Stockings

A little over a year ago, I felt it was my responsibility as the wife to put together some Christmas stockings. Mark and I both grew up with "special" stockings, but I felt we needed our own. Thus began probably the longest project ever....

I borrowed a pattern and extra material from my younger sister Cheriss. I figured since she has as much sewing experience as I do, it can't be that hard since hers turned out way cute...sometimes I forget that sewing is probably the lowest rated talents I have.

So as a diligent wife, I set down one afternoon, pulled out the pattern and tried hopelessly to pin it. No one told me pining the pattern to the BACK of the material where it was less "slippery" would make it much easier. Feeling like I was about to ruin Christmas, marriage and life, I called my mom ready to burst into tears. We arranged for a Saturday to go out to their house and get help. Due to time constraints, I got as far as cutting out the 4 pieces and trimming the fur around the edges for the seam area. I ended up taking my old stocking to California for Christmas.

11 1/2 months later.......
I was once again determined to finish this project. Away to work I (well...we, with my mom's HUGE  assistance) went. The white trimming on the first one was easy after my mom pinned it. Finishing my first stocking I guess I became a little overconfident and decided I didn't need to double check the pinning job with my mom. Thank goodness for seam rippers. She managed to save (well unstitch and resew) the trimming on the second.They turned into a 50/50 project between my mom and I.

When it comes time to make another stocking, I will be choosing an easier fabric to work with. Otherwise, our children will grow up having Christmas baskets (and probably need therapy). I wonder if I could make a business out of that for parents who don't want store bought stockings, but don't want to sew their own: pre-decorated Christmas baskets.

Christmas Time Is Here

Confession: I love A Charlie Brown Christmas so much that I will watch it repetitively through the season. We traditionally watch it Thanksgiving night after dessert. Less than 2 weeks later, I made Mark sit with me so I could watch it again Monday night. It's just such a feel-good classic that only takes 25 minutes to indulge in.......

There is no snow on the ground, but it is December 8th and today's high was 32 degrees. It is definitely Christmas time, but there is a serious lack of snow on the ground. On Monday night, Mark and I decorated as our "family home evening" activity. However, as seen below, these decorations took longer to pull out from the closet than to put up and decorate. Our little tree stands 3 feet tall and comes pre-lit. Although the bottom ornaments are a little big, they are "must haves" no matter how small our tree is. Housing does not allow live Christmas trees. So for as long as we have this job, this little one will have to do. (And one day, I will find a respectable star. But since they would all be too big, the bendable snowman serves as a happy greeter when you walk into our home.)

 I just finished this latch hook today. I had fun doing it. Sure it's not as "crafty" as a cross-stitch or sewing stockings (last year's project that will HOPEFULLY get finished this weekend), but it was a cheap way to have one more Christmas decoration with the satisfaction of my own work put into it.

 This is as close to getting a nativity as I've gotten this year. I may splurge if the bookstore still has the one I liked left. But we don't have a lot of places to put decorations anyways so I'm trying not to get carried away. The nice thing about having a "red" kitchen is it definitely helps look more Christmas-y. My grandma also made Christmas coasters that go nicely with our place mats. Thanks to my mother-in-law for buying this for me!

We are getting so excited to celebrate Christmas with "just us" this year. We will be of course joining my parents and family later for Christmas dinner (and Christmas Eve dinner at In N Out), but we're excited for our first Christmas where we can start our own traditions. And with our new TV, how can the day not be great with plenty of sappy Christmas shows to pick from? We just hope we get some snow before then to add to the "magic" of Christmas. The next week doesn't look too promising. Ironically, a year ago we were getting pelted with snow and weren't sure if we would get to California for Christmas in time!