Treasure hunt

The colors of July are red, white and blue.

No Fourth of July picnic would be complete without the stars and stripes on everything from paper plates to T-shirts. Bunting hangs from front porches on homes, and flags fly everywhere.

For antique lovers, an easy way to decorate for the season – for any season – is to bring out vintage ephemera and textiles.

Over the years I’ve picked up a few pieces that have patriotic overtones: scarves printed with World War I doughboys, pillowcases sent home from the Pacific by GIs in World War II, and a faded homemade flag.

But my favorite is a simple piece of embroidered muslin. The fabric, darkened with age, is stitched with a flag with 48 stars, a red rose and the words, “American Beauties.”

In 1912, two additional stars were added to the flag to represent Arizona and New Mexico. I suspect the piece was made somewhere around that time.

The stitches are tiny and well done. Someone obviously spent a lot of time and energy on it.

I imagine it originally was meant to be a pillow cover or to be framed, but when I found it, the piece had been put away and forgotten for many years.

Now the blue field behind the stars has faded. And the muslin is stained and torn in a few places.

But the stitches are still tight, and as far as I’m concerned, the obvious signs of age only add to the charm.

One of these days I’ll get around to framing the pretty piece or making a pillow out of it. But what’s the hurry?

Beauty, and this time of year American beauty in particular, is in the eye of the beholder.