Category Archives: knits

“Blue Skies for Pumpkin Picking”

It’s that time again! The pumpkin patches, farmers markets, and roadside stands are exploding with orange. We had errands this weekend that took us along country roads and past a few pumpkin patches. Since it was the most beautiful weekend, a bit crisp, with blue skies and bright sunshine, the pumpkin patches were bustling with activity. It really was THE weekend for picking the perfect pumpkin, or two!

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I have four colorways of this teensy tiny floral print fabric. You can see the four versions I purchased in these photos here (second photo). I used the pink/blue/yellow colorway twice already, but have yet to use the red and golden colorways. Here and here are the photos of the two outfits from the pink/blue/yellow colorway. This is the first ensemble made with the blue colorway.

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In my stash was the most perfect yarn for this fabric. It is a heathered wool in the perfect pumpkin shade, and as a bonus, the flecks are yellow which pick up the yellow blossoms in the dress beautifully.

The yarn was an easy pick, but I had the hardest time picking out blues that look nice on this sweater, and yet still coordinated with the print. DMC doesn’t seem to have a lot of blue shades, especially in the clearer blues. I had every one of my blues out and went through them once, twice, three times. When I started embroidering I still wasn’t sure the two blues I chose would work, but they did. I originally was going to do the stems and leaves in a darker blue like the shade on the print, but that color seemed very drab and dark. The white brightens everything up.

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Lucy wanted a little beret to go with her new set; whatever your little heart desires, my dear! I changed my pattern a little on this one for a softer edge. The little tri-colored pom pom makes Lucy smile and tickles her nose.

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Lucy has picked a tiny pumpkin that she wants to bring home for her dollhouse and dollies. Her little sign is made with a bit of balsa wood, so is very lightweight, and includes a pumpkin-y looking bead charm.

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“Blue Skies for Pumpkin Picking” will be available tonight (October 11, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

“Lovin’ Autumn”

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Finally… some sunshine to take photos. Until this morning, Monday, we haven’t seen the sun since last Wednesday! It’s been very dark and rainy, and very hard to get some good photos.

I’ve been working on a knitting pattern for ? (it’s a surprise), and taking photos of the steps along the way. I thought they’d be okay, so kept knitting along. You know what? They are all terrible, in the virtual trash those photos will have to go. Now I have to start knitting another sweater to get (hopefully) better photos. Since the pattern is written, I can follow it to see if it all makes sense and my counts are accurate. So, I guess it’s a good thing. It’s turned into at least an 11 page pattern. My notes I use when knitting this sweater fill up 1/2 of a page in my 5 x 7 knitting notebook! See I really do work from gibberish that only I can understand. lol

So, here is little Sugar, my Fairyland Pukipuki. I decided I liked the sleeved dress on her after all. If she’s posed a certain way her arms look fine, I think so anyway. Isn’t she the cutest little thing! I never seem to get tired of her sweet face.

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Sugar’s a-line elbow length sleeved dress (hand knit in lace weight merino heather) is perfect for fall, no goose bumps on this little girl. The embroidery on the bodice is a tiny mirrored floral motif and done in colors to coordinate with her leggings.

This cute knit fabric goes so perfectly with her dress. I still wanted her shoes to fit, so instead of tights made some longish leggings that give the effect of tights.

Of course she found some matching fall blossoms in the woods. We haven’t had a frost yet, thank goodness, so the flowers are still in bloom. The silk streamers on her bouquet keep her smiling as they flutter in the breeze.

Now like the bigger girls, Sugar has her very own bangle bracelet with a dangly heart; only Sugar can wear bangle bracelets.

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Sugar’s “Lovin’ Autumn” ensemble will be available Tuesday night at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

Thanks for stopping by today! Bye for now. ❤

Going Forward and a WIP for Sugar

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I woke up this morning, Sunday, and started to reflect on things. My little world has gone through many changes this year, and I feel I need to change (and grow) along with it, in some way at least.

I believe in giving back, and there are many ways to do that. Mind you, I have put in my fair share of volunteer work, and donating money to various organizations, but I want to do something different; to give back utilizing the talents God has given me. As with everyone, he has given me my talents for a reason, and I love what I do, so much.

So here I sit wondering how to give back while, at the same time, utilizing my talents. A few ideas have started trickling in . . . small steps, hopefully in the right direction. I am working on some ideas, and I hope some of them will pan out. I’ll keep you informed along the way. Don’t worry, I will still be doing what I love to do, creating for our dolls.

Meanwhile, I continue to downsize. I will continue have things on my tag sale page and on eBay (a couple auctions starting tonight) before they head on over to Goodwill. I don’t know how long I will keep eBaying and tag saling; I may get tired of the whole process and simply donate it all. It takes a considerable amount of time (time taken away from creating), to photograph, edit photos, add them to my website or eBay, write descriptions, then pack and ship. Although, I’m not sure Goodwill is the right place to donate boxes and boxes of new dolls though. Does anyone know of other donation sites? I’d appreciate some suggestions.

Back to dolls! I worked on an elbow-length sleeved sweater dress for Sugar (Pukipuki) yesterday. The style is super cute and fall-like, but I am not sure I like the way her arms can’t hang straight down due to the bulk under the arm. What do you think? Really, I’d love to hear; I can’t decide.

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