Cross-Stitch Completed!

The cross-stitch I started 7 years ago for my mom is finished! 

Goldstitch Collection “Lost No More”

12X16 inches

 

“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

Luke 15:4-7

This scripture means a lot to me because no matter where I have been in my relationship to Christ, whether I’ve been wandering in the wilderness or whether I’ve been sitting at Jesus’ feet, I have felt Him search after me as an individual.  I feel He rejoices over me personally for coming to Him.  I’ve learned that when I have come to the fold, that I’m never “just” one of the ninety and nine (“Ninety and Nine” lyrics by Michael Michael McLean).  I will always have a need to draw closer to Christ through His grace and through my doing everything I can to come before Him with pure hands and a clean heart  (Alma 5:19).

The History

My mom and I were walking through Michaels when we saw this beautiful cross-stitch kit.  After gushing over it a while, we decided that it would make a prefect Christmas present for my mom.  In my naïveté I thought I could finish it in less than  year.  I had completed a few cross-stitch patterns for various members of my family and they only took me a month to do.  (They were simple.)  I knew this was bigger, but I had no idea how involved this would be.  It’s so complicated because most of the squares are made up of more than one color.  Plus it’s big:  12X16 inches, the squares are small, and the design is intricate.

This was my first attempt. 

I started with one color and decided to do as much of that one color as I could because I didn’t want to have to keep switching threads. I worked on it during two years’ worth of LDS General Conference. But somewhere along the line I miscounted. It got to the point where it would have taken more time to pull it all out than to just start over again.  In the end, it became my own parable of how it’s important to follow the instructions in the first place, not ignore little mistakes (like I had done), and it’s never too late to start over.

So I bought another kit.  This was the progress:

I worked on it during General Conference, while I watched movies and while I listened to audio books and podcasts.  I wanted it done before the baby came, so I devoted what must have been three solid weeks to finishing it this summer.

And now it’s done! 

This should cover Mother’s Day, Christmas, and birthday presents for my mom for the rest of my life!  Love you, Mom.