Monthly Archives: January 2018

Last Day of January 2018!

Wow and yay!

I don’t know about you, but January is typically a hard month for me.  The lack of daylight, after holiday blues, cold temps that keep from my daily walks—it all adds up to make January my least favorite month.

However, this year was easier for me—I had a weekend reprieve from the cold in Florida, and my daughter was home for the first half of the month.  So, for me, it’s just been these last two weeks… and I got through them.  I’ll take any and all the help for January to roll along on the positive side.

By the way, how many weeks until spring? 🙂

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I think I showed you the skein of merino yarn I dyed.  You can see that post here.  Well, that skein is all knit up in a cowl.  I used the Spikelets Cowl pattern by Victoria Groger.  It’s a free pattern on Ravelry.  I thought those cables looked daunting, but wanted to give it a try.  There were a couple of rows that caused me to pause and make sure I was doing things correctly, but with the included chart as a backup, I figured it out.  I love it and have worn this warm and cozy cowl numerous times already!

I can’t remember her specified cast on or bind off in the pattern.  I used the lace cast on and the sewn bind off for maximum stretchiness.  I wanted to make sure it would slip on okay because no, I didn’t swatch.  And, I only went down one needle size for the ribbing, instead of the specified two.

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The second sock for my second pair of socks is coming along nicely.  I find knitting socks to be very relaxing, and the perfect thing to do when I am tired and don’t want to think about anything too taxing.

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I’ve started another cowl.  This one is basic “will go with anything” white.  I’m using Galileo sport weight from Knit Picks.  This cowl is simply a 3 by 1 rib that melts into the Eyelet Mock Cable Rib stitch.  My new Hiya Hiya Sharps make this stitch easy to execute.  I LOVE these needles!

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Last week I spent a couple of days figuring out how to knit tiny hearts.  I’ll share those with you next time.

Until then, enjoy!  Thanks for stopping by, my friends! ❤ ❤ ❤

Something New… “Warm Hugs and Kisses”

It feels so good to have this ensemble for the Little Darlings finally finished!  This was the other one I started in early December.  Sheesh!  Since all I want to do lately is knit, I had to add this to my “to do” list to get this one completed—and I’m glad I did.  I really enjoy seeing my happy Little Darling, Lucy, enjoying it so much.

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See how happy . . . and cozy warm she looks!  Her sweater coat and cap set is knit with merino wool/angora yarn.  It is slightly fuzzy with a halo and is quite soft.  The sweater coat is knit with my pattern.  I shortened it by one buttonhole’s length and omitted the pockets.  The hand embroidery on this sweater coat and cap is pretty and feminine and coordinates with the dress print.

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The cotton print I selected for the dress is a calico from a “Little House on the Prairie” collection.  The Cluny laces in this ensemble are from England.  The scalloped lace is cotton and the sturdier lace used for the sash is nylon, both are off white in color.

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Lucy’s other accessories include a hand knit wool scarf, heart charm bracelet, pink cotton tights, and a Teddy bear which is customized to coordinate with this set.

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Lucy’s “Warm Hugs and Kisses” ensemble is one-of-a-kind and will be available tonight (January 28, 2018) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend, my friends!  Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and dear Lucy is sending you a warm hug and kiss . . . xoxo.  Hope it warms up your day.

This Week So Far

Hello.  I’ve made some progress this week so far.  Yay!

We woke to a rainy morning yesterday.  I was determined that this rainy day and Monday was not going to get to me.  It was actually the perfect morning to settle down in my studio and finally get some embroidery work done, specifically this sweater coat!  Yes, that’s right, another project started in early December!

01-22-2018 3792For me, embroidering my doll sweaters is like exercise—I’m happy when it’s done.  It’s not that I hate embroidering, it’s just that embroidering on knitwear is so unpredictable.  Sometimes the embroidery fairies are helpful and sometimes they are little terrors— knotting the back of my work, sending the floss where I don’t intend it to go, choosing the wrong colors for me.  Yesterday they were helpful little fairies, which I was most thankful for.  By 3:00 pm I was finished.

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Mother Nature was treating us well today too.  She stopped the rain and brightened the sky so that some sunshine could peek through, and the temperature was the cherry on top, quite warm for January.  I was able to squeeze in a brisk walk to catch the setting sunshine and watched as the fog started rolling in.  Really, it was quite beautiful.

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And then, Mother Nature played a joke on us this morning.  Not even the television weather people got this right.

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Snowfalls when the temperature is barely at freezing are the amazing.  The snow clings to everything; it reminds me of flocked Christmas trees.

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It’s definitely a “fire in the fireplace” kind of day.  I hope you enjoy your day, wherever you may be.

Sending you a warm hug from northern Illinois. ❤