Friends are one of the things that make life sweet. I have been blessed with more than my share. I especially love keeping up with all my online friends!

I always think of my friends as the family I choose - Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but it is sort of small compared to some. So, I adopt people along the way. The free Friendship Saying goes out to all my buddies. Everyone needs friends to act as a "sheltering tree" when the storms come.

I stitched the model on white Aida fabric with flosses from Finca and Rainbow Gallery. I like the combination of cotton and silk flosses of different weights.

More Free Friendship-Themed Designs:

• Welcome Friends Saying and Sampler
• Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends Sampler
• Friendship Saying Bookmark

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I have written before that reading is one of my favorite activities. And, of course, so is Cross Stitch! So combining stitching and reading means making bookmarks. You might want to make up some bookmarks for the Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy project. Feel free to use any of my free Bookmark patterns.

The charts will also make great borders if you aren't into bookmarks. This design says "Read", but you could omit that if you liked. Add the borders to a saying or repeat them for pillowcase bands. They'd also look nice on towels done in colors to match your kitchen or bathroom decor.

If you use one of the free patterns from About.com Cross Stitch, be sure to share a photo of your project.

This free Tile Four Pattern is one in a series of Pattern Tiles that may be used for many different Cross Stitch Projects. Stitch an individual tile for a pin, repeat a design on a bookmark, or collect several for a small sampler.

Each tile is presented in single, two, and three color versions. An alternate idea is to stitch one of the colors with regular cross stitch and the other colors with a Cross Stitch Variations.

Previously Featured Tile Patterns:

• Tile One Pattern
• Tile Two Pattern
• Tile Three Pattern
• Complete List of Tile Patterns

For more free Cross Stitch Patterns, see the Free Cross Stitch Pattern A-Z Index

Raingal72 shares a project she created using the Free Medieval Cross pattern of which a detail is shown here. She writes, in part, "I was initially captivated by the Medieval cross pattern, and wanted to use it as part of a larger project. I resized the cross a little bit, and made every third stitch as colored "jewels" in all four arms of the cross." See the whole project and learn more about her project. Would you like your project to be featured as About.com's Cross Stitch Photo of the Week? Here are a few ways how:

• Submit a photo of a project stitched from a free Pattern from About.com Cross Stitch
• Submit a photo of a project you want to show off in the Stitcher's Photo Albums
• Submit a photo of a project in the About.com Cross Stitch Forum
• Share a designer profile with a photo of a project you created
• Share a how to for a cross stitch project you have finished