Friday, November 28, 2025

More of Grandma's Smocking

Recently, I mentioned my mother's smocked Christmas balls, and someone wanted to see more. By the way, we still tend to refer to my mother as grandma like we did when our kids were young. Sue has always been Amma to our grandkids, so there is not an identity issue.

Here they are a number of pictures, all done by Sue, except for the first one, I think, when we trimmed the tree.










23 comments:

  1. That smocking is beautiful. What a lot of work that must have been.

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  2. Those ornaments are definitely keepers. Unbreakable, a bonus!

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  3. The ornaments are so cute. Your tree is very pretty.

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  4. My gramma had such skills! I cannot sew a straight line!

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  5. These are all beautiful!!!

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  6. Those are beautiful and unique. I've never seen any like them!

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  7. Such beautiful work! A treasure!

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  8. Each ornament carries the warmth of family tradition and the care stitched into it across generations

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  9. Those are powerful objects imbued with so much family history and love. It was a privilege to see them my friend. Thank you for sharing them

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  10. Those are incredible! I've never seen anything like this at all.

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  11. I do not think I had ever heard of smocking before reading about it on your blog. I have seen them, but never knew it had a name.

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  12. These are so beautiful.

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  13. Wow! They really are treasures to keep and love.

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  14. I have never seen anything like this. They are beautiful and wonderful family heirlooms.

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  15. Those balls are exquisite. You have a wonderful collection and each one is a gem. What a treasure. I can only imagine the work into them, much less by your grandma.

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  16. Those are beautiful! Is there a glass bulb underneath the smocking to provide the shape or is it some other material? That seems so fun, festive, and creative!

    PipeTobacco

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    1. I think it is styrofoam, but I haven't delved into it.

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  17. There is something special to have those ornaments, to hold them in your hands and think of your mom's hands at work on those very same ornaments. What makes the holidays special are the memories. Your holidays are very special.

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  18. These ornaments are beautiful treasures to be enjoyed during the holiday season. Thanks to Sue for the great close ups.

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  19. Lovely! I did some smocking years ago but never Christmas ornaments. What a great idea!

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  20. I’m wondering how she did these…because you have to pull the needle and thread through to the back of the material with each stitch…so maybe done separately then put on the balls…?

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  21. I must admit I've never knowingly seen, let alone understood, smocking, but your pictures show an enormous amount of work!

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