Category Archives: Kaye Wiggs

A Little About A Lot!

Good morning from probably the happiest place on earth right now. The Chicago area is happy, happy, happy! It’s been over 100 years (108 to be exact!) since the Cubs won a World Series!

I went to bed when the Cubs were still ahead by 3 points, (I knew if I stayed up to watch the game I’d NEVER get to sleep when it was over, too much excitement). My husband did come in to let me know when the score was tied (what!). After that I gave up trying to get to sleep, but I did stay in bed and tried to stay calm. When the fireworks started outside, I knew I could finally sleep! I do feel tired this morning, but I’m sure not like a lot of others.

Over the last weeks, I’ve been taking a few pictures of fall, but haven’t gotten around to sharing them with you. This is a colorful and warm autumn! The trees are taking their time to change and flowers are still blooming. Look at how green the grass is; it’s like springtime. Yes, we’ve had lots of rain.

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We’ve had some light frosts far from the house. The frost is so icy and pretty in the early morning.

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My husband had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. My daughter surprised him with a gift sent via the USPS in a Priority box. This is the first time she isn’t here in person. 😦

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My shipment of Christmas yarn arrived last week. I have lots of yarn, but was sorely lacking in reds. I even got a couple of forest-y greens. I’ve been liking green more lately.

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Amelia Thimble’s sweater dress pattern is moving along. I knit three sample dresses and yesterday I sat at my laptop and worked on the pattern pages all day.

The pages take a LONG time to put together. It’s a lot of work going back and forth between the pages (files) . . . forgetting to add something, then figuring out where to put it, seeing something that doesn’t sound right, then figuring out a better way to say it. After working on it yesterday, it is basically done, but I need to proofread it. I am hoping next week it will be available for you.

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Next, for a Christmas ensemble is my Kaye Wiggs Millie, one of my most neglected, but patient, girls. The dress is sewn, the hat is knit, and the cardigan is in progress. This will be finished next week as well.

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Thanks for visiting today! Bye for now!

Ringing in November with “Trimming the Tree”

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My Kaye Wiggs MSD, Gracie, is here again with a new ensemble to show you. This time she has the tree trimming decorations unwrapped and is ready to begin this long awaited Christmas tradition.

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As usual, this ensemble started with me falling in love with the fabric. I could not resist all of the colorful ornaments on this Japanese fabric designed by Lecien—pink and blue for Christmas? Most definitely, yes! If you love a colorful Christmas, this ones for you!

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I decided to highlight the red with the secondary color being the green to keep this ensemble as festive as possible! Gracie’s wooly red sweater will keep her warm while she’s busy with the tree. I added embroidered branches which are already decorated with coordinating colors of seed and bugle beads at the neckline. The sweater closes with green glass bead buttons.

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Gracie’ striped stocking hat is knit with four different colored stripes in a slightly finer weight of wool yarn. Bright red, kelly green, blue, and yellow alternate with a wide fuzzy mohair/silk “Santa” brim. The hand made pom pom matches the yarn used for the brim.

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Additional red accents are Gracie’s chunky red ribbed cotton tights and a red hand dyed nylon lace (fine English Cluny) sash. Gracie’s tree trimming accessories are ornament miniatures which I added gold-toned jewelry rings and ribbon. A crocheted string of lights—also works as a fun scarf, and a length of gold-toned bead garland are ready for the tree. Her “made with love” heart has been turned into another ornament for the tree.

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“Trimming the Tree” for Kaye’s MSD sized dolls will be available tonight (November 1, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

Happy November 1st! Thanks for visiting today!

“Holiday Botanicals”

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Holiday decorating has begun in my sewing room and when Gracie dons her striped elf hat she really gets into the Christmas spirit. Right now she is looking for the perfect spot for her grapevine poinsettia wreath. Any ideas?

I love the colors in this botanical Christmas print: orange-y red, aqua blue, yellow green, a medium bright green, deep red, and pure white. Not that I don’t like basic red and green, but this palette is so fresh looking. (It is actually a little more colorful; reds are so hard to photograph.)

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The photo below is a bit brighter. The problem was that to get the dress bright, I’d have to settle for the color of the sweater to get over saturated. The photos of only the dress are a little more colorful.

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The sweater is knit with hand dyed Peruvian Highland wool that I hand dyed to a warm red. It has some subtle light and dark areas which give it a tonal feel. The yarn matches the warm orange-y red blossoms on the dress.

For the sweater’s embroidery, I chose to highlight the bright white poinsettias, but to keep them on the smaller size in an asymmetrical scattered composition. Three shades of greenery which match the dress are also used for the embroidery. Dark burgundy berries and garnet bead buttons tie into the deep red background of the dress. Again, sorry for the photo quality. The white blossoms are very white compared to how they look in the photo above. The closeup photo below is better, but the greens are appearing muddy, and they’re not.

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