I needle felted a Christmas pickle! I realize not everyone knows what that is, so let me explain. My MIL introduced me to this concept many years ago, which is apparently German-American, though I don’t think I ever heard anyone in my family using the tradition. Online rumor has several reasons why the tradition started, but my favorite is that the pickle gets hidden somewhere in the tree on Christmas morning, and the first to spot it gets a special little gift; this is meant to prompt admiration of all the ornaments and shift the focus away from all the shiny presents. I just happen to love dill pickles so I approve of this regardless of the reason! 😀

I needle felted some green wool and tried to shape a little wonky dill; for my second needle felting trial (see the first here), I think I did alright! I added some colonial knots to represent the little prickly things. Then I cut out some wool felt and embroidered simple designs using gold metallic floss to mimic the classic ornament top. 

Yay, pickles!