This story will take us up through Christmas and a surprise from Carolyn. Carolyn BTW is greatly entwined in parts of my story.

Chapter 1 My Portrait of Victoria

I know many of you will recognize my portrait of Queen Victoria, the fourth and final Queen in my series of powerful women.

I never thought of Queen Victoria as a person that fit among the others, but DH convinced me she fit well, and I had a grand if somewhat difficult time stitching her. I had an almost impossible task of making her look a teensy bit like Victoria, she had to be pretty because my followers love pretty faces, and I had to do this all in an area just over 30 stitches wide.

I didn't know if I could do it, but hey, I might as well try, and if I couldn't, well, no Victoria.

It was the second part left to fate. The first had to do with scissors from Carolyn.

The scissors will be Chapter 2.

In the meantime a bit more about Victoria's face.

I like both cotton floss and silk and I mix them, as I did here. I like to make faces, particularly the mask, in cotton. It is thinner and harder and flatter and crisper.

So I cut up some doodles of congress cloth, gathered together a favorite pencil, eraser and a bunch of floss colors I like for faces and I started.

I stitched the first face and I thought it was very pretty but it looked nothing like Queen Victoria. I set it aside and started over again. I tried again, a bit better but still not there. I spread around me a collection of drawings and paintings of Victoria as a bride and compared my first two attempts. a modern drawing that was super sketchy, done by the artist in about 10 minutes, was a big help, and I got closer on the third attempt. Fourth attempt was closer, and I who like to live on the edge, cut a piece of canvas and started 'for real.' I solved my remaining questions and there was Victoria, face and all.

So in the end, if I have remembered this accurately, it took me 5 tries. Actually, that was pretty quick. I think Eleanor took me 8 tries.

Remember I said I stitched a first face that I liked a lot but sadly it looked nothing like Victoria: about two years later, I was cleaning up stuff and I found the face and thought, when did I do this face? Ahh, I thought, it was my first try at Victoria.

That face figures into a wonderful time I had last summer, but I am getting way ahead of myself.