Miles Christmas Photo

Miles hopes you had a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2015

Every year we participate in the Alpine Living Nativity. It's a wonderful time for us to share with others our belief in the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.

As the last visitors come through the little town of Bethlehem all the shopkeepers close up shop and follow them along the path to find the babe lying in a manger.

We have the privilege of watching as the wise men present their gifts to the Babe.

I don't know how I managed to get such a beautiful photo with my cell phone. I count it as a gift from Heavenly Father this year.

Yet I know that the greatest gift is the baby lying in the manger, His life, His sacrifice, His love for us all.

Christmas Stocking Marathon

Son1 wanted me to knit some min-Christmas stockings for some of his friends at the University. I got nine finished and ready to go! Yay!

Prion needs five stockings for her friends. I'm working on those now. Blondie (a s-i-s..... Sister-in-Spirit) needs two more for her family.

This happens every year! A mini-Christmas Stocking Marathon! Some years I have made more than 60 before Christmas!

I love knitting them, though. They are fast, easy, and I can watch old Christmas movies while I am stitching them together.

The stocking second from the left on the top row has plain white yarn for the trim. That's because it is for a boy. The other stockings all have a baby yarn for the trim, which has just a little bit of sparkle in it, perfect for all the girls.

The funny thing is that every year I have to dig out an old one and figure out the pattern again. One of these days I'll write it down and be able to get to work just a little faster!

What are your favorite Christmas movies? I've already watched White Christmas and Christmas in Connecticut. I would love to know what other people have in their collection, it might just be something I can add to mine!

Update: 11/29
Here are the rest of the stockings that I knit. 17 stockings in three days!

City Lights

We went into the city that is about 40 minutes away to see the lights. The church there has a beautiful display at Christmastime and I love to go see them when I have the time.

One of the trees on the square is lit with 1,500 strands of red lights with 50 lights per strand — that's 75,000 lights on one tree! I also noticed this year that some of the trees had the newer LED lights. I imagine that they will replace the regular lights with LEDs over the next few year. There are probably one million lights throughout the display. A beautiful and serene place to walk at night surrounded by beautiful music and wonderful reminders of the life of Christ.

Here is one of the full-sized Nativities they have displayed.

 

The lights were beautiful! You can see in the photos that it was snowing lightly. It was a bit chilly, about 23 degrees, but that is much warmer than the 7 degrees we 'enjoyed' last night!

Who Started Christmas?

I found this story on the internet while following a trail of Christmas stories. It caught me up short, and said so much in such a short story.

*****************

Who Started Christmas?

Author Unknown

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable, and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year - Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every house-warming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the car, dragged her two kids in with her, and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot."

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet, calm voice respond, "Don't worry, we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different this world would be.

Christmas Photos Around the House

Here are a few photos of Christmas around our house this year. It is the same almost every year, set up just this way. This year we have a live tree and it is huge! Usually we have the artificial tree because some trees make my allergies act up. No problems this year!

The Nativity. My favorite part.

 

 Our Christmas Village. Almost too many pieces for the table this year. While the village is up we eat buffet style (Hubby's favorite anyway).

The stockings that were completed last year. From left to right: Hubby, mine, Blondie and her husband, Spunky and her husband, Son1, FosterSon and his wife, Prion, Vet2Be.

On the chest in the front room. I love this little 'forest in a basket' that I put together last year. One of these days I want to find a miniature log cabin Christmas ornament to put in among the pines.

 

The Wreath on the front door. I made this many years ago and I still love it. I need to replace the grapes, though because they are starting to peel from being in the weather.

The Nutcrackers. One of our sons is in Mexico for two years. This is his collection and we have put it up each Christmas that he has been gone.

The Tree! Yes, it is tall! Our neighbor brought it for us and he had to chop 2 feet off the top to get it to stand up. It touches the ceiling and Hubby hasn't had time to lash the star to the top. It has been great fun to have such a huge tree!

O Holy Night

A Brother Like That

Here is Hubby's favorite Christmas story. He is a brother like that, so are his two sons.

*********************

A Brother Like That
Author Unknown

Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it.

"Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.

Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded.

"You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy,
I wish..." He hesitated. Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels.

"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?"

"Oh yes, I'd love that." After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?" Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again.

"Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car. "There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm gonna give you one just like it...then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about."

Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.

That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

*********************

Our family has been blessed this year. We have enough of everything. We have tried so hard to think of gifts for each other, but no one really wants anything! We have everything we need.

There are a few little gifts under the tree. But nothing much. We are looking forward to speaking with our son whom we haven't seen for two year (he has been in Mexico). We will see him in January when he comes home. Perhaps on the 26th we will drive into the city to see the lights and spend some time together.

Spunky will be working on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She and Carpenter don't have children and she wants the other nurses to have the chance to be with their families on Christmas. She does this every year. She always takes Thanksgiving off because she likes spending time with her family--but she says that Christmas is a magical day when you have children and she wants her co-workers to have the chance to be there.

It will be a quiet Christmas. I am sure I will be spending the time reflecting on the Great Gift that was given to us by our Heavenly Father, His Only Begotten Son. How precious is that thought. How sublime and awe-inspiring is that one Gift, nothing else can compare.

Inside Day!

Yesterday I tried to 'catch up' on things. I didn't really catch up on anything at all! I spend most of the day compiling Christmas stories for Hubby. He loves Christmas stories and a few years ago I compiled many into a book for him. I made many copies that year to give away to friends and family and made sure that there was one for him.

He, kind soul that he is, gave away his copy last year! Unfortunately, over the past few years we have gotten new computers and programs. That is wonderful, but it made the original file unreadable so I decided to compile the stories again. I'm sure there are many more stories in the booklet this time than there were last time.

However, last time there was at least one picture for each story. I was able to print it on a color laser printer and it turned out very nicely! This time, no color laser printer, and no pictures. I am sure that I could put pictures in, but Hubby doesn't really care if there are pictures or not, so I didn't worry about the pictures this time. There are 91 pages of stories, if I had included pictures I would probably have added another 10 or more pages!

The rest of the day I spent cleaning at Spunky and Carpenter's house. They are gone for the week and I have been checking on Charlie, the cat, and their two birds. Suri (the grand-puppy) has been staying with us. She is very good and gets along well with our two dogs.

Spunky has been so busy lately studying for her clinical exam and her boards that her house was a bit messy. When she and her husband left for some much needed R&R, I decided to spend a little time cleaning up for them. She and her husband are always good to help us out whenever we need it, I love to do little things like this for them when I can.

It is always nice to come home to a cleaner house and clean sheets! It's not spotless, but at least the dishes are washed, clean sheets are on the bed, the garbage is taken out, the stove top is clean, the kitchen is swept, and the carpets are vacuumed. I even left a vase with some carnations on their kitchen counter.

Merry Christmas Hubby! And Welcome Home Spunky and Carpenter!

The Little Black Lamb—a Christmas Story

 One of Hubby's favorite Christmas stories. I was typing it up because his copy is so old, and I thought I would post it here as well.

**********************

 The Little Black Lamb

Old Ishma never knew where the little black lamb came from. At first he suspected on of the other shepherds of playing a trick on him, but he was immediately sorry for his unkind thoughts; for Ishma was an honorable man and tried his best to always think kindly of everyone.

“But the little black lamb had to come from somewhere,” he reasoned, “and I would have known the answer, had I not been so careless as to fall asleep in the middle of the day.”

For the many years he had been a shepherd, it had always been Ishma’s custom to sit down and eat his lunch when the sun was high overhead, and then rest for a while. But never had he so much as dozed for a moment, until one day he did fall asleep. It was for only a minute or two—he could tell that by his shadow—but when he opened his eyes the little black lamb stood before him. When he saw it, Ishma cried out and beat his breast, for it was well known in the Judean hills that a black lamb is the omen of bad luck. Many a whispering plainsman had told of how, when such an outcast was born in the field, the heartless shepherd hid it under his cloak and took it to the hills to die.

When Ishma heard these things he always shook his head sadly, and promised himself, “If the dear God ever sees fit to send one of my ewes a black lamb, I shall care for it as tenderly as the rest of my flock”

In the first place, it was always going astray, and then Ishma would have to leave his flock and roam the valleys and hills until he found it. And he could not count the times it made a false step and fell into a crevice so that he would have to pull it out with his crook, only to find it bruised and bleeding. To be sure, he would anoint its wounds with oil, but not always without complaining. The little black lamb would bleat so pitifully, Ishma would be filled with remorse, and remembering his promise, he would gather the lamb in his arms and comfort it. Then the little black lamb would lay its head on Ishma’s shoulder and go to sleep like a tired child.

And, as if going astray and making false steps were not enough, it hadn’t the slightest sense about grazing. Even the youngest lamb in Ishma’s flock knew that sheep graze in one direction, and follow a leader. But not the little black lamb! Whenever Ishma looked back, all he could see was a black tail, and time after time he would run back to pick up the lamb and turn it around.
“Follow the leader, you stupid one!” he would shout. The little balck lamb would hang its head in shame. And because he was ashamed too for breaking his promis again, Ishma would reach down and stroke the lamb gently.

“Never mind, little one,” he would say. “Some day I think you will learn to go the right way. The trouble is all with me, I have not patience. Together we shall learn—you and I, patience.”
For the idea was slowly forming in Ishma’s mind that the little black lamb was sent to him for a reason, and in the fullness of time he would understand.

As the days went by, Ishma knew that as he grew in patience, the little black lamb grew in obedience.
Then came the day Ishma was never to forget. The little black lamb did not go astray once, but whenever Ishma looked back, he could see a black head nibbling contentedly in the green pastures. Sometimes the lamb would look up at Ishma as if to say, “You see, I am learning to go the right way.”

And so when nightfall came, Ishma led his flock to a little hill and they lay down to rest. But he took the little black lamb in his arms and held it against his breast. “Forgive me, my little friend,” he whispered, “for all the times I have been impatient and scolded you, and called you stupid. Today you were so well behaved, I thought you must be sick. But your eyes are bright, and your little nose is as cool as the still waters where you refresh yourself each day. So I know you are not sick, but that at last you are learning to go the right way.”

The little lamb sighed happily and snuggled closer to Ishma’s heart.

“There is somthing else I must tell you, little one, Of the hundred in my fold, I love you best of all.”
But the little black lamb was not listening. It had fallen fast asleep. Ishma smiled to himself. “I suppose,” he thought, “being so well behaved is enough to tire one as small as you. I, too, am tired and must sleep. But how I wish I could stay awake and watch this night. For never have the stars seemed as bright, and never have the heavens declared the glory of God with such splendor.”

How long he slept he did not know. It was the little black lamb pawing him gently that wakened Ishma. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, for there was a strange light. Below on the plains he could see shepherds in the distance hurrying toward Bethlehem. Hiding the lamb under his cloak, Ishma jumped to his feet and hurried after them, marveling at the lightness of his step and the speed with which he ran.

“I am like a boy again,” he thought, “running across the plains for sheer joy.”

As he came nearer the group, a shepherd boy ran up and stopped him.

“Oh, Ishma,” he cried excitedly. “we were watching our flocks when a strange light appeared and frightened us, but an angel came and told us not to be afraid. He said that a Savior was born in the City of David, and that we should find Him, a Baby, in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” The boy stopped to catch his breath.

“You will scarcely believe what I have to say, Ishma, but it is true! We found a young mother and her newborn Son in the stable of the Inn. Such a beautiful child you have never seen! And to think of the shame of nothing but a manger with straw for a bed. And what is even worse, we came in such haste not one of us thought to bring a gift. Do you have something, Ishma, if nothing more than a bright stone in your pocket to give the baby?”

Ishma shook his head sadly. “I have nothing.” he told the boy. “I did not hear the angel because I fell asleep.”

Under Ishma’s cloak the little black lamb moved, and in that moment Ishma understood. He turned to the boy, his eyes filled with happiness.

“Yes, yes,” he said joyfully, “I just remembered. I do have a present after all. Come let us go and give it to the Baby.”

The shepherd boy hesistated for a moment, and then the words came swiftly.

“Ishma, could you, would you please say the gift is from all of us? Then we shall not be ashamed.”
“It shall be so,”Ishma told him gently, “because truly it is a gift from all of us.”

When they reached the stable, the shepherds made way for Ishma, looking at him with great respect, for he was loved and revered by all of them.

It was as the boy had said. Never had Ishma seen such a beautiful child.

“Have you noticed,” he asked the others, “how the starbeams make the little crown around His head?”

They nodded silently, overwhelmed by the beauty of the scene before them. Ishma turned to speak to the mother, and as she smiled, he wondered how, in eyes that were filled with joy, there could be sorrow, too.

“I am Ishma,” he told her, “the oldest of all the shepherds. In our land it is customary to bring a gift to a newborn child, and so I bring a token from all of us.”

The shepherds gathered closer to Ishma, eager to see what manner of gift he had for the Child. They smiled confidently nodding at each other as if to say, “We can depend on Ishma to have a worthy gift.”

“There was a time,” Ishma continued, “when we would have been ashamed of our offering. Each of us, at times, has hidden one of these under his cloak, even as I do now, so that no ne else would know his secret.”

The shepherds whispered anxiously to each other—there was only one thing they ever hid beneath their cloaks. Ishma raised his hand to quiet them, and then he went on.

“Tonight, we are no longer ashamed of our gift, but bring it here with reverence to the Christ Child.”
As Ishma paused, the little black lamb jumped nimbly from the folds of his cloak and knelt beside the manger.

“We know God sent this Child to us so that we might learn to lvoe each other, even as He Himself loves all the world, even a little black lamb.”

And as the shepherds knelt in adoration before the manger, the night air filled with the heavenly music of the angelic choir, and the star overhead gleamed even more brightly.

Dyed Stockings

The stockings were a hit! The kids loved dying them and I thought I would post the results here. I was very glad that I tied a bit of yarn to each stocking to be able to tell how each yarn dyed. The Superwash Bare from KnitPicks picked up the color the very best, as you can see in the photos.

Here is a file you can print that gives the instructions I used:

You should be able to click on the instructions and have them show up 'full size' so you can print them.

Here are the photos I took while we were dying the stockings.

All the stockings soaking in a bucket. I put them in to soak the night before so I wouldn't have to remember to do it in the morning.

The kids squished out the excess water, then put the stocking between layers of an old towel. They stepped on the towel to get the excess water out of the stocking.

Two of the girls wanted to help mix the Kool Aid into the water. We used 4 packages of Kool Aid in one condiment bottle. I forgot to remind them to wash their hands when they were done. We found out when we saw colored finger prints on the undyed stockings as they were choosing which one they were going to dye. Moral: Wash your hands well after you mix the dye!

Un-dyed stocking ready to go! The table is covered with plastic garbage bags that have been cut along one side and across the bottom. Those were taped to the table to protect the table top. We used paper towels under the stockings to catch any excess dye.

Then we let the kids get creative! We instructed them to not squeeze the bottle hard or we would end up with dye everywhere. This little guy was wonderful! He was soooo careful!

CutiePie having a great time! She is so creative and 

loves working with textiles!

 

Here is one stocking almost done. Next we put the stocking on a paper plate and microwaved it on high for two minutes.

 

 Here is a closer look at the stocking after it was microwaved.

The last step is to rinse the stocking in cold water to make sure that all the excess dye is gone. With Kool Aid, it has usually all absorbed with the first microwaving. Once in a while we will have to 'nuke' it again. Then let it dry on the paper plate or a paper towel. Don't hang to dry or it will stretch out. If you are dying a hank of yarn, then it is best to hang it, but don't hang projects that are already knitted.

 

You can see that some of the stockings turned out more pastel and others turned out brighter. The same dye (Kool Aid) was used by everyone. The difference is the yarn. The ones that are bright colored are KnitPicks Superwash Merino wool, the pastel colored stockings are knit with Patton's Wool 

(Winter White before it was dyed).

Here are a few links that have sample yarns dyed with Kool Aid.

Little Austinite

KnitPicks Community (short PDF tutorial)

Gaea Creations

Knitty (tutorial and color swatches)

The Camel

Tonight we went to a live Nativity in a town close by. It was wonderful. Visitors are shuttled over to two homes with barns that put this on each year. We walk up a path that is lit with Christmas lights and luminaries. Along the way we see Romans on horseback as well as shepherds and other people from Bethlehem.

One large barn was set up like the city of 'Bethlehem' with sheep, camels, and other animals. They also had different 'shops' where people were making bread, using clay to make pots, talking about wool, woodworking, all sorts of different things that might have been going on in Bethlehem when the Savior was born.

In the second barn was a stall set up with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. As we walked into the barn, there were 'angels' singing in the loft.

Last year was the first time we went and the camel LOVED Vet2Be! He came right over to him and snuffled him and sniffed him and wanted to be near him. I was hoping for a repeat this year, and I got it.

Here is the photo:

The camel didn't mind other people coming over and petting it (if they could reach it) or standing by the pen, but he didn't snuffle anyone like he did Vet2Be! The camel just walked right over to Vet2Be and stayed there until he went on to visit the other animals (a donkey, sheep, goats, geese and ducks, and horses).

The live Nativity was wonderful! We enjoyed it as much this year as we did last year. I look forward to seeing people portraying Mary, Joseph, and Jesus (yes, a real baby--not a dolly!) It is one of my favorite new traditions. So peaceful, and surreal. What a wonderful way to remember the circumstances in which our Savior was born.

Gift Soap

Prion lives in a dorm with five other girls. She loved her room mates last year, but these girls just aren't as interested in getting an education as she is, that translates into; "They only go to class when they feel like it." Prion is also a Sophomore this year, and the other girls are all freshmen.

Last year I knit each of her room mates a miniature stocking in their favorite color. They loved them and left them hanging on the wall all year. This year Prion didn't want me to spend as much time on the gifts for her room mates, so she asked if I would make them some goat's milk soap. It costs a bit more than the stockings, which I can make from scraps, but it is much faster. It takes me less than 30 minutes to make a batch of soap!

Here is the soap all ready to mail to the dorms. I decided not to wrap the soap in plastic so that it would have more time to dry and harden. I didn't have any real ribbon on hand, so I tore some fabric scraps to wrap around the soap. They make soap look festive and a bit rustic. If Prion wants to, she can tuck a piece of greenery under each 'ribbon'. 

Hand-crafted goat's milk soap is still a very nice present, and I was glad that I didn't have to spend time knitting them all stockings. I have completed five stockings already, with 17 more underway. I hope Prion's room mates like their gifts!

Marshmallow Guns

A few years ago I sent marshmallow guns to my nephews for Christmas. A close family friend asked for the instructions and I thought they would be fun to post here as well.

Here is the note I sent along with the marshmallow guns!
Your new Marshmallow gun comes partly assembled! Just fit the pieces together as shown. Place a marshmallow in the mouthpiece and blow REALLY HARD! Shoot your brother, the cat, your Dad (but not your Mom unless she says so.) Definately not Grandma or Aunt E, but Uncle D would probably laugh alot if you shot him! Just make sure he gets a turn to shoot back at you (maybe you could let him use your Mom’s marshmallow gun)

You probably better practice shooting outside so your mom doesn’t find marshmallows all over the house. Also, the animals love the leftovers (especially the racoons) or if the marshmallows sit on the grass, they disolve in the rain and snow. That is much better than having marshmallows in the house for the mice and ants to find.

This is really fun for Cub Scouts, too!

My sister never lets a package stay un-opened so they opened the Christmas gift the minute it came in the door. The kids were thrilled! When Dad came home they were all hiding behind chairs and the shot him as he came in the door. Oh, how I would have loved to see that! He thought it was great fun (he's a big kid himself). When the kids asked Dad to guess who sent them the guns for Christmas, he said, "Aunt TJ!" Of course it would be me that would send such an off-the-wall gift!

The finished project (minus the mouth piece).

Here are the instructions I drew up for the marshmallow guns:

Sorry the instructions are sideways. If you click on the instructions they will come up full sized, then you can print them out.

Do you have any other great ideas for off-the-wall gifts that are fun? I'd love to hear your ideas! Christmas is coming, soon!

Next project... done!

Over the weekend I knit three more Christmas stockings for a friend who lives about three hours south of here. She wanted some for her family similar to the ones I knit for my family last year. She bought the yarn, I did the knitting.

Last year I made matching, but opposite coloring, socks. Each couple had the same colors, but the colors were reversed. Each of my children got to choose their two favorite colors. I also knit pairs of stockings for the children who are not married so that when they do get married, I'll already have the stockings for the new couple!

I knit ten more large stockings between last Christmas and today. I knit in the winter when there is no outdoor work to do, since it snowed on Saturday, I had the perfect opportunity to finish up the last three stockings. I had seven done from last year, it was nice to have more than half the project finished when I got back to it this weekend.

I wish I had taken a picture of them. I was so excited to get them done and packed in a box that I forgot the picture. Maybe she will send me a picture when she hangs them on her mantle.

One wonderful thing about winter is I get to work on my indoor projects! I love checking things off my project list!

Little Stocking

My neighbor-niece, CutiePie, came over on Thursday morning to learn how to knit Christmas Stockings on the knitting machine. I spent about 1 1/2 hours teaching her how to use the knitting machine and make a stocking. She is only 10 and the daughter of a dear friend. All her children call me 'Aunt' and my children call her 'Aunt' as well.

CutiePie came over because she wants to help me with a bigger project. In a few weeks we will be having a class on dying wool. My 'brilliant' idea is to have enough mini-stockings knit in white wool so that each child can dye their own stocking! I'm not sure if that will happen since I will need to have 15 stockings made by then. When CutiePie heard my idea she said, "I can help!" So of course I wanted to let her help. Hopefully the learning curve won't take too much time!

We made one mini-stocking on Thursday. When I am knitting by myself, instead of teaching, I can get about 4-5 stockings knit in an hour. It takes me another 10-15 minutes to stitch up the toe and the side of each stocking.

Hopefully one day I will write up my pattern notes into a real pattern that someone else can follow. When I do, I will post it to my blog. For now, here is a photo of the stocking we knit.

This mini-stocking is about 10" long. It isn't too hard to adjust this pattern to make other sizes. The number of stitches cast on is the same as the number of rows for the leg. The number of rows for the cuff is the same as the number of rows for the leg (the cuff is doubled over so it looks as if it has fewer rows).  The number of rows for the foot is 1/2 the number of rows for the leg.

Photo of the inside of a mini-stocking after it has
come off the knitting machine.

  Photo of the right side of a mini-stocking after it has
come off the knitting machine.

When our children were younger I would knit three stockings for each child to give away to their favorite friends for Christmas. The stockings were filled with small candies, pencils, erasers, small toys, or anything else that our children could think of for their friends. When I meet one of my children's childhood friends, they often let me know that they still have the little stockings that were knit for them so many years ago. That brings a smile to my face every time. I'm glad to know that it is something that they treasure and have fond memories of.

Machine Knit Christmas Stockings

This is a pattern I worked up last year, but I thought it would be a good idea to store it here so I could always find it!

Here is a close-up of two of the stockings I made. I think I made over 40 in 2008! Thank goodness for knitting machines!

Materials:
Wool Ease worsted weight wool from Lion Brand. Also some Patton’s wool.

Gauge: 
not really important since these are not meant to fit anyone. I used tension 6 on my mid-gauge Silver Reed knitting machine. Use whatever gauge that gives you a stitch that you like to look at.

• Cast on 48 stitches with scrap yarn using whatever method you prefer.

• Set row counter to 000.

• Using Main Color yarn (MC) Knit leg for 76 rows. Leave carriage on the right if you are knitting the heel on the right. You may knit a solid or stripe pattern. Take MC from the carriage and tuck it under the machine and to the back.

• Put a contrast color (CC) if you want a different color heel, into the carriage.

• Set machine up for partial knitting. You will be knitting on the right side of the stocking, the left side is in hold position.

• Short row heel on right side (it really doesn’t matter what side you knit your heel, it is easiest to pick a side for the heel and toe and stick with it so that all your stockings match). End with carriage on the right. See the end of this post for a description of how I short row.

• Set row counter to 000. Return machine to normal knitting.

• With MC knit foot for 34 rows. Continue stripe pattern. End with carriage on the right. Cut MC yarn if you are using CC yarn on the toe.

• Set machine up for partial knitting. Leave the left half of the needles in hold position. End with carriage on the left so that your tail is by ‘0’. Leave the tail the width of the knitting x 1.5 plus the length of the stocking plus about 5 inches. This tail will be used to kitchener (knit or weave) toe together and sew sides together.

• You should start with the carriage on the right. That means you must either take the carriage off the machine and put it back on the right side, or you might have a lever or switch on your carriage to move it from the left to the right without knitting or dropping stitches.

• Short row toe.

• Knit scrap yarn across all the stitches on the machine and take stocking off the machine.

Production Tip: If you are making more than one stocking, instead of taking the stocking off the machine, knit a row of ravel cord, knit 4 or 5 rows more of scrap yarn. Re-hang the weights above the ravel cord, and start a new stocking. Then pull the ravel cord to separate the first stocking from the second stocking.

For the edging on the top of the sock use size 3 needles, pick up stitches along the top of the stocking. Knit 6 rows of garter stitch starting with the knit side facing you. Bind off.

Kitchener together the toe, sew up the side. (Here are written directions for kitchener stitch.)

Stripe patterns

• The stockings with a narrow/wide stripe pattern use a stripe pattern of MC 10 rows, CC 2 rows. When close to the heel is reached, divide the MC stripe by knitting 6 rows, knit the heel in CC, finish MC stripe with 4 rows. The heel is set into the MC stripe.

• The stockings with a wide stripe use a stripe pattern of MC 10 rows, CC 10 rows. Divide the CC stripe (8th stripe) by knitting 6 rows CC, knit heel with MC, finish CC by knitting 4 rows CC, knit foot.

Every other needle cast-on is done by bringing every other needle forward (other needles are left in non-working position). Set the yarn into the carriage and knit one row. Hang weights or cast-on comb.

• Bring non-working needles forward to the front of the bed so that you have the full number of cast on stitches in working position. Knit one row.

• Bring all needles forward, knit one row.

• Knitting 4 or 5 rows is usually enough to start a stocking.

How I Short Row
There are different techniques for short-rowing. This is the way that I do it. You may have to experiment with different ways before you find one that you like. These directions will take you step by step through a heel or toe for the Christmas stocking.

Step 1 With carriage on the right, change levers on your carriage for short row. The carriage should be on the right. Put all needles left of ‘0’ into hold position (usually this is the furthest position toward you.)

Step 2 Move the carriage from right to left, knitting one partial row (the needles to the left of ‘0’ will not knit.

Step 3 Pull out needle R1 (1st needle to the right of ‘0’ into hold position. Knit one row from left to right. There will be an extra loop on needle R1.

Step 4 Pull out needle R24 (the needle furthest to the right.) Knit one row from right to left.

Continue repeating Step 3 and Step 4 until only ⅓ of the needles are left in work.

Here is the tricky part:

Step 5 Put the needle on the carriage side into hold position, put 2 needles opposite the carriage into work position. Knit 1 row.

Continue repeating Step 5 until all needles to the right of ‘0’ are in work position and carriage is on the right.

Step 6 If you have used a contrasting color of the heel, clip the yarn of the CC and tie off with the other tail where you began. Put MC back into carriage yarn slot, place all levers for normal knitting, change row counter to ‘000’, continue knitting foot.

Here are most of the stockings I knit. There are actually 2 of each stocking-one for our child (in the color they chose) and one for their spouse (whether they are married right now or not).

Here is a PDF version that you can download:
Machine Knit Christmas Stocking pattern