Category Archives: Shrugs

“Strawberry Season”

Did you know that May is National (U.S.) Strawberry Month? I just found out from this list at national calendar.com. Fortunately, I have a strawberry themed ensemble all ready to go for this holiday. (ha ha) It is kind of fun to be tuned in to the minor holidays though, planned or not.

Our strawberry season hasn’t kicked in yet. Here in northern Illinois, mid June is when our berries will be ready to pick. My Kaye Wiggs Gracie is all ready to go picking, and somehow even found a few early strawberries. Hmm, wonder how she managed that.

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Gracie’s basket of berries is hand made by me. The fabric berries are stuffed with poly fiberfill, so are very light weight. The berries are machine sewn; the wool felt berry tops are hand embroidered. I found white flower beads in my stash that look like strawberry blossoms! A yellow seed bead for the center completes the strawberry blossom. The stems are beaded loops so that Gracie can hold them. The basket is woven with strips of mint green scrapbook paper, and it holds the berries perfectly. I made a little hand written tag with the name of the ensemble on it; it dangles from the handle.

Even Gracie’s bracelet is berry themed. White berry blossom beads, yellow seed beads (blossom centers) and green seed beads (stems) are strung on stretchy jewelry cord. The tiny red heart bead (to show that this set was made with great care and love) even looks like a strawberry!

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Gracie’s cotton dress is of the palest cool pink. The berries and mint green leaves have a hand painted look to them which I find very pretty and delicate, despite being brightly colored. The white blossoms and doily shapes are subtle, but add to the delicateness of this print. The white inset cotton English Cluny lace I added to the skirt is the perfect accent.

The hand knit lace shrug is made with bamboo thread. It has a crocheted ruffle edging.

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The wide brimmed hat is embellished with a band made from the dress fabric. I appliquéd a wool felt strawberry to the hat that coordinates with the handmade berries.

All in all, I think Gracie is looking ready to celebrate National Strawberry Month, don’t you?

“Strawberry Season” will be available tonight at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

“A Lovely Blossom”

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Hello everyone. First of all, can someone pretty please send me some sunshine. I am having a hard time waking up on this wet and dreary day; I just cannot seem to get going this morning. Ugh!

I finished up another ensemble for Gracie . . . again. I must say she is quite enjoying all of the attention she’s been getting lately. All of this modeling is perfecting her look, practice makes perfect. Some days her beauty takes my breath away. *sigh*

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Gracie’s new dress was made out of the final colorway I purchased of this print. If you’d like to see the others again, here are the links. The first was Gracie’s “Beauty and Blossoms” and the second was “Happiness is Pink” made for Patience. I almost put this fabric away for later, but my pink mohair/silk lace yarn somehow got placed next to this piece of fabric. I heard the angels sing, that’s how beautiful the yarn and fabric looked together. a lovely blossom 555

I did something a little different for this shrug. To make it extra lacy and delicate I went up a needle size and still used one strand of yarn. It is extremely “light as a feather”! Because the shrug is so delicate, I made the dress’s neckline wider, so the bodice would be more delicate, also. The look is really pretty on Gracie, no?

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I concentrated on the cool pink for the accessories. I had to dye the two laces and cotton Lycra for the tights, but I had another perfect yarn for the hair decorations. I discovered this blossom charm in my stash. The sparkly stone in the center is the most perfect shade of pink for this ensemble. The basket I found at a thrift store; I’ve been unable to part with it, but it went so well with this set that I decided to let it go. (The pink flowers on it are just perfect.) All in all, this ensemble was a LOT of fun to make, and even though there were a lot of steps to it, it came together painlessly.

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Gracie’s “A Lovely Blossom” ensemble will be available tonight (April 27, 2017) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

“Beauty and Blossoms”

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At long last, I can say “Spring is here!”, and see that it is true here in northern Illinois. The trees are starting to look plush and green, rather than spindly and grey. Our lilac bushes have tiny cone-shaped growths that are getting larger by the day. The phlox is starting to bloom and turn the garden into a lilac colored carpet, so pretty.

I don’t think I ever see as many shades of purple in gardens as I see in the spring garden.

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Gracie, my Kaye Wiggs MSD sized BJD, is appropriately attired for early spring. Her dress is made from a light weight Japanese cotton floral print that depicts the purple hues of spring gardens so perfectly.

Her dress features a plethora of violet shaded blossoms: dark blue violet, red violet, lilac, light red violet, cool pink.

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A band of luxurious Swiss cotton lace that I hand dyed to a very light ecru adorns the dress’s skirt. It is snugged up underneath a deep tuck near the hemline.

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Gracie’s crocheted hat is decorated with a band made from the dress fabric and crocheted blossoms in three purple shades. The lariat styled necklace is also crocheted. The beads in purple, pink, and white are crocheted into the necklace; tassels decorate the ends.

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Gracie’s shoulders are kept warm with a hand knit lace shrug made with a coordinating color of wool.

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For Gracie’s bracelet, I used six different colored blossoms and arranged them in a gradated pattern. Gracie has picked a colorful bouquet to accompany her spring ensemble.

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