62 days until

Christmas.

And although I have done absolutely no gift shopping or making or even gift planning, for some reason that doesn't worry me one bit. Maybe it should? I'll think about that later.

Meanwhile, I am sneaking in a totally unnecessary project this week, but one that's been on my mind for almost a year. I'm making Christmas stockings for a friend! Just because. And it's been so. much. fun. Sometimes there's nothing better than making a project that's NOT on the list. Even better when it'll make someone else smile too!

After browsing about, I've set out to make stockings that look like this or this. It's a classic style with a cuff. Since I don't have a similar stocking around to trace, I used the free stocking shape template from Sew Scrumptious; but otherwise I didn't particularly follow her pattern.

My friend has an eclectic vintage thrifted look that I admire, but don't necessarily channel. So, with the help of some other friends, we commiserated on this collection of fabric. I'm going to use more fabrics than this, as some stockings are going to be pieced, but this sets a the general direction for my project. Not surprisingly there's some Flea Market Fancy in there and several other Denyse Schmidt prints. Look no farther than Denyse when you want something retro!

Out comes my bucket of Warm & Natural batting scraps and away we go!

I'm quilting both exteriors of the stocking. For the stocking linings, I'm using Essex linen/cotton blends. My cuffs (which are cut 8" x 12.75" to fit this stocking template) are attached via Cluck, Cluck's tutorial.