Go Big, or Go Home!

So, after completing several small counted cross stitch projects, it was time to try a bigger one.  I found one at the local Michael's that was too cute to pass up. The others took about a month or two to finish, I can't exactly remember now.  This one was going to take a while.  My boyfriend at the time (now husband, Andrew) was astonished at my determination to work on something so big. The finished design was 11"x11".  The ones I'd done previously were 5"x7".   I remember taking the kit to his parents house and laying out all the thread an organizing it.  I'd never seen so much floss before!!!  The chart was spread out over two pages!  It looked daunting. 


Back then (this would have been about 2004-2005), I wasn't keeping track of start dates and finished dates.  I don't remember exactly how long this one took to finish, but I think it was well over a year.  I don't stitch every day.  I go through spurts where I do it nightly for a week or two, then take a break for a week or two.  Sometimes the breaks are a lot longer.  


It's so fun to see the design evolving as I stitch.  My other half, Andrew,  suggested that we take photos of my progress, but I never did get around to doing that. Perhaps now that I have this medium I will do that more.  I recently joined a cross stitching forum where they do that - it's actually a great idea.  It's called "stitch-a-long".  I've started doing that a few projects I recently started and will be posting those updates in future posts.

The best part about finishing a project?  Getting it framed!!!  Here's what the final product looks like framed. (Sorry for the glare).  

So, I survived my first big project, and there was no going back!