Category Archives: Hats

This Past Week & A New Dress for Millie

I’m so glad that last week has passed. Here in northern Illinois, we had such dreary weather practically the whole week and then horrible storms Thursday night. Mother Nature even managed to deliver more rain to us yesterday. I felt my mood going downhill with each progressing day last week, and it was affecting my creativity. I felt like I was going through the motions of creating without any excitement towards my work. Today was a blessing, warm and sunny…*sigh*. Finally!!!

I got outside today to see how spring is progressing around our house. It is slow, but there are some new things to see. Most notable is the color of the grass—a beautiful emerald green—thanks to all of the rain we got this past week. Other lovely happenings outside include the magnolia trees starting to bloom, the crocuses finishing their blooming, the daffodils starting to bloom, and the teeny tiny buds becoming visible on the bushes. It’s a wonder to observe the changing seasons.

I love knit dresses, even in the warmer weather. This past week, I adapted Millie’s wool dress pattern for knitting with a lighter weight bamboo. The first try came out too long and not flared enough, so I made some small changes and tried again. This time I got it right; it fits her shape perfectly. She is such a cutie pie! I finished her outfit today and took the pictures. Since I still had Izzy and Amelia Thimble’s rose garden dresses, I was able to get the three BJD girls together for some photos, and boy, do they look precious together!

For more information on Millie’s “Spring’s Sweetheart” ensemble, please visit my “Available for Sale” page on cindyricedesigns.com (after 7:00pm CST on Sunday, April 12). Amelia Thimble and Izzy’s sets are available for sale right now on my “Available for Sale” page.

Is it too soon?

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Is it too soon to be “Dreamin’ of Summer?” Amelia Thimble doesn’t think so, and I agree with her. Why not start dreaming, if only just a little bit, about lush flower gardens, picnics in the grass, outings to the beach, or catching some rays by the pool?

Tiny Amelia Thimble whispered in my ear that she is dreaming of a summer garden party, and she is awaiting her very first invitation of the season. Being the life of every party, I am sure it will arrive soon.

While Amelia Thimble is waiting for that first summer party invitation to arrive, she finds the Easter bunny hanging out in my studio.

What a cute pair they make!

For more information on Amelia Thimble’s “Dreamin’ of Summer” dress/hat set please visit my “Available for Sale” page on cindyricedesigns.com .

Gina is “A Vision in Pink”

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I use pink for my doll ensembles SO much, but I think this new set for the Little Darlings is the pink-iest to date. I made the crocheted hat and purse to originally go with her last outfit see here, but as sometimes happens, it just didn’t “work”. I often ask my daughter’s opinion and she agreed with me and added that these two pieces looked a bit like 1920s fashions and suggested a drop waist styled dress. Originally, I thought a white dress, but then I got in a new order of fabric and saw that this pink floral rose print would be so much prettier than white, and, although this outfit looks sweet without a sweater, a super soft light as a feather pink mohair is the icing on the cake to finish off this decadent delight.

The tiny lace rose is hand made with the same fine English cotton cluny lace used on the dress’s skirt and the crocheted hat. I added two knotted loops of rayon ribbon for the leaves and sewed a little pearl onto the center of the rose. Fiddly to make, but well worth the effort as it is so tiny and delicate to look at. I’ve started adding little thread belt loops at the side seams to help hold the ribbon ties in place.