June is… Here!

Yay it’s June!!!

Hello to you all!

These past weeks I’ve been enjoying spring time here in northern Illinois.  That is, weather permitting.  We had a most dreary and rainy May, but that didn’t stop me from finding those rare days and to enjoy the blossoms growing around me and at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

2019 english garden 0603

English Walled Garden, Chicago Botanic Gardens

2019 hutch grape hyacinths 0602

Hutch of grape hyacinths, English Walled Garden

2019 lily of the valley 0601

Lily-of-the-valley, Chicago Botanic Gardens

2019 lily of the valley 0600

Lily-of-the-valley, Chicago Botanic Gardens

2019 apple blossoms 511

Apple blossoms, my yard

2019 lilacs 532

Lilac blossoms, my yard

2019 phlox 527

Phlox in full bloom, my yard

2019 forget me not 535

Forget-me-nots, my yard

2019 deck planters kitty 525

My planters and Kitty

I’ve also been doing a little knitting, and I mean a little, sorry nothing more to show.  I am finding it hard getting my knitting and ‘making’ mojo back after my hiatus.  My mind wants to create, create, create, but my body is still slow.  By the way, I thank you all for being patient with me.  There is so much I want to do…  I have faith things will improve albeit rather slowly.

Here is something I managed to accomplish.  I won’t mention how long this took to knit…

Off my knitting needles and currently blocking is a sweater dress for the Little Darlings.  When picking out a color for this project, sunny yellow seemed the perfect color to knit with during our dreary spring weather.

The sweater dress is knit with Aunt Lydia’s bamboo thread.  It’s comparable to #10 cotton crochet thread, but has lots more drape.  I love this thread, and was very disappointed when it was discontinued by Red Heart.  I’ve also used this bamboo thread interchangeably with fingering weight yarn.  The stitch gauge is pretty much the same (maybe a tad smaller, but needs no adjustment).  However, garments knit up shorter, which can easily be adjusted by adding some additional rows.

yellow sweater dress blocking 537

I’ve previously made three sweater dresses for the Little Darlings out of this thread (see photos below).  I think embroidery really looks delicate and beautiful on these dresses.  I look forward to picking out colors and getting started!

so pretty in pink 261

“So Pretty in Pink”, May 2015

my favorite roses 019

“My Favorite Roses”, April 2016

summer blooms 598

“Summer Blooms”, July 2015

Wishing you all a beautiful day and evening, and sending you a dolly hug from my Little Darlings to you!

Thank you for stopping by, my friends.

 

 

 

15 thoughts on “June is… Here!

  1. Susette

    All photos are wonderful, especially your beautiful yard. What’s a better word for “yard.” That’s what you have there in lilac and white. Glad you are feeling your strength coming back. Thanks for brightening our days. Hugs, Susette

    Reply
    1. Cindy Rice Post author

      Hi, Susette. Yard sounds kind of boring, doesn’t it? How about garden? Thank you for commenting. I’m happy you enjoyed my post this morning. ❤

      Reply
  2. Sue Ann lund

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful photographs. I am so happy you are feeling better and creating. I miss seeing and purchasing your beautiful outfits. Sending you hugs 🙂

    Reply
    1. Cindy Rice Post author

      You’re welcome, Sue Ann, glad you enjoyed them. ❤ Thanks you for your kind comments and hugs. I, too, miss having the energy to create lots of things for our girls. Hopefully, I will be back to 100% soon.

      Reply
  3. Joy

    Loved seeing the beautiful botanics! And I don’t think I have ever seen so many apple blossoms on one tree. Quite amazing. I suppose thinning will be in order. I had to smile upon seeing “kitty.” Is this the feral one that won’t be pet or a more friendly one? Beautiful cat either way. The sunny yellow of the lovely knit dress is perfect. I will look forward to seeing it completed. Great to see your post. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Cindy Rice Post author

      Hi, Joy. Yes, our apple blossoms were beautiful this year. We enjoyed them for probably a week–wish they lasted longer. I caught the apple and cherry blossoms at the Botanic Gardens too. Yes, this is Miss Feral Kitty. She’ll come into our house now, very cautiously, and only briefly. She enjoys us and the food we give her. She especially loves cheese and salmon skin. I can’t wait to get started on the embroidery–hope I didn’t forget how! Thank you, Joy. ❤

      Reply
      1. Debbie Bahr

        Cindy,
        I just love reading your posts and seeing your pictures and your projects! …always amazing!

        Many times I have been happily knitting along for my Little Darlings, Piper and Kristen, and wish to thank you for your wonderfully written patterns and your sharing of embroidery ideas, tips, and knitting guidance!

        I purchased the June Tailor blocking pad you mentioned and love it! Thank you for that, too!

        While I haven’t met you, I know you are a special, talented person with a warm, sharing heart. Many thanks!

        Debbie

      2. Cindy Rice Post author

        Hi, Debbie. You are so kind!!! I must say that it is wonderful getting feedback from my readers–I appreciate it so much! I am glad my patterns help you dress your beautiful girls and that some of my humble tips make things easier for you. Again, thank you Debbie–your very nice words made my day today. ❤ ❤ ❤

  4. Pingback: Happiness is Yellow–Choosing Embroidery Colors | Cindy Rice Designs

  5. Terrigirl2019

    I think your weather mirrored ours for the month of may, it was so wet Cindy! The botanical gardens are gorgeous and coming into bloom. The apple blossom and lilac are so nice to have in your yard and I love forget-me-nots! It is so easy to be patient with you Cindy! There is no pressure from me , when you are ready you will know it. The thread is very nice and I love the color sunny yellow . The Girls look so nice in their knit dresses and the embroidery is a feature that is done as a cute feature and out of love I can see. Thanks to the Girls for all the hugs, they are the best! Have a nice Sunday Dear, Terri xo.

    Reply
    1. Cindy Rice Post author

      You are probably right about us having like weather in May. June may be the tiniest bit better. At least it is warmer, but where oh where is the sun! I may have to find more things to make with yellow. The girls and I say thank you for all the compliments and for visiting with us. Hugs to you, too! Have a wonderful Sunday, Terri.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Cindy Rice Cancel reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s