Stockings

When I was a kid, my grandmother made our Christmas stockings. Each was made with a different pattern and our names were on them in thread (embroidery? stitching?).  These stockings are gorgeous--true family heirlooms. 

I wanted to do the same thing for my family.  However, my grandmother was a very talented seamstress, and I am a ding-dong with a sewing machine.  Hilarity, and an obscene amount of swearing, ensue whenever I bring it out. 

Here's a stocking I made a few years ago pre-kids:

It's shape and size are based on the stockings my grandmother made 25+ years ago.  Without having a copy of that pattern on hand, I used my red star stocking as a basis for the new stockings. 

As I said, I am no master seamstress. Rather than tracing the stocking onto pattern paper, and then pinning it to new fabric as I should do, I just put the old stocking on the new fabric, and cut around it.  Whatever works, right?

This is the Little Guy's new stocking:

Here's a close-up picture of the material: 

Baby Girl also got a stocking. 

It's hard to tell, but the main color is a hot/salmon pink.  Here's a close-up picture of her stocking's material:

The Big Guy got a new stocking, too.  When I made the original stocking pre-kids, I actually made two that matched.  Since I had the sewing machine out and the kids were getting personalized stockings, the Big Guy requested one of his own.

Here's a close-up picture of the material I used:

While the mantel is not fully decorated, all the stockings were hung with care by our very friendly neighborhood Spiderman... 

...who has informed me that he is, in fact, a reindeer.  And when Spiderman puts on his reindeer antlers, you know Christmas is right around the corner.