Christmas Stockings

So I have to be honest and come clean. My struggle with the daily grind of being a stay-at-home mom has been due to more than just two little boys and their endless shenanigans. But it could, quite possibly be due to THREE little boys!...or two little boys and a little girl! Yes, Asmussen #3 is on the way (due July 15th) and I'm dragging my tired self through the middle of the first trimester. I have to admit that I am a little spoiled in that I don't suffer with morning sickness. Never have. But I do have major exhaustion. Seriously, I absolutely have to lay down and take at least a thirty minute nap while the boys are sleeping or I just can't make it through the day!

That's why these little Christmas fancies have taken longer than I expected to complete. Back in October I decided I wanted to make Mark's mom stockings for Christmas. She invested in a new house a few years back, got a new Christmas tree last year, and is gradually adding Christmas decorations to her collection. Now that she's adding grandbabies as well, I thought it would be fun to make stockings for each grandchild as they come along.

The stockings were super easy to make. I just took an old cheapy stocking that we had, traced it to create a pattern, cut out pieces of fabric, lining, and batting (to make them thicker and have a quilted feel) and sewed them together. I couldn't pass on the vintage Santy (as Kolbe calls him) fabric for the body of the stockings!

Not wanting them to be too plain, I used a little gold ric rac I had left over from an old Halloween costume to embellish the border and then hand blanket stitched felt cut-outs of the kids' initials for the top.

I had to try them out on our mantle for size, though their permanent home will be at Miss Lora's house with the cute stocking hangers I found at Target to complete her gift.

 

As for the third stocking, I opted not to stitch down the question mark. Hey, we've already used the middle name "Mark" once! (haha!) Can't wait to find out what initials will adorn this stocking next year!

And while we're at it, I just thought I'd share a few pictures of the stockings that do hang from our mantle. I have mentioned several times before that my mom has crazy sewing skills. These are the stockings that she made for the boys. All by hand, none-the-less.



I love the dimension that the characters have, and all the hand-stitched details! Each tiny sequin holds a bead on top. I just don't have the patience! But hopefully (*hint hint*) we'll have an adorable third stocking hanging from the mantle next year!