Cross stitch

I have had an urge to do some cross stitch. I've felt it for 2-3 weeks now, so I don't think it's going to go away unless I do some. I have a box of thread and some patterns somewhere. But I found a really cool pattern online that I want to do. It is a Celtic World Tree at Heaven and Earth Designs. Very cool looking. It would probably take me months to complete, but I could use it as the main focus of a new blanket for my son, or as very cool wall art.

But cross stitch is so expensive to get started. I would need to buy the pattern (not bad at $15), the fabric (which has been surprisingly hard to find. 25 count is not that common, but I did find a local store that carries it for about $15), and I need a frame. The frame is the expesive part. I have hoops, but I don't really like them for big projects, and had previously decided that I would buy a frame set for my next big project. They run anywhere from $25 and up. So I'm looking at a cost of $50, before I even buy thread.  know I have a ton of thread, so I'd definitely need to find it and go through to determine what I actually need to buy.

Now if I just had the extra $50 or so to get started...