I enjoy Christmas and getting ready for it. I usually spread my preparations out over Nov and Dec. Some years I'm really ready and some years I'm not. Last year I put up a tree, put lights on it, but didn't get any decorations on it. I'll be better prepared this year.
My friend Button's Quilts has a friend who needed some crafting done. (I should mention that Button's sends a LOT of business my way, which I really appreciate!). The friend's mother started making these fancy Christmas stockings for her grandkids, daughter, and son-in-law, and has been unable to finish them. So, I've been hired to finish. The daughter wanted a few things customized and I said I could do that as well.
I finished the first stocking this week:
One of the customizations is a pleated back - so that the stocking can hold more goodies. The backing looks like this
To make it, I traced the stocking front onto pattern paper, then drew some registration lines, then cut it apart and expanded the pattern. Then I re-folded it and cut the bottom out - around the heel of the stocking is a funny shape. Here's what my pattern for the back looked like
It looks pretty strange, but once it was pleated, everything lined up and it fit great.
The final Christmas prep this week has been cutting and doing a rolled hem on some table napkins. A different friend hired me to do these as a gift for her mother.
This should be it for the really Christmas-y stuff for a bit. I'm heading back to school shortly and I'm trying to get some of my loose ends tidied up before then.
