Let the Fireworks Begin!

 Light the grill and let the fireworks begin!

                      

 Good morning and Happy Sunday! And to those in the US Happy Fourth of July. This is one of my favorite holidays. Oh, let me take the opportunity to thank all of the men and women serving in the armed forces and all of the veterans  and their families who have served to protect our country and the freedoms that we enjoy. God Bless you all.

                             

 May I tell you that I am proud of my daughter who also serves in the US Air Force? She makes a mama proud as does my oldest daughter. 

I hope that if you are celebrating your day will be joyous and a safe one.

                       

 I think my only hazard will be eating too much. Lol.  Hamburgers and hot dogs are on my agenda with the family. Then a quick splash in the pool or at least watch the grandkids splish and splash. They always seem to get my in the water though. Lol- This Mae Mae can not resist her sweet grandbabies. ( Mae Mae is what the call me. Lol) 

 Mr Pinker has to work so depending on his shift; I may go watch the fireworks .

                  

 Our little town had their fireworks last night but there is supposed to be some at the marina which is always a good show.

The grandbabies loved the fireworks. 

Are you stitching on something special today? Or maybe starting a new patriotic piece?  That would be a lot of fun. Yesterday it was a such a feast for the eyes to see all of the patriotic stitches on Instagram - of course everyday IG is a feast for the eyes. 

                           

On my down time, I think I am going to work on City Stitcher's Liberty Sampler.  Boy, is she a big girl. I will be happy to get a couple of letters in . I just love eyelet stitches. 

Later in the evening after the fireworks, I am planning a new start with " All American" a sweet stitch by Primrose Cottage Stitches which was gifted to me by a dear friend. Doesn't it look like a lot of fun? 

 I also hope to make a mad dash to the Quilt Nest to piece a few of these blocks.                                                                         

 I saw this block in an antique quilt on Bonnie Hunter's blog, and I was immediately smitten with it.  

Two down and 10 more to go. 

I still need to add stars to my tin flag.

I am making my  blocks 12" finished. A super easy and quick block to piece. 

Well I am off to do something productive. I wish you the most blessed day. 

And thank you so much for visiting me and  for always being so kind and encouraging on my blog and on Instagram- Ya'll are the best!!!! 

As always, 

Happy Quilting and Stitching, ya'll

Melisa

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 needle workers to meet.  

      Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh Scrap

Beth at Love Laugh Quilt  for Monday Making

Judy at Small Quilts Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Lynette at What a Hoot! for BOMs Away Monday

Tish at The Madd Hatter Tish's Adventure in Wonderland  for UFO Busting #145

Land of the Free and Home of the Brave!

Hugs and Stitches

My Country Patriotic Farm Hutch and a Little Freebie

 Good morning, sweet friends and happy Saturday! Oh please come on into the kitchen and join me for a patriotic hutch tour. Ice tea is on the counter and how about some fresh blueberries to munch on.  Though with the warm temperatures,  I think a slice of watermelon would be awful yummy! 

 Ok off to the hutch. Ya'll know I just love country clutter, and I cram my hutch plumb full. Lol that's just my style. Last year my hutch looked like this.

The theme was blues and chickens.  I even used my Blue Willow dishes. You can click here to see more of the 2020 hutch. 

This year I went for a lighter look - 😆not light in less stuff but lighter in color. Lol. 

I used the same table runners on each shelf which was red and white buffalo checked fabric from Walmart. I then added my red and white plates as well as my chicken plates.  So let's go to the top shelves. 

I just love Pioneer Woman and last year I got  this cute sign at Walmart. I just love how cheerful and bright it is.  Beside it is my 1776 Crock that I stitched last year. It was one of my 1st designs. 

In the opposite corner is a spindly legged rooster by the cutest little milk can gifted to me by my sweet friend, Sue. I just clipped a little Freedom tag from a Dollar Tree label and placed it on the wire holder. Beside it is little sheep stitch . I think it is Shepherd Bush but please correct me if I am wrong.  On the thrifted yellow riser is Scissor Tails Designs "Rise and Shine" finished in a mini loaf pan. 

                                     

 I have my eye set on the 2nd shelf now.  - Lol look at all that glorious country clutter. Most of it is thrifted which brings me so much joy. I am so sorry for the bad lighting in this corner. 

                                     

I left my Nanny's red coffee canister in the corner and on top of it is an old pitcher my sister gave me with a little ceramic chicken and 2 vintage glass salt and pepper shakers that she also gave me. In a white creamer is a Dollar Tree chicken and on the blue colbat stemware glass  is Bent Creek's "Wave" sampler which I have never really figured out how I want to fully finish.  

                            

My  oldest daughter gifted me the sweet red truck and camper set . She knows my love for camping.  I added a patriotic hat in a small dish in the back of the pickup. The Farm Sweet Farm stitch is one of my freebies finished on a Dollar Tree chalkboard.  Click on the name of the stitch to visit that post. 

Let's hop on down to the bottom shelf. 

Oh, one of my favorite stitches that I worked on last year. was Hen Party by Little House Needleworks- such a great design.

I just love pulling this piece out for display.  It is nestled on a stack of white plates with a little glass basket gifted to me by my sister. And what is in the basket? Lol another chicken.   I will admit I am a little chicken crazy .🐔😆

My little vintage juicer always sits on the edge of the hutch. I change out the bowls by the season- so for the patriotic holiday it sports a red Dollar Tree soup mug and in it is one of Lori Holt's designs which is a little tractor. 

 The rooster ceramic bank was a Big Lots find from many moons ago. I still love it. 

The Life is Better on a Farm was one of my freebies . I made it into a little quilt using some of the fabrics from my girls' clothes. 

The old scale always stays on the bottom shelf corner. On top of it, is a thrifted dish with a blue and white doiley. I had to nestle a little pig in the mix and add my Liberty freebie. 

Maybe that little piggie needs to be named Liberty. Lol. She is sitting on top of a teeny Dollar Tree pip berry garland that I did not unwind so it looks like a little wreath. 

Well that is the end of my farm patriotic hutch tour.  I am already gathering up pieces for the mid summer hutch display . I know it is going to be in yellows but what all can I throw in the mix? I'll come up with something. Lol. 

Before you leave I would love to share my first little design with you which is the 1776 Crock. 

Click here for the instruction page 

Click here for the colored chart. 

Click here for the black and white chart. 

I am tickled pink that you stopped by for a visit, and I  hope you have a very lovely weekend. If you are in an area that is extremely hot , try to stay as cool as possible and drink lots of liquids. As always..

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

She is up there - Old Glory- where the lightnings are sped. She dazzles the nation with ripples of red. And she'll wave over us living or droop over us dead.  The flag of our country forever- Frank Lebby Stanton

Hugs and Stitches

Little Liberty Manor - A Patriotic Freebie

Happy Saturday, ya'll. Is your weekend off to a great start?  I hope you are getting to spend time doing something that you love. I have been enjoying a little quiet time at home finishing up a little stitch. Later, I do have some quilting to complete in hopes of finishing a border, but we will see. 

Last night, I completed Little Liberty Manor which I thought I would share with you today.  I stitched this way back in January but never got around to FFOing until now. A week before Memorial Day was the perfect time for me to pull it out and finish it. 

               

Little Liberty Manor started out with a random border that I was working on. I then began filling in the middle with a little house  and 3 sweet ewes.  I love willow trees, but hubby does not want one in the yard ( a bit superstitious) so I planted one by my liberty house. When I was growing up, we had one by the creek below the farmhouse. It was the biggest willow tree I have ever seen, but because crops were going to be planted dad cut it down. 

             

This stitch  is a small measuring 63 x 60. I stitched mine on 14 count coffee/ tea dyed aida.  I finished mine on an unfinished Dollar Tree box found in the craft section.

 I painted it a chocolate brown and added a little piece of calico fabric and a a bit of jute twine.

 If you are interested in stitching Little Liberty Manor, please check out the pdfs below .Many of you know , but I always like to leave this little disclaimer.  

I stitch my little designs for fun and to decorate my home. I feel very blessed by this community and love sharing my little charts, but I am not a professional designer. And I do not have professional software. Thank you for understanding that I  have to put each page on separate pdf downloads because of the devices I use. I apologize for that.  And I am always grateful for your kind encouragement , your visits, and stitching my little designs.

Click here for the instruction page. 

Click here for the colored chart.  NOTE: Some of the colors on the colored chart are not showing up well because the ink was low.  I apologize for that. 

Click here for the black and white chart. 

I think Little Liberty Manor pairs up nicely with Betsy Ewe. If you missed that little stitch click here. 

I will provide links to some of my previous posts with patriotic stitches. 

Red White and Blue 

Stars, Stripes and Chickens 

Sarah Jane's Saltbox    and  Liberty 

I am so happy you stopped by for a visit today. It is always a delight and deep honor that you spend a few minutes out of your day with me. Have a very blessed weekend and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll. 

Nothing is more precious than Independence and Liberty. 

Hugs and Stitches, 

Red , White and Blue Freebie

Happy Tuesday, dear friends. I just finished a little quick stitch and thought I would share it with you. 

 This is a simple little stitch with sweet buntings and 2 small houses - one of which is a blue log cabin. 

Now I have to be honest, in my eyes I think the design is cute , but I am not crazy over my stitch. 😒 Why you ask? Well let me tell you. It all started with the fabric. I Rit dyed mine with charcoal gray which usually turns my fabric a dark blackish-brown. But oh no not this time- it was very light. So I added more dye, dipped it again and let it sit. After several minutes, I took it out and rinsed it  ; it wasn't dark, but ok I thought I will go with what I have. 

Since I was anxious to stitch, I rushed to the bedroom to put the fabric under the fan and in about 30 minutes I was ready to go. So I started pulling flosses. Now here comes the 2nd problem I had . Eeek - my blue!  I floss tossed my blues and had so much trouble finding a blue that remotely stood out on my drab and dreary fabric. Lol.  DMC 798 was what I settled on because that's all I had.  

                 

After I had it all stitched up , I thought, "Hmmm , this is not too bad", but then hubby walked in. Now he rarely says anything about my stitching other than "That's pretty", but  as he passed by he said "The blue does not stand out" .  

Aaaah! for him to notice means it really is dull. lol . 😲😀😆After getting over my shock that hubby noticed a detail over my stitching, I decided to go ahead and finish it. This was such a quick stitch that when I get new floss I can always stitch it over.  This was one of the easy finishes because I knew ahead of time that I wanted an ornament for my patriotic tree. I mounted the stitch on batting covered foam board. The finishing fabric is one of hubby's old shirt and the ribbons were from the Dollar Tree. 

                  

If you are interested in this stitch, I would be so delighted for you to check out the pdf's below. This is one where you choose your favorite Red, White and Blue floss and your favorite colored fabric. I did list mine but I strongly encourage you to do a floss toss on your fabric.

Many of you know , but I always like to leave this little disclaimer.  

I stitch my little designs for fun and to decorate my home. I feel very blessed by this community and love sharing my little charts, but I am not a professional designer. And I do not have professional software. Thank you for understanding that I  have to put each page on separate pdf downloads because of the devices I use. I apologize for that.  And I am always grateful for your kind encouragement , your visits, and stitching my little designs.

Click here for the instruction page. 

                   

Click here for the colored chart. 

                   

Click here for the black and white chart .

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what I have been up to. I hope that whatever you are doing today, that you are finding joy  and as always...

Happy stitching, ya'll

Melisa

My Patriotic Heart beats for the red, white and blue! 

Hugs and Stitches