The Queen and I

Greetings!  Thank you once again for your concern about sis.  Her fib left, came back briefly, then left.  My mom had her dual chamber pacemaker "installed" during her fib which never stopped.  That chamber's lead wire never did get a chance to work!  My brother is plagued with this and has meds to control the episodes which usually work.  I have brief episodes and my sister's are lasting longer.  We're a fib family.  Fluid in the lungs and the inability to get enough air is terrifying, especially to a claustrophobic patient.  But it also brings back dad's panic and terror in the horrible two weeks he slowly suffocated because a pulmonary specialist didn't recognize a pulmonary embolism.  Enough. 

As you know, the Queen and I do not get along.  I've tried, believe me.  But she is stubborn and demanding and the two of us just can't make it work since I'm the exact opposite, regardless of what others say.  In this sampler, there are only a few queen stitches but I chose to make up my own. 

 

The square cross can't be substituted for the distinctive diamond shape so I just made an upright cross over two.  I tried that shape by overlapping threads but it was too thick and I kind of like the way this looks.  I've never come across a design that utilizes this stitch now that I'm thinking about it.   I have a Scarlet Letter project with a border completely done in queens I've been avoiding.  I guess this would work and go rather quickly.  Usually I try an eyelet stitch in a diamond but I didn't want to bother here.  Why?  Simple.  I don't like this sampler.  There.  I said it.  Be it the bird, the motifs with colors that didn't make sense (and I changed), or the entire piece.  I just don't like it.  It's finished and I will add some aging and ink for definition of the light threads, but I doubt if that will change my mind.

Mary Ann Hoover from Essamplaire was on Ebay tonight and with 30 seconds left it was $10.00.  YAY!!  I put my bid in and it wasn't even accepted because $45.55 was entered with a few seconds left.  Damn.  Isn't she a beauty?  Even though there are several areas of over one, I was smitten.  It's available as a kit with silk threads, but I never purchase kits.  Don't like working with silk and I prefer choosing my linen.  I will be browsing their site again after this.

 

Tonight I will think about the next project.  I decided to leave the other Santas for next year so I can have seasonal pieces to work on.  I could pretend I'm contemplating large sampler, small sampler, a small stuffed, but who would I be kidding?  It's usually what hits me in the final hour, or what I find on the floor under a piece of furniture.

I hope this final weekend of 2013 was enjoyable for you.  I'm not a big fan of New Year's Eve.  Never did party except for get togethers at a friend's house and don't do that anymore either.  It's just changing a number to remind us we are a year older.  Yes, I'm a stick in the mud, as they say.  My stick is heavy from Christmas cookies and the mud is getting deeper.

Stay safe - thanks for visiting!