Most folks have seen and understand how cross stitch works ... you make "X"s with thread until you make a picture. Most people, though, think of stamped cross stitch ... the stuff your grandmothers or maiden great aunts did, making tablecloth after tablecloth with flowers and cornucopias and holly leaves on them.
Or pillowcases with cute little pictures.
That's not the kind of thing I do. I do counted cross stitch. You start with a blank piece of fabric and a chart indicating where the stitches in what colors should go. You find the middle of the fabric, the middle of the chart, and that's where you begin, and work your way out toward the edges of the design.
Here is a finished piece and a graph from a kit.
