Oct 27 2008
one down, three to go
Several years ago, I forget exactly how many – but I don’t think we had kids yet, Don told me he wanted a handmade stocking for Christmas. His Mom had made cute little handmade stockings for each of her eight kids, which she would hang in the entry way each year when they were all living at home. As each child left home, they received a box of Christmas ornaments that were specially theirs, along with the handmade stocking. It is that stocking which made Don decide that’s what he wanted for him and for our family.
No problem, right? How much work can a handmade stocking be? I’ve always liked needlecraft, having done several cross-stitching projects growing up, so I was certain this would be fun, too! We went in search of what Don had in mind and came home with a stocking kit that we picked up at JoAnn’s. Now, I have to tell you this, I’m horrible at measurement estimating/visualizing. So when I read that it made a 28″ stocking, I thought it’d be no biggie. I was wrong!! I think I only did about 15 steps before I put the stocking away. I tend to punish my projects that I get frustrated with by shoving them in a bag and throwing them in the closet. Just ask my dear friend Debora about the polar bear bath rug I crocheted.
It wasn’t until this July that I decided to humor Don and began working on the stocking again. I was tired of his stocking whining, and figured that if he at least saw that I was working on it, that he’d leave me alone. 😆 Well, it turns out that I found this to be a very fun project to work on. It’s taken me months to complete it, and it isn’t fully done. I still have to sew on the back of the stocking. What’s keeping me from completing this is that I’m going to line the front of the stocking so that there is no chance of the threads getting snagged and broken. I’m also thinking of using grommets and ribbon, instead of the felt tab they provide you with, to hang the stocking. So for now, it’s done. The hard part is over! My Ott light died while I was making this stocking, I’m hoping to get another one soon. Since I have three more of these to crank out. Fortunately for me, the company that makes these doesn’t seem to make the Jumbo sized stockings anymore. The ones for the boys and me are “only” 18 inches. Those should be easy, right? Just don’t remind me of the advent calendar I bought …
11 responses so far
Beautiful work Emily!
wow Emily, the detail is amazing! This is truely a family treasure! You’ve done beautiful job!
Wowzas Emily – no wonder this took you so long – it’s amazing!
WOW, VERY BEAUTIFUL!!!
Emily, you should be very proud of yourself, you did an amazing job!!!
Worth every painful moment! It is stunning Emily! WOW! You rock! I SO relate to the punishing your projects thing . . . I have this adorable cross stitch of a bunny, a cross stitch pooh bear baby blanket . . . I could go on, but I won’t! LMBO! I will get to them one day!!!
Anyway, just thought I would tell you that this is wonderful!!!! Hope you are having a good week!
Wow……Emily, you have outdown yourself….once again!!!
WOW! This is stunning. You can see all the love that went into this stocking… it’s sure to be treasuered for generations to come!
Did the polar bear go extinct?!? Bwahahahahaha!!!
Don’s stocking is beautiful! You did an outstanding job! I’m just sitting here “wowing” over it. Makes me want to get rid of the ugly red fuzzy things we own. Nice job!
This is sooooo breathlessly stunning that I want to make one for myself. What a wonderful family heirloom….and a wonderful idea too….i wish my mum could sew perhaps she could have made one for me as well
[…] urgency, but now we have two mantels so have no more excuses! I posted a couple of years ago about completing Don’s stocking. Well, this past December I finally attached the back to the front as part of his Birthday presents […]