Woman takes 27 years to finish cross-stitch kit

A woman has completed a cross-stitch kit nearly three decades after starting it.

Molly Lofas, 54, from West Haddon in Northamptonshire, began sewing the design - a hedgehog playing the saxophone - in 1997, after receiving it as a gift.

She admitted she had been on the cusp of "abandoning" the project several times, but since "it witnessed all these bits of [her] life", she felt compelled to finish it.

Ms Lofas said by persevering, she wanted to "bring hope to other crafters" and inspire them to finish "no matter how hard the piece".

The kit travelled with Ms Lofas "all over Europe" for 27 years worth of holidays and work trips, including to Austria, Slovakia, Wales, and the Peak District.

She said doing the cross-stitch - a type of decorative sewing where one stitch crosses another - was a way to keep "her hands occupied".

The usual time frame for a kit is two weeks, but "distractions" got in the way of Ms Lofas finishing.

She said she felt a "quiet triumph" after completing the piece and joked "hopefully it won't take so long to get it framed!"

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