Cindy Rice

About Cindy Rice

My wonderful husband, my beautiful daughter, and I live in northeastern Illinois with our two sweet chihuahua boys. For as long as I can remember I have loved dolls and making things. I got my first Barbie when I was only three years old! My mom sewed for my Barbie dolls and taught me how to use her sewing machine when I was only seven. I cannot believe she let me near that needle, but she did. Not having enough money for my clothes habit in high school and college led me to start sewing all of my own clothes. There were so many fabric stores around back then and fabric was so inexpensive. I would wait for the 99 cent pattern sale and go crazy. Sewing for myself continued well into my 30’s. (I even made my wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses.) Shortly after I got married I left my full time graphic design position and started designing cross stitch patterns. I called my company “The Lilac Studio” and sold my botanical patterns at trade shows, through distributors which sold to retail shops, and mail order. My most popular pattern, “A Bouquet of Pansies” sold 5000 copies and won a J&P Coats Golden Needle Award! I was also featured in various cross stitch magazines and designed special projects for the magazines. When my daughter was born I didn’t have the time needed to cross stitch and design patterns all day long so I let my pattern design business slip away. And then I started discovering dolls again and I now had an excuse to start buying them. The only problem was that they were for my daughter and not for me. I soon discovered all of the adult collectors out there and decided I would be one of them. I started small at first, collecting Mattel Kelly dolls. Soon I collected over 100 Kelly dolls! After Kelly, I discovered Helen Kish’s Riley and Tonner’s Ann Estelle. I have since learned to knit doll sweaters and love an excuse to knit so most of my doll outfits include a sweater and/or hat. I love creating miniature outfits for dolls and enjoy sharing them with others. Currently I create doll ensembles for Ruby Red Fashion Friends, Kish Bethany, Dianna Effner's Little Darlings, Wilde Imagination's teeny tiny Amelia, Kaye Wiggs BJD, Boneka 10", Linda Macario's Penny.

After some windy days our trees are getting barer and barer. It’s really looking like fall now even though this week was quite warm. Earlier in the week I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures outside around our house.

All of our crab apple trees are filled with tiny red fruit which the birds and squirrels enjoy munching on.

The magnolia trees have finally felt the effects of the season. In a matter of days the leaves turned yellow green. Today, a few days after this photo was taken, the leaves are brownish yellow with many covering the ground. They’re going from deep green to bare in no time.

Without planning it I made four winter white sweater dress/Santa hat ensembles. Well, I had to have the four girls pose for a photo together, they looked so cute. Riley was beyond excited. Believe it or not, it has been at least 5 years since I’ve made her anything new.

Hope you’ve had a nice week!

This cute little elf is ready… ready to start preparing for the holidays that is. Patience says there’s nothing like donning a Santa hat to get in the holiday spirit. She thinks everyone should give it a try.

I guess I’ve been hoarding this Christmas fat quarter cotton print. I’ve had it for years and was inspired to make an ensemble with it this year. The evergreen boughs and ornaments/berries are colorful in a warm and cozy way. I added lots of shiny golden accents to accentuate the golden yellow berries and the light golden background. There are quite a few shades of red in this print; perfect for adding red knitwear and two colors of berries to the sweater and hat embroidery. And, of course, I had to add some pine green for Christmas.