Hello to you! I hope you are having a very nice weekend. It’s nice and hot here in northern Illinois–very summery feeling.
This month is flying by, and I don’t have much dolly-related making to show for it. Granted I have been taking a lot of time to enjoy spring and all the beautiful flowers. And, we have had a birthday and a college graduation to celebrate this month. May has been busy. There hasn’t been much time to settle down and create in my studio.
Last month I started a new ensemble for Sophie and it is now complete. Sophie is a Mary Engelbreit doll by Robert Tonner. She is the best friend to Ann Estelle. Do you remember those adorable paper dolls Mary added to her Home Companion magazine? These dolls are those paper dolls come to life. The dolls were first sold in the early 2000s and were very popular among doll collectors. At one time I had Gracie and Georgia too. Sophie is my only remaining M. E. doll. By the way, she shares the same body as the newer Patsy doll by Robert Tonner.
Sophie’s cropped cardigan is knit with lace weight merino that I hand dyed to a pink violet. I used six different shades of violet and pink for the roses. I mixed them up in different combinations, tiny rose jewels. I used Patsy’s cardigan pattern to knit this sweater for Sophie.
Oh, this fabric! I think it’s one of my favorites. It’s a Kaufman lawn, Sevenberry Petite Garden is a line of small scale florals from Japan. I originally purchased it from fabric.com. They don’t have this exact print anymore, but they have some other lovely prints to choose from.
I crocheted Sophie’s summer hat using three strands: #10 cotton, #10 bamboo, and #20 cotton. To decorate the hat I used lace that matches the dress and muted turquoise velvet ribbon. I hand tacked both separately and pulled snugly on the trims so that they hugged the hat neatly. I LOVE mother-of-pearl and happily used one of my mother-of-pearl buttons for this hat!
I think Sophie is thrilled with her new ensemble. She’s been waiting patiently for one of her own that she can keep.
I published a new YouTube video showing bits of this ensemble in progress.
Wishing you all a great ‘last week in May’ ! 🤗💜
Cindy Rice Designs 
So fun seeing sweet Sophie, and her outfit is gorgeous. Glad you’re having nice weather. 🙂
Hi Joy, and thank you. Summer is here–so hot and humid! I hope you are doing well and enjoying your dollies and sewing for them. Thanks for visiting! 💕
I’m so glad to see Sophie and her sweet outfit! She’s still my favorite ❤️
Sophie says hello to you, Norma. I think she may have been the one to start my adult doll obsession. Thank you Norma! 💕
Hi Cindy!! We do have the same weather being so close to each other! Right now it is pouring rain though. It is hard this time of year to stay indoors as we welcome the beautiful new blossoms and greenery. I can see why you would get out. Its nice you had a birthday and graduation to go to. Sophie’s cardigan is just so cute. I love the color and the time you spent embroidering the flowers on! Oh my this dress is sooo pretty on Sophie. I am still trying to figure out how we can minimize to fit in these dresses ! What a lovely gift for her in her new complete outfit . A real Lavender lovely. The video is so nice for us to see the work and love you put into making the outfits . Nice seeing Sophie with the other girls and having her own photoshoot. Thanks for post, I have been so busy, I missed posting last weekend , I will this weekend with some updates ! Take care, hugs, Terri xo.
Hi, Terri. Thanks so much for stopping by. Ah, the weather… Today it is horrible–a very raw day–windchill in the 30s! It is almost June, right? Anyway, tomorrow will be better.
It would be fun to be able to wear the little sweaters. If it wouldn’t take me a year to knit one I would make a human sized cardigan.
I’m glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching. Sophie says hello to you. I hope you are having some nice weather today and are enjoying your Friday. Have a great weekend, Terri!💕
I always enjoy coming to your blog Cindy !! Happy memorial day, Terri xo.