Great Wave Stitch-a-Long, part 1

Hi everyone! It's happy dance time!

Last time I had decided to work on both the Starry Night embroidery and the sashiko bag. And, well, I finished the stitching on both! In fact, I got my sewing machine out and actually finished off the bag:

I had some fun fabric printed with origami rabbits, which seemed like a good match, so used it for the lining. 

It's fun and satisfying to make something "useful" -- though to be honest, I use the other sashiko bag I made a couple of years ago to hold.... you guessed it, my sashiko supplies!

I also finished the stitching on the Starry Night embroidery:

I got into a rhythm and by the time I started to embroider the cypress trees in the foreground I was really happy with it. Amusingly, when I compare it to Van Gogh's painting, the color is much different. But I still like the piece. 

The real challenge, now, is to figure out what to do with it now that it's done. I mean, I'm pretty sure we have established that I don't need any more pillows! And I don't want to hang it on the wall. The circular shape makes it a little more challenging, weirdly, as does the fact that it's 8" in diameter. I suspect I'll end up appliquéing to something... but I don't know what. I'd welcome suggestions! 

So... the next project. It's Hokusai's "Great Wave off Kanugawa". 

It's a large piece, 206x140 stitches. I've decided to break it into smaller pieces, though I've never done a large, full-coverage cross stitch project like this so I honestly don't know how big each section should be! But for now I've cut off one strip from the right side of the very large chart and diving in. Not much to see yet!

At the end of three weeks I'll have a better idea of how long this will take. But I suspect you'll be seeing this project for a Very Long Time. 

In the meantime, please visit the blogs of the other stitchers in this stitch-a-long -- you're sure to be inspired by all the amazing things they do!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, and Helen.