Hello! How are you? I hope you are doing well. All is well here with the days flying by at the speed of light.
I have started a couple of new ensembles for the Little Darlings–apple themed. I only have a small stash of apple fabrics, so had to pick from what I have used before, which is fine. I don’t mind using up what I have.
I am making a red sweater coat for the blue fabric and a mohair cardigan in blue (to match those cute little flowers) for the pink. I finished the red first and am glad I tried it on before sewing up the underarm seams and weaving in the ends. Look at how big it is on Alice! Is she shrinking? lol
I’ve heard this happening to knitters–your gauge changes over time. I guess mine did just that. I thought I noticed in my last two cardigans that they seemed a little roomier, but they still fit nice, so I didn’t think twice about it. It really shows up in this style though, and with this type of yarn. I first thought I’d need to find a bigger doll to wear the sweater coat, but then I thought I could save it by ripping out rows. It seems like the biggest size problem is in the length and not so much in the width. I’d think it’d be both. Anyone know why that is?
I’ll be working on these two ensembles this week and hope to have more progress to show you soon.
Other news… I received a couple of embroidery books for my birthday in July. They are both beautiful additions to my library! I love looking at floral embroidery–such beautiful hand made gems that make my heart sing.
If you need bullion stitch inspiration then “A-Z of Embroidered Motifs” is for you. It’s chock full of motifs created with this stitch. This is the stitch I use to create the roses on my cardigans. I have an album created on Flickr that contains all of my floral embroidered pieces in case you’d like to see them.
There are 28 pages dedicated to bullion roses in this book! In addition to detailed visual instructions for creating bullion stitches there are instructions for other flowers, foods, nursery motifs, animals, and Christmas motifs.
My second book is a newer book titled “Embroidered Country Gardens” by Lorna Bateman.
This book is dedicated to flower gardens using a multitude of embroidery stitches. She also includes instructions for garden gates, archways, baskets, birds, bird feeders, a birdbath, insects, gardening tools, watering can, old-fashioned lady gardener. She has a dozen projects as well as showing you how to build your own embroidered garden. If you love gardens you will find this book inspiring.
We visited the Chicago Botanic Gardens last weekend. It’s so wonderful to be able to visit again. We went once in July and again in August (last weekend). I took a ton of video on this visit and made a little movie in iMovie showcasing the sounds of water there. It’s not complete as we didn’t get to every garden, but it shows some of the water gardens and the relaxing sound found there. If I can figure out how to get it on You Tube I can share it with you. I will let you know.
Did you have a nice weekend? I hope so! It’s hard to believe it’s September! Thank you for visiting.
WordPress has changed their editor, so I apologize in advance for any weird things going on in this post. I have just now learned the bare minimum to get this post made. It’s so hard learning new things…*sigh*
Cindy Rice Designs 
Interesting about the knitting gauge. I suppose you could turn up the sleeves and let it go at that. 🙂 Love the red. Nice to visit your dollies who look so cool in comparison to our current 109 temperature. CA heatwave yet again.
Hi, Joy. I am so sorry about your HOT temps! That is just TOO HOT! I don’t think I’d survive. We had mostly 90 degree days in August and it about did me in. That would probably feel cool to you, right? I am looking forward to cooler fall days this year. I hope you get some relief too. Stay cool… if you can. ❤
Thank you so much for your sharing! I always enjoy your postings, and your ensembles are so very adorable! They just speak cuteness!
I’ve purchased several of your patterns, and they’re wonderful!
I have been curious. I have two Little Darlings and am thinking of getting one more. Who is the artist(s) that painted yours? They all seem to have an extra sweet innocence to them.
Happy knitting and designing!
Debbie
Hi, Debbie. Thank you so much for reading my blog and knitting with my patterns. I am happy you are enjoying them. Gina was painted by Geri Uribe in 2012!, Lucy (smily #3) by Helen Skinner, and Alice (brown eyes) by Nelly Valentino. I appreciate the little girl innocence too. Thanks again, Debbie. ❤
Last time I knitted the little cardigan, I felt it was bigger too, need to try going down a needle size?
Hi. I am going to measure my new gauge and see how far off it is first, but yes, probably will try a smaller needle and see how that works. The stitches made with my new gauge seem too large, so a smaller needle will help with that also. It’ll be an interesting experiment.
Thank you, Cindy…your girls are just darling!
You’re welcome. I really love them too. They bring me many smiles.
Hi Cindy, we are going through a dreary and cold spell for a few days, it is 39 degrees this morning! Yesterday it rained most of the day. It is going to warm up again though! Oh my, the girls look so cute in an apple a day and Apple season outfits! You will be busy this week! Such lovely birthday gifts in the books, and floral embroidery is so pretty. The embroidered garden is very interesting! How nice to get back to the botanical gardens Cindy! The video will be so nice to see when complete. I know the editor has changed , I can still use the classic editor which is good! How is your Daughter getting on this semester? Have a great day, Terri xo.
Hi, Terri. It’s so nice to hear from you. Oh boy, you have had some cold temps–our coldest morning last week was 51 and only one day of that, thank goodness. It still seems like it should be summertime. We are on day 6 of dreary and wet weather! At least it is somewhat warm. Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful, but I am skeptical.
Thank you for the compliments on my little outfits. Today, I am trying to work a little more on them. We’ll see how much I accomplish.
I tried to get back the old editor, but couldn’t figure it out, so was forced to learn something new. Now I had better practice what I learned again with another post before I forget and have to relearn it.
My daughter’s school is all remote. In a lot of ways it is harder. She is still adjusting… hope it gets easier for her.
I hope you’ve had some sunshine. ❤
I couldnt figure out how to get on old editor either but didnt spend much time on it . What is the old saying “if its not broke…” I hope your Daughter is getting used to school in these times, Terri xo.