Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Stockings Were Hung...


So last week I finally made Becca a Christmas stocking.  I saw this stocking a few weeks ago, tweaked it and made it my own.   OK, quite honestly, I couldn't figure out the directions the first two times I read it, so I just winged it.  Not exactly the same but good.  :)

When I finished, Colleen asked why Becca got a prettier stocking.  It is definitely the prettiest of the stockings.  So pretty in fact that when I first hung it up I felt a bit uncomfortable.  Like it was a stocking that would be found in a matchy-matchy-home-decor type of house - not ours.  We don't have a great place to hang the stockings, so we hang them from the window latches.  I think I actually like that better than having them on a mantle because it spreads the Christmas decorations though out the house.

So let's take a look at the other, less pretty, stockings - a journey if you will - following the development of my tastes and skills.


The red stocking on the left is mine.  It was made for me when I was a baby by my Grandma Doreen.  She knit it and it says BABE on the side.  I always thought it was cool that my stocking was super long and had bells.

On the right is the stocking I made for Brian the first year we were married.  His stocking from when he was  a kid had been eaten by the dog.  :(  I think I wanted to go for a masculine rugged country feel.  Not what I would choose today.  It is made of flannel and unlined.  Unlined?  How far we have come.  :)

This is Emily's stocking.  I made it when my husband was in graduate school.  I remember sitting on the craft store floor and setting out the pieces of felt and figuring out exactly how many I needed.  You know you're poor when you don't want to spend 25 cents on an unnecessary piece of felt.  :)

Aleah's stocking.  Still in graduate school, but with a larger stipend.  :)  Made of flannel, fleece and buttons.  The back side has snowflakes made out of white buttons.  I must have had a lot of time that year.  I still really love this stocking.

Colleen's stocking.  Ok, she did get the short end of the stick.  When I was in college, my roommate's mom made each of us a stocking one Christmas and I hung onto mine.  One year Emily decided that she didn't like her stocking.  (She was a real pill about it.)  So I cut off the cuff of the stocking that said my name on it and replaced it with the red cuff.  When Colleen was old enough to need a stocking I already had this one and she liked it so...  that's just what she got.  A hand-me-down stocking.  If it was ugly I would feel sorrier for her, but it is totally cute.  I might applique on a big C on the heal to dress it up a bit though.

Kate's stocking was made a bit before I did the Crazy Quilt Along.  Can you tell?  I really like all the reds, the polka dots and the touch of green rick-rack.  So that is our stocking journey.

It snowed a few days ago and is starting to snow again.  Snow is so much prettier than dead grass.  :)   I hope you all have a great Christmas!


7 comments:

  1. I love the stocking stories, thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas to all of you.

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  2. Love the history of the stocking! I still use my little girl stocking too. ;-)

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  3. You could sew a bow on Colleen's stocking if she wanted one! I don't think any of them are ugly. Unique is good and each one is!

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  4. This is such a fun post and I think Colleen's stocking is super cute!

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  5. The reason your stocking has BABE on it is that it was knit and filled with goodies the Christmas before you were born. Not sure if you knew that or not. Makes me smile when I see her knitting....

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