Cross Stitch Bonanza #5 : Celebrating a Finish

There isn’t much to report this week. No WIPs or haul to speak of. Not much happening right now. Grateful for that right now. I enjoy a quiet and simple life. Where I am free to cross stitch without much interruption.

The big thing that happened this week was finishing, “A Mathematician’s Quaker.” It is an original design. This is how it is looking.

Here is a brief explanation of the motifs.

• In the lower left corner, we have the notation for the surface integral. This is a reference to Maxwell’s Equations of Electromagnetism ↗. The double integral looks like to s’s. So, I’m also using it to stand for my initials.

• The pyramid next to it is a fractal called the Sierpiński triangle ↗. Designing this is why I stitched this piece. I was too excited to focus on any other project.

• The number 1729 is called the Taxi Cab number ↗. It is the smallest number that is the sum of two cubes in two different ways. It comes from a story of G.H. Hardy visiting Ramanujan in the hospital.

• The number 42 is a reference to Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ↗. In that novel, it is the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

• To the left below the 42 is a flower. This is a reference to the Fibonacci numbers. In nature, sunflowers tend to have a Fibonacci number of seeds ↗. This is because they can be used to calculate the golden ratio, the most irrational number. Also good for packing lots of seeds.

• The funny looking x, backwards 3, and 10 are actually numbers in Base 12 ↗. If our counting system were base 12 we would need two extra digits for 10 and 11. We call 10 Dek which is the x. The number 11 is El which is the backwards 3. The ten is actually called Do and represents 12.

• In the upper right corner we have the function e^x. It has a very special property. The value, derivative, and integral at any point on the curve is e^x ↗. It is a function that knows itself. It is a reminder for me to do the same.

• The only motif left to explain is that rectangle dividing up the space. Hopefully, it is recognizable as a ruler. This is a nod to Geometry.

That is all for this week. I’m moving on to the Flossy Fox Shop Floral Dragon Meadow SAL.

This is where it was last time you saw it.