Jacqueline Carmichael For the VI Free Daily

Maggie HansfordB次元官网网址檚 master work has languished without a home for almost two decades.

Her eyes are failing and she feels the twilight years encroaching. SheB次元官网网址檇 like to find a home for the huge needlework tapestry of manB次元官网网址檚 first steps on the moon.

The Port Alberni resident painstakingly stitched the six-foot-by-eight-foot picture over a dozen years, finishing in 1999.

Its threads lead back to the romance between her father, Kenneth, Hansford and CanadaB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渁rtist in wool,B次元官网网址� Elizabeth LeFort.

B次元官网网址淭his is my fatherB次元官网网址檚 dreamB次元官网网址� this is nothing to do with me,B次元官网网址� Maggie Hansford said modestly.

Her father, Kenneth Hansford, had a gift shop on Cape BretonB次元官网网址檚 Cabot Trail. He opened the Paul Pix Boutique in a Nova Scotia barn after attending Banff School of Fine Arts in the 1950s to learn how to hand-colour photography.

The elder Hansford met Elizabeth LeFort when he was looking for works for his gallery.

LeFortB次元官网网址檚 work became a staple of his successful shop, and her detailed hooked rug portraits of famous scenes and individuals found homes in major galleries as well as Rideau Hall, Buckingham Palace, the White House and the Vatican.

So when Kenneth wanted to create a needlepoint that captured the majesty of manB次元官网网址檚 first steps on the moon, he turned to NASA for images B次元官网网址� and to LeFort for stitching detail on the astronaut. But time ran out after the elder Hansford suffered a stroke and rehabilitation. He lived to see his famed wife receive the Order of Canada in 1987, but not to make a dent in the needlepoint that topped his bucket list.

B次元官网网址淲hen his eyesight started going, he needed somebody to work it,B次元官网网址� Maggie recalled.

She was on disability; she broke her back in 1964, and had surgery to repair it, but hasnB次元官网网址檛 been able to work at a job for decades.

The linen mesh background was specially cut in Nova Scotia. At 6 feet by 8 feet, itB次元官网网址檚 a size most needleworkers wonB次元官网网址檛 even dream of attempting.

An artist from Saltspring Island transferred the images to the massive linen canvas woven on Cape Breton. Hansford then used it as a guide, but did her own colour blending with hundreds of shades of embroidery wool.

She started the work in 1986, working in wool needlepoint, with starry and metallic accents done in synthetic yarn.

She finished it in 1999.

B次元官网网址淚 said, B次元官网网址業tB次元官网网址檚 done, I kept my promise,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she recalled.

B次元官网网址淚 felt relief. I did it B次元官网网址� I kept my promise to my dad.B次元官网网址�

Between the moonscape, the earth in the distance, the stars and the lunar lander and the astronaut, Hansford said sheB次元官网网址檚 amazed when people first notice the American flag.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a mankind topic B次元官网网址� as far back as when Hector was a pup, since back when Icarus flew too close to the sun, itB次元官网网址檚 been human nature to want to explore and be part of space,B次元官网网址� she said.

Maggie Hansford said whether youB次元官网网址檙e landing on the moon or investing thousands of hours and a million stitches in a needlepoint about it, the message is the same.

B次元官网网址淲e need to enjoy the things that we can accomplish, whatever they may be,B次元官网网址� she said.

Hansford said sheB次元官网网址檚 hoping to attract the interest of major luminaries on either the Canadian or American science or history scenes B次元官网网址� perhaps even someone like Commander Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to command a space flight.

B次元官网网址淐hris HadfieldB次元官网网址檚 into the arts, and he believes in dreams and fulfilling your dream,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 bringing the promise to a close B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 fulfilling a promise,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淛ust finding a home for it would be great B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 willing to sell it now, too, as far as that goes, but I want to find a home for it,B次元官网网址� she said.

The piece has been displayed at several regional museums and galleries around the Island, as well as at events while she worked on it.

Just unfurling the work from its cement roll protector prompts passing people to stop and admire the handiwork.

B次元官网网址淭his is incredible B次元官网网址� it should be in a museum, itB次元官网网址檚 that special,B次元官网网址� said Port Alberni resident Annette Hamel.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 so much work into this, itB次元官网网址檚 spectacular. This is a piece of art that should have a special home.B次元官网网址�

While pouring thousands of hours into creating and then promoting the project has consumed much of her free time, Hansford said her greatest achievement is three grown children and six grandchildren.

Macular degeneration is quickly stealing away HansfordB次元官网网址檚 eyesight B次元官网网址� and that has motivated her friend Sharron Bartlett to try to help her find a permanent home for the stellar piece.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 like other people to see and appreciate what she has put into it, while she can still appreciate it herself,B次元官网网址� Bartlett said.