Throwback Thursday

Vintage Christmas Stockings

My mother's oldest sister made this stocking for me for my first Christmas. 

The original.

It's debut in 1962.

1963

My mother copied it for my siblings and then the in-laws and then the grandchildren.  No pattern. She just worked from whichever stocking she had access too when the need arose. So they are similar but unique. 

My family's variations!

My older nephew's was the last one she made and delivered herself 4 years ago.  So when my brother and sister-in-law announced last year that they were expecting they were afraid that the new baby would be without Grandma's stocking.  

My mother was a wise woman.  Turns out that she left a blank Christmas stocking in her knitting stash which I have along with the fabric/sewing stash.  It did not have a name so that was left to me, the family seamstress.  I don't knit so it was harder than it should have been.  Finally, in despair I just embroidered it on with yarn and a daisy chain stitch.  It is even more different than the others but that will be part of its story. 

When my sisters examined the finished product they agreed that my mother must have made this one shortly after my nephew's.  She was in a slow decline at that time and I'm sure she anticipated the need in the future and made it while she was able. 

Which brings us to the present.  Does anyone have a pattern for these stockings?  We know that there are others out there but have been unsuccessful locating a pattern.

I was looking at new (to me) quilting/sewing blogs and found My Quilt Infatuation.  Looks like fun so I'm linking up to Needle & Thread Thursday over at my quilt infatuation

Mylar Balloon Wreath

This was a "make it up as you go" project.  My usual MO. 

We had accumulated quite a few old mylar balloons and it seemed like there should be something that could be done with them.  I can't throw anything away, so it was a problem.  

My dad needed a Spring-ish wreath for his apartment door, so the experiment began.

Make a cut near the end of the balloon and get out as much of the extra air as possible.

Smooth the balloon as flat as possible and cut off the tip a few inches into the body of the balloon.

Cut off the seam on one edge.  I used a rotary cutter I keep with an old blade for non-fabric use.

Then I kept cutting - without measuring exactly - about a 1.5" width. 

 And cutting and cutting.

The base of the wreath was an embroidery hoop I had on hand.  About 12".  Whatever you have will work, just get the proportion of diameter and strip length to please you.

Then just tie the strips around the hoop. 

For the shorter strips we did not worry about the seam at the top, but just tied it right on as is.  For the longer lengths, we cut into 2 pieces.  You will figure out what works for the you.

Some of the strips curled up on themselves.  A little pulling and flattening by hand took care of most of it.

We had balloons from all kinds of occasions so tried to get the colors in there randomly.  We worked at it over a few weeks cutting as we went so it is not as random as I would have liked.  But since the tying was done by Middle E - very willingly -  I did not complain.

The finished wreath.  The lighting in his hall is terrible and the photo is blurry.  But you get the idea.  Not bad.

My dad loved it, but kept calling it a hat since Middle E put it on her head at some point!

Last Stash Report of 2015

Oh My!  It has sure been a while.  I knew that working 5 days a week instead of 4 was going to make a difference, but I did not realize how much less time I would have for sewing.  I tried to keep track of the few projects I finished so that if I ever blogged again I would be able to report accurately.  Unfortunately I have very few photos.  Oh well.

Pillow Cover for Senor G's comfy pillow.   I just made it up as I went along using the fewest seams possible.  It works.  0.65 yds of an odd corduroy that was on its way to Goodwill

Basket with handles that Little S made for her Mama Cristy in Guatemala.  I had made this fabric basket
before and lost the instructions, but was able to figure it out on my own without too much trouble.  I did go back and find the link again for myself afterwards though.  0.17 yards

Davis Classroom Quilt.  For the 3rd year I am making a carnival auction quilt for Ms. Davis' class.  This year I had been given some bright fabric scraps that I worked right into the quilt.  So that didn't count in or out.  I do get to count the white squares the kids drew on and the few other blocks I added.  0.67 yds

Christmas Table Cloth for my SIL in Guatemala.  A pretty dark pink with gold outlines of holly leaves.  The image is stuck in my mind even if I didn't take a picture.  1.17 yds.


Strips that Sizzle Quilt.  Actually the last thing I posted about, but never did the stash report on.  A UFO that my mother got me started on and I finally finished.  Well kind of finished.  It is still a UFO since it needs borders, backing and quilting, but at least it has progressed.  I count fabric out when a specific step in the project is all done, so I get to count the center now.  9 yds

Work Aprons.  We had 4 new teachers so I made aprons for them and personalized then with their names.  My mother had made the original aprons about 4 years ago.   1.5 yds

Pet Rock Blankets.  We made pet rocks during our Pet Week.  The kids liked carrying them around so much that I cut out flannel blankets for them.  1.38 yds

American Girl Doll Bedding for Little S for Christmas.  Another project that I made up as I went along.  I got the bed frame when our school was flooded.  Anything that touched the water was thrown away, but I saved this.  Sure enough it was the right size for the AG dolls.  When the girls went to see the Nutcracker with my sister I quickly whipped up the bedding.  Lack of time sure helps me eliminate the agonizing decisions of should I or shouldn't I.  I just went with what worked and it worked just fine.  Little S wanted a fuzzy pillowcase for Christmas and her doll got one instead.  She was happy with that.  1.5 yds

American Girl Nightgown for Little S.  I found this link  for AG doll cloths patterns  a while back.  When I got the bedding done I knew the doll needed a new nightgown to go with it.  Unfortunately the doll chest has been covered up with College R's plants so there has not be an official modeling yet.  I will say that although it came out fine I was reminded of why I prefer quilting to sewing clothing.  I also was again impressed by the memory of my mother making 2 sets of elaborate Barbie Doll clothes for College R and Middle E many years ago.  What patience.  I made Samantha's nightgown with a few changes  0.5 yds

So here is my final report.  I had a goal of 100 yards, but that didn't happen.  But under the circumstances I am still pleased.

Fabric Used This Report:  16.54 yards 

Fabric In This Report:  0 yards 

Total In 2015: 7.02 yards
Net Used 2015:  65.12 yards

Linking up to  Patchwork Times  where others are giving a year end report as well!