Cameron’s Stocking—A New Family Treasure

This is one post I never expected to write.

Back in March, my son Chris and daughter-in-law Ashley stopped by on a Saturday morning, donuts from a new shop in hand. It felt like a typical visit—until they shared something extraordinary. After nearly 12 years of marriage, they were expecting a baby.

I’m not sure they got the reaction they were hoping for. I was too busy trying to pick my jaw up off the floor to respond properly. Both my husband and I were in shock. We had never pushed for a grandchild—having a child is a deeply personal decision, and it was never ours to make. Whenever the topic came up (and it wasn’t me who brought it up), they made it clear they didn’t want children. I had come to terms with that. But people can change their minds, which is what my son told me that day. So this news wasn’t just surprising—it was a blessing I never saw coming.

As soon as they left, I knew exactly what I had to do: make a Christmas stocking for my grandchild.

I had made a stocking for Chris, ready by his second Christmas. My younger son Kevin’s took a bit longer—31 years, to be exact—but I finished it in 2018. Ashley’s was stitched in 2019. I couldn’t bear the thought of this child having a store-bought stocking hanging beside two handmade ones. So, after a couple of days of mulling it over, I ordered a stocking kit and got to work the moment it arrived.

I kept the project a secret, just in case I didn’t finish. If you know my sons, you know they would never let me live that down. So that’s how I spent every afternoon this past spring and summer—stitching after lunch until it was time to start dinner. I even brought the project with me for my month-long Georgia visit with family in the spring. It came in handy when our train hit a truck on the way there and we were stuck on the tracks for several hours. Cross-stitching made the time fly by.

I documented my progress along the way, sharing updates with a few trusted family members in Georgia—under strict instructions not to breathe a word to anyone in Virginia. It was my little secret, and I wanted it to be a surprise when the time came. 

 

Sometimes the threads were a hot mess!

In June, I had to pause unexpectedly for eye surgery to repair a macular hole. I’d noticed the stitches were getting harder to see, but I work with 18-count Aida cloth, which is quite small. That had never been a problem before—but I’m not getting any younger. I blamed the lighting for my struggles. Little did I know! After the surgery, I had to spend a week face down, followed by two more weeks of recovery. Despite the setback, I pushed through—this time with the help of a lamp my husband kindly moved to my work area.

As is customary today, we learned the baby’s sex before he was born, and Chris and Ashley chose a first name. It took a while to settle on a middle name, so I took the opportunity to ask—more than once—what name they had selected, especially as the project neared completion. Every year, my family gathers the Sunday after Thanksgiving to help trim our crepe myrtles, clean out the gutters, put up the outdoor Christmas lights, and decorate gingerbread houses. It’s become a wonderful tradition, and I use it as a chance to hand out Christmas-themed gifts, like ornaments, at the beginning of the season instead of the end. My plan was to present the stocking that day.

I was nearly finished with the stocking—except for the name—by mid-August when Ashley invited me to join them for her monthly checkup, which included an ultrasound. At the appointment, the technician asked if they had chosen a name yet, and Ashley responded with “Cameron.” At that moment, I felt safe stitching his name. That gave me plenty of time to purchase the materials needed to complete the stocking and have it professionally finished.

All that was left was to fix the rope which my sister helped with

I finished a few days later and was able to relax during my next month-long visit to Georgia in the fall. My stitching isn’t perfect—some stitches are a little wonky, and I didn’t catch them until it was too late. I redid what I could, but didn’t let the imperfections stop me. I purchased velvet and silk-like fabrics for the back and lining, and when we returned home in September, took everything to a local alterations shop, where they transformed it into a proper stocking.

This stocking may never win a ribbon, but it was stitched with love. In the end, it’s not flawless stitches that make something a treasure—it’s the love woven into every thread. Cameron’s stocking is now part of our family’s story, ready to capture memories as he grows with each passing Christmas. I hope Santa fills it with goodies for my grandson for many Christmases to come.