Cross stitch

I started a cross stitch of my darling Dad last year which I had every intention of finishing for Mum's 80th birthday in September last year. Unfortunately, I realised what a big project it was going to be, 12000 stitches, and with the best will in the world, it was not going to be finished in time. I was also not in the best of places to tackle a large cross stitch project and then later in the year, I took on the TEFL course.

This summer, I have done a lot of reading and decided that the cross stitch would fit in with this. It has been so hot, that I have been able to work out in the garden for some of the time too. I have now completed about 2000 stitches which is a sixth of the entire project.

I chose a photo that was taken of Dad a few days before he died, sitting in his favourite chair. As money is more of an issue now, I chose a free online program to convert the photo to a cross stitch. Because his face was slightly in the shadow, the cross stitch is much darker than I would have liked, but the more I stitch, the more I can see my Dad.

Here is the photo that the cross stitch is based on.