The Christmas Stocking Project
Use your love of machine embroidery to remind a child they matter and they are loved
Imagine a child waking up on Christmas morning, away from everything they've ever known with a very unsure future. Empty handed and heavy-hearted, they wonder not only is there anyone out there in the world who might love me, but am I even loveable in the first place?
Now imagine that same child in a different space, one where they have been given the gift of a Dream Catcher Stocking. Instead of wondering in silence on Christmas Day and all the days after, they can look down in their hands at a very special handmade Christmas stocking. One that you made. A tangible reminder that not only they are loveable, but someone in this world actually loves them. A place to store their hopes and dreams and a reminder that yes, it's still okay to have them. That your circumstances don't define you or your future, and there's more waiting for you.
What is the Christmas Stocking Project?
This Christmas, Meaning of Life Designs is partnering with ASA Now to create the Christmas Stocking Project, providing Dream Catcher Stockings to children who are already in the foster care system in Arizona, and those who will enter the system in December. Our goal is to collect 700 Dream Catcher Stockings. We're barely scratching the surface - there are thousands of children in the foster care system in Arizona alone - but it's a small step in the right direction.
What is a Dream Catcher Stocking?
We called these stockings Dream Catcher Stockings because they are a place for the children to put their dreams all year long, not just at Christmas. They are a tangible item that they can look at and remember that someone in this big wide world loves them and is rooting for their success.
How can you participate in the Christmas Stocking Project?
Join us and quilters all over the world as we come together to make a difference this Christmas. Use your love of machine embroidery to remind a child that they matter and they are loved.
- Purchase The NEW Christmas stocking Collection.
- Make an advent quilt or some stand-alone stockings for the children in your life.
- Then make a couple of extra stand-alone stockings for the Christmas Stocking Project. These stockings can be completed 100% in the hoop! And... this is a great stash buster project.
- Write a little love note to put into each stocking that you make, letting the child that receives it know who you are, and that you are sending love to them.
- Send your contributions to our collection location to arrive before December 10, 2022. You'll find the address in the portal after your purchase.
Is anything going into the stockings?
Yes! The team at Meaning of Life Designs will fill the stockings with a notebook and pen so that the children can write their hopes and wishes and dreams on paper and then put that paper into their stocking. They will receive a small card to let them know that they are loved. This card will also have the name of the person who made the stocking for them. And of course, each stocking will contain chocolate!
When will the children receive the stockings?
The first batch of stockings will be taken to ASA Now, ready to be given to the children attending their Christmas party on December 4, 2022. We hope to have enough stockings so that all children who are taken to ASA Now after the Christmas Party up to and including Christmas Day will also receive a stocking.
We want to thank you for participating in the Christmas Stocking Project
We have discovered through this project that there are some VERY generous people in our Meaning of Life Designs community. (Actually, we knew this before, this project has just confirmed it 💖).
With your purchase of the NEW Christmas Stocking Collection you're invited to the second Christmas Stocking Project Stitch-Along, taking place on Sunday, November 20, 2022. Hosted on Zoom, this is a time to stitch, chat with new friends and generally have fun while creating something magical that will bring a light into the life of a child this Christmas. You'll also learn how to make a stand-alone Christmas Stocking that is created entirely in the hoop using your embroidery machine!
Thanks to the generosity of Michael Miller Fabrics and Bernartex, we are excited to be able to send a gift back to you when you participate in the Christmas Stocking Project.
Will you be the reason why a child (or multiple children!) feel loved this Christmas and in the days to come?
While you're using the designs in the NEW Christmas Stocking Collection to make something that the children in your family will treasure for years to come, we're inviting you to stitch up a couple of extras to give to some children whose lives are in tatters.
Judi posted in our Meaning of Life Designs Facebook group recently. She said,
"I grew up in the foster system, and although I didn't experience any physical abuse, the mental and emotional abuse, although very subtle, is still abuse. I can only imagine how happy it would have made me to receive one of these beautiful stockings. It's a wonderful thing you are doing and I am proud to play a small part in it. If I could make you a thousand stockings, I would. 💖"
