[I am following Anne Brooke‘s 2021 #52tagshannemade slow stitch challenge to make a little tag every week of the year – see them all here!] Anne meant for this week’s theme to be “kisses” represented by crosses (like XOXO), but I had already known what my memento for the week would be about and sweet loving kisses was not it. I still used the cross motif, but it is more meant to be “at a crossroad” and I chose twine to represent the “tug of war” involved.

I selected green as my color range to represent money, envy, and Robin Hood (though of course, other companies are involved). Some of the fabric was scrappier than others – the poor vs. the rich. The gemstone for wealth. The gold beads raining down – or are they raining up? – representing the fluctuation of money changing hands. The crossed twine, as I mentioned, being the war between the haves and the havenots.

And so my message on the back should be of no surprise to you, if you’ve been following anything about the unprecedented stock market gamble. I have a fondness for Gamestop because it made up such a big part of my life growing up (until the internet and digital games made them irrelevant and their prices made it all that much worse). To find it at this center of a weird struggle for control is neat. And that people are holding the line, laying waste to the riches and redistributing funds back to the 99% is neat. That the rich are tossing out terms like “regulation” and “market manipulation” is neat. I have a lot more thoughts about this entire event but as I mentioned before, I do try to remain apolitical. If you’re interested in my opinions, I’ll happily share them directly, just contact me. What an interesting time we live in, I’ll say that.