the stocking success story!

it started out as a saga- a near disastrous event starting with 1 overly optimistic crafter & ending with 3 paper bags hung by [sitting below] the chimney with care.
i'm speaking of my attempt to make homemade stockings for my family last year. in short, i started too late and ended up choosing to sit and smootch with my hubby by the light of the tree on christmas eve rather than shiver in the cold basement with my sewing machine. and despite the fact that i had relished in the thought of a whole year to finish them, they sat on my craft table in a little bag, only to be pulled out again, last second, & still totally unfinished this year.
precious hubs knew not to mention it, as i had already mentioned that the stockings must happen for real this year. however, when he asked ever so gently and carefully on christmas eve-eve if the stockings were going to happen, i said yes. and i meant it. even if i didn't sleep all night to finish them. i even brought my sewing machine up from the cold basement, figuring that trying to sew with numb fingers wasn't helping the equation any.

1 christmas cd on repeat, lots of mugs of apple cider, and a few stretch breaks later, they were done. at 2:14 in the am. and so, ladies & gentlemen, i present to you the finished stockings:
left to right they are kenna's, mine, and matt's. halfway through lining kenna's i realized the fabric i picked for kenna's lining would have been perfect for the frontand now i'm tempted to redo it... but "fixing it" would truly mean redoing it almost from the beginning & i'm just not sure i'm willing to do that.

here are some of the fun detail-y things up close:
i'm choosing not to allow the fact that there are still technically 2 unfinished stockings [1 for baby-boy-on-the-way and yes, 1 for the dog] sitting in pieces on my dining room table deter me in any way from considering this a success story. i'm also ignoring the silly fact that we had to line them up on the bench beside the mantel because we still didn't have stocking hangers [bought them 50% off this week at the after christmas sales!]

and best of all, i got to see my little girl up to her armpit pulling tiny gifts out of homemade love. totally worth it.