World Mapa Cross Stitch Kit by Design Works

I loved the idea of this design with all the details, the buildings and animals. Although I'm an experienced cross stitcher I haven't done a project of this size in one piece. They suggest you start in the middle, which I did, and now that I'm about 2/3 rds done, it turns out I miscounted by 10 stitches and will have to cheat to make it fit the fabric, leave things out or shift the Americas downward - it's not the end of the world, but it would have been nice if they'd allowed for more space by providing a larger piece of fabric. The floss arrived in quite a tangle and it took me two evenings to figure out which color is which, wind each one up on paper and mark it. The difference in color is very subtle, and it's very hard to figure out which is which - I'm taking liberties and stocking up with my own supplies. The chart pattern comes in 3 separate parts, I added the grid to make counting easier. The markings are too small for working comfortably. Ideally, you would enlarge the pattern by at least 50%, but I don't have a copier, and if you enlarge it, you run into the problem of matching the edges. They're not very clear the way it is, even though overlapping areas are shaded. The outlines of the motives frequently cover up the color symbols, so it's your guess what color to choose. In spite of these disadvantages I like the pattern, enjoy working on it and I'm determined to finish.