Tonight I finished this little candy cane ornament. This may be the last ornament for the Handmade Ornament Swap. It is an adaptation of a smocking plate by Ellen McCarn I picked up a couple Saturdays ago at the Bernina store, which is the only heirloom sewing store we have in town. (I just realized I haven't "featured" them in my blog, so that may be the subject of another post sometime).
Once again, the smocking was the easy part. I seem to really struggle with finishing the ends once the smocking is complete. When I did the Christmas tree smocked ornament, Beautiful Daughter #1 suggested I try to finish it like a wrapped candy. Since this ornament was, in fact, a candy cane, her suggestion seemed natural. Still, I'm not perfectly happy with how the smocking fits over the ball. Because the smocking isn't stretched over the ball, it is pretty loose in there. But, as my Aunt Margie used to say, "You're not supposed to play football in it!"
Then, because batiste ravels like crazy, I had to come up with a way to finish the ends. I decided to crochet around them. Amazingly, the red crochet thread matched the embroidery floss pretty well. A few of the little batiste ends refused to be corralled, but I guess it's OK - it is a candy cane, after all.
I think it turned out great, just like the last one.
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