Last fall, a longtime friend of mine got married. The wedding was held in India and the following reception near Minneapolis, and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend either event. Even so, I wanted to send them a really nice wedding gift, so when I came across a cross-stitch kit of Ganesh, I thought it would be perfect for me to make and frame. I did a little research and found that Ganesh is often associated with weddings (or other new beginnings), so it seemed ideal.

It was my first major cross-stitch project, and I really had no idea how long something like this would take. The only other pieces I’d done before were quite small or had been set aside well before I’d even gotten far into them. So, of course, working on Ganesh took me awhile longer than I expected, and I was unable to send it before the wedding and reception happened. I kept at it though, working on “him” while I watched TV and taking “him” with me to craft group meetings.

Eventually, after 6 or 7 months of stitching — and occasional unstitching and stitching again — I finished. I think the whole thing literally involved blood, sweat, and tears at some point throughout the process, but I definitely learned a lot about cross-stitch, like how long it really takes to complete such a large piece!

I made sure to be very careful with the piece, and washed, dried, and steam-ironed it ever so carefully. I was a bit anxious when I took the prepped piece to a framing shop, worried that they’d accidentally ruin it somehow, but it was fine.

I sent Ganesh to Minnesota last week, and “he” arrived today, safe and sound, and “he” was welcomed with open arms. My friend and her husband were really happy with it and called to tell me how much they really liked it. Despite being quite late, they thought it was the best gift they’d received and it will be the first thing to grace the new home they’re looking for. They even hinted that if I ever made something like this again, that they’d love to have it, hehe.

So, after many months of keeping Ganesh a secret (except from craft group friends), here are some photos of him, including a number of close-up shots. (These were taken before the piece was framed, so please forgive the wrinkles.)