Monthly Archives: May 2017

“Blossoms for the Bees”

We’ve had so many bumblebees buzzing around our garden this spring. I love watching the fuzzy little guys, and how they almost disappear inside trumpet-shaped blossom. I don’t have any snapdragons growing in my garden this year, but I have in past years, and they really do disappear inside these blossoms, so cute.

Keeping with the bee theme, Gracie is wearing a dress covered in trios of bright blossoms which are on a subtle hexagon honeycomb background.

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Gracie’s dress has a wider neckline which looks pretty with shrugs. The hemline is embellished with cotton tatting lace that I applied by hand. The lace was a gift, but I am guessing it is vintage and handmade. The circles on the lace look perfect with the circle-shaped flowers, and the lace’s color matches the fabric exactly.

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Gracie’s yummy lace shrug is knit with lace weight merino wool in red violet heather. It has a crocheted shell edging.

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I thought a hexi-shaped purse would be so cute with this ensemble. This one is made with two crocheted granny hexagons and a leather strap. It can be worn cross body, over the shoulder, or wrapped around Gracie’s hand. Inside the bag is a little bouquet of flowers. There is even a little extra room for other found treasures. In my stash I had one bumble bee button. He found his way onto Gracie’s granny square blossom.

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Gracie’s hair decoration is made by hand with three colors of crocheted merino wool blossoms which pick up the colors in the dress. I’ve added a little green merino wool leaf and a handmade organza bow. It slips in place with a handmade wire bobby pin.

Anklets, panties, and a bracelet complete this summery ensemble.

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Gracie’s “Blossoms for the Bees” ensemble will be available tonight (May 30, 2017) at 7:00pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

Take some time today to watch the bumblebees! Thanks for visiting with me today, my lovely friends.

“Dainty Darling”

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Hello all, from grey and wet northern Illinois. I heard yesterday that we’re having a wetter than normal spring, no surprises there. Anyway, I’m all for pretending the sun is shining brightly. 🙂

Without further ado, here is my Little Darling, Alice. Alice wears a sunny yellow dress made out of one of the Little House on the Prairie 2016 prints from Andover. This print has a formal colonial look to it rather than a country calico look. This style of print must have been intended for “Sunday’s best” dresses. I’ve used two other prints from this collection; these were dark calicos. You can see those two ensembles here and here.

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I highlighted this sunny yellow ensemble with the warm pink shade found in the roses. Pink can be seen in the crocheted rose hair decoration, drawstring bag, bracelet, bows on the shrug, and waist sash. Doesn’t pink look pretty with the yellow?

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Here’s a close up shot of Alice’s tiny accessories. The tiny hanky is made with cotton lawn, has a fringed edging, and is folded and pressed into a classic triangle. (Just like my grandma taught me to do.) The hanky fits into the drawstring bag, which has lots of room for extra pretties.

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Alice’s shrug is like a whispery soft spring breeze. It is knit with lace weight mohair/silk, and is dyed to a light ecru. It has tiny pink bows on the edges of the sleeves. I’ve also hand dyed the rayon knit tights to a light ecru.

Where do you think Alice is headed in her new ensemble?

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“Dainty Darling” will be available tonight (May 24, 2017) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me today, my lovely friends.

This and That, and Hello

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I hope you all had a great weekend regardless of any “yucky” weather that may have come your way. Our weekend weather, here in northern Illinois, was grey both days, but only half wet. (The Sunday morning sunshine disappeared quickly.)

When I look out my sewing studio window on this brand new day and work week, I see endless blue sky, which I am very grateful for.

Last week I started a new ensemble for Gracie. While looking through my laces I found this tatting lace. Even though it’s gorgeous, and I wanted to use it, I wasn’t sure how to apply it. This fabric, though, is too PERFECT for it; the little circles on the lace mimic the faint honeycomb design on the background of the fabric. Even the color is perfect. I took some time to think about it, made a little sample, and found if I applied it by hand it would work out. Sometimes the sewing machine needs to be put aside.

I applied the lace to the underside of the skirt. I found that the lace “fit” in the space right under the hemline’s seam allowance. I used a very fine (#11 straw) needle and matching thread. I found that putting a tiny vertical stitch through the base of each circle kept the lace in place the best. I made sure to end with a full circle, so I could stitch the first and last ones together. It didn’t take long at all, but I definitely needed my reading glasses for this task.

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Here’s a closeup of the underside after hand sewing. My thumb looks gigantic! This is very tiny lace.

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By sewing the lace to the underside, it looks as if it’s peeking out from the hemline when seen from the right side. I am very happy with the result. Isn’t it the perfect fit for this print?

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My brown-eyed Little Darling beauty, Alice, (painted by Nelly Valentino) wants to wish you the loveliest of weeks. I took this photo of her last week while she was loving on her poodle. I soon put Alice to work, however. She is now wearing a brand new ensemble that she is modeling for me. I will share those photos with you in a day or two.

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