Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, my mother knit each of the kids in the family a Christmas stocking to hang above the fireplace, waiting for it to be filled by Santa on Christmas Eve. It worked, too!
We each had our own in a different color – mine was purple, my brothers and sister had red, green, and white. Mom embroidered our names on them, and then added fun little items like jingle bells, angels and snowmen she made by knitting them, and crocheted snow flakes. For years, even into adulthood, we continued hanging these stockings. Then, brilliant me, hung mine too low over a hot fireplace. Being of acrylic yarn, it melted a bit!
And, as time goes by, we are dispersed and gone from the world. We don’t see each other as often as we could as we are thousands of miles apart – or at least hundreds – in California, Wisconsin, and Colorado. My youngest brother’s wife put in a special request this year – she would like her own hand-knitted and personalized stocking. Challenge is now being met.
I looked through a lot of free holiday stocking patterns – some meh, others too much. Stranded color work is my favorite “fancy” knitting (forget lace and cables), and the one I have settled on is this pattern from Yarnspirations: the Festive Fair Isle Stocking. I am doing my own variant of it – already found a pattern mistake, but who cares?! As long as it looks good, and is enjoyed by the recipient and the maker, nothing is wrong.
The pattern itself is red, grey, and white, but my brother’s stocking is red, so I have to use green in his wife’s stocking to complement it. Yesterday afternoon, lounging in the afternoon sun on the patio, I began. If you follow the link to the pattern itself, you will see that “fur” yarn is at the top. I couldn’t find any so I made an I-cord, picked up the requisite 60 stitches, and made sure I had enough I-cord for a generous loop.
And so, the holiday season has officially begun for Christmas. Thanksgiving is past – and ours was nice – and this little project is a pleasant way to listen to audiobooks, relax, and watch the stocking grow.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 