A Plethora of Patriotic on a Slow Sunday...

Well the days fly by don't they?  Half a year gone... poof!   And while some days are quite productive, other days are a bust... so many things I want to do and so many distractions. Social media...  Instagram, YouTube, blogs,  the internet in general... a blessing and a curse.  I keep finding new things I want to do and I'm wasting time looking at stuff rather than doing stuff... the last couple of weeks have seen some finishes, but not as much as I had hoped... but then realistically I never get as much done as I want to... because I want to do it ALL!! 

And then there is the weather... not sure why it affects me more the older I get but gray and rainy day do not help my mood... and as I write this on Saturday  it is gray and very rainy...and it is forecast to continue this weather pattern for several days...now I  know my lawn and flowers will appreciate the water... and my water bill will particularly impacted... which I could use... as last month I totally spazzed out and let a hose run for 24 hours... which my bill reflected... acckkk!! 

So lets try to move past that and  start out with some stuff that got done... Spoiler alert... there are several tangents... my focus here is fuzzy... anyway...  I got all of my patriotic cross stitch FFO'd... in fact I even did one more piece that I didn't show last time I was here... a group shot...

and some close-ups.

This is Star Spangled Spectacular by With Thy Needle & Thread... I stitched this on 32 ct linen I painted with very diluted Rit Dyes in Lemon Yellow and Evening Blue. I lucked out and found this frame at Hobby Lobby 50% off and it is a perfect fit and color. 

This snippet of Eagle from  Sheepish Design got a pillow finish with some red tinsel trim.

And the little lady, also from the Eagle chart  got a vintage looking button . 

Lady Liberty from It's Sew Emma got a bit of pompom trim. 

And here's how they look  scattered  in among my displays...

Stars & Stripes from Blackbird Designs...the eagle is a snippet from WTN&T Summer in Baltimore, Betsy Ross is  another snippet from the Sheepish Designs chart called Betsy. 

Some vintage Longaberger , a Debbie Mumm plate and my recent WTN&T finish Star Spangled Spectacular.

I refer to this couple as Ole and Lena... they are another WTN&T pattern called Farmyard Parade and Flagmaker  a freebie from Not Forgotten Farms. 

This is my big display shelf unit and it is really stacked and packed. 

At the top..

at the tippy top the Welcome Summer from The Drawn Thread... a tangent here... I realized the other day that I've done this one Winter and Fall but not Spring... I need to rectify that situation before March 2024... I'll put that on my to- do list...LOL

Moving down... Flag Folk by Not Forgotten Farm, a partial stitch  of Liberty Dwells from With Thy Needle & Thread and July from Prairie Schooler... I'm still in love with that little Uncle Sam shelf sitter I picked up last year at Michaels...another tangent... I've seen very little knickknack stuff lately that is catching my eye... perhaps this is a good thing as I do have A LOT of knickknacks... I love Jim Shore stuff and actually talked myself out of a new little patriotic piece he has because... gasp... I walked around and couldn't figure out where I would put it... 

Okay back to the shelves... on the platform with the house is a freebie, Liberty Star from Samplers & Santas,  below in the truck is a piece from WTN&T  Red, White and Bloom, the pillow from Eagle by Sheepish Designs. In the middle Grand Olde Flag by WTN&T and on the grater Libby by Heart in Hand. 

Another tangent... the other day I went looking for a WTN&T chart I'd seen on IG... I thought I had it but it turns out I don't... but that's not the story... I have a TON of WTN&T patterns and I separated out the ones I've stitched... and I have stitched a TON of them...  no matter how much I stitch I always think I haven't done that much... but I guess I really have... last time I counted I have somewhere around 80 samplers hanging on my walls... and I live in a small house...surrounded by the stuff I love... aren't I lucky? and a bit crazy?  LOL

Bottom shelf... the little soldiers, another chart called Liberty by Birds of a Feather and Uncle Sam  with his flag waving gal from Red, White & Bloom by WTN&T and Hurrah from Pineberry Lane. 

But wait, like that Ginsu knife informercial,  there's more... 

I really like this arrangement of smalls in my TV cabinet.

That little gal from Eagle is tucked in with the bicycles and that's Colonel Sammy in the basket, a freebie from Not Forgotten Farms and below some Lizzie Kate... 

Looking across the room some patriotic quilts...

The tier tray...

A piece from The Drawn Thread who's name escapes me, oh wait, found it, it's called Free and Brave,  a snippet from Hurrah and the new Lady Liberty from It's Sew Emma.   Another cute shelf sitter... you don't see too much Lady Liberty stuff and I do like it... and a bit of Jim Shore...who I also like... a lot! To be honest, I'm not thrilled with this tier tray... but I'm also not motivated to do much more at the moment... 

I had hoped to get the Sunnyside Sampler done... close but no cigar... but in my defense I did a lot of patriotic stitching and I picked up the Remember Me Sampler by Teresa Kogut.  I started Sunnyside back in February. It is 63 stitches high and 315 stitches wide... on 32 ct that makes it ....  Definitely a BIG project. 

I have one house and one section of over one still to do... and while I tell myself that is a day's worth of stitching, that's a lie... those houses had have a lot of detail and stitching... new goal is to finish by the end of this week so I can start something new... or maybe pick up something that's already started... what a novel concept... LOL

Oh here's a pic of Primitive Lady by Ewe & Eye & Friends all framed ...

I really like this frame... which is a very good thing as it was a pricey one... I misheard the amount and didn't realize until after I they swiped my credit card how much this was... not going into details but in the future I will pay closer attention. Lesson learned. 

Well  I was planning on adding some quilt pictures but the weather outside isn't cooperating for some glamour shots, so I'll wait till my next post... I think I've  already overstimulated you enough.

Planning a on quiet 4th of July on my part... some burgers on the grill and corn on the cob and watermelon an a cold salad or too. I anticipate that the neighborhood fireworks could be quite long and loud because as of this year they are legal in Ohio... and they were plenty long and loud even when they weren't. 

After the rain lets up I'll go out and check the garden. I've gotten some dahlia blooms from tubers I put in the ground... here's a couple ...

 The yard dahlias are looking good... and so far they are one of the few things I can count on not being eaten... the deer this year are ravenous... they've pruned my hydrangeas and my window box petunias.  

And I got a new little guy in my life...

 He's about 2 ft tall... right now he's sporting petunias as a hair do but I have plans for other styles... maybe some wild grass or succulents... he's gonna be fun to have around... 

I've got nothing big planned for the upcoming month... a semi-annual eye doctor appointment... I'll be hoping for a cloudy day as they will dilate my eyes... I did break down and get a steroid shot in my right thumb  a couple of days ago... so far, its better than it was but still have some occasional pain... but at least I'm not icing it while trying to cross stitch...that's a good thing. 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I really appreciate those who still coordinate compilations of blogs...  my plan for today and as many days as I can is to sit on the sunroom porch, watch the birds and stitch, stitch stitch...

Hope your 4th of July is SPECTACULAR!!

happy stitching-

carol fun