This cross stitch pattern of the Milkmaid is both exciting and challenging.  As with many experiences in life, the more challenging the process, the more satisfying the outcome.  Tackling a full coverage counted cross stitch pattern  may be different than other patterns that you have attempted.  It may be different in respect to length, complexity, or style.
 
The painting shows a milkmaid, a woman who milks cows and makes dairy products like butter and cheese, in a plain room carefully pouring milk into a squat earthenware container on a table. Milkmaids began working solely in the stables before large houses hired them to do housework as well rather than hiring out for more staff. Also on the table in front of the milkmaid are various types of bread. She is a young, sturdily built woman wearing a crisp linen cap, a blue apron and work sleeves pushed up from thick forearms. A foot warmer is on the floor behind her, near Delft wall tiles depicting Cupid (to the viewer's left) and a figure with a pole (to the right). Intense light streams from the window on the left side of the canvas.