Sweet girl stocking

One of the things we have the most fun with at Christmas is the stockings on Christmas morning. Being of German heritage, my own family did not make or give stockings and, in fact, we opened our gifts after church on Christmas Eve. But I married into a family who open gifts on Christmas morning AND....they make stockings! Our own family traditions include a bit of both and with all our children now married, I imagine our traditions will grow and change, just like our family has been.

My daughter put in a special request for a new stocking. She asked me to make something "very girlie" and pink. This daughter also happens to like sparkles - a lot ! (in fact, we're still vacuuming up glitter from her wedding DIY projects - and she's been married over a month now!) This stocking isn't for her, but she had a very clear idea of what she wanted this stocking to look like. She squealed with delight when she picked it up so I'm guessing it met her expectations, and then some. It made me smile like crazy to know I'd made her so happy (and enjoyed every minute of it, too!)

The pattern is Merry by ThimbleBlossoms and, as you can see, I chose to make the chevron variation. The pattern provides additional designs, including hexies and pinwheels. It's also available as a PDF download, just in case you feel the need to make one sooner rather than later. The fabrics are all scraps from my sewing room. It is fully lined and I combined machine quilting and hand quilting to accentuate the chevron lines. The N is a wooden letter I picked up at Michael's; I coated it with glue and then gave it a healthy sprinkling of glitter. I used my glue gun to mount it to a pin I'd picked up in a swag bag at some conference or another and, voila, a very girlie stocking is complete! I hoped and hoped the sun would come out before I sent the stocking on to its new home but, alas, it was not to be.

There are a few more stockings which I hope to get made before Christmas (famous last words for a quilter, right?) but if it doesn't happen, we won't worry about it; our stocking opening time on Christmas morning will still be every bit as special and enjoyed by all.

My Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway is still open until the end of today (Friday); if you want to enter, just leave a comment over here.

e.