Monthly Archives: October 2015

Getting Sidetracked and Silly Mistakes

I got all the way through knitting this Santa hat for Amelia Thimble before I realized I was following a pattern written for the Little Darlings.  (I do things like this sometimes often.)  Now you would think, no problem, Gina has a new hat.  Nope, the problem is that it came out much smaller because I was using lace weight yarn and the sized needles that I normally use for knitting Amelia’s things.  So what I have is a Santa hat that is too small for the Little Darlings and too large for Amelia Thimble.  Does this sound like a Goldilocks and 3 Bears dilemma?

christmas riley santa hat 649Now I’m off to see which (if any) doll this will fit.  Kish Alisha?  No, too small.  Pukipuki Sugar?  No, too big.  Kish Riley?  Just right!  Anyone interested in a Santa hat for Riley?

christmas riley santa hat 653As planned, I took my photos yesterday… evening, right before it got too dark.  Remember my morning photo of my three girls who were standing around waiting for the photo shoot to begin?

christmas gina millie sugar 542Well, I mistakenly or stupidly thought that the f-stop of 6.3 would be okay.  No, it wasn’t okay.  I think Gina’s photos might work (just barely), but Millie’s and Sugar’s are most definitely not useable.  Their faces are in focus, but their clothing is not.  They are smaller, so I shot the photos from a shorter distance, it’s funny how that works.  Since Sugar is the smallest doll, her photo are the worst.  The embroidery on the waistline of her dress is even out of focus.  Time for a do over on those two.

Hopefully, today will go better.  I started Patience’s dress, the pieces are cut out, but not sewn.  Bye for now, I need to get to work and stay on track today.

Christmas Making is Progressing

I feel that I am finally getting in the Christmas spirit here in the studio.  How many weeks has it taken for me to seriously get in the spirit?

Right now I have three dolls in their Christmas ensembles all waiting patiently for photos to be taken.  And, speaking of Patience I am working on something for her too.

Here are Gina, Millie, and Sugar all decked out for the holidays.  I originally had Gina in a Santa hat, but this ensemble seemed too dressy for it.  I like the organza bow in her hair much better.  I didn’t have my lighting all set up, so this was taken with the over head florescent lights and a tiny bit of early morning light coming in through the west facing window.  You can get an idea anyway.  I thought they looked cute all together and wanted to show you.

christmas gina millie sugar 542

Maybe I’ll get photos taken today and maybe I’ll get sewing on Patience’s dress, or maybe both!

I hope all of you have, or are having (depending on where you live), a wonderful day!

Bye for now!

My First Holiday (Christmas) Ensemble of the Season

My first holiday ensemble is all ready to show you!  I started my holiday creating by using my favorite fabric first, not saving it for one of the last like I did last year.  And, it just so happens that the color palette is a little bit fallish, so it is indeed the perfect one to start with.

Isn’t this fabric cute?  There are so many adorable motifs in this primitive looking print, boring it is not.  And, even though the colors are muted it is still quite colorful.  Yes, it is my most favorite holiday or Christmas fabric that I’ve purchased so far this year.

I had the perfect shade of wool yarn for knitting the sweater and hat.  It matches the rosy color beautifully.  I picked out the blue and green in the print and added bits of those colors throughout the ensemble for extra “colorfulness”.

a heartwarming holiday 142

a heartwarming holiday 153

a heartwarming holiday 217

a heartwarming holiday 224

a heartwarming holiday 206The fabric I had for the tights was a bit too rosy, so I over dyed them in an ivory dye bath.  They came out perfect.

a heartwarming holiday 203

a heartwarming holiday 158Oh, it looks like Gina has a little present for you!

For more information on Gina’s “A Heartwarming Holiday” ensemble, please visit my “Available for Sale” page on cindyricedesigns.com.

Bye for now!  Hope you enjoyed seeing my first holiday set of the season.