only ten thousand stitches to go

November 01, 2017








Everyone in my family has a needlepointed Christmas stocking. I made the last one in 2000 when my granddaughter was born and now with the birth of my grandson Carter, the kids kept hinting that he needed one too. I managed to ignore them because I'm so into knitting now, but I couldn't ignore the package that arrived on my doorstep. When I opened it I saw a complete Christmas stocking kit. I texted my son, "????", and he replied, "Can you teach me how to do it?" I said I could and then inspected it closely not knowing what to expect as in all my years of needlepointing I had never bought a kit. I'm here to tell you it has EVERYTHING you need, and all so neatly organized with beautiful wools (not acrylics) that are labeled with a color map and detailed directions and even a needle. And here's the big surprise, they only paid $25 including shipping. I'm completely shocked and think it's an unbelievable bargain for the quality. The wool is gorgeous, the design is adorable, the organization is lovely. 

I decided to help out my son and stitch Carter's name on it using this free charted alphabet to graph it out. Once that was done I decided to stitch a few of the blue snowflake blobs. I liked it and so I did a few more. It felt very familiar and soothing. Next I asked my husband how many square inches I would have to do per day to have it done by mid-December. He looked at it and figured about three. Hmmm, that seemed doable--only three square inches a day--maybe I would do it myself. The little family popped by on Sunday for dinner and I told him I was thinking about stitching it myself and did he mind. He smiled. And that's how I have added another project to my Christmas craft/knitting/stitching queue. Holy. Moly.

Years ago I professionally finished needlepointed projects into ornaments, pillows, stockings, etc. for a few of the local shops. It was very lucrative and I don't remember why I stopped doing it. When I'm finished with this stitching I'll write up a step-by-step tutorial on how to finish a stocking that is lined and edged with piping. It's not so difficult. In the meantime you may like to start on your own stocking. Below is a link to the Hugging Penguins Christmas Stocking from Dimensions in case you are in need of expanding your Christmas project queue. :) I also found a cute stocking with Santa. He's a pretty popular guy to have on a stocking.






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8 Comments

  1. What a great talent to have, but, selfishly, please don't go back to needlepointing after Carter's stocking is done, or we will have less knitting content! Chloe

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  2. What a sweet story. I can just see your son's smile when you asked if he'd mind. I know we can count on seeing a picture of the finished project! Carol

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    Replies
    1. I know, right? Kinda sneaky! Hopefully I'll have this done by Thanksgiving and I can give it to them then. I've still got my knitting too!

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  3. Hi Kristen,
    I love needlepoint. My Mother-in-Law used to do cross stitch. I did needlepoint. Can I ask what company your kit was ordered from. I would love to make these for my future grandchildren. Beautiful work as always.
    Take care,
    Leslie

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    Replies
    1. Hi Leslie. Here's the link--it's even cheaper today! Less than $23! https://www.amazon.com/Dimensions-Needlecrafts-Needlepoint-Hugging-Penguins/dp/B003O9KJ28/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=klrcsr-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=f67b023d67da11de4d960ce8e236d281&creativeASIN=B003O9KJ28

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    2. You'll have to copy and paste this url to your browser.

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  4. What a lovely gift for Carter's first Christmas.

    Carole

    ReplyDelete

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