little cutie called "Pop" from Lizzie Kate's Yankee Doodle chart. I used the suggested colors, except for the blue (I substituted WDW's Navy) and stitched this on a 40 ct. burch Newcastle. 

Lizzie Kate: Pop!

This came out a bit larger than most of my patriotic smalls... but it still fits nicely in my corner cupboard. I used three different fabrics, some wee gold x's along the seams, and a rusty star to finish it off. The back of the pillow is the same blue and beige star-strewn fabric that is shown in the lower right.

"Pop" all finished up

This is the way I like my fireworks--on fabric! I am not a lover of loud noises and big booms so I tend to stay away from crowds and live fireworks and typically enjoy my Fourth of July nights watching "A Capitol Fourth" on television.  How about you?

I can't seem to get away from my love of stitching tiny things on black so this next finish was perfect for me... This star is from the Prairie Year-Rounds (Book No. 52) by Prairie Schooler. I used 28 ct. black Monaco and stitched it "over one" so it turned out very small--I love it!

Prairie Schooler star

I had a round finish in mind and thought that the little plate like discs that I've used in two previous finishes would be perfect for this one, too.

Prairie Schooler finish from Book No. 52

Here is my latest finish along with the Freedom Crow finish from a couple of years ago. If you'd like to read more about the little discs and the Freedom Crow finish, just click here.  I really love how crisp and clean these look when all finished up.

Two of my favorite red-white-and-blue finishes

I've tried to stitch at least two patriotic things each summer since I began my blog back in 2009 so, by now, I've developed quite a collection. During the year I keep them in a drawer of an old dresser which you can see below.

A drawer full of patriotic pillows

As most of my long-time readers know, I usually put them in a wooden bowl for display, but my bowl is now too small. So, this year, I decided to move all of them into my corner cupboard where they will spend the summer. 

Kitchen corner cupboard

I'll move in a bit so you can get a closer look...

Do you have a favorite?

Still not close enough? Here are the top two shelves...

And here's the bottom shelf...

I'll probably leave these on display until Labor Day and then change them out for fall stitching... I love the spot of color these give my kitchen--makes me almost want to stand up a salute!

I'm happy to report that my youngest son returned safely from China, tired, but filled with stories of his travels. He said it was amazing how many Chinese people came up to him and wanted to have their picture taken with him and his two friends just because they were westerners with light skin. At first, it was quite novel, but by the end of the trip he said it was a bit annoying. Just imagine being a celebrity--no thank you!! Along the way, he messaged me the sweetest photo. He was in a restaurant in Shanghai and one of the menu items was translated into "I Love You, Mom" so he snapped a photo and said it made him "think of me."  Awww...

An interesting name for a dish on a Chinese menu!

He got to spend an entire week with us before he headed back to Washington, D.C., so we heard quite a bit about his trip, but still haven't seen many photos as he wanted to edit them first. While he was on his trip, he sent this one which I'm sure all of you recognize as a small slice of the Great Wall. Have any of you been there? When I forwarded the photo to my mom she said, "I still can't believe my grandson is over in China!" How the world has shrunk with modern day travel and internet... Back when she was young, such travel would have been almost unheard of!

The Great Wall of China: June 2016

As much as my youngest enjoyed his trip, 10 days was enough for him and he couldn't wait to get back to the good old U.S.A. One son safe and sound at home, but tomorrow my middle son leaves for two weeks in Japan! Time to start worrying again... as many of you said in your comments last time: a mother never stops worrying!

So, that's it for today... I hope all of my readers here in the United States have a wonderful and safe 4th of July... And for my dear international friends, I hope this is the start of a relaxing week for each of you! Bye for now...

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!