Hello! I want to show you the latest ensemble I finished for the Ruby Red Fashion Friends. Stella loves how summery it is. I think all my girls are starting to feel the approach of autumn, so any bits of summer, no matter how small, are something to grasp onto.

Stella’s cotton print dress features happy summery colors in pink, mint green, light blue, peachy coral, and some golden yellow. Even though the ground of the dress is more white than ivory, I thought the dress looked nice with ivory, so Stella’s hemline lace and cardigan are in off white. I guess the different shades of white reminded me of the carefree spirit of summer. Anyhow, they just felt ‘right’, so I went with it.

Stella’s sun shielding wide brimmed sun hat is crocheted with cotton threads. I add some color contrast at the top and a peachy shell stitch border on the brim’s edge. The slanted edge band is made out of the dress fabric and is attached with a mother-of-pearl button sewn on with matching pink embroidery floss. Stella likes to wear the brim tipped up in the front so that her light blue silk ribbon bow is visible.

A strand of peach silk ribbon and a strand of pink is tied twice around the waistline and then tied in a bow in front. Fine gauge English cotton Cluny lace has been hand dyed to an ivory color and is snugged underneath a tuck on the dress skirt.

Stella’s cardigan is knit out of soft merino undyed wool. The flower motif on the dress do not look like roses, so I embroidered a stylized blossom using colonial knots and bullion stitches along with white beaded centers. Some sprigs of yellow blossoms and dark green greenery complete the embroidery. For more pops of peach coral colored semi-precious stone beads are used as buttons.

Stella’s accessories include cotton knit anklets in a very pastel pink with peach bows. Vintage floral blossoms have been gathered into a bouquet. The stems are wound with pink silk ribbon and a bow. The beaded bracelet is made with peach and gold seed beads. A pink flower dangles from the bracelet and a heart is strung along to show that this set was made with love.

I hope this post finds you well, and am wishing you a beautiful August! I must confess August is always a little bittersweet for me in that it signifies that the end of summer is right around the corner. How about you? What are your feelings about August?

Sending hugs and ❤️ from Stella and I.