Baby's first Christmas

Okay, one last stocking.  (Anybody surprised I managed to squeeze in one last custom order before the shipping cut-off date?  I didn't think so.)

The mom contacted me and said she wanted a stocking for her baby boy.  This will be his first Christmas, and she said she had a few onesies that she wanted to use for the stocking.  She sent me a photo of a stocking she liked at a friend's house as an example, and when I saw pieces she sent, I completely understood why she wanted more of a "crazy quilt" style vs. the smaller pieces I just did on the last baby stockings.

Each tiny garment came with a handwritten tag explaining why it was special.  Mom and Dad are originally from Texas, so there's a tiny Cowboys jersey.  Dad went to Cal, so there's a Cal onesie, with "Baby" on the back because they hadn't decided his name.  He was Batman for his first Halloween; was there a way to use that?  Yes, but on the back - I just couldn't figure out how to fit in black and yellow with the other pastel colors.  A tiny Hilfiger shirt for his first 100 days.  A onesie printed with dogs because he has two "dog sisters", and a green striped one with two cute dog appliques.

I started at the toe with the green stripe and the biggest applique, then used a sleeve from the puppy outfit (the big brown spot is a tiny elbow patch!).  Part of the Cal jersey with the baby's last name is above that, then a stripe of the Hilfiger shirt, the Cowboys star, more puppies, another little applique, more blue shirt, and his name at the top.  I think my favorite part is the little Hilfiger pocket at the bottom.  Just because.

This is going off to the post office along with a few other last-minute vintage sales, and then I think I can officially declare the holiday OVER.

My last show was this past Sunday, and I close out my two-week neighborhood show this coming Sunday (I don't have to be there except for a few cashier shifts, so it's not quite the same as a regular show).

January looms, and I've got a long, involved plan to implement that will hopefully get me to this time next year without quite so much frantic in November and December.

Except I think I thrive on the frantic, so I'm sure I'll find some somewhere.