'Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve

And all through the house

You could hear me screaming

My sewing machine is lous-

ing up these beautiful stockings

That the kids will hang by the chimney with care

If I can finish them before presents we share

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

But auntie was swearing--and ripping--and crap!

She sewed and she sewed but she needed a nap,

From the machine there arose such a clatter,

I sprang to the laptop to see what was the matter.

What am I crazy? I don't have time for this...

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Facing Facts

I suddenly realized on the way into work today that I need to have the Shepherd's Bush stockings completed by Saturday for the LNS's finishing deadline. Saturday is also the only day I will be able to pick up the concord pearl cotton to finish that patch on the angel's dress. I don't think my FIL will be thrilled to go out to Chadds Ford (I knew we should have waited to go to the Brandywine River Museum!) and sit in the parking lot while I finish the stocking. And then it hit me:

I'm going to have to finish the stockings on my own.

I think it's going to be okay. I went and found these instructions (pdf) and these. (Because you can never have too many instructions when you are attempting something for the first time.)

I have to stop thinking of myself as the person I was in 6th grade when I sewed a jagged circle inside a rectangle for home ec. I have to believe I am a person who appliqued a cherry.

Elisabeth's Stocking

It's all over but the charms. I finished this on 10/2 but I didn't get a decent photo until today. I started this on or around August 30, but I didn't really work on it until sometime after September 12. So I think it might be possible to finish the other one in about three weeks. Let's hope!

As Allison noted, it's really close on the chablis. I ended up with about 4 inches left over, and I was really stingy, stitching as far as I could with each and every thread. I tried to stitch the wing in spirals to avoid the stripey look, but I think since I changed thread so often that didn't really work out as well as I'd hoped.

One down; one to go. Here's where I am with that:

Pull up Your Stockings

I have started one of the Bent Creek Christmas stockings. This one is for me. I'm going to have to put it aside to focus on making Christmas presents, but I set out to start it and now I have. (White blob wearing scarf.)

I also set out to begin one of the Shepherd's Bush stockings for my nieces. I started Elisabeth's stocking for Lala. I'm awaiting an order of pearl cotton for this one, so you can see, I actually had to count on this one, which I hate. It's not much, but it's a start.