In 1995 I finally completed a simple cross-stitch I had started many years before. It wasn’t large but it was often put aside and not worked on for months at a time. Even so, when I finished it, I felt a sense of dissatisfaction that the undertaking had not lasted long enough. The actual stitching time was minimal and the project not substantial enough.
For the next few weeks my husband and I scoured through books and pictures and discussed various possibilities for a large project. Finally, it dawned on us, that a worthy project would be the picture of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling that we had tacked to the wall. Fortunately, the restoration was recently completed and there were many books becoming available with pictures of the various scenes of the Chapel Ceiling. After purchasing a few of these books and a cross-stitch design program, I began charting.
The first challenge was to determine the final dimensions of the piece. To do this, I worked out how many stitches would be required for the rectangle surrounding the 9 panels in the center of the Chapel. From there I estimated what the width would be to encompass the lunettes on the sides of the Chapel. The overall proportions worked out to 1:2. Since the widest Aida 14 ct cloth I could buy was 50”, I purchased 2.5 yards.
Working on a scroll frame, the first piece that I stitched was the central rectangle.
