Tag Archives: beaded headband

“Feelin’ Peachy” This (Almost) Spring

Do you believe we’ll be starting a new season in 11 days? It’ll be springtime here where I live in northern Illinois. If you are starting autumn that is a wonderful season as well. But here it’ll be spring… and, oh spring you are my favorite!

The warmer days after a cold winter are pure bliss, and all the surprises coming up in the garden are well, wonderful surprises. And we’ve already received some of these gifts. We have had a couple of days that have gone over 60° and my crocuses have started blooming. It seems early this year being that it is still early March, but so appreciated after the -24°F windchill on Valentine’s Day. It’s hard to believe that was less than a month ago!

My spring welcome committee continues to grow. Bethany has received the latest spring ensemble. It’s been so long since I’ve made anything new for Bethany. Before I received my first Little Darling (Christmas 2012) Bethany got lots of new things to model.

Here is my blonde Bethany modeling “Feelin’ Peachy” for you.

Bethany’s rose floral dress is a print by Robert Kaufman from the Margeaux collection. I’ve had it in my stash for about four years. Alice received a new ensemble made from this fabric in 2017. You can see her here. Scalloped cotton lace peaks out from the hemline and a rayon ribbon sash tied around the waistline is the perfect color to add some brightness to this pastel ensemble.

Bethany’s soft and warm cardigan sweater is made with hand dyed merino wool. I dyed it in a very pale peachy pink. This yarn has become my favorite to dye and use for doll sweaters. It is Knit Picks Preciosa in fingering weight. It is a one-ply yarn which makes it a little bit fuzzier and cozier than a plied yarn. I embroidered two coordinating rose motifs on the front and added glass pearls for the buttons. I think Bethany loves it!

Bethany’s accessories include a crocheted pearl headband, rayon knit tights, and a crocheted mesh drawstring purse. She carries three little Easter eggs inside. The mother-of-pearl heart dangling from the bottom shows that I made this for her with love! 💖

I have a new YouTube video from the past week showing this ensemble in progress.

Isn’t Bethany a beautiful doll? I think she is just perfect.

How is March shaping up in your area? Did it come in like a lion or a lamb?

Sending you hugs and wishes for beautiful days ahead! 🤗💐 Thank you for stopping by.

Millie is “Dreaming About Spring”

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Hello there! I hope all is great with you. After many days of above freezing temperatures we are starting to get spring fever here in northern Illinois. We’ve gotten so much snow this season that it is taking a while for it all to melt; it’s still pretty white out there–very few peeks of grass, but a few. The temperatures, though, have felt wonderful; the wind has stopped biting our faces when we go out for a walk.

Last week I worked on a new ensemble for Millie and she, along with the rest of my group, are now very patiently waiting and dreaming about spring.

In the meantime Millie would love to show you her new ensemble.

Her dress features stems of pink roses is on a beautiful pastel lilac-y blue color. I don’t think I have any other fabric in quite this shade of blue lilac; it’s very soft and soothing. Millie’s cardigan is knit with merino wool yarn that I hand dyed to match the pink roses on her dress. Of course she has bullion stitched embroidered roses on her cardigan. She definitely wanted those! Her crocheted basket is made with pink cotton thread and has a tri-color braided handle. The basket is holding white blossoms sitting on green Easter grass. Her headband is also crocheted, and decorated with white pearlized seed beads. For a little bit of sparkle she wears a pink crystal bracelet with a heart charm to show that I made this for her with much love. Oh, and she wears a pair of white lace tights. I think she looks sweet, do you?

So that’s what I’ve been working on this past week. I have a little YouTube video showing this ensemble in progress if you’d like to see that.

I’d love to know if you have any glimpses of the season ahead. I know for some of you that is autumn, and others like me, it is spring.

Wishing you all a beautiful week! Take care and stay safe! Hugs… 🤗 and thank you for visiting with me.

First Week in August

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Happy Sunday to you from sunny, hot, and very humid northern Illinois.

I’ve kept busy this week, but not sure where it all went to, which is probably the norm for me–the weeks rush by. I had to look at my planner to see what it is that I happened to accomplish, or not accomplish this week. (I guess I did enough.) 🙂

I finished my blue ensemble for the Little Darlings. I am calling it “Summery Blue in the Garden”. Here are some photos I took of Gina modeling it. Thanks to all who helped me with my fabric choice. I think you all picked a winner!

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Another finished project this week–the second sock to complete a pair. I also started another second sock that will complete another pair. At one point I had four single socks completely knit (not much use to us). I have two complete pairs and two singles left to work on. My ‘four pairs of socks’ project is getting there. This yarn is so bright; there’s going to be some colorful feet walking around here soon.

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I also knit a shrug and beret for my next Little Darlings ensemble. The beret is knit from my beret pattern. The shrug (sorry, no pattern) is knit in a simple lace stitch pattern with a crocheted shell edging added once the underarm seams have been sewn up. I’ve made lots of these in the past for the Little Darlings and the MSD sized Kaye Wiggs girls. They seem to love them!

If you’d like to see more ensembles that feature shrugs here is the link that connects you to all my blog posts that were saved with the ‘shrug’ tag. FYI, there is a group of words in the right sidebar (scroll down past my pattern covers and social media icons) where you can click on a word and see all of the blog posts that were saved with that tag such as shrugs. The larger the word the more posts there are saved with that tag.

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We had a wedding in the family yesterday. My nephew married his college sweetheart. She is a sweet and beautiful girl whom we welcome into our family with open arms. We are so happy for them both!

I hope you’ve had a fantastic week and wishing you a great week ahead. Thank you so much for visiting with me today! How was your week? Any plans for the one coming up? ❤ ❤ ❤