Here we find at the lower left corner of the sampler a little family gathering. On an antique sampler, these ladies would have been sharing a cup of tea and discussing the price of tulips. On the topic of the price of tulips and 17th century Holland, I would most highly recommend the book by Gregory Maguire called Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (as well as everything else he has written). It is an entirely fictional (if that isn't obvious) retelling of Cinderella from the stepsister's point of view, but most entertaining and does paint a colorful picture of the era.Back to the tea party...I am totally into drinking tea, but by no means am a tea-totaller. Nor can I recall the last time my tea was dispensed from a teapot. Actually I'm exaggerating; I can recall - It was at the Oregon Tea House in Silverton where a group of stitcher's met in March for tea and sharing our stitching. FYI, I think the most wonderful black tea is Czar Nikolas II Premium Russian Tea. (I cheat a bit since this tea is loose leaf only, but I find the tea ball a nuisance and I already mentioned I didn't use a pot. I put spoonful of leaves in one of these strainer thingies and pour the boiling water on top. It's not quite cricket, but gets the job done.)
My family is lucky enough to still all eat meals together at the table. Since there are no men/boys, however, this must not be my family. These ladies appear to be sharing a Vegetarian Delight Extra Large Pie from Brick House Pizza. Notice that Grootmoeder Bea likes to eat hers "crust first". Now that is living on the edge! See the twee honden underneath the table, just waiting for a mushroom to roll onto the floor. And due solely to the power of suggestion, I can convince you that those 8 red stitches are a can of coke and the 8 green are the anti-cola.
I've learned that while pizza is a classic American thing, be wary of Dutch pizza. The Netherlands Board of Tourism paid for a group of American bloggers to eat their way through Amsterdam. Their comment regarding Dutch pizza " I hate to have to tell you, but pizza here is awful. No - not just awful...gawd awful." See the whole article.
Now, it is up to you to decide whether the motif placement is arbitrary or malicious. It looks like little Liza might be about to get the ol' geranium to the cranium. Glad I didn't think of that on purpose...or did I? Perhaps when the other motifs fill in, the effect won't be so morbid.
