Tag Archives: Alice

“A Little Wish for Spring”

So far winter has not gotten the best of me. It should have really; we’ve had a LOT of extremely gloomy days! However, I am enjoying the coziness inside my house with cups of tea, twinkle lights around the window, and a fire in the fireplace.

So . . . Alice and I are only sending out “A Little Wish for Spring”. It is so nice to see roses, even if they are the embroidered kind.

I chose Alice to model this ensemble because she looked the prettiest in it. Her coloring goes perfectly with warm, neutral, and rosy colors. This pink yarn is a little bit neutral—it is a heathered yarn with very faint hints of lavender and warm red. So all three primary colors are accounted for to make this yarn a neutral color even if it is “pink”.

a-little-wish-for-spring-935

Alice’s beret features a hand made silk ribbon bow in a hand dyed warm lavender with ecru pearls decorating the center. (Alice’s beret is knit from my beret pattern which is available for your knitting pleasure.)

a-little-wish-for-spring-942

I chose the embroidery colors from my notes when I made Patsy’s sweater dress. I added the very pale peachy pink colonial knots for a pop of light. You can see Patsy’s sweater dress set here.

a-little-wish-for-spring-946

I am currently working on this sweater dress knitting pattern which will be ready for purchase very soon. It will have two sleeve length options and two dress length options. This is the short sleeved and shorter length version. The Little Darlings have adorably shaped arms and legs which I like to show off.

a-little-wish-for-spring-953

Alice’s “A Little Wish for Spring” will be available tonight (January 12, 2017) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

How about you? Are you faring well this winter? I’d love to hear about your winter where you live.

“A Nostalgic Christmas”

7 Replies

Hello everyone, from snowy Illinois. It snowed all day on Sunday! We ended up breaking a record for getting this much snow during the first December snow (or something like that). With even colder temperatures arriving, this white stuff will stick around for a while. I’m not sure how I feel about that . . . so far so good though. I’m surviving!

Yes, Alice is here again to show you something new. Nelly’s dolls have a muted rosiness that I notice above their eyes; it’s kind of a vintage look. The colors in this ensemble are perfect with her coloring, so she gets another chance. I love how all the artists paint the Little Darlings a bit different.

I wanted to photograph my newest outfit this past Sunday. I think I fussed around with the photos all day. The Christmas tree seemed so busy and the color wasn’t as pretty as I wanted it to be. Finally, my husband gave me some tips (he was probably tired of hearing me complain–lol). He had me put a different lens on my camera, so I could stand back and zoom in on Alice. I also put Alice farther from the tree and opened up my f-stop as much as I could. The result was that I got a somewhat blurry tree with Alice all in focus. My favorite photos were taken when it was around 4:00 in the afternoon! It was quite dark in the room, but I had the tripod set up and Alice stayed as still as possible.

a-nostalgic-christmas-344

This isn’t a typical Christmas print for a Christmas ensemble, but it kept calling to me to be made into one, so I did. The colors in this ensemble are shades of mauve, a little deep red, warm pink, salmon. They all go together beautifully because all the colors are neutral, nothing is bright. I even added a little bit of plumminess with the organza ribbon used for the sash and present.

a-nostalgic-christmas-335

a-nostalgic-christmas-348

The embroidered motifs, are all slightly different compositions, both on the sweater and cuddle cap. I used four shades of floss to shade the roses. Ecru colonial knot buds add a bit of bright and the perfect shade of green foliage ties the blossoms together.

a-nostalgic-christmas-319

Alice’s sweater is knit with Peruvian Highland wool and her 1950s style cuddle cap is knit with a wool/angora blend. Her scarf is knit with a lighter shade of mauve, also in Peruvian Highland wool.

a-nostalgic-christmas-246

a-nostalgic-christmas-320

a-nostalgic-christmas-343

Isn’t Alice a beauty? You can see how this ensemble compliments her coloring and personality perfectly.

Alice enjoyed watching the first snowfall too. What a daydreamer she is!

a-nostalgic-christmas-276

Alice’s “A Nostalgic Christmas” ensemble will be available tonight (December 6, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

“Christmas Caroler” for the Little Darlings

6 Replies

If you can’t beat them (the weather), join them (it). Not an option today! It’s very chilly, windy, and pouring rain. I REALLY had my heart set on getting Alice’s photos taken today, so I got lucky and figured out how to use the weather to my advantage and get her photos taken.

I put Alice in the kitchen bay window, and because it’s not bright (at all) the photos came out fine. I turned on all the warm kitchen lights, used a tripod, and used a board to block the glare on top of her head. They’re a little darker than usual, but I think they’re cozy looking.

Alice, my Little Darling painted by Nelly Valentino, is thrilled to be able to show you her first Christmas ensemble, Christmas Caroler. It’s a very traditional ensemble—even a little bit old-fashioned looking, which is a look I am in love with on her.

christmas-caroler-272

Alice’s elbow length sleeved dress is made with a tiny holly print in deep red, greens, and bits of metallic gold. A deep red taffeta ribbon (with a brighter red edge) ties around the waist of the dress. Tiny ecru English cotton Cluny lace peeks out at the hemline.

christmas-caroler-301

christmas-caroler-320

The natural colored lace cape is knit with lace weight baby alpaca/silk yarn for an extremely delicate piece. It closes at the center front with a gold-filled bead and loop. There are six full size panels on the cape; the right three panels each have a slightly different embroidery motif with the left three panels each mirroring its corresponding right panel

christmas-caroler-308

The vintage-styled headband hat is knit with a slightly heavier weight natural colored yarn (wool/angora). The embroidered motifs at each end mirror each other. The headband ties under the chin on the right hand side. The ties are different lengths so that when tied the tails are equal.

christmas-caroler-305

Alice’s accessories include a pair of red scarves in a deep red and a brighter red wool. They have fringed ends. The little sheet music is vintage looking with four different carols and a bookmark tied over the center fold. A little gold glass ornament is tied with a matching embroidery thread loop. The bracelet is made with garnet beads and 14k gold-filled beads. A red shell heart charm dangles from the bracelet. And underneath it all is a pair of red rayon Lycra® tights.

christmas-caroler-299