Tag Archives: ball jointed doll

“Spring Means Hoppiness” for Miss Millie

Hello everyone . . . from sunny, but cold, northern Illinois.  I think this is my favorite part of the weekend; it’s Saturday morning, and the whole weekend is ahead.  I know that some of you, across the globe, are already well into your weekend.  I hope it’s going well.

I think I had a productive week.  Things (finished ensembles) are starting to pile up (I have three, and three more in the planning stage, and one pattern almost all written) and are overwhelming me.  It’s time to get what I have completed on my website for you all to enjoy.

Today, I will share Millie’s, my Kaye Wiggs 11″ BJD, new ensemble with you.  You’ve probably already caught glimpses of this one in a previous post, on Facebook and Instagram, but here it is complete.

spring means hoppiness 621

This dress is made with the same print as I used for my last Little Darling ensemble, but this one is in blush pink.  Isn’t it delicate?  It’s hard to see, but there are the tiniest white pin dots silkscreened on this print.

spring means hoppiness 645

A row of scalloped English cotton Cluny lace is snugged underneath a tuck on the skirt.  An asymmetrical hand made rayon ribbon bow highlights the lace and tuck.

spring means hoppiness 646

spring means hoppiness 666

Millie’s “light as a feather” cardigan is made with warm white mohair/silk lace yarn.  I’ve embroidered two mirrored rose bouquet motifs on the front of the sweater.  The cardi looks cute worn open or buttoned.

spring means hoppiness 593

Pip the bunny comes along with Millie’s ensemble.  I named him Pip (both begin with the letter p and are three letters long, ha ha) because he looks like Pat the Bunny created by Dorothy Kunhardt.  Pip is needle felted with wool roving, has sewn on seed bead eyes and an embroidered nose.  Boys can wear pink, and Pip wears it well, doesn’t he?

spring means hoppiness 628

spring means hoppiness 640

Millie’s other accessories include a crocheted and beaded headband with a matching hand made bow, white chunky knit cotton tights, and a bracelet.  In case you are wondering, this ensemble was made with great care and love, and is filled with hugs from Pip.  He’s a great hugger.

spring means hoppiness 628

“Spring Means Hoppiness” will be available tonight (March 11, 2017) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, despite winter making a reappearance.

Thanks for visiting with me today!

Gracie is Ready

Gracie is all dressed and ready to show you what I’ve just finished making for her.  Do you remember seeing the marled blue/ivory sweater I was working on last week?  Well, it was for this special girl.

sky-blue-wishes-224

I am very happy with how this little sweater turned out.  I tried something new by holding two different strands of lace yarn together.  I’ll admit that I was a bit worried that the embroidery would get lost in the two colors of yarn, but it worked out perfectly.  Since the yarn is busy, I kept the embroidery more monochromatic.

And here is Gracie is all her glory!  She loves her new ensemble!  It makes her feel like spring is right around the corner, and I do too.  (We even had a thunderstorm last night!)

sky-blue-wishes-184

sky-blue-wishes-218

I am still loving this fabric that I received about two years ago.  (It reminds me of my grandmother and her pillowcases.)  I got this particular design in all four colorways:  blue, yellow, violet, and red violet.  If you click on the colors you can go back and visit the other ensembles I made with this print.  The collection is designed by Eleanor Burns and it is called Zoey Christine.

sky-blue-wishes-221

sky blue wishes 189.jpg

Gracie’s new ensemble will fit both of Kaye’s MSD sized dolls although the dress will be slightly longer on the Mei Mei (Talyssa) body.  “Sky Blue Wishes” will be available tonight (February 7, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

Thanks for visiting with me today!

Have (or, I hope you are having) a great day!

A Tiny Twofer

My newest ensembles may be tiny, but I have two for you!  Tiny plus tiny equals one regular, right?  Hmm, probably not . . . Amelia Thimble’s sets are so teeny tiny; I probably need another one or two of her sets to equal a regular sized ensemble.

I haven’t made anything new for Amelia Thimble and Izzy since Christmastime (wow!), so it took me awhile to get into the groove of this tiny work again.  I kept making mistakes while trying to understand my crazy pattern writing, but I figured it out, and am now loving this work again.

Here’s the first one I made.  It’s called “A Tiny Bit for Fall”.  I took inspiration from the sweater dress ensemble, “Winter Garden”, I made for the Little Darlings earlier this year.  I picked out some of the same floss colors and worked my embroidery symmetrically, which I don’t usually do for these tiny dresses.

During the photo shoot I found the yarn color hard to photograph.  It’s a bit more purply than this, really lovely.  I used a lace weight merino/silk blend.  Since I am getting comfortable (and loving) using dpn needles, this hat was knit in the round without seams.

a-tiny-bit-for-fall-058

a-tiny-bit-for-fall-073

a-tiny-bit-for-fall-035

I’ve been watching knitting podcasts on YouTube lately and have been inspired by all of the hand dyed sock yarn out there (there’s tons of it, and it’s all so beautiful).  So another Craftsy class I enrolled in was Professional Yarn Dyeing at Home.  (They have a sale going on right now.)  Even though I’ve been dyeing my own yarn, I still learned some new things.  Additionally, I’d love to see a more advanced class and a class for dyeing plant fibers.

I hand dyed my yarn for this next dress/hat set.  I wanted to get a self striping effect, so while knitting the first dress I figured out usage amounts along the way.  It didn’t work perfectly as a yard knits up more rows in the bodice than in the skirt, but I still like the look.  It was fun, and will try more color variations in the future.

Here is my second set for Amelia Thimble titled, “Sunshiny Autumn Days”.

sunshiny-autumn-days-099

I adapted the headband hat pattern that I’ve been making for the Little Darlings to fit Amelia Thimble.  It’s so tiny, there’s not even room for a bow, so a little knot has to make do!  The headband is a solid color that matches the main embroidered rose on the dress.

sunshiny-autumn-days-115

sunshiny-autumn-days-137

Both of these sets will be available Saturday (September 24, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

Thanks for visiting;  Amelia is thrilled (I am too!) you did!  Bye for now!