All Stocking-ed Out (!!!)

Greetings lovely friends & readers

It has been a stocking-making kind of week (or fortnight) & I am currently all stocking-ed out !

 Our beautiful Cherry Blossom tree (Shimidsu-sakura) in full bloom a couple of weeks ago, before the strong winds came.

At the beginning of October my local Patchwork Store Stitchin-stuff put a notice in their online newsletter requesting small christmas stockings to be made to donate to the local Foodbank. I collected the free pattern & instructions & cut out several from my Christmas fabrics.

  I managed to sew up 10 before Covid struck me & my sewing abilities disappeared out the window 😐 

They are fully lined & padded with wadding, & each one measures just under 8 inches.  This one above was one of my favourites fabrics. 

 The store were hoping to reach a target of 300 stockings & when I dropped mine in they were up to 279.  

(Click on the picture to enlarge & read clearly)

So I was delighted to read in my local newspaper this week that they actually reached 350 in the end.  The store fills them with chocolate treats & they go in the Foodbank boxes for families that have younger children.  Next year I will aim to sew up more as I am sure I have 10 already cut out.

These sweet little stockings above are a free pattern from the Twig and Tale website.

I buy offcuts of linen when I see it in the thrift stores & I hand embroidered these before sewing.  I plan to fill them with some ceramic christmas ornaments for a couple of special people.

Last year, after Christmas, I made myself the swag of primitive stockings above.  My dear friend Sandy had shown me a photo on her phone & I made them from memory ... in the softest green & grey striped linen fabrics above.  

My friend Sandy has moved away down to the South Island & I miss her immensely. I decided to make her a set in reds & taupes as I knew she loved these colours.  I posted them away & Sandy was delighted when they arrived as she had just begun her Christmas decorating.

While hunting for some threads I came across this stitchery that I had stitched last Christmas & never ever made up.  It is a very old design from Mogs Designs whom I am sure no longer designs. It is called "tis' the season stocking"

Although I'd done the stitchery I still needed to tea-dye my calico & then make up the stocking, stuff it & fill the top with berries & greenery as well as make the 3 candy canes. I also sewed 7 rusty bells down the length of the stocking. 

 I used to make lots of these & sell in my Craft Cottage & they were always VeRy popular.   🎄

I love this little area of hand-mades hanging on my wall.  The Calico Reindeer I made in * this post * back in 2020.

And Yes - it was time again to sit & wrap 48 little parcels, & fill my Grandsons advent stockings.  This was a good activity to do while resting from Covid & took me 3 days to complete (!!!) I will be delivering these this coming Thursday. 

Just prior to going on the Cruise I cleaned out our fireplace, scrubbed the brick surround & then bought all my houseplants back from the "hospital corner" down the end of my lounge.  I noticed my ladder fern (2nd from left) had roots coming out the bottom so it needed a re-pot.

I found this pot under my house, bought home from Mum's when I cleared out No 44 way back in February.  I thought it was a good size for the fern but needed a paint.  I painted it in Old Linen, the same colour as the other pots, then gave it 2 coats of spray varnish to protect/seal it.  I found an offcut of transfer that I also applied to it.

I am sure that my ladder fern breathed a sigh of relief when I repotted it & it's looking much healthier already.  And Yes dear readers - you can see definate signs of Christmas decorating going on here at Threadbear HQ.

Thank you - as always dear friends, for your visits here today,

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead - remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Julie & the furry three x0x0x 

( a new Header to take us into the festive season)