I find I need really good bright light to cross stitch nowadays. Direct sunlight or a daylight Ottlight.
One thing I found helpful on larger projects is to mark the large 1-inch squares of the pattern with sewing thread. Say it's 11 squares to the inch, so every 11 stitches I would use a contrasting sewing thread with big running stitches. That way you don't have to look at the whole pattern, just the square(s) you're working on.