Christmas

So we ended up making it north of KC on Wednesday night, before the weather turned seriously cold, and only had to drive through some heavy rain.  No big.  We came in a bit late, but Grandma Mona was scheduled to work on Thursday, so she was up making food anyway.  We helped her with the sugar cookies, and the kids and i didn't go to bed until 2-ish.

Christmas Eve, the freezing rain began, and i made a trip to Wal-Mart, because we needed a few things and i wanted to fill up the gas tank, and i really am that crazy.  It took me about two hours to get my 20 or so items and get out.  I almost beat a woman with her own cell phone for ignoring her obnoxious child who insisted on bumping into me and peering into and hanging on my cart for the full 40 minutes we stood in line.  Seriously people, pay attention to your kids!  Or a stranger might beat you with your own cell phone.  Anyway, among the items i needed to get were things i forgot to pack in our rush to leave the house a full day early, such as dress shoes, hats and gloves, and slippers.  I think Ember is especially cute in her hat and pajamas.



Throughout the day, relatives arrived and we ate wonderful food and generally hung out and opened presents and such.  Ember provided most of the entertainment, through her interpretive dance moves, and angry white chick routines.

By Christmas Morning, Grandma's house looked like this, with more on the way:



We were scheduled to visit another set of grandparents, but they called and canceled on account of a blizzard warning.  But that was ok; my parents were able to get around in my dad's pickup, and the kids had plenty of presents to open.  Don't let their enthusiasm fool you.



The real fun was getting into the snow!





Well, it was fun for a minute, at least.



I'm not sure what the official count was, but by Christmas morning, there was 9" of snow on the ground (this is Grandma's street; there were other places with drifts up to 6' tall)



On Saturday, and with my dad's 4wd and driving prowess, we made it to the other grandparents' house for more presents.



And on Sunday, the kids discovered they could make some quick cash by shoveling the driveway.



I better not hear any union talk out there!



Today, we packed up the car and made it back home.

Good points: Grandma's frozen water lines seem to have thawed without incident.  Our fish are all still alive.
Bad points: something is very wrong with the brakes on our car; the windshield wipers are also doing something really funky.

Christmas Stockings

Today i spent 6 hours making a stocking for my youngest.  Sure, i could have just bought her one, but family tradition on my husband's side dictates that the matriarch has to make one for each new baby and spouse to join the family--since his great-grandma died, his aunt has taken over the tradition, but she sort of dropped the ball after making mine and Ryvre's, so i had to make Willow's and finally got around to Ember's today.  It's only 4 years late. But she seems to love it, so well worth the trouble and wait.



How-to below the cut for anyone interested:

Here are my supplies.  As you can see, there's not much to it.  I also used a needle, scissors, and glue stick (oh yes i did...).  I didn't end up putting on the bells or ornament yet, because the little one did not want me to.  Less work for me, so whatever!



Here's what i had to live up to; Dale's was made by his great-grandmother when he was a baby; Mine and Ryvre's were made by Aunt Brenda about 8 years ago, and i made Willow's last year.



I'm using Willow's as a pattern, which was patterned after Dale's with very little alteration.  I traced with a pen, because i don't have fancy fabric pencils.



Self-explanatory i guess.  Just trace and cut.



The tree was traced from Willow's stocking onto paper; i just cut around with the tiny sharp scissors



Stuck the metallic whatever-it's-called on with glue-stick for now.  It'll be trimmed later.



Start at the top with the annoying tiny sequins and keep sewing them on close to each other



Ta-dah!  Nice and tacky, but whadaya do?  Don't mess with tradition!



Time to sew it onto the stocking cut-out.  I used a single stitch, perpendicular to the edges, but a blanket stitch would be cute if you were fancy like that.



Now for the white part.  It doesn't have to match up perfectly, because unlike the red part, this is going to be folded over.



It looks kind of wrong, but stay with me.



Leave about a 1-inch gap for a loop to hang it with on the back piece.





This is going to look wrong too.  Right sides are out on the red parts, but right sides are in on the white.





Now sew all the edges together (except the top)



Then fold down the white.  As you can see, the stitches show on the red part, but not the white.  Again, don't ask me, this is how all the others were.  But it's cool, because felt doesn't fray and these aren't meant for the washing machine.



The letters are cut out free-hand.  The store-bought type are too obviously store-bought for my tastes, so we're gonna get wonky a bit.  The M is kinda weird, but that's part of the charm!



I sew them down with another straight stitch



Here they are lined up; i think mine fit in alright :)