Company and Crafts

Last Sunday we attempted to have some friends over from the Chin Christian Fellowship, a group of Chin refugees from Burma (Myanmar) who meet in our church building and with whom some of us are working to help them learn English. That dinner never panned out. But this Sunday our communication was clear and the table was again set.

Five Chin friends came over and we had a great time eating a Thanksgiving-style dinner, with a huge turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and corn, made by yours truly.

I'm always happy to share my home with others, but especially when it's decorated for Christmas and the fire is burning and popping and my brand-spanking-new stockings are finished and hanging by the fireplace!

These snazzy stockings were made completely with scrap fabric, batting, and notions from my stash. The print fabrics are from a couple of those little layer cakes (a bunch of coordinating fabric already cut to 4x4 squares) which I had bought three or four years ago. I had sewn them all in strips and meant to make a Christmas quilt last year, then pulled them out again this year to finish, and once I decided I needed to make new stockings (because we still didn't have one for the boy) I cut the strips apart and ironed the pieces onto double-sided iron-on interfacing (the same stuff I used to make this quilt for my nephew).

I cut out simple shapes—squares for the presents, triangles for the tree, circles for the snowman (traced around a wine class, a little condiment dish, etc.)—and ironed them in place on red stockings that I cut out of red fabric from the stash. For the stocking shape, I just freehanded one stocking on four layers of red fabric then laid those on top of two more layers of red and cut around them without even pinning them. This isn't rocket science. Let's not over-complicate things. Then I did the same on white muslin leftover from this quilt (which is still not quilted!) for the insides and the same on some leftover batting.

Sandwich the backs together and fronts together (be sure to get that toe pointing the right way for the backs!), pin to prevent shifting, and quilt. I quilted the backs with a simple diagonal stripe motif.

For the fronts I quilted close to the outside edges of the shapes (except the snowflakes which I quilting on top of the white part). Then sew the fronts and backs together, trim seam, and bind with bias tape (stash!) to make it nice and clean in there, or leave as is if you're pressed for time or just lazy (no shame in that). I trimmed the top with leftover lime green rick rack from these dresses and more bias tape. I made the loops with bias tape as well.

The brass hooks that the stockings are hanging from? They are over-the-door wreath holders bent to hang over the mantle and slip between the mantle and the wall at the back, keeping our stockings from falling if they get tugged by a toddler. Credit for this fantastic idea goes to my friend Kim who suggested it at coffee on Friday.

These stockings were an easy and fun project and cost me nothing. My next project will be a Christmas stole for my pastor/husband.