Click here for Hope, the beginning.

Now that I've expressed my political leanings, let's talk about this piece.

It's beautifully expressive and artistic in it's simplicity (the cross-stitch design is only 15 colors, no blends). I'm really drawn to it esthetically, as well as the simple word, "Hope." (It is also interesting to note that the photo is now involved in a legal battle between the photographer and the Associated Press.)

So here's the original (the pattern can be found and purchased here):

This time around, I took the time to sew along the edges (no factory edge and I haven't learned to use my sewing machine yet) and grid. For the grid, I did horizontal only, every 10 down, going in and out every 10 to the right, and I offset the lines.

Here's the stitched version, after a few days (1 over 1 on 28 count evenweave):

8 May 2009

Getting closer to where I was on the first attempt. This is nearly all the sky blue on the first page.

30 June 2009

Well, I passed where I was before.

9 September 2009

Well, it's been a while since an update. There's now red on the canvas, and even a little white has started to show up!