Category Archives: little darlings

A Shivery Hello

Hi all. I hope you are enjoying the weekend. Right now I’m sitting in front of a cozy fire. I don’t want to get up to do anything, so it’s a great time to write to you all. Outside it is raining quite heavily, and it’s not a warm rain, I might add. Our wind chill is 29°F (-2°C) degrees on this April 29th! Ugh! I’m dreaming of last weekend and earlier in the week when it was beautiful.

I find that I sleep better at night when I’ve been out for a walk (probably because it wears me out-ha), so I’ve been trying to walk daily. I took some photos last weekend and earlier in the week of how things are looking here in northern Illinois. I want to share them with you.

I often walk down this country road; it’s very peaceful and quiet. This crabapple in front of a little farmhouse was very colorful; I had to capture it with my phone.

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This is just a fraction of violets that covered a huge expanse of someone’s front lawn. They don’t last long though. When I walked past today, the flowers were almost all gone. I do love violets though. Even the heart-shaped leaves are pretty.

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Back at our house we had tulip quadruplets in bloom.

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The brilliant red violet lilacs have started blooming.

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Gina found this nest which fell out of one of the tiny lilac bushes. She inspected it, and will be putting it securely back for mama robin to return to.

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We have carpets of lilac phlox blooming around our property.

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Our apple tree is in bloom now, too. I brought some branches inside last week, when they were beginning to bud, and they bloomed inside.

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The daffodils looked pretty for a couple of weeks around Easter time. Now, this is how they are looking. I kind of like how they all dried up and seem to be stuck in this state.

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I couldn’t resist showing you this next photo of our backyard. I know dandelions are weeds, but sometimes I find them kind of cheerful.

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Back in the studio today, my sweet Alice wanted to say hello. Alice is painted by Nelly Valentino. I think I only had to wait a year for her to arrive, she arrived last June. Don’t you love her brown eyes!

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Also, today I rinsed and preshrunk this bunch of fabric. There are a couple here that I will be using next. Even though it’s an extra step I like to preshrink all fabrics and cotton laces because I often dampen when ironing and I don’t want some things shrinking more than others do.

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I hope you are staying warm and dry wherever you are today. Happy springtime! Bye for now, and thanks for visiting with me today.

“Color Me Sunny”

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Hello all! I have a new ensemble to show you today. Lucy, my Little Darling, is here to model it for you.

My newest ensemble is yellow! To be honest, yellow isn’t a color I gravitate towards using often. I don’t know why I don’t choose yellow more often; it’s such a happy and warm color.

Sometimes when I am least excited about sewing with a fabric, well, that’s when I am pleasantly surprised. While creating this ensemble all the pieces fell easily in place, and I grew more and more excited about it. Lucy’s radiant smile doesn’t hurt either.

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The golden yellow roses on this print are simple, only a couple of shades, but very pretty. The feel of the fabric is wonderful too, softer than most other cotton prints; it may be a combed cotton. The background is a warm white, so I chose matching English cotton Cluny lace to decorate the skirt’s hemline.

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The golden yellow mohair/silk lace yarn in my stash went beautifully with this print. I chose to knit a simple lace capelet and embroider warm white roses with yellow centers randomly on the panels. The capelet closes at the neckline with a golden yellow pearl and loop.

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Lucy’s lace rose hair tie is made with the same lace as used for the dress. The center is decorated with another golden yellow glass pearl. I had the perfect green shades of wool felt, so used it to make two leaf shapes, and a little cotton crochet chain bow adds daintiness. Instead of tying the hair tie into the hair, it simply slips into the hair with a hand made bobby pin.

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Gina has picked a sunny yellow bouquet for you. It is tied with nylon English cotton Cluny lace and matching pale yellow rayon ribbon.

This ensemble called for pretty jewelry. I made a choker with Czech glass crystals, 14k gold-filled beads, foil lined Delica beads. The beads are strung on jewelry thread with bead tips to hide the knots. I crafted a hook out of gold-filled wire to make closing the choker as easy as possible. The bracelet is made with the same crystals and gold beads. A delicate heart that matches the other golden yellow pearls dangles from the bracelet to show that this set was made with great care and love.

Very pale yellow hand dyed cotton Lycra® tights complete this happy ensemble.

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“Color Me Sunny” will be available tonight (April 25, 2017) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

“Feelin’ Fancy”

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I introduced you to Miss Fancy Mouse on Friday here. Gina is here now, too, to show you the completed ensemble. Aren’t they a fancy pair?

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Gina’s dress is made with a cotton rose bouquet print in the most beautiful shade of lavender. I describe is as a pinky purply medium shade of yumminess! The lace shrug is knit with a slightly neutral lavender wool yarn that really makes this print look even prettier, if that’s possible. I brought out the bright pink color in the roses with ribbon and the heart charm. The deeper rose color is brought out with the crocheted raspberry rose and tassel. The color of the shrug is also used for the 5-petaled flower, purse ties, and tassel. White accents offer a splash of crispness.

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