The idea for this site started in
Thanksgiving 2008, when my sister complained that the photo cross
stitching software on the web was way too expensive. She liked the guide
published in Craft magazine (vol. 07), but found
that reading the pattern produced by the guide was somewhat
difficult to read, as was figuring out which thread colors to match
to the colors in the image. So as a present to my sister, I decided
to make a web site that would take care of those pesky details,
automate the process as much as possible, produce nice results, and
most importantly, be free for anyone to use.
In a fortuitous coincidence, a short while later I received an
invitation to test Google App Engine, which provides a platform
to host web applications. Over winter break, I set out with gusto
to develop this web site. Along the way my brother, sister, and
parents helped test, debug, and improve the site, and I can't thank
them enough for their efforts.
About me: I'm currently a graduate student studying computer science, and am generally interested in the interaction of technology and art, language, and other human endeavors. However, while I know about programming, everything I know about cross stitching was picked up by examples I came across on the web. If you have any suggestions for improvements, please let me know.