52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 2 (FAVOURITE PHOTO)
This is currently my favourite photo.
It tells a tale of love that reaches between heaven & earth.
In 2007 we visited Tillsonburg, Ontario for a family funeral, and spent time at Chris' grandparents house.
Chris' grandma Nina passed away 5 years earlier.
She had been a fantastic cross stitcher.
Chris brought 2 projects home that had been started, but not finished.
I imagine his extended family members may have wondered why he wanted to bring partially done cross stitch products home.
Several years earlier Chris had been on an ambulance call at a residence that had many beautiful cross stitch projects framed on the walls.
He asked the resident if his wife had done them.
The resident replied he had done them, and asked if Chris was surprised to hear that.
Chris said he was, but shouldn't have been AND said maybe he would try it.
As he looked at the unfinished left behind by Grandma his thought had been that it would be a perfect way to try cross stitching.
One of the projects was a half done FOOTPRINTS poem.
This was a special project for our family because grandma Nina was a friend of the author Margaret Fishback Powers.
There is conflict about who authored the poem, but our family chooses to believe grandma's friend.
**There is more about this in the sources below**
When Chris completed that first project he gifted it to his maternal grandmother for Christmas (2007) telling her the story.
The second project (above) went into a drawer due to how big a project it was..
When Chris chose to bring the two home he hadn't yet actually done any cross stitching so he had no idea of the complexity & time of that second one.
After completing the first project he began to realize the second one was a lot more, but even then he didn't really understand what a 22 count on uneven weave really entailed.
Over the next 17 years Chris' cross stitch skills have come a long way.
For many years he was a legend at work because he would cross stitch in the passenger seat of an ambulance that was driving with lights & siren in the city.
Everywhere he went over his day he carried a red fabric (Staples branded) bag with his current project inside.
Every downtime opportunity he would bring it out to work on.
He even had a partner try to forbid him from doing it saying she was worried he would poke his eye out.
He explained it helped keep him calm & relaxed which is so important in a high stress job.
As a side benefit his IV skills dramatically increased.
He was known to be able to get very challenging IV starts even while the ambulance was on bumpy roads, as well as start them upside down for the benefit of the student he was assisting.
I don't know how many times Chris looked at the project started by Grandma Nina, but after 17 years he decided it was time.
It took that long for his skill level and confidence to allow him to attempt this complicated Thomas Kinkade project.
We know it would have been one of the last projects Grandma Nina ever worked on because the pattern is copyrighted 2001 which is the year she died.
23 years later Chris finished it.
When he first started he realized the colour matching would be challenging since the already stitched had faded.
In discussion we decided the clear line of each of their work added to the story of this picture so would be left as is.
Take a look again - notice the line on the roof line, notice the sky, notice the tree.
That is what 23 years tucked in a drawer does to the colour of thread.
Feeling the love & attachment across the span of time.
Looking at the labour of love in this photo it's understandable why this is my current favourite photo.
I have no doubt Grandma Nina looked down on her grandson's labour of love with pride.
When Chris loves he never lets go!!!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
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