Author Archives: 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.

“Summer Flowers for You” Modeled by Millie

10 Replies

My Kaye Wiggs Millie has a bouquet of summer flowers just for you. She is all ready for summer and all the fun it brings. Her new ensemble is filled with red, white, and blue flowers on a background of light reddish pink. Her blonde hair, blue eyes and sunkissed skin tone complete the summery look.

Will you accept Millie’s bouquet of flowers?

Millie’s cropped cardigan sweater is knit with pure white bamboo and embroidered to coordinate with the flowers and colors in her dress.

For more information on Millie’s new summertime ensemble please visit my “Available for Sale” page on cindyricedesigns.com .

This Past Week’s Odds & Ends

8 Replies

Mother’s Day came and went so fast. Weather-wise, we had a doozy of a day: cold, damp, dark, and foggy—the entire day. No one wanted to do anything. I didn’t even feel like creating for my dolls, and that hardly ever happens. I guess that’s what those kind of days can do to you.

My husband and daughter secretly bought flowers and planted a large planter and two hanging baskets for me. They are so sweet. They remembered my absolute favorite flower for planters as well, lobelias. I love these tiny trailing flowers so much. Lobelias are the white and dark purple tiny blossoms. They also planted trailing tiny petunias, moss roses, and snapdragons in a rainbow of colors.

The feral cat that hangs around was patiently waiting for breakfast while I took pictures this morning.

We cannot touch this kitty; if we put our hand out she will bat (and scratch) us, but she will get fairly close to us. When we moved into this house 7 years ago, she wouldn’t let us even look at her. She comes around most days and has someplace to go when the weather is bad. We know this because the fur on her back gets trimmed by something she climbs under. It must be a tight fit. Since she has a corner of her ear clipped off, she probably was trapped and taken in for spaying years ago. There is a feral cat colony that a couple of ladies take care of down the block. We think that this kitty may not have gotten along with them and went out on her own.

Our crab apple tree is in its glory right now. Isn’t it beautiful? Our magnolia that I showed you (here) now is all leaves and the tiny honeysuckle to the right of it only has a few blossoms left. We still have a set of lilac bushes yet to bloom and another bush that blooms with light pink flowers. I don’t know what it is. I will share a photo of it and maybe someone can help me identify it. 🙂

Earlier in the week I went to reorder my bamboo thread and discovered that it is being discontinued. What???!!! There is nothing else out there to substitute for it, and it is the perfect weight and fiber for summery sweaters and dresses.

Well, I searched for what I needed (and lots more to make sure that I would never ever run out), and placed a couple of orders. This is what arrived! My husband asked me if I was opening a store. LOL!

Does this make me a hoarder?

What I’ve been working on this week… yesterday’s photo.

And today, I embroidered the cardigan. Any guesses as to who this is for? (The piece of lace knitting doesn’t go with the dress, hat, or cardigan set.)

I didn’t have the right color of ribbon or fabric for this ensemble, so I dyed rayon ribbon and some Lycra knit tonight. I hope to get this outfit finished up this weekend, I hope…

You all have a fabulous weekend!

Another Springtime Sweater Dress for the Little Darlings

7 Replies

I loved the last sweater dress that I made for the Little Darlings so much that I immediately started on another one. This one is in pink and also has 10,000+ stitches.

As I was working on the embroidery for this dress I felt as if I were drawing (or painting) with a needle and thread. The first half of the top motif and the first half of the waistline motif (the second half is mirrored) went bit by bit as I was trying to achieve good color balance and a pleasing floral composition. Sometimes my motifs take longer to work out and this one did indeed take longer.

The embroidery may have been painstaking, but I am very pleased with the end result. The motifs are feminine, colorful, balanced and flow smoothly along the waistline, so mission accomplished.