The most exciting thing happened!!! My second daughter decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
She was called to serve in the Mexico Mexico City Southeast Mission for a year and a half. For the first six weeks of her mission, she was in Provo Utah at the Missionary Training Center (MTC), where she learned how to teach the gospel, and began learning how to speak Spanish. We took her to Utah on December 11, so she was going to be spending her first Christmas away from home in the MTC. It was an awesome experience for her!
Once I realized she’d be gone for Christmas, I started thinking about the first package we’d send her – a Christmas one. I wanted to make her a memorable stocking, yet a humble stocking, and this is what I came up with.
It actually turned out super cute and now I want to make one for everyone in my family, with different quotes/scriptures on them.First step was to choose what I wanted it to say. For a missionary “Called to Serve” was a pretty good choice! But I was also debating using her favourite scripture “Trust in the Lord” (Proverbs 3:5).
I got my artistic daughter to write out the words and I copied them in pencil on to the drop cloth. Yes, the stocking is made from a drop cloth (what you throw on the ground to protect your floor while painting!). That’s pretty humble fabric!
Then it was simple embroidery in dark brown floss over the letters.
I lined my stocking with the green plaid fabric because I didn’t want the embroidery floss to get snagged when Santa stuffed the stocking.
I lined up my fabrics and sewed them together, overlapping the green over the front of the stocking at the top.
Then with the right sides together, I sewed my stocking together.
I added some gathered eyelet ribbon and a piece of jute string to hang it with.
The final touch was this light brown ribbon/lace trim.
Love how it turned out – and it didn’t cost me a cent. Made it all from stuff I already had.
Santa stuffed it full before shipping it off to her.
Our missionary unpacking her Christmas package – it got to her before Christmas!Next Christmas her companion is going to have to fill it!
Our missionary’s first Christmas, with a Charlie Brown tree.Perfect for one who has been Called to Serve the Lord!
