Great Wave Off Kanagawa - Cross Stitch

I decided I wanted to make a big cross stitch piece for my brother, for Xmas this year. This is the first piece of this size that I'll have done, and I am so excited to see it once it's complete!

Beware, this post is VERY image heavy as I'm showing you about 16 days worth of progress that adds up to the first half only being done on this one...

The original pattern can be found on this Etsy seller's page and below is the digital version of the pattern's final image.

It's a much simpler version than the original piece, shown below, I know, but this is actually something that I CAN FINISH this decade!! But it's much more detailed, and prettier, isn't it? Being realistic about my abilities and time however seemed a bit more prudent when choosing which to stitch...

And now for the "daily" progress pics. I worked nearly every day with some exceptions, to be mentioned when you get to those....

As you can see, I decided to use a pencil (of all things) to mark my starting points. I lost my silly water soluble/disappearing ink marker, and thought this would be a good substitute! I am pretty sure you can't see the marks through the stitches, and I'm REALLY hoping if there is anything visible when I'm done, it'll wash out..? *fingers crossed**

Also, this is my first time using a Q-Snap frame. It's....alright..... I like the idea of not having to worry about a hoop's crease, on the fabric or disrupting the stitches, and the possible stain it could have on fabric that we all encounter once in a while,... but my issues with this frame are that I need a bigger one (not particularly the frame's fault on that one, but still awkward when you don't have a big enough one) but also that it's a little awkward to hold/grip as well as the fact that I have to tighten the top clips very frequently to keep my fabric taught enough for my liking to stitch on. Now, I know that people sometimes use a stand that would be clamped down on the frame to hold it, but the only stand I have right now mixed with the deep couches we have doesn't quite reach far enough; I have to lean over not just forward but down, and after just an hour or so of stitching, my back is KILLING me!!

I'll be looking in to getting/making a lap stand and/or a replacement floor stand that reaches far in and up enough, but in the meantime, I have to continue to hold this darn thing...oh well!

Now, on to the image journey through my progress!!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

This is part of Day 4, with all the white done, before I started the turquoise. I was just so happy that 2 colors did SO much of the one quad! :)

Day 4

Day 4 back, just to give you an idea of how I'm keeping it looking! 

Day 5

Day 6

Once I was complete on day 6, with the first quadrant (yay!), and had started on the next quadrant (not pictured), I then took the piece with me outside to a bar to hang out with my fiance and some friends..... That's when I noticed something that's very hard to see in the pictures, and just as hard to see with the lighting I have at home unfortunately... I was using the WRONG WHITE!!! 

The circled section below shows the area where I basically ran out of the white I was using, and started using a new bobbin. What I failed to realize was I'd been using the DMC color B5200 for nearly all this quadrant, and when I ran out, I picked up "White" as they call it, and started using that... Turns out, B5200 is a MUC brighter white than the self named.... **siiigh**

 You can see here how I had frogged the "White" from the 1st quadrant, and replaced already the section I'd done on the bottom of the 2nd quadrant (I just hadn't gotten back to the 1st quadrant to replace it yet in this picture). This progress actually came after a 2-week hiatus as I was pretty aggravated at having to spend 45 minutes frogging all the wrong white and I was too upset to pick it up again for a while... teehee?

Day 7

Days 8, 9, and 10. I forgot to take progress pics at the end of each day, and decided just to take the one once the white was complete for this whole quadrant. 

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13 

Day 14

Day 15

 And I've completed half of this cross stitch piece, in 16ish days, and here's the biggest reveal of all...

Day 16

 The hours put in at this point? 

**DRUMROLL PLEASE**

Total hours worked: 62 hours!!

Yikes!

Is my brother really worth this much work...? lol, I'm just kidding, yes, yes he is. And he better darn well LOVE this present once I finish it, frame it, and send it to him!! haha

As a side-note, I acknowledge that most of these pictures aren't that great or easy to look at, and it's difficult to really see my progress...I will try to work on getting better pictures at some point, but the most important one will of course be the final product front, back, and framed! And you can be sure that those pictures will be way better than these! :)

Craft ya laters!! :)