Tag Archives: Alice

Daffodils Blooming Soon, But in the Meantime…

Last week while I was waiting for the daffodils to bloom in the garden, which for me is a sure sign that spring has arrived, I cut into a fat quarter of a small scale daffodil print and made a dress for my Little Darlings. I was able to purchase only one fat quarter of this fabric at a sale. Sadly I have no idea who the designer is, but it is the perfect scale for doll dresses. Does anyone recognize it?

When searching for the perfect yarn to knit the cardigan for this ensemble I tried yellows and orange yellows; the daffodils in the fabric seemed to get lost. I then tried this green and it made them pop, so green it was. The yarn is Knit Picks Comfy fingering weight pima cotton/acrylic in the honeydew color way. I used my sweater coat pattern, shortened it and made the sleeves three-quarter length.

The daffodil embroidery is created with three bullion stitches and then straight stitches for the petals. The stems and leaves are back stitches. I had some vintage bone beads in my stash; they felt a bit rustic and seemed to go nicely.

I used aged vintage cotton thread to crochet the cutting basket. It was very fine, #30, so I held two strands together. The handle is braided using 12 strands, and then it is hand sewn on. I didn’t have little daffodil flowers, so I made do by adding an orange bead to the centers of the yellow flowers that I did have. Not bad… it’ll work.

In case you are interested I have published a You Tube video showing “Daffodil Darling” in process.

Here’s another photo of Alice. By the way, this beauty is painted by Nelly Valentino.

How was the first week of the new season for you? We’ve had some nice weather here in northern Illinois–lots of sunny days and some warm ones as well. We are on a bit of a cloudy streak right now, but that’s okay, cloudy spring days are nice too. I am thankful winter is over and milder temperatures are now the norm.

Take care of yourselves, and thank you for stopping by today. 💛 I appreciate it so much! 🤗

A New Knitting Pattern

6 Replies

Hi there! I hope this week is going good for you. It’s going fine over here. I think we are on day #8, and the last day, of really warm November weather. It has been nice, but it is starting to feel a little bit weird. I hate to say this, but I am looking forward to more seasonal temperatures. Remind me I said this when I am complaining about the cold. 🙄

Sunday night I finished up *gasp* a knitting pattern! It’s been so long–I’ve been way too lazy, sorry if you’ve been waiting for more. I have ideas, but it is SO much work putting the designs onto paper, or virtual paper I should say. It’s hard getting into pattern writing mode, but when the pattern is done I am very happy it’s out there for you.

Over the years I have been asked to put my ear flap hat into pattern form. It’s specifically designed for the Little Darlings who wear a 7″-8″ wig, but this should fit other dolls with the same sized head.

The Ear Flap Hat pattern is different from my last ones in that it includes a video link to illustrate steps where visuals could help make the steps clearer. I am a visual learner–I know many of us are; I am hoping this video is quite helpful. There are clickable time stamps in the video’s description so that you can click and go to the exact place in the video that you need to go to–no jumping around randomly.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ear-flap-hat-effner-little-darling-dolls

Now that this pattern sample is made I must get the rest of this outfit created. What are you working on this week?

Alice and I are sending you a virtual hug. 🤗 Stay safe. 💛

What a Glorious Weather Week It Has Been!

7 Replies

Have you too had glorious weather this week? Oh my, my, it’s been unbelievable here in northern Illinois. It’s like early September all over again. It could stay like this forever… What a stretch of the best November weather ever!

After finishing up my last Little Darling’s ensemble and publishing an embroidery video I finally buckled down and got to work on a new knitting pattern. I have been asked to write a pattern for my ear flap hat (for the Little Darlings) for awhile now. I am happy to say that after a good proofreading and then converting the pages to a pdf it will be ready.

Alice is here to show you a couple of pics of her stripy ear flap hat. Even though the rest of the ensemble hasn’t been made yet I wanted to get this pattern out to you asap. I’m sure the weather will start turning towards hat weather soon and it’s good to be prepared. 😉

This pattern includes a YouTube video link as a supplement to the pattern. Lately whenever I want to know how to do something I go to YouTube and search there first. There’s nothing like watching the instructions rather than solely reading them and trying to figure out what they mean. I hope my video alleviates any questions about how to do things.

You can see the coloring page in the photo above that I include in the pattern. You will be able to plan out your stripy pattern on this graph. Print out as many times as you want and color away…

Look for this pattern on Ravelry this coming week.

How has your week been? Has any knitting, sewing, or crocheting been happening over at your place? I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.

Thanks for stopping by! ❤