I'm not in cooking/baking mode today (it's been a long few days with little girls taking turns being sick- hence no posts over the weekend), so instead I'm going to share things I've made in the past! Especially since I want to work on E's Christmas stocking, but am waiting until I'm done posting today's entry!
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Each of my 
immediate family has a Christmas stocking that I have made them- counted cross-stitch (no preprinted kits for this crafter!). B now complains hers is "too small" (it is!) and wants me to make her a new one. I told her when she gets married someday, I'll make her & her hubby matching/coordinating stockings (hmmm... she's already 18- maybe I should start now, as they take a LONG time!).
immediate family has a Christmas stocking that I have made them- counted cross-stitch (no preprinted kits for this crafter!). B now complains hers is "too small" (it is!) and wants me to make her a new one. I told her when she gets married someday, I'll make her & her hubby matching/coordinating stockings (hmmm... she's already 18- maybe I should start now, as they take a LONG time!). ---
C used a store-bought "Baby's 1st Christmas stocking" her first year, and shared with me her 2nd year (she was all of 17m & really didn't care anyway...), but now hers is done. She likes to say the three snowmen on it are Mama, Daddy & herself. Or else the three sisters. The pattern came with the embroidery floss, etc and went with me on various trips (even Alaska!) etc, before it was finally finished. I just hope all the french knots stay put through the years so I don't have to try & redo the little buggers!
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E was born 4 days before Christmas, so she used "Baby's 1st" also, and shared mine this past year. My goal is to have hers done for THIS Christmas- I'm probably about 40% done
, but am enjoying doing it, so that is what counts! It is a similar style to my own (pictured near the bottom), but has a Christmas tree with presents at the toe, a armoire full of stuffed animals, a bassinet near the heel and a multi-paned window looking out on a friendly moon and some dangling star charms that I had to search high & low for (Ben Franklin Crafts finally had them :).
, but am enjoying doing it, so that is what counts! It is a similar style to my own (pictured near the bottom), but has a Christmas tree with presents at the toe, a armoire full of stuffed animals, a bassinet near the heel and a multi-paned window looking out on a friendly moon and some dangling star charms that I had to search high & low for (Ben Franklin Crafts finally had them :).---
D's was done *years* ago- even before mine. They were not completely "finished" (stitched but not sewn all the way together) until my mom had pity on me 2 years ago & did that part for me (I was 9m pg, after all!). I've always liked to think his could be a snap shot from his childhood- out playing in the snow with his brother. They have always been VERY close (BIL & his wife & 2 sons live 30 minutes away), so that would have been them exactly!
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Finally- we c
ome to my own. I LOVED working on this- not that the patch-work denim ones my mom had made us as kids weren't OK... I just wanted something unique for my own family. I found a pattern I loved in a Cross-Stitch magazine (a hand-me-down magazine, even!) and tweaked the colors just a little to use what I had, etc. I remember buying the material... I'd always stuck to inexpensive Aida cloth... but this called for a very finely woven cloth in a specific color (mushroom!). I think it cost me about $15 (quite a few years ago)- definitely more than I'd ever spent before! Because it was so fine, most of it is stitched over TWO strands (so each square also has a hole in the center), except the alphabet sampler & the picture next to it are done in "petit-point" where the stitching is over one thread- VERY tiny. Ellie's will have the same for the baby's face and a doll's face. Mine shows many of the "homey" things I love- quilts (made by OTHER people), yarn (I like to crochet), cross-stitch, rustic crafts... Simply put: It's me.
ome to my own. I LOVED working on this- not that the patch-work denim ones my mom had made us as kids weren't OK... I just wanted something unique for my own family. I found a pattern I loved in a Cross-Stitch magazine (a hand-me-down magazine, even!) and tweaked the colors just a little to use what I had, etc. I remember buying the material... I'd always stuck to inexpensive Aida cloth... but this called for a very finely woven cloth in a specific color (mushroom!). I think it cost me about $15 (quite a few years ago)- definitely more than I'd ever spent before! Because it was so fine, most of it is stitched over TWO strands (so each square also has a hole in the center), except the alphabet sampler & the picture next to it are done in "petit-point" where the stitching is over one thread- VERY tiny. Ellie's will have the same for the baby's face and a doll's face. Mine shows many of the "homey" things I love- quilts (made by OTHER people), yarn (I like to crochet), cross-stitch, rustic crafts... Simply put: It's me.
WOW! That's some beautiful cross stitching!!! I LOVE THEM! I want one too, but I don't think I'm patient enough to make them. Hahaha! And of course, I would probably need stockings that have the pictures pre-printed on them. ;)
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