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.

Sweater Dress weather continues here in northern Illinois. While it is snowy and cold outside I love to sit in front of a warm fire with a cup of tea, coffee, or cappuccino and knit little dresses and sweaters that will be made into pretty ensembles for one of my girls (dolls). I love the simplicity of a sweater dress and the large area it presents for embellishment. It is like a blank canvas waiting to be painted upon.

Kaye Wiggs Millie is the perfect little model for a sweater dress. She is only 11″ tall with a slender body so I can nip in the waistline a bit and give the skirt a slight flare and it is very flattering on her. This sweater dress started out with a pair of printed tights that I ended up not using, but they gave me a starting place for picking the color palette. I ended up using more floss colors than I usually do for the embroidering on this dress. Each rose uses a different set of colors and the tiny hearts are embroidered in one of three slightly different shades of red. The slight variation in color makes a more interesting piece, I think. I am so happy when I learn a little something new.

The Peruvian Highland wool yarn is a heathered pink color with tiny bits of red orange and magenta mixed in with shades of pink.

The tassel on Millie’s slouch hat is made with various colors and weights of yarn.

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

It’s no surprise that I LOVE flowers, right? I embroider them on my doll clothes and gravitate towards floral fabrics. Even when I designed cross stitch patterns my patterns were of flowers.

From when I was very young I loved flowers and there are even photos to prove it. Here are two pictures of me smelling the roses (or trying to). You’ll notice in one picture I have a death grip on my Barbie doll. Yes, my passions started young.

In the middle of winter when I would love to meander through a garden it helps me to look at photos of gardens (Pinterest is great for this) or simply create my own flowers with embroidery thread. It is easy to imagine the sweet scent of the roses I am creating.