FFO: Mistletoe Lane

I have an actual finished object! It's not just a stitched project that I folded up and put into a bin. With inspiration from Priscilla and Chelsea from Stitching with the Housewives/Real Housewives of Cross Stitch, I took glue gun to fabric and made a thing!

I don't have much of a collection of finishing products, but I have slowly tried to add to my stash. I decided to go a little simple with this one since it's my first time finishing a cross stitch project that wasn't just putting it in a frame.

I got the frame from Amazon. It was one of the clip-style. I wasn't sure how they would be attached, but I was happy when it came in, and I unpackaged it and saw they were just held on by small screws. My trusty screwdriver took care of those in no time.

Then, the frame sat for several days while I mustered up the courage to do some gluing. A week or so ago, I purchased several 1/2 yard cuts from Fat Quarter Shop for finishing various cross stitch projects (most that aren't yet stitched). For this, I decided on Swell Christmas Pink and Red Plaid Yardage (now out of stock). I thought it would pull the red, pink, and green in this project together.

I watched one of the videos Priscilla and Chelsea made when they visited Fat Quarter Shop a few times to build up my confidence. Once I felt like I had absorbed all the knowledge I was going to, I started working out what size I wanted each of the parts. I cut my mat board for the fabric to 10.5," and my sticky board for my finished piece to 9", mostly because the Sticky Board I had on hand was 9" x 12".

I used a small piece of It's Sew Emma Cross Stitch Finishing Tape to secure the Swell Christmas fabric to the mat board before I started in with the glue gun so it wouldn't shift. Now, I hadn't touched a glue gun since sometime in the 1990s when I was a kid, and my mom was making a few decorative wreaths for the house that was all the rage back then. Actually, now that I think about it, I think my middle school replica of Mount Vernon was the last time I used a glue gun. I kind of when overboard on that project. If I had a picture, I'd show you. It was GINORMOUS.

Anyway, I carefully loaded my new glue gun, plugged it in, and waited for it to heat up. Once that was ready, I took glue to fabric and board and held my breath. I did use one layer of batting on top of the Sticky Board. I tried to center things as best I could while also trying not to burn my fingers. I pretty much succeeded!

They aren't colors that I usually decorate with, but I thought it might look nice with a multicolored light glass tree I have, so I'll definitely be using it in my house this Christmas. I'm so tickled with the final product!

Details
Pattern: Mistletoe Lane from Fat Quarter Shop
Floss: Weeks Dye Works in called for colors
Fabric: 28 Count Lugana by Zweigart in Light Ash
Total Hours Spent on Project: 70 hours, 16 minutes (which seems like a lot, but I was easily distracted during this one)

Mistletoe Lane Stitch Along Week 2

Week 2 of the Mistletoe Lane Stitch Along went significantly quicker than week 1. This was a pretty easy stitch, and it was nice to add in some additional colors to the piece. I first stitched the dark green leaves and the berries. After that, I filled in the lighter green on the leaves and stitched the stocking. I love how they’re not traditional Christmas colors. I do usually decorate in more traditional colors, but I’m excited to have this in one of the rooms I don’t usually decorate to add a little holiday flair.

I’m currently stitching week 3, which is the house. It is taking significantly longer, but I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get it done and caught up with week 4 (which is a nice small area) by this Friday.

Mistletoe Lane Stitch Along Week 1

I haven’t been shy about sharing my love for Fat Quarter Shop. My wallet may not appreciate them, but I certainly do. I so enjoy all of the content they share with their customers, and the few times I’ve had to contact Customer Service, it has been an incredibly pleasant experience.

I was into cross stitch before Fat Quarter Shop really started to be part of bringing it back, but I have a serious backlog now, in part, because of the great projects I’ve discovered through them. The project that’s been consuming my time lately has been the Mistletoe Lane Stitch Along for Jolly July.

Week one took me significantly longer than I expected. Isn’t that always the way? I feel like every time I plan to do something, it takes twice as long as I think it’s going to. I did stitch the white letters before the red banner just to help prevent the white catching any of the white.

I am using the called for Weeks Dye Works colors, but I’m not using the fabric that Fat Quarter Shop suggested. They suggest a 25ct Lugana, but I prefer at least a 28ct fabric, and while I may not prefer stitching on it, I love they way 32ct looks. I’m using 28ct Lugana in Light Ash. I prefer the tone of this shade to the recommended. I also feel like the slight difference goes a bit better with my general decor.

I’m moving on to Week 2. Maybe I can finish it before the next part is released?