Blog Archive

Friday, July 31, 2026

Three Cheers for the Red , White and Blue- A Patriotic Hutch Tour

 

Good Friday morning, y'all! How are you  doing on this fine lovely day?    I think I will wrap up July with a great big ole' country clutter tour!  What do you think?   I haven't posted one of those in a spell. Y'all who have been with me for awhile know that I am no minimalist. All of this  junk ahem I mean treasures sure make this gal a happy camper.  Are you up to taking a peek at my patriotic hutch ? It is filled to the brim with all sorts of stitching. Come on ! Let's go! 

Of course, I have filled every nook and cranny. I started with layering in the background my Pioneer Woman plates just for a bit of color and then I brought in all things red, white and blue. 


  I did not change anything on top of the hutch. It has tins filled with dishes and old Coca Cola crates. I did add some yellow floral garland and a cherry garland to soften the lines. 

The tins hold plates and Christmas ornaments. The garland softens the lines of the hutch.

Every year I display Nanny's red coffee canister  for the patriotic season. I found the little Tea canister years ago at the thrift store. 


The Uncle Sam stitch is a new design of mine that I actually stitched a few years ago, but it has been hanging in the wings to be fully finished. It will probably be a freebie next year if I don't forget. 


Do you remember the chalkware wall decor of the 70's? (Maybe its plaster.)   Well,  I pulled out my cherry chalkware piece to prop on my shelf. It brings back  lots of fond memories.  On the stack of plates is Liberty  and House of Liberty , another future freebie. 


Oh , I forgot to mention , if you see anything you are interested in just click on the colored links and you will be magically transported back to the post with the chart. 

In the hanging egg basket, I displayed a little cherry stitch. It was a super quick piece that I stitched about 8 years ago. I found it on Pinterest but for the life of me , I cannot remember who the designer is. Do you happen to know ?  Oh bother,  my memory fails me.😏🤔


Hold it! 
Are your eyes crossed yet? 🥴🤪 I know. I know. It is a lot to take in, but there is still more. So let's shimmy down to the 2nd shelf shall we. 

The second shelf holds more stitching and an old teapot. 

The little red tea pot is actually strawberry themed. I just turned it around so the strawberries would not be seen.  The darling clothespin flag was a gift from my sweet friend, Patricia. It is always on my hutch or buffet for the patriotic season. I just love it! ❤ Thank you , Patricia. 



Front and center is Little Miss Liberty I shared her a few years ago. Isn't she precious with her lantern as she walks  among the flowers? 


"Little Miss Liberty" is surrounded by wee patriotic stamps including: Patriotic House Stamp, Pop Goes The Fireworks Truck StampMini Patriotic Jar Stamp,   and I even included a strawberry stamp called Strawberry Basket Stamp.

A bowl of Patriotic stamps. 

 On the silver butter plate , is U. S. A., a piece that I shared in 2024. 




 Strawberry Jam Jar is tucked in the corner on top of an overturned bowl. 


Wheww! Still one more shelf to go. As you can see,  it is filled with a modge podge of items. 


The vintage juicer is filled with a bowl of faux strawberries.  I then layered the shelf with some cross stitch pieces along with vintage salt and pepper shakers that my dear sis gifted  me. 
"Freedom Rings" is a piece I worked on last year. I haven't posted her yet.



In 2021 , I stitched a whole series of Patriotic Wordies, just simple stitches that made for quick finishes. Old Glory was one of those stitches. 


I still think the 1776 Crock  is as cute as a two dollar button and is one of my favorite patriotic stitches. I stitched a whole series of crock pieces and I still have more brewing in my head, but those are for another day.  More stamps join  1776 Crock  including Summertime U.S.A. Stampand ...

 

    U.S.A. Stamp with Lizzie Kate's freebie called Freedom.


Do you know who designed this darling Uncle Sam? 
I know some of you stitched him. He was a freebie a few years ago, but for the life of me I cannot find my post about this darling little fella. Anywhoo... I finished him onto a trivet. He is another favorite that I enjoy bringing out during the patriotic season. 


Well Sweeties, that's all she wrote!  😀We made it to the end of the hutch tour. It was a lot to take in wasn't it, but to be honest I just could not help myself and kept adding more and more and more!!!😂 


Uncle Sam, Miss Liberty and all of the other patriotic stitches have marched back into their storage bins, and in their place came busy buzzing bees. So expect a full tour of the bee display in the coming days. 


If you are interested in seeing any of my previous patriotic hutch tours, just click the links below. You will see a lot of the same things- just switched around a bit.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

2025 Country Red, White and Blue  Hutch Tour

2024-  Take Me Out To The Ballgame Hutch Tour


2022  Down on the Farm Patriotic Hutch.  ( I failed to post a tour in 2022) 


2021 My Country Patriotic Farm Hutch

2020 Country Patriotic Thrift Hutch

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 If you would like to see some of the seasonal hutch tours click on the links below
Hutch Tours of 2023-  Links to all of the monthly hutch displays for 2023
Hutch Tours of 2024 Links to all of the monthly hutch displays for 2023
Hutch Tours of 2025 Links to all of the monthly hutch tours of 2025. 

   

I guess, I have kept you long enough. I know you have places to go and things to do. But I just want you to know that I appreciate you so much for spending just a tad of your time with me. It really warms my heart. 
I hope you will drop by tomorrow . If all goes well, I will post a new Tiny House and a Roundabout Doodle. 
Have a beautiful day, Sweet friends. Love ya'! 😘💓 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

" Where liberty dwells, there is my country.  "- Benjamin Franklin

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy  who was a collector too.
 I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Miss Homestead Blessings

 "Finish me! Finish me! Finish me! " screamed "Homestead Blessings. "You have had the frame for nigh 8 months . What is holding you up it ?" it asked. 

        "Homestead Blessings was a free stitch that I shared in August of 2025. 

I just rolled my eyes and walked away each time it made it's case. 

Then one day , I moved "Homestead Blessings" to the table beside my stitching chair. It began to squeal in delight for it thought that it was going to be fully finished. 
But lazily , I sat it down on the table and saunteered away. 

"Boo Hoo," cried the little stitch as the solid black frame sat smuggly knowing it was not going to be used anytime soon. 

Then a few weeks later a strip of brown fabric was gingerly placed beside "Homestead Blessings" . It did not say a thing, but smiled meekly as it sat wondering was today the day. 

Fast track 2 months later, as I sat in my stitching chair, I eyed "Homestead Blessings" . Quietly I heard a whisper- "Finish me... Finish me..."

I popped up and said, "Today is the day!"

"Homestead Blessings squealed in delight. "Really? " it asked. 

As I picked up the little stitch . I swear I saw   Mr. Thrifted Black Frame give a faint smile as well.
 
 I found this frame for a dollar over a year ago at the thrift store. 

As usual, I did not give myself a lot of finishing allowance, but I would make do. I always do. 
"Now, little Miss Homestead,  this is not going to be anything fancy. Do you understand?  " I asked. " Just a lick and a promise." 

"Yes, yes, I understand, " she said as she nodded in gratitude.  

I smiled for I knew all she wanted was to be finished. 

I did not give myself a lot of finishing room so I added 1 1/2" strips of calico. 


I cut a few strips of fabric and sewed them to each side of "Homestead Blessings

And then -like I said, with a lick and a promise I popped her into Mr. Thrifted Black Frame. That old grump even twinkled when Miss Homestead joined him. 

Not a perfect finish , but it now can be put on display. 

Now the 2 will live happily ever after. 😀

So that is my tale of the finish of Miss Homestead Blessings. 

Do you have a stitch or a craft that is calling your name, but you just keep putting it off?  I certainly have many more begging to be finished. 



As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"It's not where you start- It's where you finish that counts.  "- Zig Ziglar

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 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

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

The Colors of the Garden- Wordless Wednesday

It has been awhile since we have had a Wordless Wednesday post. Well to be honest- mine is a "Not So Wordless Wednesday" post because there are a few words. 😏😀

Today, I thought I would show you the many colors of the garden.❤💚💛💜

 Though I did not have a bounty of zinnias to come up despite planting oodles of seeds, I do have some beautiful blooms.  You may spy some insects enjoying the blooms as well. I hope you enjoy. 







This Coleus has a bright lipstick pink center. The photo does not do it justice. 

I have pots of plants scattered everywhere. 

The flowers are drooping as the rain comes down. 


Twin coneflowers. 




Fox glove in bloom among the marigolds 

Teeny Tansy blooms. 



This zinnia is a very pale peach. So unusual. 

I plant Peppermint Zinnias every year. 



I hope these simple photos brought a moment of joy to your day. 

Thank you for joining me today. 

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa 

"Always take time to smell the flowers.  "- Unknown

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 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. 
🌞A Christmas in July Parade of Past Freebies- 2026 A Parade of Christmas Freebies up to the date of July 6, 2026. 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 


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