The Grand Christmas Holiday 2012 has come and gone at our house. As is our usual tradition, Richard opts to work on the 26th of December and when he gets home he drives up to the stripped tree in the front yard and the house totally de-Christmafied! We do leave out the nativity sets so that we remember to celebrate the Epiphany in January.
While putting away the holiday decor for the year, I took a moment to look at the Christmas Stockings that my mother in law, Joan Butler, stitched for herself and for Richard many years ago. She designed most of her canvasses and I especially love the one that she created for herself. Richard's stocking has happy animals of all kinds and building blocks with his initials. But, Joan's stocking is so great! It has a Christmas Tree with a Fleur de lis and a Kappa Key. Then there is the blue station wagon that she drove during the carpool years. Below that is the needlepointed panels that she created for a screen in her home. The were very oriental in style and lovely. You see the needle and thread to the right of the panel depiction. Then there is the backgammon board, the Dr. Pepper bottle and the playing cards on which she put the letters of her name. I get these stockings out every year and I simply love them. You can clearly see my Santa Pillow and the Edge of the Fa La La La La that Emma Grace stitched.
All this Needlepoint from days gone by has me thinking of all of the memories that are stitched into each piece. Here we go, embarking on 2013 and another year of memories and stitching. May the blessings of 2012 double for all of us in 2013!
