HI everyone,
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day yesterday! We did and you won’t believe this, but I didn’t take ONE SINGLE picture of my table. I was racing around trying to get things on the table and it never even crossed my mind until Rebecca and I were doing the dishes. Oops… a bit too late. Right in the middle of setting my table, Alba called from Colombia, South America… and I told her I would set a plate for them if they could be here by 1:00! Clearly that didn’t happen, but it was a good visit with her. We had ALL THE FOODS and they disappeared pretty quickly…although there were enough leftovers for some late evening snacking! :o) Kristoffer and his girlfriend were here too…
I couldn’t show you what I was working on for Rebecca and Karn because I didn’t want her to see it in my blog post. So I had to wait until after we opened our gifts. Now that that’s over with, I can show you…
I decided to make them stockings for Christmas. Now that Rebecca is in a new home of her own, she asked me to make them stockings… but she didn’t tell me any more than that… She left it up to me…and she was pleased! Yay! :o)
I had so many scraps of Christmas fabrics it came together pretty easily. I just did your basic “fly by the seat of your pants” and sewed them on in patchwork fashion onto a piece of cotton fabric that was backed with interfacing to make it a bit stiff. It’s not hard…you just have to make sure your pieces cover the one beside it… and you iron them flat as you work your way to the top… (I started at the toe, but you could easily start at the top) Here is a sample of what they look like as you are making them…
Then they are trimmed off the size you want your stocking to be and stitched around the edge.
Here is the start of Karn’s…
They are ready to be embellished before I go any farther…
I used my embroidery machine and added their names to a piece of wool felt.
Here are some better shots of them…
The backs of them had a patchwork fabric…
I also decided to make one for Karn’s mom…
I lined them with black and white checked flannel…
Here is a picture of all three stockings!
Rebecca and Karn got Reuben a new squeaker toy but he couldn’t quite figure out how to make it squeak… Rebecca was trying to help him.
Since we celebrated Christmas on Thanksgiving, we were calling today Thanksmas! :o)
Hope your day was as nice as ours was…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, I’m so glad you got to talk to Alba! I think of her and her family every now and then, and hope they are all doing well.
The stockings for Rebecca, Karn and Mimi are all lovely, and each unique it its own way. I recognize at least 2 or 3 of those fabrics!! I’m sure they will enjoy using them every year, and think of you every time they hang them up!
It was good to see pictures of Becca and Karn, too. They look very happy!
I hope you have them with you for at least a couple more days! Of course, it’s Never long enough, but I know you’ll make the most of every minute. Tell them this “honorary auntie” wishes them well! (Well, we’re sofa sisters–that makes us all “aunties”, too, right?!)
We had a very quiet Thanksgiving. We went to our favorite IHOP for lunch, and all the waitresses seemed happy to see us. The manager even stopped by our table to say hi.
We had a couple of phone calls, too, so that was nice.
I will be mostly at church working on my music tomorrow–I have been sloughing off this week. Any shopping I do will be online, as I don’t enjoy fighting the black Friday crowds!
I love the idea of making Christmas stockings for Rebecca and Karn, and it was so sweet of you to make one for Karn’s mom too! They are so meaningful and will always remind them of you every Christmas! I made stockings for my two long ago, those felt kit stockings, with sequins, gold braids, etc. I still have them boxed up, and some of the gold has tarnished and a few sequins are missing,so yours will last a good long while.
So nice to hear that Alba called and you are still in touch! What a nice surprise!
Rebecca and Karn look very happy, and I’m sure that makes you happy too! Reuben is in seventh heaven now, and it’s going to be a sad day for him to see them leave. Let’s hope that he…and you too, can see them off without too many tears!
What a wonderful post! The stockings are so beautifully made. How thoughtful to make one for Mimi as well. Next ones for Kristopher and Reuben. So glad Kristopher’s girlfriend could come too. So glad you heard from Alba and that they are doing well.
I saw a great idea for a centerpiece for a Christmas dinner centerpiece on the Art of the Table Facebook page: Nutcrackers! Beautiful with a few evergreen branches. Maybe serve buffet style with food in the kitchen so everything stays pretty on the table during the holiday season. George has so many that some of the guys could still stay on the mantelpiece. Only one of hundreds of people had enough to do that centerpiece!
Love the tablescape Xmas idea. I took a few photos of daughter’s table yesterday and will send them to Jeanne. It looked lovely with thirteen. 🙂
Is someone wants to do something kind of crazy, like knitting spheres, Pixie Faire’s Freebie today is a pattern for a ⛄️ Snowman. I remember the one and only thing I knitted was a scarecrow with a pumpkin 🎃 head! The challenge is on, ha, ha!
Had to laugh at Reuben’s toy. I’m sure he has figured it out by now. Brought back memories of my dog who could operate on any squeaky toy and remove it’s squeak in minutes. Lots of toys around that no longer squeaked. 🙂
The stockings are very cute and it was nice of you to make one for Karn’s mother also.
We had a nice day at daughter’s with great food and company. Already bought something in the mad black Friday rush. It’s plastic, has long reddish hair and a snowsuit. Humm. What can it possibly be?
I think the question is “who” could it be. Can’t wait to find out.
Northern Lights? She’s lovely.
Yes, Marilyn. I couldn’t resist the snow gear. So many memories of the cabin and skiing. 🙂
Yes, Joy we surely share the same genetic code. 😂 She was in my cart by 10 am. I just had to have at least one come to our new house this year. I love the snowsuit and don’t have a Bella so it was a win win.
Debbie
The Pixie Faire crochet pattern is cute. I grabbed it as I have made a a few 3D things that I winged without a pattern. I’ll put it with my stash of someday projects.
The stockings for Becca, Karn, ad Mimi are very pretty and will last forever. Rebecca and Karn look very happy. I’m sure Reuben will enjoy his new toy.
I love the stockings. So pretty. And one for Karn’s mother too. How very thoughtful. Back when our kids were growing up and could be on their own for a while Christmas morning, they could empty their stockings when they got up but they had to wait until we got up to open presents. For years the stockings included coloring books and crayons and small toys. As they grew, they needed something larger so I made these huge red and white quilted stockings for them. They hung them on the “faux” mantel but once they were full you couldn’t hang them because they were too heavy so they sat on the sofa. The kids did not know I was making them so when they saw them the first year, they were rolling on the floor laughing. A couple years ago Sean asked me to make something like them for his family. This year I need to make another one for Azure.
How wonderful that Alba called. I often think of her and her family. I would love to see pictures of Sara today. I enjoyed your journey with them on the blog. Have you been back to Cool Spoons since they went back to Columbia? That place looks like a lot of fun.
Had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day at Sean and Dionne’s yesterday. Great food! The only downside to not doing the cooking is there are no leftovers, but Sean just showed up and brought some leftover turkey. Had a brief grandkid fix yesterday, after three weeks hiatus, but after dinner the older ones disappeared upstairs to do their own thing and Azure went down for a nap. Skyy and Jaiden did return to give us good-bye hugs. I teased them about growing so much since we last saw them. They thought that as funny. In truth both Skyy and Jaiden are nearly as tall as Dionne and me and Jaiden takes an adult size 8 shoe. When did all that happen? Skyy is 11 and Jaiden will be 10 on New Year’s Eve.
Sean is here putting the latch on my pantry doors. He oiled the hinges the other day and the one door kept coming open. He didn’t realize that what he needed to install the latch was in the pantry. David forgot to tell him that or he could have done it Wednesday. Things eventually get finished around here but it’s often a very slow process. I’m patient not by choice but by necessity.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I know what you mean about the grandkids growing so fast! Ours are all now about the same height of their parents, if not taller. Alex, who will be 14 in Jan., is going to be the tallest, I think–he’s already taller than his dad, our son, who is 6′ tall!!
The stockings are so cute Jeanne. It was good of you to make one for Mimi as well. Hope Rueben has worked out his squeaky toy. I have one here I think my house sitters bought it for Louis, he loves chasing it but if we squeak it he sits and howls! Sam took a video of him doing it once then played the video back to him and took a video of him howling at the video. The kids were in stitches.
Glad you all had a good time yesterday. As I said before it is a celebration we haven’t borrowed from you but we have ‘borrowed’ Black Friday!!! Sam scored yesterday (Black Friday starts early here lol). She went to a store a bit like Walmart to buy a coffee maker for Caitlin. Caitlin wanted a frother but Sam said it was too expensive on top of the cost of the coffee maker. When they got to them the sale deal was buy the coffee maker and get the frother free! One very happy grandchild.
Time to gird your loins now girls and get ready for Christmas.
Don’t forget to bundle up some of the stocking fabric in case you need it for another generation.
Dear Jeanne, thanks for sharing photos of your Thanksgiving moments. I love the stockings.
I love seeing the matching smiles on the faces of the newlyweds.
I echo Barbara. It is wonderful to hear from Alba. I too think about Sara often and wonder how is is doing.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Jeanne, Those stockings will surely become family heirlooms hung on the mantle with care. I love the patchwork design. Happy Thanksmas to you and yours!
Debbie
Starting Christmas traditions with Becca and Karn and his mom is a fantastic idea! That pattern to do the stockings turned out so cute! The embroidery your machine does is amazing! Gosh… part of your Christmas is already done! Hopefully the tree will go up tomorrow. Finished a big long cape go or a play at Grand kids HS. Whew …so glad it is done, Now can do some table runners🥴🤗