Category Archives: Winter

Winter Beauty–Moody & Something Bright

Hello! I hope you have had a wonderful January, and that it has progressed at the pace most suitable for you. I used to wish January away as quickly as possible, or better yet, I wished to skip it altogether. However, this year (surprise, surprise!) I have thoroughly embraced winter’s dark and moody days.

January is coming to a close with peaceful snowfalls here in northern Illinois. They are so beautiful!!! We don’t have a lot of snow, but it has been snowing lightly on and off for the past couple of days.

We are very lucky to have forest preserves around us. Last Sunday we had the first 2023 daytime snowfall where the conditions were perfect for a walk. My husband and I, along with quite a few others who had the same idea, had a wonderful walk around Hastings Lake. We made these tiny snowmen on the railing of one of the bridges. The snow was packable, but not pliable, so this was the best we could do. Anyway, I thought these doll sized snowmen were cute. ⛄️⛄️

Now for something bright which, by the way, I had to create myself. The sun, it seems, is hibernating for the winter 😴. My Ruby Red Fashion Friend, Holly, hopes to brighten up your day with the first ensemble for 2023.

Holly is dressed as sunnily as you can get. The fabric I used to sew her dress looks like a 1930s reproductions print. I’ve had this fabric since 2016, so it is now hard to find. However, an Etsy seller in Australia has some yardage. The fabric is called Bread n Butter Yellow Pansies by American Jane (Moda Fabrics).

Holly’s longer a-line cardigan is knit with off white merino wool yarn and is embroidered all along the neckline with matching green leaves, deep peach blossoms, and tiny vintage red beads. The cardigan buttons with matching deep peach bead buttons.

Holly’s hair ribbon and sash are sunshine yellow grosgrain ribbons. Her ivory tights are in a warm cotton/lycra ribbed fabric. Her bracelet is made with porcelain green beads which match perfectly in style and color, ivory pearls, and yellow seed beads. A peach/clear glass heart dangles from the bracelet. I’ve embellished Holly’s teddy with a bow made from the dress fabric.

I think that both Holly and her teddy are ready for a cozy day playing inside while the snow falls outside. She’d like to invite you over too.

How has January been for you? Has it gone by quickly or sluggishly? Sending you hugs from the dolls and I.🤗 We thank you so much for stopping by to visit with us today.❤️ Bye for now. 👋

Happy Holidays from Bella and Holly

My two Ruby Red Fashion Friends, Bella and Holly (originally Stella), would like to say, “Happy Holidays to all of you!”

As they were busy decorating I got them to stop for a moment to take a quick picture of the both of them. As you can see by their happy faces and sparkling eyes they are the best of friends, and have a lot of fun together.

It has just started snowing here in northern Illinois–not bad yet. We are awaiting more snow and VERY cold blizzard-y conditions through tomorrow. It’s time to get cozy and hunker down!

Everyone stay safe and warm, and enjoy these next festive days if you celebrate. If not, enjoy the end of the week and weekend. ❤️

A New Friend and Other Stuff

Yesterday someone new arrived at my studio.  Her name is Claudette and she’s a giraffe—that is, a handmade mohair giraffe made by Carolyn at Warm Heart Bears.  I couldn’t resist her sweet face.  I tried, I really did, but couldn’t do it, so I adopted her.  Now she lives here with me… and my other girls and animal friends.

I think I fell for Claudette because she reminded me of a character from a game my daughter and I used to play when she was young, and so, she represented nostalgia for me.  This character was named Gracie and she lived in our Animal Crossing towns that we played on our Nintendo DS.  (Yes, I know I was a bit old for this game, but the graphics and game interactions were so different from anything I had ever seen before.)  Gracie was the fashionista in this game and she happened to be a long and lanky giraffe (like a fashion model).

Amelia Thimble, being the pushy extroverted one around here, often gets to introduce you to the new arrivals, so here she is to welcome Claudette.

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Amelia Thimble has never seen a giraffe and is quite amazed at Claudette’s size.

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Oh, but Claudette is so soft and so nice; Amelia adores her.

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Carolyn sold out of all but one of her babies from her Winter Stars 2018 collection in the teddy bear show over the weekend.  Actually, most were gone within the first hour.  It’s a good thing otherwise, I would have maybe probably picked up another one… or two.  The last remaining cutie is a kitty named Rochelle.  You can see her here.  The little teddy bear to the left of Amelia Thimble is Ivy and she was a gift from Carolyn in September.  If you’d like to seem my post announcing Ivy’s arrival click here.  I’m a fan!  Her work is perfection!

Now that it’s February snow production has finally kicked in.  It snowed on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday night, and more is coming tomorrow.  (While writing this post it started snowing a little again!)

Monday we had a beautifully sunny morning and I wanted to capture a little of the beauty.  The snow glistened like glitter and was mesmerizing.

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The snow on these tree branches remind me of snowflake patterns.

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The birds have eaten almost all of the berries of of the burning bush shrubs but a few remained.

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On Sunday, I dyed a skein of fingering weight merino for another cowl and started knitting it first thing on Monday morning.  It’s so much fun seeing how the color changes knit up that I usually can’t wait to get started.

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The Bobble Cowl pattern is by Joji Locatelli and can be purchased on Ravelry.

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I love the pattern but I’m not sure I’ll love the overall color tone of the cowl; the yarn is knitting up yellower than I’d like.  I thought I was using the grayish blue (don’t even see grayish blue!), peachy pink, and golden yellow dye equally while putting the yarn in the dye pot.  Hmm… so much to learn.

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I hope you are having a great week!  Enjoy the rest of it.  Thanks for stopping by. ❤