This image is a Christmas stocking that my grandmother made for my daughter when she was just a baby. Although my grandma spelled Kristen’s name with an i instead of an e, there is just something about seeing my daughter’s name in my grandma’s handwriting that means so much to me, especially now that grandma is gone.
Kristen still hangs the handmade stocking, that’s missing a few of the sequins that grandma hand sewed on it.
Some of my earliest memories are of my Grandma Slankerd making things. If she wasn’t crocheting or knitting, she was creating in some other way. When I was a little girl, she attempted to teach me to crochet. I got fairly good at a basic square crochet pattern, but I gave up practicing and become interested in other things. I regret not learning more!
Grandma’s Talents
My grandma was so accomplished. I really doubt there’s anything that she couldn’t have made with a pattern and some yarn!
Photo credit: my cousin Sharon.
I love Barbie dolls, and my grandma made my dolls furniture out of cardboard and upholstered them with fabric. They were absolutely beautiful. Now that I’m older, I wish I still had the cardboard sofas and chairs. I miss those even more than I miss my “Crystal,” “Peaches and Cream,” and “Happy Holidays” Barbies.
Now that I’m an adult, I wish I had one of the Dove Swans that she made. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but hear me out! She took crocheted a wrap around Dove soap, which worked perfectly because of its shape. She used a chenille pipe stem for the neck, also expertly surrounded with crochet stiches. Then she affixed crocheted wings and googly eyes to the swan.
My daughter now has six kids: five girls and a baby boy. I think back on everything that my grandma tried to teach me and really wish I could teach those things to my own grandkids. I can’t remember the basic square crochet pattern that my grandmother taught me.
My own granddaughters have never met my grandma. But they know what her handwriting looks like. They know she was crafty, like their mom. And, they know that she loved my daughter … all because of the stocking that is hung each year alongside their own.
Crafting Christmas Stockings for My Own Grandchildren
About a year ago, in January of 2022, I found Bucilla Christmas stocking kits online. I was so excited because I didn’t even know they still made them. Even though I was scared, because I honestly didn’t even know how to hem a pair of slacks, I ordered one.
When the kit came in I was so excited! It reminded me of a paint-by-numbers project. For the first time, I felt like I could do this! I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. It was time consuming, and learning the skill was hard work, but it was so worth it!
The kits come with a variety of colored felt, stamped with numbered shapes. Starting with the #1 and following the directions, you carefully cut, sequin, embroider, and/or stuff (stuffing is separate), then embroider each piece. It’s easy to make quick progress if you make a habit of working on it while watching TV in the evening.
My grandkids live an hour away (a little over two hours, round-trip), so I find myself missing them a lot. I found that working on their stockings in the evening helped take away the blahs.
A Bit of Advice
I know I said “working on their stockings,” please don’t misunderstand me. If you’re going to do this work on only one kit at a time. Trust me on this! There are so many tiny pieces, and you don’t want to mix any of them up! In fact, do not cut out any piece until the directions indicate that you need it. It may be tempting to cut several pieces out at once, but trust me that could lead to disaster.
The directions are LONG. Tackle just one bullet-point at a time, though, and they won’t seem tedious at all. Many of the kits that I purchased had check-boxes instead of bullet points, so I got in the habit of checking off each direction. It helped me see the progress that I had made!
Another reason that you don’t want to work on multiple kits at a time is momentum. The closer you get to the final product, the longer and harder you’ll want to work.
When you finish one kit and see the finished product, it will make you feel a sense of accomplishment. I always promised myself a break when I finished a stocking. However, I never wanted the break when the time came. I was ready to open that next stocking and get started!
I worked on just Christmas stocking kit at a time, but I thought about all of my grandchildren constantly as I worked.
Personally, I made it a habit to pray over them all as I worked, but especially for the one whose stocking I currently toiled over. If I couldn’t spend time with my grandchildren, giving them my time in this way really did help me feel closer to them.
Closer to Grandma
Additionally, I discovered that working on the stocking made me feel closer to my grandmother.
As I worked, I remembered seeing her hands applying sequins to some project that she was working on. I wondered if she had a touch of arthritis in her hands too. I wondered how long she pushed through the pain before she gave up for the day, or if she took short breaks and got right back at it.
There were so many questions that came to mind that I wish I could ask my grandma, especially when I would get frustrated at myself because I was doing something wrong.
“Grandma, I had no idea how much time and love and, I’m sure, prayers you poured into Kristen’s stocking and all of the other crafts you made for your grandkids and great-grandkids. I had no idea that it was work. Real work. That what you were giving us was a labor of love, the memories of which will last a lifetime!”
“My grandma always seemed to just know how to do these things. She was talented and gifted and knew the answers to everything. I’m the grandma now, and I don’t have a clue.”
From a Facebook post I made on December 21, 2022 about the Christmas stockings.
I remember feeling really anxious as Christmas drew near. I was so worried that my granddaughters wouldn’t like their stockings. Modern teens, pre-teens, and young girls want electronics and clothing from high-end stores. Will they be disappointed with a homemade gift?
“Grandma, did you ever worry that we wouldn’t like your gifts? Did you know that it would take me becoming a grandma myself to fully appreciate the gift you gave me for my daughter?”
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, we presented their stockings to them, all wrapped up and asked them to open the packages at the same time. They immediately recognized that it was like the one my grandma made for their mom all those years ago and they were excited! Genuinely excited! And I could not contain my tears. Tears of joy. Of relief. And, tears of sorrow.
“Grandma, I’d give anything if you could have seen that one moment!”
My fiancé, their “Papa Keith,” told the girls how many hours I spent on their gifts. As mentioned, I was crying, so I really don’t remember what he said verbatim, but the gist of it was that I fretted over getting everything perfect, I spent the entire year on them, working 1-2 hours in the evenings after work and full days some Saturdays. (It wouldn’t have taken an accomplished seamstress nearly that long, but I was learning from scratch. I got faster with each kit, though!) He also tried to impress upon them that I did it all out of love. Of course, the more he said, the more I cried.
I also cried because I had not been able to complete all six in time. My daughter assured me it was okay. “He’s not even old enough to know what a stocking is, mom,” she told me.
It’s January 4, 2023, and I have a few more stockings to make this year. I want them ready by December 24th, and I don’t want to feel the rush I felt as I finished Emily’s stocking this past year. With only 354 days until Christmas Eve, I think I’ll start CJ’s tomorrow! 🙂
