Category Archives: Embroidery

Hello To You

I don’t have anything finished to show you; I simply wanted to say hi, share a few photos, and let you know what I’m working on. I have a very optimistic “to do” list for today, so this will be short. Whenever I feel things are taking too long to get finished I bring out my pad of paper and break down, into steps, what I hope to get done in a given day.

Today, I plan on finishing a dress for Patsy/Ann Estelle. The skirt is all gathered and pinned to the bodice; I just need to sew the two pieces together. Then, I will hand stitch the facing, sew on the snaps and buttons. Next, the sweater needs to be sewn up at the underarm and I’ll weave in the ends. I really want to complete the embroidery for the sweater. Not sure that will happen, but it’s on the list.

As for my weekend, that involved bringing my daughter back to school. My “baby” is all tucked in at college to begin her second semester. I guess it was easier leaving her there this time than in August. But, it was still by no means easy! I’m not sure it will ever be easy. I keep telling myself that to miss her so very much means that I love having her around so very much, a blessing that is. Yes!

We are still in the thick of dreary weather. Yesterday morning we had freezing rain which, thank goodness, turned to rain as the temperature warmed above freezing later in the day. We are experiencing temps this week which are warmer than normal for this time of year. Yay! We even had a thunderstorm during the night! It sounded like springtime!

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This was taken yesterday morning. I’m glad the bird feeder was empty; those icicles look dangerous.

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There’s nothing like orchids starting to bloom to lift the spirits.

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In my studio Tulah is still playing Barbies, and has adopted a little chihuahua. We’re currently working on names for her poodle and her chihuahua. She’s quite an indecisive little doll.

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I think I’ve shown you this doll (pattern here) before as I’ve made her years and years ago. She is made from a free pattern by Emily Martin (Black Apple). She is a calming presence in my studio, always relaxed with a little smile on her face. Dolly is all decked out in a Big Ann Estelle scarf and a crocheted rose brooch by Alla Koval (My Little City Girl), both also made years ago.

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This crochet hook set was a Christmas present, and I can’t wait to use them. They are the tiny sizes for use with crochet thread. I’ll use them for crocheting flowers, purses, and other accessories. Those handle colors are ❤ !

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Sitting around my studio is a beret for Patience which never got used (yet, anyway) and Little Darling fingerless mitts. This fabric is something I purchased late summer (I think) and can’t wait to use. It’s not Liberty fabric, but that is what the prints remind me of. Sorry, I can’t remember the name of the collection. I am sure it’s a Japanese fabric though.

Well, I had better get to work on my list! I’ve enjoyed chatting with you today. Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Thank you for visiting! Bye for now.

New Knitting Pattern

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Happy Friday to everyone! I finished my sweater dress pattern (earlier than expected, yay!) for the Little Darlings. If you read yesterday’s blog post, “A Little Wish for Spring”, you saw the sample I made for this pattern. (The beret Alice is wearing is from my beret pattern.)

This sweater dress pattern has two sleeve lengths, short (shown) and elbow length. I’ve also included two dress lengths. I made the shorter length for “A Little Wish for Spring”. The longer length is the same width, but with 8 additional rows. The pattern guides you through the raglan bodice and then the increases to form the a-line skirt shape. BTW, as most of my knitting patterns are, this dress is knit all in one piece! The dress is made with fingering weight wool; I used Palette from Knit Picks in Blossom Heather.

My sweater patterns are made with ease to be worn over a dress. This sweater dress pattern, however, is made so that the dress fits on the doll without ease. It is a cute, fitted bodice, no bagginess. Dianna Effner created the most adorably sculpted Little Darling dolls, so I like to highlight their cuteness when I design for them.

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The sweater dress is the perfect canvas for embroidery or other embellishment. I’ve included photos from some of my other Little Darling sweater dress embroidery to spark you creativity.

This pattern is available on Ravelry.

Bye for now! Thanks for stopping by!

“A Little Wish for Spring”

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So far winter has not gotten the best of me. It should have really; we’ve had a LOT of extremely gloomy days! However, I am enjoying the coziness inside my house with cups of tea, twinkle lights around the window, and a fire in the fireplace.

So . . . Alice and I are only sending out “A Little Wish for Spring”. It is so nice to see roses, even if they are the embroidered kind.

I chose Alice to model this ensemble because she looked the prettiest in it. Her coloring goes perfectly with warm, neutral, and rosy colors. This pink yarn is a little bit neutral—it is a heathered yarn with very faint hints of lavender and warm red. So all three primary colors are accounted for to make this yarn a neutral color even if it is “pink”.

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Alice’s beret features a hand made silk ribbon bow in a hand dyed warm lavender with ecru pearls decorating the center. (Alice’s beret is knit from my beret pattern which is available for your knitting pleasure.)

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I chose the embroidery colors from my notes when I made Patsy’s sweater dress. I added the very pale peachy pink colonial knots for a pop of light. You can see Patsy’s sweater dress set here.

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I am currently working on this sweater dress knitting pattern which will be ready for purchase very soon. It will have two sleeve length options and two dress length options. This is the short sleeved and shorter length version. The Little Darlings have adorably shaped arms and legs which I like to show off.

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