This elf is not sure what sounded good about making eighteen stockings for Christmas gifts, but here I am, still thinking I can do it!

I signed up for a Christmas Sit ‘n Sew type class at a local quilt shop and got a good few hours in yesterday. Sew fun to get out and meet a few fellow stitchers– most of them live pretty far away from me, so my invitations for a sew date in Quiltopia seem pretty improbable. When the kids were little, they always picked the friends that were at least a 45 minute drive– the trend continues.

More than half the class was working on this beautiful Christmas Crazy Quilt Tree project– one was in batiks, one was in a Basic Grey collection- my kind of people. They were all coming out fabulous.

At first I thought I read the class description wrong, but at my table, someone was making a soft baby counting book for each of two GREAT granddaughters– opens up the door to make some sort of sensory book for little Harlow– and another person I recognized from the Posh Penelope class making another block– opens up the door to work on stuff I already started and not a sensory book! At the end of the class, we all agreed to meet again at another Sit ‘n Sew class in January.

So here is my progress– the plan was to make all eighteen stockings, but I did get all the ladies done! To clarify, I consider a finished front– DONE– of course, they all have to be made into stockings, yet. The names have been blurred for identity protection. I do flatter myself that all of my circle reads this blog and thus, their gift would be ruined. 🤣

There’s six that have to mailed by Monday, so three still need the names– those I don’t need until Christmas.

The boy stockings are underway– BELIEVE!– and I need five to mail and it’s going to happen. In these situations I always say to myself, “DO or DIE!”

So it might look like my stockings have square toes, but this is the shape I will sew them into:

Of course, the cuffs have custom embroidery– this is the reason I got started on my machine embroidery in 2002– I wanted to be able to make wonderful, personalized gifts and here I am! (TIP: If you’re leaving stabilizer in sewing project, just cut away 1/4″ of stabilizer for the seams.)

I’ll definitely give some basic stocking instructions next week so you, too, can make eighteen of them in time for Christmas… chain piecing, for the win!

I found this velvet-y ribbon for the hanging loops at Hobby Lobby– perfect.

On the website, the 2026 mug rug and planner sets are out.
This would make a quicker gift than a stocking. 😂

I started this design in 2008 and it changed a little each year until the current version. I also made this cute embroidered desk calendar and a big wall calendar the first couple of years– do you remember?

You were supposed to use test stitch outs or fussy cut fabric for the pages– all the months and days were embroidered!.

I still love this thing– it didn’t sell well. Too much work? Not enough test stitch outs or appropriate fabric? Everyone’s calendar is on their phone now? I don’t know. But seeing it now makes me want to make one for 2026!

The wall calendars came out for a few more years than the desk version.

I added the mug rug just three or four years ago– mug rugs always do well. Drink coffee, much, people?

Then the journal covers come out every year. I always make one out of my test stitch outs into a journal, but alas, the only journaling that happens in this establishment is right here on this blog.

There’s umpteen other designs with the year on them that I will get around to updating by the end of the year. Quilt labels…

The Featherweight Mug Rug…

And someone even requested the champagne bottle on my New Year’s Eve be updated for 2026! This isn’t on the website and it might not be, if no one else asks for it! But I did it and it is nice to know that one person is paying attention to all the little details…

Finally– HAND STITCHING! I found the off ramp for the Summer Sampler which was simply to put it away! I do wish I had made some notes on what I still need to finish on the parts I started, because I don’t expect to work on again until, well, summer.

So this got pulled back out–getting so close… this piece is rapidly coming to a finish and just in time for Christmas, too! I stitched the white owl block and most of the sashing. It is BIG and WONDERFUL!

Hope all your custom machine embroidered gifts are coming along– we’re in it together!

xox
Carol