Hi Paulgen 2,
So sorry to hear you are disappointed with our design. We do have over 500 Artecy designs that use around 10 colours or less. Our larger designs like this one do use alot of colours to make them photo realistic to the original Artwork or Photographs and they can be more of a challenge. It can help to stitch them in a different way then you may be used to, as if you are stitching a row at a time and changing your needle all the time that would be very annoying and frustrating.
I have stitched many of these designs myself and have seen many tips and tricks people use to stitch these type of designs so I am listing some below and I can help you with any queries you have.
We try to make our patterns as easy to read as possible. Alot of people do photocopy patterns at a larger size to make them easy on the eyes or they make a photocopy just to use as a personal use only working copy, which we are fine with. I use a lamp with a magnifier on it to see the pattern easily, best investment I have ever made, as when I get a chance, I mostly stitch at night.
You will notice alot of colour changes with these style of patterns.
We suggest to make it a little less daunting for you to just concentrate on 1 page at a time and each 10 x 10 square at a time. Stitch all the stitches of the same colour in that 10 x 10 square or nearby before changing to the next colour. As the pattern is totally filled you will not see your cotton travelling behind the fabric a small distance.Note if you stitch in blocks or sections like this you can sometimes see the lines between each section, especially if you leave a project for awhile, so it is recommended to stitch a few colours to the left, right up and below, just so you do not have straight square blocks of stitches.
Many customers also stitch these in a cross country style like I do so they stitch as many stitches as they can of the one colour in the same area, before changing colours. Some use highlighters on the pattern to mark stitches done if you have trouble following the stitches you have completed. I personally use a yellow highlighter on the pattern to mark the stitches of one colour I am going to stitch on a page and then after I complete those stitches I use a blue highlighter to go over the yellow ones stitched and then I know I have completed them. Then I move onto the next symbol and colour. Just using highlighters seems to help break up all the symbols and make them easier to see.
Hopefully this information will help if you decide to try again or if you do a similar pattern in this style from us or another designer.
If you like I can remove the background from behind the cat for you and send you an amended pattern, just email me at artecy@artecy.com.
If you have any further queries please let me know.
Thanks and Best Wishes
Tereena Clarke
Artecy Cross Stitch