Tag Archives: crochet doll hat

“Beauty and Blossoms” for Holly and Spring Beginnings

Hello! I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend. Although chilly, the sun has been shining here in northern Illinois this weekend. It is a respite from the many cold, wet, and dreary days during the past week. Spring can be fickle!

Last week I visited the Chicago Botanic Gardens during the best day, and really the only day, fit for a garden stroll. The gardens are just beginning to bloom with snowdrops, snowflakes, miniature iris, miniature daffodils, crocuses, hellebores, squill, and pussywillow. I saw the forsythia just starting to show color–not blossoming yet. So, spring beauty is just beginning…

Now for some dolly news. Holly is all ready to show you her new ensemble, “Beauty and Blossoms”. She is a happy little one. Her sweet personality really shines during her photo shoot.

I decided to crochet her a wide brimmed spring bonnet in natural colors. Tied around the crown is a band of pink mesh tied in a bow. Another pink ribbon bow and mother of pearl buttons and beads help to further embellish this sweet hat.

I talked about Holly’s cardigan in my last post here. The edging on Holly’s bonnet matches the thread I used to knit the cardigan.

Holly’s dress is made out of a Japanese cotton floral print. The colors are happy and somewhat bright. A pink rayon ribbon is wrapped around the waistline twice and tied into a bow at the front. Tiny faux pearl button beads embellish the back. Delicate English cotton Cluny lace edges the hemline.

Holly wears pastel pink cotton anklets. Her bracelet features a mother of pearl heart dangle and pink seed beads.

Sweet little Holly. She has picked a beautiful pink rose blossom for you.

Holly and I are wishing you a beautiful and peaceful week ahead. 💖 Sending hugs 🤗

Rose is Hoping Spring Arrives Soon

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Hello! I hope you are doing okay even though… well, you know. Things going on in the world are very sad right now. Every day I pray for peace… I keep in my heart all those who need comfort and courage right now. ❤️

I want to show you what I finished for Rose in February. Rose is a 10″ Boneka Monday’s Child doll sculpted by Dianna Effner.

Rose loves her new springtime ensemble. I chose a beautiful pink/lilac tiny floral print for her dress. The full skirt is edged with white cotton lace; a bright pink grosgrain ribbon ties around the waist. Her hand knit cardigan is knit with a lilac tonal hand dyed merino yarn. It is embroidered with random rose/floral motifs in coordinating colors. Her spring hat is crocheted with cotton and bamboo threads. The hat band is made with matching dress fabric and ribbon. In my stash I found Rose a white teddy bear and embellished the foot pads with embroidery, made a matching bow, and gave Theodora a lilac colored blossom.

Rose is very happy with her new ensemble, but a wee bit sad as we’ve had cold weather return again here in northern Illinois. (I know it’s early March but in my mind feels like it should be April!) She is wishing the warm weather from last week would return so that she can stroll through the gardens and see what is starting to grow. Who can blame her! I am ready for spring too!

I whispered in her ear that next week is looking to be warm again; that seemed to put a little smile on her face. For now Rose has a teddy bear to cuddle and stay warm with.

Here are my ‘lilac ladies’ all eagerly awaiting springtime: Rose, Alice, Sophie, Gina, and Lucy. The taller ladies are my Little Darlings. The little red haired girl is Ann Estelle’s friend Sophie (Tonner’s Mary Engelbreit dolls). And you know about Rose. The other ensembles were previously made for past spring times and are being worn with love once again.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope the remainder of your week goes well. Sending you hugs and ❤️! Take good care.

Sophie is My “Lavender Lovely”

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Hello to you! I hope you are having a very nice weekend. It’s nice and hot here in northern Illinois–very summery feeling.

This month is flying by, and I don’t have much dolly-related making to show for it. Granted I have been taking a lot of time to enjoy spring and all the beautiful flowers. And, we have had a birthday and a college graduation to celebrate this month. May has been busy. There hasn’t been much time to settle down and create in my studio.

Last month I started a new ensemble for Sophie and it is now complete. Sophie is a Mary Engelbreit doll by Robert Tonner. She is the best friend to Ann Estelle. Do you remember those adorable paper dolls Mary added to her Home Companion magazine? These dolls are those paper dolls come to life. The dolls were first sold in the early 2000s and were very popular among doll collectors. At one time I had Gracie and Georgia too. Sophie is my only remaining M. E. doll. By the way, she shares the same body as the newer Patsy doll by Robert Tonner.

Sophie’s cropped cardigan is knit with lace weight merino that I hand dyed to a pink violet. I used six different shades of violet and pink for the roses. I mixed them up in different combinations, tiny rose jewels. I used Patsy’s cardigan pattern to knit this sweater for Sophie.

Oh, this fabric! I think it’s one of my favorites. It’s a Kaufman lawn, Sevenberry Petite Garden is a line of small scale florals from Japan. I originally purchased it from fabric.com. They don’t have this exact print anymore, but they have some other lovely prints to choose from.

I crocheted Sophie’s summer hat using three strands: #10 cotton, #10 bamboo, and #20 cotton. To decorate the hat I used lace that matches the dress and muted turquoise velvet ribbon. I hand tacked both separately and pulled snugly on the trims so that they hugged the hat neatly. I LOVE mother-of-pearl and happily used one of my mother-of-pearl buttons for this hat!

I think Sophie is thrilled with her new ensemble. She’s been waiting patiently for one of her own that she can keep.

I published a new YouTube video showing bits of this ensemble in progress.