Busy week! Josh is still working six 12 hour shifts getting equipment ready to transport to Prudhoe Bay, so we've been missing him. Monday I was getting stuff done around the house and fell down the stairs while holding Fynn. He slid a couple more on his own. Oh man, I can't get the nightmare of a scene out of my head and I can't describe how awful I feel. Little boys should get bumps and bruises that they cause themselves and learn lessons from, not because their mommma dropped them! I could see he bonked his head in three spots. Oh, and I think I prayed harder than I ever had before. And Fynn stopped crying and I knew God had protected him! We got him checked out at Urgent Care just to be diligent, but by this time he was flirting and smiling with the nurses again.
Tuesday I had my CPR/AED re-cert, Wednesday I worked, power-cleaned the house, and had Bible study, and today I got that steroid injection in the inflamed tendon in my wrist. Fun times! But, Fynn slept 9 hours straight last night, so we're both feeling pretty good today. After I got home I started to make Fynn's stocking (pattern below).
I got Josh and his buddy some coffee on my way into town this morning and saw raspberry chai on the menu. I just had to try it and it was amazing! Totally gave me a better outlook on life! Sometimes, even when life is so good for me in general, I see that this world is just not fit for life and I long for heaven. So many sad happenings. But a raspberry chai reminded me that God does still have good things in store for us here while we actively wait for Him.
Okay, so for the pattern, you're going to need to print out these 2 pages: (You can click on these thumbnails and they will open full size, or adjust as necessary before printing. Then line up at the arrows)
Other supplies:
- 1/2 yard of back fabric
- 1/2 yard of front fabric
- Other fabric as desired (If you're using the same pattern as the back, you should have enough in the 1/2 yard
- 1 yard piping or ribbon
- Thread for machine
- May need embroidery floss and needle
You could do a bunch of variations of this ,but you will need at least one full cut out of the whole thing, two if you want both sides completely plain. (Make sure your fabrics are facing the right way!) If not, then cut out one of each A, B, C, and D for the cuff, heel and toe. Be sure to add just about a quarter inch where they connect for seam overlap. You can choose your variations, just cuff, just heel/toe, etc.
I am by no means a seamstress, but I thought I'd try to figure this one out on my own as I couldn't find a stocking for Fynn that I liked. I was making Fynns to be similar to these that Josh's folks got for us a couple years back:
Okay, once you have all the pieces cut out, completely assemble the front. Sew the cuff, heel and toe onto the sock body. Then fold the cuff back at the top and sew in place so that your top edge is the fold. You don't have to worry about folding edges or anything if you do a zig zag stitch across the seam, the piping or ribbon will cover it. Which brings us to you next step. Since the piping I used was so bulky, I tacked it in place by hand every inch or using an invisible stitch with embroidery floss. Front complete!
I had to double check that my back fabric was going to be facing the right way, then did the same top hem as on the front, making sure that the height was just a smidgen lower so it would be invisible when hung empty. Then put the outside faces together and sew all but the to opening. For this step I had to "jump" over every section of the piping because it kept making my sewing machine angry. =) I then went back and sewed over these sections by hand also.
Before you turn it inside out, take a loop of your remaining piping and sew it into the back corner to hang on a hook on your mantle. Flip it inside out and fill with lots of Christmas goodies! I realized mine was a bit bunchey, but after I ironed it out, it was much better.
