Sweet Lily's Stocking

This is Lily's memorial Christmas stocking, made with love a couple years ago by her great-grandmother. ❤️🎄

Bumma made one for me as a little girl, and now she's made one for my own little girl. We picked out the colors, design, and yarn together, Bumma knitted it, and my sister-in-law Kala crocheted the little strands for the green and red dangly balls.

I plan on hanging her stocking each year, one day hopefully next to the stockings of Lily's future siblings. My girl will always be a part of my life and Christmas.

If you're a bereaved parent, I'd love to see a photo of your baby's stocking if you have one.

You can read more about Lily's stocking, see more photos and a video by clicking here.

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Lily's Christmas Stocking!

I never got around to sharing Lily's completed memorial Christmas stocking last year. Here it is. :)

It was created with love by my grandmother "Bumma" for her great-granddaughter. My mom and sister-in-love, Kala, also helped with the dangle balls. It's simply perfect. I wanted the colors to be Christmassy colors, while also appropriate for a little girl. They also remind me of Valentine's Day, which makes me think of Lily because I had a Valentine's-themed baby shower.

Bumma and I first started discussing her making Lily's Christmas stocking a couple years ago. It took a while to figure out exactly what we wanted to do. Then last summer we went together to pick out the yarn at a store on the downtown mall in Charlottesville, Virginia called The Needle Lady. I wanted to support a local business and the quality of yarn was better too (made in Turkey!)

My grandmother made me a stocking when I was a little girl (see picture below). :)

I was her first granddaughter and Lily was her first great-granddaughter. This was something special the three of us can share. And it'll be extremely special for me to have this through the years, even long after my grandmother goes Home to be with Jesus. Because she was here when Lily was and she would have been there seeing her grow up. That is so hard for me to know they would know each other if Lily were here and to have no idea if she'll know my future children. Having this stocking reminds me that Bumma does love and know Lily. She loves her and knows her because she has the special bond that a great-grandmother has with her great-granddaughter, even if they never officially "met." And she knows her through me (shout out to my #1 blog follower, Bumma, who is reading this on her email haha!)

Here is a picture I captured of Bumma knitting Lily's stocking during our vacation at Massanutten last fall.

I plan on hanging her stocking each year, one day next to her future siblings' stockings. She will always be a part of my life and Christmas.

Here are some pictures we took last December of Lily's stocking at her special spot...

Here is a video of my grandmother and I sharing Lily's stocking at her special spot last December:

Here is Lily's stocking hanging in my room with my Willow Tree collection. :)

Read all the posts about Lily's stocking by clicking HERE.

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Lily's Stocking Almost Finished

Last week while at Massanutten for fall break, my grandmother "Bumma" finished knitting her great-granddaughter Lily Katherine's beautiful memorial stocking! It is simply perfect and beautiful. It was so special to be with my grandmother as she lovingly created this stocking. She said once she got started, it would go quick and it certainly did! After she finished, she said she didn't want it to be over and she was sad it is. I thought that was such a sweet thing to say. She enjoyed being able to do something for Lily.

I love the colors we chose and the parts of the stocking we chose for each particular color. It is perfect for a little girl, for Christmas, and reminds me of Valentine's Day, which I associate with Lily and my Valentine's-themed baby shower. It is also the perfect size.

I will treasure this stocking always and it will be hung with my future children's stockings. I love that my grandmother made it since she made mine and since she was here when Lily was born and they should know each other. It honestly makes me very sad to not know if I will get married and have more children before my grandmother goes Home to be with the Lord. I pray she lives many years more, but she is 83 and you just never know. I will be brokenhearted if she passes away before she gets to meet my future children, before they get to know her... especially knowing my first-born would and should know her.

There is some yarn left over from Lily's stocking and I thought it would be really neat to have a scarf made out of the same yarn. So my grandmother said she will make me a pretty Christmas scarf. :)

Anyways, there is one final detail to add to Lily's stocking before I share photos of it.

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Lily's Stocking Being Made with Love

My grandmother "Bumma" is currently knitting Lily Katherine's memorial stocking for me to keep forever. She made me a stocking, her first granddaughter, when I was a little girl and is now making my little girl, her first great-granddaughter, a stocking. It is something special the three of us can share. We picked out the yarn in August and now while at Massanutten this week, I am with her as she creates it with love.

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Christmas in August

Last December, I wrote about how my grandmother is going to make Lily a Christmas stocking, like she made me one when I was a little girl. This is something that the two of them can share, as great-grandmother and great-granddaughter. And it is something I will treasure for the rest of my life. I will hang this stocking with my future children's stockings each Christmas.

Just this week, when I was visiting Virginia for a few days, we finally picked out the yarn and stocking pattern, which we've been wanting to do for a long time. I told her that it's making me excited about Christmas, even though it's still summer. ;)

We had originally planned on going to Michael's, but were on the historic downtown mall in Charlottesville, Virginia and she reminded me of a shop there called The Needle Lady, which is owned by someone our family knows.

I would much rather support a local business in my home area and the area where Lily's final resting place is than a chain store, so we went there instead. I'm so glad we did! The store is so adorable and had so many options for us to choose from. The gal working in there (the owner's daughter) was really helpful.

I already had an idea of what I want, it was just a matter of choosing the specific type of yarn, shade of the colors, and what size and shape I want the stocking to be. I knew I want the colors to be pink, red, and cream - Christmasy, Valentiney, and perfect for a little girl. Just like Lily's stone, I knew I want her stocking to be small, the perfect size for a baby.

These are the colors of the yarn we picked out! I like them more and more as the days go by.

All the yarn was made in Turkey. We also picked out some red, cream, and green felt mini balls to be used as embellishment on the stocking. And Lily's name will be at the top in cursive. I'm also thinking of including a little lamb on it. My grandmother and I discussed all the details of how I want it to look. She is going to be starting on it soon and said it won't take long at all (what takes the most amount of time is deciding on everything). 

I am so excited! Thank you so much, Bumma, for doing this for Lily and I!

You can check out The Needle Lady on Facebook! You can also purchase things from her shop online if you are interested.

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A Christmas Stocking for Lily

My grandmother knit me a Christmas stocking when I was a little girl. And it is so special that she is going to make Lily's Christmas stocking now. This is a way she can be Lily's great-grandmother... this is something they can share. 

I hope my grandmother lives a long time longer, but the thing is, you never know. She is 82 years old. I will forever treasure this stocking, long after my grandmother is with Jesus. It is a small way Lily can be included in the Christmas season. One day, when I hopefully have more children, I will be able to hang her stocking with theirs. 

I hope my grandmother will get to know my future children. It hurts that she should know Lily, but Lily isn't here. In a way, she does know her. She knows her legacy. She knows her through me. And my grandmother and I have a special bond and connection because she also lost a baby, my Aunt Rachel.

When I was in Virginia for Thanksgiving, we were planning on going to pick out the pattern and yarn for the stocking, but we forgot until the last day! But, I will be going back to Virginia to celebrate New Years, so my grandmother and I are definitely going to Hobby Lobby then (I love Hobby Lobby! They are an amazing store and they are Christian, so I especially like to support them!) I wish it could be ready for this Christmas season, but my grandmother said she might have it ready by Lily's 4th birthday, depending on how complicated it is. Even though I won't be able to use it until next Christmas, that is something special to look forward to seeing on her birthday.

I am thinking I want it relatively small, with Lily's name (and possibly birthday on it) and maybe pink, white, and red for the colors (Christmasy colors, yet still girly, and sort of like Valentine's which reminds me of Lily because I had a Valentine's-themed baby shower). My grandmother also suggested to include a lamb on it, which is perfect! Lily's stone has a lamb on top and lambs symbolize innocence and purity which Lily Katherine's name means. I am really looking forward to seeing how this will come together. I want it to be just right for my girl, something I treasure forever.

This means so much to me since my grandmother was here when Lily was. She made my stocking and now she's making my girls'...

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