Advent Calendar, Christmas Stockings

GeneaBloggers has a Advent Calendar event this year, 24 days of family history related subjects to challenge the researcher. The prompt/challenge for December 18th is:

Did you have one? Where did you hang it? What did you get in it? Do you have any Christmas stockings used by your ancestors?

Did I have one?  Yes

Where did you hang it? If there was a fireplace in the home, on the mantle. No fireplace, from half walls, banisters, someplace where Santa could find them easily.

What did you get in it? Small gifts, oranges.

Do you have any Christmas stockings used by your ancestors? Not really. Only have a photo of mine, and sadly, it is poor, but, for what it is worth, there it is on the left.


This stocking started a stitching project for me that has lasted almost 40 years.  This stocking was done by my mother, it is felt and sequins, very similar to the Christmas ornaments I chatted about on December 3rd. 


When our first 2 sons were very young I decided to stitch them similar stockings.  When son # 3 came along, I did another. 



Then, I stitched more, my nephew got one, his half brother and half sister did as well.  Son  # 1 got married, I stitched his bride one.  I did 3 more the winter of 2005.  Here are two of those three, yes, they were for the twins.

About this time, I decided that Man needed his own stocking, so, I went shopping and started stitching.  Nope, I have not finished it yet (too much RVing, family, family history research and other fun stuff has been shoving this project aside).  So, when I saw this challenge, I took it as a double challenge, a challenge to write about and a challenge to see if I could finish the stocking by today, and so, I started stitching.
 
Took a few photos along the way, first was November 27th.  Shows the stocking as it was, and supplies.  

December 2nd:

By December 14th, I had made this much progress, each brick had sequins applied and then was appliquéd to the base of the stocking, took about 1 day to do each row of bricks:

As of this evening, December 18th, when I stopped stitching because I was tired, hungry and cross eyed, the stocking looked like this:

It will probably take another 8 hours, guesstimate, to finish Man's stocking.  This is by far the most complicated project of this type.  Most of the prior stockings took about 80 hours each.  I know this one will take more than that to finish.

And, why would I spend that much time stitching a Christmas stocking?  Because I like the craft, I love the sequins sparkle, I love creating memories.

I'll post the finished project photo, soon I hope!  Only have a few more days before it needs to be finished, and I have to find a special spot in Tana to hang it as well.

* I have been informed by my mother, that my stocking - the black and white photo - was actually velvet and the Santa was done entirely in sequins.

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