Author Archives: Cindy Rice

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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.

“Chic Not Shabby”

More purple creations are coming out of my studio!  This one is in neutral shades.  The wool is almost taupe, but it’s not.  The purple in the dress is a neutral grape shade with a touch of neutral pastel pink in there too.

The great thing about neutrals is that they go nicely with a lot of other colors.  Do you know what it means to call a color neutral?  It means that it is made up of all three primary colors.  If a neutral color has only a touch of one or two of the primaries it may not even look like a neutral, but it still is considered one.

When I was in college we made hundreds of paint chips using red, yellow, blue, and white.  Did you know that if you have the correct red, yellow, and blue you can make any color under the sun?  We made colors all the way around the color wheel and then we made the neutrals.  It was an assignment that most art majors hated with a passion, but I loved it!!!  I still have all of the paint chips I made too.

I think that with Alice’s golden brown eyes and blonde/brown hair she looks beautiful in neutrals, don’t you?

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The embroidery on this sweater wasn’t as easy peasy as it might look.  I tried four different shades of purple before I found the correct one for the colonial knot flowers.  They are such a tiny part of the embroidery, but they needed to be right.  At first, my color choice was the darkest shade in the dress, then I went a shade lighter, then I picked a basic lilac.  They all disappeared into the knitting, and didn’t accent the roses at all.  Finally, I picked a bright pink violet which was bright enough and light enough to make the roses pop.  The greenery color needs to be just right too, but I got lucky picking the correct shade right from the start.  Yay!

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Alice loves her beret.  Her favorite part is the ivory colored rose bead; she thinks it is the perfect touch.

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Alice’s “Chic Not Shabby” ensemble will be available tonight at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.  Check my “Shop What’s New” page tonight at that time.

 

My “Calico Cutie”

Usually I cannot remember the names of fabric collections that I use for my outfits.  I get asked quite often, and I’m sorry to say that I just don’t remember, especially when it has been in my stash for a while.  The name of this fabric, however, stuck with me because it was named after one of my favorite childhood television shows and books, Little House on the Prairie.

I was probably older than the target audience when this show first aired, but still loved the cozy peek into pioneer life.  My younger sister, who was really into this show had the book, so I also read that.  I’ve been enamored with log cabins lit with cozy fireplaces ever since.

This tiny calico print is filled with shades of purply flowers on a navy ground.  You all know I love every single shade of purple, but I don’t work with navy blue too much.  When I received this fabric I wasn’t thrilled with it (it seemed too dark to me), but it looked so pretty with this lilac mohair sweater, so I took a chance and made this fabric into a dress.  I am glad I used it!  It is a different look for Gina.  In fact, I love her in this dress set!

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Gina’s light as a feather mohair/silk sweater matches the beret which is knit in a heavier weight of Peruvian wool.  I preferred the “less fluffy” fiber for her beret.  I am now quite comfortable knitting in the round, so that is how I knit Gina’s beret.  A simple white silk ribbon bow and bead decorate the beret.

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I had this ribbon in my stash which was the perfect color to accent the waistline of the dress.

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My newly acquired white tassel styled cotton lace from England looked perfect with this print.

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Of course Gina wanted a little bouquet to give you.  She picked deep purple and white blossoms which she tied together with white silk streamers, and a bow made with matching embroidery thread.

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“Calico Cutie” will be available tonight (July 19, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.  Check the “Shop What’s New” page at that time for more information on this ensemble.

Rainy Sunday Morning

Oh, it’s been months since we’ve had a good thunderstorm!  When I woke this morning the sky was gray and I could see the approaching dark grey clouds moving in from the west.  I checked the radar on Intellicast and saw the band of rain approaching.  Yay!  We need rain so badly!  When you haven’t had rain for sooo long it is a novelty, so I grabbed my camera and went outside.  My favorite time is right before the storm starts.

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Look at how dry our yard is!  We really need a good soaking.

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It looks cozy and warm in our kitchen . . . and in my studio.  Do you see Gina all dressed up in “Calico Cutie”?  My dolls usually get a day or so to wear the things that I make.  Then they are naked again, and waiting for the next one.

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As I’m writing this post I’m listening to the cozy sounds of rumbling in the sky and watching raindrops hitting the pool.  (My studio overlooks the pool and deck.)

Here are some other things that are going on around here.  My husband is in the process of power washing the deck.  On the recommendation of our tree trimmer we got a heavy duty power washer to clean our VERY dirty deck.  Look at the difference!

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Our pool is extremely old, so we don’t want to put a lot of work into the deck, but the power washing helped make the deck feel like new, well almost.  My husband got quite a lot cleaned yesterday.  I love it!  My view from my studio is greatly improved.

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Yesterday morning I spotted this chipmunk right outside my studio window.  In the 8 years we have lived here this is the first chipmunk that I have ever seen on our property.  I assumed that they stayed away because of all of feral cats roaming around.  Isn’t he/she cute!

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Sorry, for the poor photo quality.  I took these through the window and  cropped them.  The chipmunk was pretty close to the house though; I had the wrong lens on my camera.  Can you tell I love the little critters?!

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On Friday I was working on a crocheted beret for the Little Darlings.  It looks cute on Alice, but I think it is a little small.  I will use it for either Millie or Ann Estelle/Patsy.  Another day I will crochet another one for the Little Darlings, but make it a little larger.

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I ended up knitting Alice a beret in the same yarn that I used for the sweater; I like it much better.  I hope to have that outfit to show you soon.

The sky is already brightening, and I see a bit of blue out west.  Hope you have (having) a beautiful Sunday!

Bye for now!