christmas stocking garlands
2008
Julian needed his beauty sleep, Mum needed a coffee before she took off for a week’s conference in Canberra, and the spring sun was shining prettily on the back deck.
So I scurried out of bed just after 7am – and on a Sunday too! – and after fixing coffee for Mum and I, sat down at the long table in the sun, in my nightie, to work on my Christmas needlepoint. By the time Julian and Little A stirred, Mum had well and truly departed and I had finished the village houses, the trees and the rail fence. Excellent.
However, I am incapable of seeing such solid progress … and then continuing. Oh no! I trimmed the excess canvas off one side, and before I knew it, the coloured wools beside me were singing their siren song, and I was drawing a Christmas stocking onto the narrow strip of excess canvas in my new favourite crayola washable markers.
See I’d been admiring Posie Gets Cozy’s new living room valance a few weeks ago, so promptly found the pattern book she’d used on ebay and easy, peasy, it arrived last week. And my imagination has been swimming with ideas for these gorgeous “ancient” designs ever since. This morning, it was a garland of Christmas stockings – needlepoint, backed with patchwork scraps, stuffed with a layer of batting, and hanging from a loop of velvet ribbon.
I want my Christmas stockings to look like those wonderful Scandinavian folk socks – I had a great Interweave book on this but gave it to my grandmother who never used it, I should get it back (yeah like I could knit anything even resembling a sock!) – so I “knitted” a pretty border around the top of my stocking, added extra strong stitching across the toes, and then embellished the leg with a pretty star. Then I tried random – scattered snowflakes and pale pink dots.
Not bad – the stocking shape is pleasing, the border pretty and the star sweet – but I’m not into random, so when I drew up the chart – lots of graph paper and a handful of very obvious symbols – I added the snowflakes in uniform rows. Never mind – the original still looks fine. Quick, quick, quick – onto the next one – my mind runneth over with ideas!
Ahhhh! Nice and regimented! I LOVE this one. Especially the colours.
Now I’m onto the green stocking – it has a chicken. Then I’ve planned several more. I’m adapting some of the design elements from the book, the rest, I’m making up as I stitch. I’m hoping for twelve.
Twelve is my favourite Christmas number – despite my love of Advent, twelve is much more manageable than 25! Oh and I didn’t make it out of my nightie until 2.30pm. Awesome!
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Heehee! Look at those clever stockings! You will be ready and decorated for Christmas before anyone around. I’m thinking I might work on Kathy Mack’s Christmas table runner after work today–dream on, more like figure out what’s for supper and then what to make for lunch for the girl who will have braces by lunch time tomorrow.
Boy, am I really liking that! The stockings are so cute.
You astound me with your creative energy. Some of us “dream” while others “do.” You manage to accomplish both.
Lovely work Lily, I expect nothing less from you! Its darling. My mom used to love stitching so much. Whenever I see it I think of her. Thank you. Its going to be a beautiful Christmas.
I love a Pj day!!! and I love those stockings! Don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting 12 done the way you are going unless you get distracted and start something else of course!!
Wow! You are already on the way to Christmas! I have this week an exhausting week at work after our wonderful trip to Romania! Next weekend again to forest to pick more lingonberries. I also take some of my patchwork books and fabrics to my sister-in-law, who will attend a course. I´m so happy to do it and ready to give advice!
lovely stockings….I am enamoured with the blue and red, but chickens??? I can’t wait!