Grandma's Doilies — Naptime Inspirations

Just a short post today to share our special Christmas stockings with you.

I claim good genes when it comes to my creative talents. I come from a long line of women who not only worked hard with their hands, but they created beautiful as well as useful things for their families. I have one living grandparent, my dad’s mother, and she is 98 years old! Along with grandpa, she worked a farm, raised 5 children, sewed most of their clothing, and grew and preserved most of their food. After they became empty nesters Grandma started her own homemade noodle business and turned to quilting as an expression of her artistry. Every year for Christmas she blessed her extended family members with handmade gifts. Many of those Christmases she gave us crocheted doilies. See where I’m going here??

I amassed a considerable collection of Grandma’s crocheted doilies over the years. They were so special to me but I didn’t have a great way to display them. A few years ago, inspiration struck and I decided to make Christmas stockings for my family, incorporating at least one of Grandma’s crocheted doilies into each stocking. The body of the stocking was made from upcycled linen that I collected over a few years from thrift stores and clothing giveaways. I was always on the lookout for linen garments with interesting trims and embellishments. I was able to highlight these embellishments in the stockings too. I also took into account the personality of the recipient of the stocking in my design. Since Tom is the only male in our family I made his a bit less frilly (more plain). Hayley is famous for her blue eyes so I used the blue embroidered linen in hers. Ellen requested white on white. The other 3 have less of a story to their designs!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! This is what I love to do—use something special with sentimental value and give it new life in a creation that is useful and enjoyed! If you have ideas for your special textiles, let’s talk!

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Naptime Inspirations