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.

“A Rosy Cozy Fall”

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Today is officially the last day of summer 2016! No more talking about how summer ends on Labor Day, or meteorological fall begins on September first. This is it, for real!

Are you ready for the autumn season to begin? I think I am finally ready to say I am ready for some fall-like weather. I do love those cozy sweaters, mugs of hot apple cider, and sitting in front of the fireplace, don’t you? I think autumn is the coziest of seasons.

Gina is here to welcome fall in her cozy new ensemble.

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Gina’s sweater, hat, and scarf are all knit with Peruvian Highland wool. This pink color is one of my favorites in this yarn. It is a rosy heather and absolutely gorgeous, in my opinion, but then I love pink. Her scarf is made out of a blue-ish red and colorful fringe coordinates it with this outfit.

The colors in this cotton floral fabric aren’t your typical fall colors, but I think they are perfect for fall. Besides the rosy pink, you’ll find raspberry, dark avocado outlines, yellow green leaves, and a surprising shade of a bluer green (love this one).

Gina’s sweater is a cropped long sleeved sweater which reaches to the bottom of the dress’s bodice. Since the flowers on the dress are petaled flowers, I made my bullion blossoms a bit different. I quite like the different shape of these.

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Gina’s hat is snuggly and warm with earflaps to cover her ears. The hat ties underneath her chin and off to the side. I made the ties different lengths so that when tied the bow’s tails are even. I added a bit of embroidery to the hat also.

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Gina has a coordinating necklace and bracelet to go with her fall ensemble. Off white tights keep her little legs warm.

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Gina’s “A Rosy Cozy Fall” ensemble will be available tonight (September 21, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

So what is your favorite part of fall? I’d love to hear! Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting with me today. ❤

WIP, Studio, and Some Doll Measurements

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Sorry, nothing new to show you today, but I have a few doll measurements and studio shots. And, I wanted to say hello! It’s always nice to say hello to you.

I hope you are having a great weekend. We are still in summer mode here. It’s a great day to be outside. As soon as I finish this post I am heading outside to help my husband paint the railing on our deck, so this will be quick.

Wendi , who reads my blog, recently adopted an adorable 10″ Boneka sculpted by Dianna Effner. It isn’t the easiest to find clothing for these girls, so she was wondering if Bethany (Helen Kish 12″) or Millie (Kaye Wiggs 11″ BJD) would fit them. I wish I had one of these 10″ dolls, but I don’t, so I took a couple of side-by-side shots of the two I do have and took a few measurements. I hope this helps you, Wendi, . . . and anyone else wondering the same thing.

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Arms outstretched to the sides, measurement from wrist, slightly over shoulders, to other wrist:

Bethany, 8-1/8″ to 8-1/4″ Millie, 7-3/8″ to 7-1/2″

Circumference of upper arm:

Bethany, 2″ Millie, 1-1/2″

Circumference of hand (for sleeves to pass over):

Bethany, 2-3/8″ Millie, 2″

Chest:

Bethany, 5-3/8″ Millie, 4-5/8″

Top of shoulder to knee joint:

Bethany, 6-1/4″ Millie, 5-3/4″

Neck:

Bethany, 2-1/2″ Millie, 2-1/8″

I lined up their shoulders in the shot below. You can easily see the differences in their torso lengths and widths.

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If there’s another measurement that would help, please let me knot, I’d be happy to help.

I’m working on an ensemble for the Little Darlings. Gina grabbed this one before Lucy and Alice could see I was even working on something for them. I am currently knitting a hat with those cute little ear flaps to go with this ensemble. I think a scarf or two would be cute also.

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Last week the tinies got into the Halloween costume box. Look what they found! I crocheted these costumes for Kelly 10+ years ago! Sugar (Fairyland’s Pukipuki) discovered they fit her perfectly. She decided to dress up as a garden fairy (for now). Poor Amelia Thimble is too small, but is begging for a costume of her own. Maybe, Amelia, we’ll see!

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That’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by! I love it that you did! ❤

“Autumn’s Pink Roses”

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Meteorological fall has been in full swing for a couple of weeks in the northern hemisphere, but it still feels quite summery here in northern Illinois. It has cooled off just a teensy tiny bit, however, it’s still tank top and shorts weather.

I have two teeny tiny, and I mean teeny tiny, pink rosebushes that happily grow underneath a birch tree in our front yard which are the same shade of pink as this fabric print. Not that this matters, but probably contributed to the title I thought of for this ensemble.

This fabric print is the same as “A Plummy Fall” that Gracie was modeling for you yesterday. (I bought a whole yard of this one, so I have lots left over!) For this ensemble using the ivory ground color I picked a smaller doll to best utilize this print’s petiteness. Millie is 11″ and quite slender, and this print still looks small on Millie. I can’t get over how the manufacturer can print such a complex and colorful design so small.

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Millie’s sweater and hat are knit out of lace weight merino/silk yarn. The pieces are very delicate and light weight. I chose to keep the embroidery softly colored and centered around the pink roses with the littlest touches of golden and aqua.

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Millie’s accessories include a mesh drawstring crocheted purse that holds a tiny hanky made out of the dress fabric, a bracelet, panties, and anklets.

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