Hello! I spent this past weekend in northern Wisconsin where I had no phone signal and limited access to internet. I meant to write a Findings post for last Friday, but I forgot to write the post Thursday night and then there was no opportunity to do it later. Whoops! So, expect LOTS of links later this week as I make up for lost time.

My local needlework guild has a summer challenge project each year, and this year we chose a patriotic theme because of the upcoming election. (Don’t worry–I will never talk politics on this blog!) Our finished projects don’t have to be specifically American patriotic-themed, but they do have to be predominantly red, white and blue. So, I have been spending some time browsing patriotic cross-stitch patterns looking for inspiration, and I put together a collage with some of my favorites.

1. “Stars & Stripes” by The Prairie Schooler. I love this collection of ornaments. This would be a great collection to stitch for a year-round ornament tree.
2. “Patriotic Scissor Pocket” by Scarlett House. Not only do I love the flower basket, but the two bonus small patterns are great for a quick stitch, too.
3. “Little Lady Liberty” by Little House Needleworks. This is a great little pattern, but what caught my eye was the lovely pillow finish.
4. “Star Spangled Banner” by Northern Expressions Needlework.
5. “Starburst & Stripes Forever” by Cherry Lane Designs. I picked numbers 4 and 5 for the same reasons. Both of these are American flag patterns and both use specialty stitches to form the flag design. The Northern Expressions design uses a variety of stitches while the Cherry Lane Designs patterns uses primarily eyelets stitches in various sizes to create the flag. But,both are very striking designs.
6. “Americana Panorama” by Blue Ribbon Designs. I love this design because the individual elements could be stitched as ornaments, but the whole pattern together creates a wonderful American panorama with a lovely patriotic message.

Are you stitching any patriotic patterns right now? These designs are obviously American in focus, but I would love to see patriotic patterns from other countries as well.