Stocking Bit 12

I really don't know how I like this button cluster. Many crazy quilters use button clusters, but this is my first attempt. At least, I'm pretty sure it is. I've used a stray button here or there, but not clumped together like this. If nothing else, it adds balance to the heel motif and central area with all the beads and charms.

Stocking Bit 11

A simple thing, these seed beads. I searched through my stash many times and couldn't find a color that was right for this spot. I, finally, just went to the craft store and bought more beads. It's difficult to believe there was nothing suitable in my stash, but there wasn't.

I sewed the little heart charm on with thread that I hope will blend in when you look at it from a distance. If it works, you will only notice the heart.

The fine gold web is also new here. The 'thread' is more like a tinsel type fiber. It's small, but fits the spot just right. I haven't decided if I will add a spider or not. Maybe a tiny one with a dark purple sewing thread?

Stocking Bit 10

Here's the second pink elephant and a sparkly pink butterfly.

Stocking Bit 9

A variety of heart charms hang below the flowers on this seem. The lace heart felt a bit flat and I knew I wanted to add something, but didn't know what. I really don't know how the little angel ended up there. I had considered it, but thought the angel was headed for another patch. It seems, when I finally had her in hand with needle and thread, she had a will of her own.

Stocking Bit 8

Embroidery with gold thread dresses up the beaded face. Working around the face, a fly stitch was tacked down with a detached chain. French knots add a bit of dimension within the fly stitches. Little glass butterflies finish the motif.

There is also a dragonfly tucked resting in the corner of two seems.

Stocking Bit 7

These little flower beads were just the thing to finish off this seem.

Stocking Bit 6 - Pink Elephant Story

I've added a few charms to the heel motif. The one in the upper left corner of the photo insists on lying upside down. It's a pink elephant. There are two of them peeking out of bits of trim like this. They may seem like just a pink girly thing, but they have a special story. I don't know why pink elephants are as easy to find as they are, but I'm happy about it.

When I was a young girl, my mother collected pink elephants as gifts for my Granddad. She considered it a special thing between the two of them. I should get the full story from her for the sake of posterity, but I think it had something to do with seeing Dumbo together when it was new. Pink elephants always remind me of my Granddad. He passed away several months after my older daughter was born. She's only a few short weeks from 16, just after the new year. Babies were a yearly event for a while there, between nieces & nephews, cousins, a brother, a sister, and my own two. My Haley was the last while Granddad was still with us. Miranda, who this stocking is for, never met him. She likes to look at her stocking and touch all the little bits. At only just two, she nods her head sagely and states, "This is my stockin'. It's a very special stockin'." She's a precocious child and wise beyond her years. Someday, I'll show her pictures of her Great Granddad and tell her about the pink elephants and why they are special.

As I'm about to post this, I see the date is my mother's birthday. It seems somehow appropriate.

Stocking Bit 5

If memory servers, my mother in law and sister in law gave me a package of these bows when I started the stockings several years ago. There were red, green, and gold. Interestingly, at least one of those matches the color scheme of each stocking. There aren't many unifying features of the stockings as a group, so it's nice they all have this little bow in common. I've also added the bugle beads along the curved seam. They add weight and sparkle to the area.

I think when I worked on the stocking last year, I was undecided about whether to add gold. The early embellishments leaned more towards iridescent as the accent color. More and more, gold has found it's way into the project and I'm liking it.

Stocking Bit 4

Added a few beads to a seam with up and down buttonhole.

Stocking Bit 3

Bead dangles - string 5 seed beads, one large bead, one seed bead, back through the large bead and 5 seed beads

Stocking Bit 2

I made a couple of these polymer clay faces to audition as the main motif on my black stocking, but hadn't sewn them on yet. On a whim I tucked one into the blankie on Miranda's stocking. I didn't like it, or the blankie, and eventually removed them both. Miranda saw it, though, and loved the sleeping baby, as she called it. So, I sewed it back onto her stocking without the blankie and then surrounded it with two rows of beads.

I am behind schedule on these stockings. I really wanted them done by the 1st of December. However, they are very close to finished now. I am into crunch time and I do get more done that way. I have a few pictures of newer additions to the stockings and will add them to the blog with a short blurb as I get time. I thought I might be able to finish them this weekend, but Miranda and I are sick, so it's unlikely. Soon, though.

Nativity Rug

The advent candles at church sometimes drip wax on the floor. It must be a nuisance to get out of the carpet. There was talk of buying a rug to go under the candelabra and protect the rug, but what type of rug? Before I knew it, I had volunteered to make one. I used painting canvas and dyed it as close to the color of the carpet as I could. We didn't want it to stand out. To give it a bit of interest, I asked Kirk to draw me some nativity figures and then painted them on as silhouettes. The stars add a bit of atmosphere so it's not just a rug with some figures painted on. I sewed it like a mini quilt with a thin batting and backing fabric dyed the same color. I wasn't paying enough attention and ended up slashing the top to turn it through instead of the bottom. Oops. I added the circle on top to cover the slash. It looks a bit funny in the picture, but it is covered by the base of the candelabra. I finished it off with two generous coats of a water based sealer, which I'm hoping will let us just pop off any wax that drips.