FFO: Catoween Wanda + Catoween Cal
Recently, I was lucky enough to be the winner of a free copy of Stitching with the Housewives Catoween Wanda while watching Priscilla & Chelsea’s YouTube channel. I don't often win, so I was super excited! I'm not much of a Halloween person. There's less than a handful of Halloween movies I like, but I LOVE cats, so even before I tried to win this one, I knew I was going to purchase it. When Catoween Cal came out, I knew that I wanted to stitch both to add just a hint of Halloween to my decor.
I was going to stitch them on 32 count Wichelt Linen in Chalkboard, but I managed to catch when Fat Quarter Shop uploaded their Picture This Plus 28 count Lugana, so I grabbed a piece in Shadow, not knowing what I was going to do with it. After I hit purchase, I thought, "Oh, this would be great for my Catoween project!" So, as soon as it came in the mail, I trimmed two pieces and started stitching.
I used the called for Classic Colorworks but subbed DMC 3865 for the 12-Grain since that color wasn't available when I was ordering, and I have plenty of 3865. When I finished stitching, I realized that I didn't feel the fabric was quite dark enough to stand in for the design's black areas, so I dug some DMC 310 out of my stash and stitched those no-stitch areas. (I have an abundance of 310, so next time I think I need it, I do not!)
I enjoyed stitching both of these pieces. I prefer evenweave over linen, but it's a little harder to come by in the colors I want to stitch on, so when I can get it, I do. Otherwise, I make do with linen. They were reasonably quick stitches considering I feel that I am a slow stitcher.
To finish, I used sticky board that I trimmed down to fit the stitched piece, added a piece of 100% cotton, and layered the piece over the top. I did use It's Sew Emma Finishing Tape to secure it, mostly because I did not feel like dealing with the glue gun. I had a half yard of Midnight Magic plaid that I used for the background fabric. I knew I wanted to use the candy corn pick I had ordered a while ago, but I wasn't quite sure how. After messing about with the layout, I decided that I preferred the bow/candy corn combination at the bottom. I used a scrap of fabric from my stash that I tore into strips for the bow. I'm not a great bow-maker, but I don't hate the way this one came out.
Looking at these two kitties makes me smile every time I walk by!
Details
Pattern: Stitching with the Housewives Catoween Wanda, Stitching with the Housewives Catoween Cal
Floss: Classic Colorworks in called for colors but swapped 12-Grain for DMC 3865 and added DMC 310 for the pupils and pumpkin black areas
Fabric: 28ct Picture This Plus Lugana in Shadow; Finishing Fabric - Midnight Magic by April Rosenthal for Moda, random stash fabric for ribbon
Additional Finishing Items: Display Stand Set from Amazon, Candy Corn Pick from Michaels
Total Hours Spent on Project: Wanda - 8 hours, 47 minutes; Cal - 8 hours, 34 minutes, plus about an hour finishing both
