Here they are out of the mothballs, the original childhood stockings belonging to our kids. I made the first one from a kit my mom sent me, and I remember having a blast making it. Then a couple years later when Nate was born, she bought me another kit, and I pulled his together in time for his first Christmas. But when Rachel was born the day before Thanksgiving, my mom knew it wasn’t going to happen, so she kindly sewed Rachel’s. They are all hand-stitched, which is what made the whole process so enjoyable, and they are still holding together after all that rough handling Christmas mornings!
This little guy is another sample of Mom’s handiwork. She made this just in time for the first grandkids to start enjoying, and it has hung on my wall at Christmas ever since. Thanks, Mom!
Finally, I just had to end this post with the grand finale. There’s my old childhood stocking on the left. My mom is an avid knitter, so when we lived in Germany, my dad bought her a knitting machine. But she really preferred to sit and knit with her needles….so Dad, being a guy who always loved figuring out how things work, whipped up stockings for us kids and Mom sewed them up. Now, fifty years later, I’m still hanging up my stocking that Dad made! Thanks, Dad! It’s not every daughter who can brag about the stocking her Dad made. But when you are an Air Force pilot who has fought in two wars for his country, there is no threat to your manhood in learning to operate a knitting machine!
Last, and probably least, is the humble stocking I crafted for my husband back in our newly-wed days. Yes, it’s made from old jeans, and he still prefers it to the knit one I ordered for him years later. I never got around to getting his name on that thing, but the pocket is pretty cool, don’t you think?
Wishing you all Merry Days Ahead!
0
0
Haha! Last is best!
These are wonderful! My boys don’t have stockings yet because I’m terrible at finishing projects, and because I wanted to make some that I knew I could make matching ones to later should we be blessed with more children. This lovely group has inspired me … perhaps too much matching is a bad thing!
Those remind me alot of ours. My grandmother made mine and my husband’s grandmother made his and now my mother has made one for each of our children… a real labor of love! Pastor Wilson’s stocking is hilarious!… and the pocket is perfect. 🙂
Of course now I’m just thinking about what a terrible precedent this is since we have 7 children…. that could be an awful lot of stockings for me to sew for our grandchildren! Yikes!
Wendy,
Well, if you start making stockings for your grandchildren, you will pass me up entirely. I have fifteen stockings I have bought over the years. I picked up two more this year for the new babies. I really should take a pic of those when I get a minute. But they are all very cute and store-bought!
…am enjoying so much of your blog, including these darling Christmas decorations and stockings. Thanks for posting. Merry Christmas!
Well, I love the jean stocking with the pocket! Very fun. I have been intending to make stockings for my family for several years, but I always forget about it until it is too close to Christmas. I bought some fabric this year and have added it to my “summer to-do” list. Maybe I’ll get them done this summer.
Amen! I’m thinking that store bought is sounding really good! 🙂
Love the stockings! and the stories behind them. Enjoy your fun and busy week of celebrating!
Love them all and their histories! I am making two new stockings this year, one for my daughter and one for my son-in-law. I’ve got one finished and today’s the day I have slated to make the second one, so I better hop to!
BTW, my husband knits and is better than I am!
It’s so fun to see these again. I’ve seen them pretty much every year for so many years now with great memories of your house at Christmas time. Love you!