As I get older, my eyesight gets worse, so I try to avoid counted stitch projects. I need the design to be printed on the canvas like this one. However, due to the intricacies of this gorgeous design, I still managed to miss a few stitches even when using a magnifying glass on top of thick reading glasses.
There were also some hues that were too close to each other in color for me to differentiate between them, so I had to consult the legend repeatedly. However, pinpointing a tiny spot on the canvas and matching it up perfectly with a tiny spot in the middle of the guide was no easy feat since the guide was blown up into two large pages. Figuring out whether the middle spot I was working was on the left page or the right page was a struggle. I decided to go rogue in the last few stitches, picking whatever colors I saw fit.
My other challenges with this project included me repeatedly dropping the needle and having it slip down the side of the couch onto the floor. I had to crawl around with a flashlight several times to locate it. I also kept "losing" floss, only to discover that it had stuck to my clothes and fell off somewhere in the house or garage. Fortunately, there was plenty of extra floss left over by the time the project was done, so I really didn't need to worry.
Because I used the continental stitch mostly throughout, there is a lot of stretching that needs to be done at the moment. I think I am on my fourth stretch. If I do a similar project in the future, I will have to remember to use the basketweave stitch as much as possible to prevent distortion of the canvas. The continental stitch usually results in a parallelogram shape instead of a square, so I have to mist the needlepoint with water, stretch and pin it to a bulletin board repeatedly until I get it as close to a square as I can.
I think I will opt to make a pillow since cording and fabric are much less expensive than large frames. It should be beautiful when finished.
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