Welcome to Day 4

...of the Henry Glass Very Merry Holiday Party, that is.

I hope you've had fun so far, visiting my good friend Shelly Comiskey and the talented Wilma Sanchez yesterday - and if you missed them the first 2 days, you should go back and visit the amazing Linda Lum DeBono, Little Quilts, Dawn Heese, and Jill Finley.  These talented ladies have all got some supercool special treats for you and it's definitely worth dropping in!

As for me, ohmygosh, I've got so much to share with you here today!  This is sort of like three blog posts in one, so I recommend you settle in with a lovely beverage and let's get started:

 

1. Favorite Holiday Decoration and Tradition

If you're a regular here at the Artstuff blog, you may know a little something about my family.  How we tend to never throw anything away, ever.  How we love holidays and getting together.  How my grandparents collected and created just about every funky thing you could imagine, and some you probably couldn't.

I wish, oh how I wish, that I could hear my Granddad's high-pitched giggle if he ever heard the word "upcycling" and it was explained to him how trendy the concept is.  Granddad was the original upcycler.  One example: all the years he worked for the power company he would scavenge old motors from scrapped utility meters to mechanize his own Christmas decorations.  Every inch of their big house, where we would gather every Christmas, was decorated, and beneath the Christmas music, laughter, talking over one another, and jingling bells was always the buzzy hum of hundreds of tiny motors.

Every window sill

every alcove

from fireplace mantels

to an unused dumb-waiter

to what, looking back, I realize were simply areas between the beams in unfinished sections of walls (Granddad designed and built their 4-story, 18-room house and it was a "work in progress" for the entire 50-some years he lived in it).

I can't say there was one particular favorite decoration out of the whole mess.  It's the overwhelming kitschy mechanized excess that I loved so much; my Granddad's over-the-top style was a running theme through everything he created.

My grandparents both passed long ago, and that big crazy old house is gone.  Christmas day is still spent with a big, loud bunch of family, laughing and talking over each other.  The decorations are spread between grandkids' and great grandkids' homes, a good portion of them residing here now with us, although no one really knows how to keep those salvaged little motors running like Granddad could.

 

2. Favorite Family Recipe

Every family has them: those deep dark secrets, those terrifying controversies.

Mine is no different.

Except, maybe, that our family's controversy has to do with (cue the ominous music: "duhn duhn duuuuhnt!") Jello salad.

Yes, I said it.  Jello salad.  Specifically, a sweet-savory molded red salad filled with vegetables and canned seafood.  The dreaded Shrimp Aspic.  The name itself strikes fear in the hearts of cousins, nieces, nephews, and close family friends.  True, deep-seated fear.

For generations this dish has horrified unsuspecting guests, scared away possible suitors, and torn at the very fabric of an otherwise close and agreeable bunch of folks.  The words "Shrimp Aspic" are uttered in hushed, fearful tones, staring with hollow, darting eyes.  They run, but they can't hide.  It reappears every time we get together.  There on the buffet among savory goodies much more appetizing to the modern palate.  Goodies that don't jiggle creepily when they're touched.  Goodies that you don't have to ask "what in the world is that?"

The Shrimp Aspic eaters of the family are a stealthy bunch.  Laughing along at Shrimp Aspic jokes, comforting those who are frightened by the jiggling terror on the buffet.  Then quietly taking second, even third helpings, and filling old cottage-cheese containers to take home to eat later.

This is my mother's recipe:

You may notice there is written evidence of even more family controversy here: "Shirl adds black olives and hard-boiled eggs, I don't!"

To be fair, my Aunt Shirl's own signature Jello salad, also still making regular appearances on family get-together buffet tables, goes by many names:  Ambrosia, That Pistachio Salad, or most often, simply Green Fluff.  It is, undoubtedly, Shrimp Aspic's most deadly nemesis.  Those who fear Jello can often be subdued by marshmallows and whipped cream.  It's a scientific fact.

 

3. Free Project Download:

For my project I wanted to make something using my One Crazy Christmas Eve fabrics.

Now you probably already know, I do not claim to know how to sew.  I did, however, make my husband's and my stockings several years ago.  For those I laid out some pieces of velvet and cut them freehand into stockingy shapes, hand-stitched them together, then stitched random trims and tassels onto them.  You throw enough trims and tassels on any lumpy, odd-shaped sewing project and you're golden.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

They're ridiculously lumpy, though, because they are both lined with super heavy velvet from an old coat of my grandmother's that we found (already disaseembled, pieces folded neatly and ready for projects) in her sewing cabinet. Reaching for goodies on Christmas morning has never been softy-er.

So technically, I've made stockings before.  But I thought for this project, it would be fun to make a stocking like the ones I drew in this pattern

and I threw myself into the project.

I hope you like it!

Click the picture of the patterns for your downloadable PDF.  This pattern shape will end up making a cute stocking, whether you know how to sew or not - as the following tutorial proves.  And I do use the word "tutorial" loosely here.

First, I'm so excited about my new fabric-and-large-paper-cutting area.  I know, it's nothing fancy; technically it's just the laundry area with a cutting mat on it - but the new front-loading washer and dryer add so much new surface area to our tiny house that I'm beside-myself-giddy about it.  I bought the new cutting mat to fit, and last week I spent a few days doing nothing but putting up pegboard panels and shelves and organizing the space.

Again, giddy.  Seriously.

So.  The stocking.  First, I taped together and cut out the pattern pieces.  You'll see mine are empty (no writing) because remember, I'm inventing this as I go along; I wanted to make sure the sizes and shapes worked before finalizing the pattern-page design.

I chose the prints for the stocking body, cuff, lining, and hangy-hook: yes, I realize a stocking with pictures of stockings on it is silly.  I guess that's sort of the point.

First I cut the main body (along the black outlines on the pattern) with the fabric facing opposite ways.

Then I trimmed the pattern down to the red outlines, and cut the lining.  The lining is a smidge smaller so it will fit nicely inside the body, and the toe doesn't go all the way out to the point - I'll show you why in a minute.

Then the cuff.  I designed the cuff pattern as one long piece to wrap around because I thought it would make a more rounded, nice opening.  I really wanted to use one of the stripes for this but realized that because of the curve of the piece, if I wanted the stripes to all be at a uniform angle, I would have to piece lots of small sections, and you will see more and more as we go along why that wouldn't have been a good idea for me.  You, however, might want to give that a try, I'm sure it would be very cute!

All the pieces laid out

make it actually look like (gasp) this might end up looking like a stocking.

For my first step, I made the only part of this that I was confident in both my plan and my ability.  The loopy hook.
I thought that reinforcing it with something stronger inserted inside would be smart.  Here I used a piece of heavy hemp ribbon folded in half lengthwise.

With the fabric facing inside, I sewed around the main body, then cut notches in the curved parts; the idea is that it lays down more neatly when turned back around right-side-out.  I am not sure if my notches did this.

I ironed down the top edge to run an extra little seam along there, so no raw edges show.  You will see I went a little no-raw-edge crazy with this project which ultimately left me with a pretty lumpy finished product.  You may want to skip this step, or go about it in a more logical and sensible fashion, as you were taught in Home-Ec or something.
I never had Home-Ec; we were allowed a total of 2 electives per semester and Art and Band filled my schedule.  I may not be able to sew well, but if the need arises, I can play piccolo while marching in-time.  Oh, and the time-spent-in-art-classes thing has worked out alright, too.

20+ years ago my puppies destroyed some throw pillows.  I safety-pinned them together to keep the stuffing mostly-inside, threw them in the washing machine to remove any residual puppy-chewing-goo, and I have been using the stuffing ever since in random projects.

This time, a little fluff fills the pointy part of the stocking toe!  This is why the lining is rounded, to leave a little space for stuffing, so it stays perky and elfy looking.

I sewed the lining together, pieces facing together inward, and another little extra finishing seam along the top.

You won't need to turn your lining back out again like the other pieces, because you want it to face inside.  Sort of like the top sheet on your bed.

I turned mine for a few minutes though, so I could add my little signature.
I know, it's sort of dorky, but I like to add a little piece of the selvedge as a "tag" when I make stuff with my own fabric.

Next, assembling the cuff.  Now, this is where I got scared, because my brain has trouble wrapping itself around 3-dimensional engineering-type projects.  You know, how stuff fits together.  I pulled out my notes to make sure I was doing it as I had planned.
And to heed my own warning.  You may or may not remember my swim-trunks adventure, and how after sewing the lining together, they went from practical swim-trunks to "unlined-lounging boxers".
At least I understand my limitations.

For the cuff, first I sewed the end seams of each piece together.  I turned one inside out, and laid them together with the fronts facing each other, seams and points lined up.  Then I sewed the bottom seams (the pointy part!).

Again, cutting little notches, and again, not being sure whether it helped or not, because my finished product is always lumpy anyway.

Turning it back around I was a little horrified at the freaky poufy mess it appeared to have become, but ironing it into submission helped.

That's when I pulled out the pom-pom bag to choose a color.  The only color I had enough of was blue, so that choice was easy.

I thought that it might be clever to sew the pom-poms on while I had the pieces open at the top, before I attached them to each other.
This way the extra thread could just live untrimmed on the inside part.
As clever as I thought this was, it did make some of the assembly and final ironing more difficult than it had to be.  It's probably smarter to wait until you are finished with the rest before deciding on and adding your pom-poms, jingle bells, or I thought even cute buttons might be a neato addition to the points.

Again with overdoing my tucked-in edges.

And again with my inability to wrap my brain around 3-dimensional assembly.  I thought it would be very neat and tidy to insert the ends of the hangy hook (which is stitched together a crazy amount there inside this thing, in case I ever want to put something very heavy into this stocking) inside some hem or other, and the cuff seemed like the logical choice, since it would be the outermost piece.

I imagined that this piece would be wrapped around over the top of the stocking, thus this weird extra tucking-under and sewing-down thing that's going on here.  Don't do this.

This could have worked if my upside-down and backwards assembly that I had worked out in my head was not the wrong flavor of upside down and backwards.  I am still not sure what the right flavor of upside down and backwards is, and I'd kind of rather not hurt my brain thinking of that now.

Ready for final assembly, the lining was tucked into the body, and the cuff was sewn on the top.  The idea was that the seams would be under the cuff, so there would be a smooth line at the top.

Ruh-roh.  Something's very wrong with this picture.

After sewing together and ripping out the seams on more than one version, I decided to loosely tack my new attempts at engineering how this thing goes together rather than pinning, so I'd have a better idea what it would look like before actually sewing it.  Oh, and, this version was upside down, too.  Don't do this, either.

But the one pictured below worked.  I turned the stocking inside out, and sewed the cuff on like so
then when the whole thing is turned back around, that whole seam-on-the-underneath-side concept actually works.  Although my obsession with tucking seams under at every edge helped create a really bulky, lumpy end product.  Well, that, or my sloppy sewing.  You decide.  Either way, I am guessing you will figure out a more sensible way for your own stocking to be assembled.  I mean really, what are a few raw edges on the underside of a cuff, anyway?

The spoils of the day:
about a mile of thread ripped from wrong seams, and one broken sewing machine needle.  That hangy loop ended up being folded over itself way too many times in order to face the right direction after being so dramatically and severely attached to that cuff in such a weird way.  Like sewing through a stack of hot-press illustration board.

To be fair though, there is a sort of cute stocking in that same pile.

It's a little lumpy and crooked

but then that's how I know I made it.

It's a stocking with stockings on it: a stocking stocking.  What could be more stockingy?

 

4. Giveaway!

You made it through the rest of this epic post, you deserve a prize.  So I'm having a name-drawing for a fat quarter bundle of all 21 coordinates from One Crazy Christmas Eve!  You saw the fat-quarters all stacked neatly on the corner of my cutting area - this is what they were waiting for.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite Jello dish.  Are you afraid of Jello?  That's alright, just say so; that will enter you in the drawing just the same, and I promise the Shrimp Aspic Monster will not visit you in the night and steal your appetite.  Really.

You have until Thanksgiving to enter (yes, that's the next time I will be seeing Shrimp Aspic myself) and I will announce a winner on Black Friday.

 

Now be sure to swing by the Henry Glass blog every day this week to enter the BIG contest there, for a big fabric bundle PLUS small gifts from every one of the designers participating in the blog hop!  Wow!  All you have to do is match us to our childhood holiday pictures.  Ok, you don't have to guess correctly to win.  But I think you'll have fun trying!

Have fun at the rest of this party!  Today hop on over to my Day 4 partners, Leanne Anderson and Margot Languedoc for their super fun goodies, and tomorrow make sure to go visit Kari Ramsey and Heather Mulder Peterson!  And check here (or just take a peek at my last post, right below this one!) for links to the rest of your fabulous party hostesses, cheers!

And finally - if you're looking for One Crazy Christmas Eve - you can still find it out there if you look, although it was last year's pattern so it may be a little few and far between.  But I do have some yardage available in my Etsy shop, while it lasts!

Comments

[Joan]

I make this cranberry raspberry jello mold. It is delicious! Thanks for the giveaway!

[Linda W]

My favorite Jello recipe was mom's Christmas Present cake(?). Sponge cake layers soaked in Jello. One in cherry and then another in lime Jello, with a layer of each jello filled with fruit - usually bananas. It was molded in a square dish and then iced(?) with real whipped cream and tied up with red licorice laces. She would add a Christmas tag or tacky plastic pick. Loved to see it, a fun addition to our Christmas celebration - yummy! Thank you for the opportunity to win your adorable fabrics.

[rosa]

In summer I make a dessert with gelatin and peaches in syrup that is called SEMICOLD ,it`s delicious!!

[Megan Z.]

Wow you have a lot of wonderful family memories, and your grandparents home looked just awesome! The stocking you made is super cute! Thanks for sharing!

[Darlene B]

Very cute stockings! Our favorite jello recipe is Lemon Fluff. It's delicious and refreshing (and has NO seafood!)

[Lee]

Lovely stocking. I've been looking for a new pattern for the wonderful new little boy in our family.

My favorite Jello creation is a summer favorite. You bake a yellow or white cake in an 9X13 pan and when it is cooled, make fork holes through out and then pour the liquid jello (just mixed)over the top. Refridgerate and then top with cool whip or whipped cream and fruit. If it has a name, I don't know it but it is yummy in whatever jello flavor you favor.

[Jocelyn]

My favorite Jello dish is one we always used to make at the holidays. It was a Cranberry nut Jello using Lemon and Blackberry Jello, fresh cranberries, nuts and maybe pineapple (can't remember for sure) It was always good to have with Turkey or Beef.

[Brenda Hulsey]

I love the story of your Grand parents and wish I could have met them! Growing up with them in your life must have been wonderful! I have a Cherry fluff recipe that I make for holidays. I don't know why I make it just on Holidays because it's good at any time!
hulseybg at gmail dot com

[Kelly O.]

I love jello! my mom makes a spicey ginger-y one with orange jello and orange pieces and cranberries and such--yum!

[Cornelia]

I don't think you should be so pessimistic about your sewing skills. In my eyes the stockingy stocking turnt out quite nice.
When it comes to jello: I don't have any experiences. Regarding your post I could say lucky me! lol
They do look good on picture but I think I'll stick to the sweet versions.

[katja]

the last time i made a stocking it was not at all lumpy, but also not at all perky. it just folds over itself, as if embarrassed to be caught celebrating the season. i need to try again...

also? jello is inherently evil; food should not jiggle in or out of your mouth.

[Mary Jean]

My favorite Jello dish is Raspberry-Cranberry Nut Salad....definitely have to make it for Thanksgiving. Loved seeing your grandfathers decorations.

[Thimble Room]

Hmmm - my favorite Jello dish is one my grandmother used to make. I don't think it has a name, but I know it consists of Jello, crushed pineapple bits and evaporated milk. :)

[Lisa Marie]

I like strawberry jello with strawberries, bananas, pineapple & pecans. Jello poke cake is pretty good too.

[Kim Q]

My favorite Jello dish? That's easy...Jello Poke Cake! My family would eat a ton of that stuff if I'd let them. Thanks for the stocking pattern, it's adorable!

[Leslie]

My first visit to your blog- and I LOVED it! Although that Shrimp Aspic looks scary. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my son-in-law's birthday all require 7UP salad- lime jello, fruit cocktail, 7UP, whip cream, and marshmellows. I'm one of those that can only do jello if it includes whip cream and marshmellows.

[Maxine]

First visit to your blog and truly loved it. Love the story about your Grandpa... Sorry to say but we like jello...We do a cake like one mentioned above, bake the cake poke holes in cake pour jello over cake, chill add whipped cream nuts fruit or what ever. And love the stocking pattern because that is just what I have been looking for...Thanks for the chance to win

[Lee]

I love the stocking! thank you for the tutorial - but.... well... I am for sure a non jello person.. I do find it a big scary :) thank you!

[kimberlee]

OMG Beth, you are a hoot!! Good job on the stocking for not being a sewist! ;)
I don't normally care for jello but my last pregnancy it was the only thing I could eat for a phase. We enjoyed the "magic jello" where you add cool whip and it makes 3 layers. I really only like jello in poke cake.

[Pam Edblom]

My favorite Jello recipe is one that I will again be making at Thanksgiving. I use cranberry jello, mandarin oranges, a can of jellied cranberries, pineapple bits, walnuts. So good!

[Kathy S]

My favorite jello salad was made with orange jello, crushed pineapple and grated carrots. I love it, my husband and kids hate it. They prefer the strawberry jello with the cream cheese topping and pretzel crust. Anyway, cute stockings and cute fabric!

[Karen in Breezy Point]

I love your hilarious tales of Christmas! I'm not a fan of Jello, but every year my Mom makes her pineapple Jello "salad" which consists of pineapple slices laid out on a round glass platter. A maraschino cherry is placed in the center of each pineapple slice and then the whole thing is covered with lemon Jello. Each year, more of this dish is thrown out than is eaten, but it's a tradition that she is not going to give up on.

[wendy]

That is a fabulous stocking, thanks so much for sharing! Jello - hmmm, we call it jelly here and I don't know a single jelly dish, other than Jelly and Ice cream.

[Beth Strand]

Oh how I laughed at your Jello salad story! As a kid, I was wildly suspicious of Jello with
ANYTHING in it, even fruit! As an adult, however, I've joined the ranks of those who can be seduced by whip cream and marshmallows but only if it involves fruit...no shrimp in my Jello! lol Thank you for the lovely pattern, I love the jester-style cuff!

[Linda]

HI! WHAT A NEAT POST!
MY FAVORITE JELLO IS BLACK CHERRY WITH BLACK SWEET CHERRIES IN IT AND A THIN LAYER OF HALF CREAM CHEESE+HALF WHIPPED CREAM SPREAD ON TOP COVERED WITH CHOPPED PECANS!

[Carmen]

Strawberry pretzel salad, only I like it with raspberries instead of strawberries!!

[Irma M.]

I think one of my favorite jello dishes is one that my mom used to make all the time. I think it was called Sunshine salad. It started with lemon jello and had grated carrots, crushed pineapple, and pecan pieces in it. It brings back a lot of old and wonderful memories.

[Candie Graham]

I call my favorite jello salad Iowa Salad because every potluck you go to in Iowa always has a jello salad, right!
IOWA SALAD
LG BOX CRANBERRY JELLO, DISSOLVE IN 1.5 CUPS BOILING WATER, ADD I CAN OF CHERRY PIE FILLING, POUR INTO MOLD, LET SET UP, TAKE TO POTLUCK TO SHARE!
Thanks for the free pattern, so cute!

[Kay Mc]

I don't know if I would have much of an appetite if the Shrimp Aspic was on my buffet table. My mother always made layered jello for special occasiona & that is a family favorite.

[LeAnne L]

Cherry Jello with peaches and a spoonful of cottage cheese is my favorite.

[Kristy]

Very fun post! :)
I like "orange fluff"....orange jello, cool whip, cottage cheese and mandarin oranges, yum! :)
Shrimp Aspic....hmmmm.....not even sure what to say....enjoy???

Thanks for the great tutorial and the giveaway!

[Julie in WA]

Mmmm, Orange jello with mandarin oranges, lime jello with pears, and my moms Seven Layer Jello Salad...looks like a rainbow! Just don't put celery in jello...Euwwww!

[Beth T.]

Since I became a vegetarian 20 years ago, no more jello for me. But back in the day my mom used to make an orange jello with shredded carrots and canned pineapple. I remember it being tasty and a good way to "eat our vegetables".

[Mary Jo]

Your stocking is the cutest one I have ever seen! Thank you for the tutorial! I am in a stocking exchange this year and guess which one I will be making????? Thank you!

[Joyce Mitchell]

I thought tomato aspic was the worst until I read your shrimp aspic story - gah! I love fruit jello salads. My favorite has strawberries & bananas, with a cream cheese & pecan "frosting". Thanks for the stocking pattern & thanks for the great giveaway.

[Karen]

Wow! That Jello thing is quite something - that sure must be a North American thing because we have nothing like it in New Zealand. we do Pavlova - a beautiful dessert dish as a national dessert. For us jello/jelly thing are usually dessert.
Your stocking is very cute, love it!

[Mary O'Neil]

My favorite jello salad is made with Raspberry jello, raspberries, and applesauce in place of the cold water. It has an interesting texture and I love it!! Your Christmas stocking is darling!!

[Four dogs and one quilter]

Enjoyed reading about your stocking adventure. Nice to know that I am not the only 3-d challenged person on the planet. I like my jello plain with a dollop of whipped cream.

[Sallie]

My mom's lime jello salad - wish I could make it like she! It's got pineapple, cottage cheese, and pecans in it.

[Ronnie]

Please don't enter me in the contest as someone else would actually use that fabulous fabric, and I would..well, not! Beth, this was the most awesome post--I would give ANYTHING to tour your grandparent's house at Christmas! I'd even eat the Shrimp Aspic if it could also help with the time travel. My best jello was a molded affair that I made from a recipe from a central Minnesota church cookbook (where all the best Jello recipes live)--the secret ingredient was...wait for it...Orange Circus Peanuts! It was dreadfully awesome and tasted just like a Dreamsicle! I really wowed that family gathering! Thanks, Beth!

[kathy h]

Enjoyed your stories and the stocking did turn out really cute, despite all the work you did. My favorite jello has always been just plain, whipped a little with an old fashioned beater before it completely set. Then my mother in law introduced me to putting jello over cut up bananas in a bowl. Not as exciting or fearsome as the aspic but we love it.

[Cindi p]

I don't know if there is possibly a favorite jello recipe but I do remember several servings of green jello with shredded carrots and some sort of white tipping thing :)

[Debra Masek]

My favorite Jello, made by Mom, of course was with 7-UP instead of water!!! There was also cottage cheese mixed in along with a bit of celery. YUMMY!!!

[Margie F.]

My favorite Jello salad is so simple --- mix a pkg. of dry orange Jello with a carton of sour cream, then add Cool Whip and drained Mandarin orange slices. Delicious, and always a hit.

[Kate]

Your stocking is adorable - thank you. Love those fabrics you used.

[Leslie Morrison]

Ever since I learned that jello came from pig's feet, I have not been able to ingest anything jelloed. Your vivid description of Shrimp Aspic has set me back years in my jello therapy sessions. Your adventure with the stocking made me laugh so hard, though, I fired my therapist. My favorite kind of jello dish has lots of whipped cream topping: skip the pig foot extract and just eat the cream!

[Christa Marcotte]

I love jello with strawberries or mandarin oranges as much as I love your stocking fabrics. They are adorable!!

[ritainalaska]

my fav jello thing is making any jello with half the liquid then cut the jello when firm into blocks for finger food. cannot remember the name of the blocks now, though. the kids loved them for snacks. those kids now have grankids of their own ... wonder if they're still making jello blocks.

[LJ]

I make green jello with canned pears all the time. My grands think it's the best! Wish all cooking could be so simple and so delicious!! :)

[Debby]

We had THE EXACT SAME aspic every Christmas dinner! My mom made it in a Tupperware mold with an interchangeable top that left a tree or star shape to be filled with cream cheese.(I inherited it!) We HATED the Aspic then but I would give anything to have her here to make it for us now. Your stocking stocking is lovely - you are a true crafter!

[Pat S]

Jello always makes an appearance on our holiday table - red and green jello layered with a cream cheese and crushed pineapple mixture. Loved your post and your fabric!

[Lynn Osborne]

My favorite jello recipe is just plain old strawberry plain jello! Thanks for the chance to win!

[Eva]

Sweet memories from my childhood: strawberry jello and vanilla custard on Sunday morning with breakfast. Love your stockings and stocking fabric.

[Cecilia]

I guess I'm one of the ones who are afraid of Jello. :-)

[Debbie Hale]

The story about your grandparents brought back good memories for me. I wasn't there often but when I was it seemed like such a magical place. The Jello salad I remember my Mom making consisted of any flavor of Jello, whatever she had on hand, combined with a can of drained fruit cocktail. After the Jello set up, she served it with whipping cream on top.I enjoyed digging around and finding the bits of fruit. Yum.

[quiltmom anna]

I am not a fan of jello- its a texture thing.. In spite of that I have been known to eat jello with fruit cocktail and whip cream on top ( my grandmother's recipe) and shrimp tomato aspic. My aunt loves to make aspic and she makes both the shrimp one and the green one with onions, bits of carrot and celery too. I don't mind the tomato aspic but not keen at all for the green one- its just too jiggly..
Thanks for sharing your very fun stocking and participating in the blog hop.
Regards from Western Canada,
Anna

[VickiT]

Oh gosh the memories you just brought back to me. My Mom always made Tomato Aspic. We all just hated that stuff but she persisted and made it every single holiday. I guess back in the 60's and 70's they loved putting anything into jello and Aspics were whatever they created were always called. LOL

My favorite it another that was popular in the 70's but MUCH better than aspics and that was also known by many names. The one I remember hearing most often was "Watergate Salad" and it was the lime jello, pineapple, and of course Dream Whip and a few other things" It really was and still is very good but now we use Cool Whip instead.

Thank you for the wonderful post and the great looking stocking.

[Joanna]

Oh, my gosh Beth, you are very funny. But I can also see where you are coming from. I like plain Jell-o. Nothing in it. Your memories are a treasure. Merry Christmas.

[Sue]

I love Jello at Christmas and other holidays! My sister and I are the only ones who eat it and the kids/grandkids laugh at us, but it wouldn't be Christmas without it! My favorite is (I don't think we have a name for it...), but it's lemon jello with crushed pineapple and grated carrots. And yes, we use a mold! That was fun... thanks for asking.

[Susan]

My mom made the best jello salad with lemon jello, red hots and pears - a Christmas favorite!! Love your stocking and the tutorial - thanks!!!

[Chiska]

I don't know if this really counts a a jello dish--but Fish Egg Salad (some people would call it a version of frog eye salad, but what's the fun in that?!) You soak the noodles (after they've been cooked) in orange jello then add fruit cocktail and whipcream.

[Hueisei]

Thanks for the lovely stocking pattern! I never make any jello salad before, hope I will try someday :)

[Gill]

Here in the UK 'jello' is jelly and to confuse matters further your jelly is our jam!
Anyway I hate jello/jelly!

[Twyla]

The hello dish I love to make is with orange jello, mandarin orange's and cool whip. It Jason yummy. The stocking is so cute and I need to make one for my youngest granddaughter so I now have a pattern. Thank you!!!

[Sharon Griffith]

Oh the stocking is so cute and just in time..I was talking about making new ones this year...The recipe sounds yummy

[Jen Shepherd]

Every year for thanksgiving, my MIL has me make a pistachio jello salad. It is very yummy, and comes from my family. I'm glad to continue the tradition. I also love you pattern. I am in the process of making new stockings for my family this year!

[Ariane]

My family didn't have jello salads growing up. I have had it a few times at baby and wedding showers. They were intriguing and I had to try them. Some were really tasty, and others...well let's just say I didn't go for seconds. Thanks for the wonderful post and tutorial!!

[Corinne]

I like Jello plain with lots of whipped cream

[Judy]

My favorite jello dish is called apple jello. It uses red jello and apple juice plus a little vinegar. You also put in chunks of apple. At Christmas it is always very pretty if you use green apples. Thank you for the stocking pattern. Yours turned out so cute.

[janita]

The Only jello we eat here is a Strawberry Petzel Jello salad. My husband refuses to eat it knowing that it is made of horse hoofs. Really that is his story and he is sticking to it. He refers to is as "Trigger"after Roy rogers horse. It makes for a good laugh any way. Thanks for the blog hop fun. Janita

[MoeWest]

Our family jello recipe is jello made with canned fruit salad and served with whipped cream. A light dessert offering for those who are stuffed with turkey dinner. Thanks for the giveaway and the stocking stocking pattern.

[Mary]

My favorite Jello recipe is called cherry coke salad. The main ingredients are cherry jello, cherry pie filling and coca cola. It is yummy!
Your stocking is adorable.

[Sharlene]

My favorite jello salad is made with raspberry Jello (of course), applesauce & 7-up. We serve it every Thanksgiving & Christmas

[Emily C]

My family never made fancy jello and then it was made when we were ill. So I have many bad memories of jello.

[Marilyn]

There is a Jello salad that is part of every family holiday. I keep thinking they might forget, but someone always requests it.

It is lemon ginger ale salad with pineapples and bananas, cooked pineapple pudding on top and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Sounds weird but even the brother who says "Jello is not a salad" has thirds!

Your stocking is adorable. Thanks for sharing

[Jane B]

This is the best tutorial ever! I can make a lumpy and great looking stocking with stockings on it! I know I can! Favorite and Jello are rarely used in the same sentence for me, but my mom used to make strawberry jello with sliced bananas in it that was pretty dang good. Also my mother-in-law, Evelyn, can make amazing pie crust and she can make the kind that you pre-bake and then fill with yummy filling and she makes jello pudding (chocolate or banana) and fills those pie crusts and then tops them with real whipped cream (and the banana one also has fresh banana slices so you can tell the difference between real banana flavor and jello pudding banana flavor). I love these pies!

[Renea]

This is going to sound really boring but I love just plain jello. No fruit, no whipped creme, just plain jello. Thanks for the great giveaway.

[Sandy D]

We had jello with a can of fruit cocktail in it but as a dessert.I never liked it as a salad with my main meal but some of the dishes above may have me giving them a try.

[Joan Moore]

My granddaughers love just plain jello, but my mother used to make a jelly salad with apples and other fruit. It was delicious. Thank you for the generous giveaway and Happy Thanksgiving!

[Kd Brown]

Hey, Beth, my favorite Jello recipe is Frosty Mandarin Dessert made with orange sherbet which gives it a wonderful texture. I always make it for special occasions. Happy Holidays!

[Kathy B.]

Beth your stocking pattern is the greatest. I plan on making some for the holidays - winning the fat quarter pack would make me jiggle like jello! My favorite Jello recipe is one my sister always makes for every holiday - not sure of the exact amounts of each, but she uses raspberry jello, cool-whip, cottage cheese, mashmallows, and that tiny pasta (acini di pepe.) I like jello, but this recipe is the only way I will attempt to eat cottage cheese! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!