Christmas Project

Things can be and usually are a bit slow down here at the office. I saw Sister and President Mortensen at church Sunday after Thanksgiving and offered my services to them in any capacity. Well, Sister Mortensen had this wonderful project she wanted to do for all 285 missionaries. No problem. I was more than happy to assist. The next week she came by with "the project". She wanted to make 285 Christmas stockings out of felt with the colors and design of the Texas state flag. They would need to have patterns made, traced out on the bolts of fabric she had bought, all pieces cut out and then sewn together. Lastly they would need a star ironed on. Did I say no problem. Fortunately Sister Bray and Sister Stephens, from the mission office, offered to be willing accomplices. Sister Bray traced out all the pieces. I cut out ALL the pieces except the backs. I'll get to that later. Sister Stephens took half and we kept the rest. I pinned the pieces together and Sister Bray sewed them together. Then I would iron open the seams and iron on the star. Many hours were spent working on all these and they turned out great. Back to the cutting out part. All the cutting took its toll on my hand. It was so sore and I lost all feeling in my thumb for over a month. There still remains a numb spot on my thumb that I hope will eventually go away. Sister Mortensen and her daughters cut out all the backs for the stockings. Gratitude! I then pinned them all together and the Sisters sewed them together. The stockings were a success. Sister Mortensen filled the stockings with some candy, a letter from home and a stress ball which she put in the foot of the stocking and a couple of other small things. All is well!