Tag Archives: crochet doll hat

“Strawberry Season”

Did you know that May is National (U.S.) Strawberry Month? I just found out from this list at national calendar.com. Fortunately, I have a strawberry themed ensemble all ready to go for this holiday. (ha ha) It is kind of fun to be tuned in to the minor holidays though, planned or not.

Our strawberry season hasn’t kicked in yet. Here in northern Illinois, mid June is when our berries will be ready to pick. My Kaye Wiggs Gracie is all ready to go picking, and somehow even found a few early strawberries. Hmm, wonder how she managed that.

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Gracie’s basket of berries is hand made by me. The fabric berries are stuffed with poly fiberfill, so are very light weight. The berries are machine sewn; the wool felt berry tops are hand embroidered. I found white flower beads in my stash that look like strawberry blossoms! A yellow seed bead for the center completes the strawberry blossom. The stems are beaded loops so that Gracie can hold them. The basket is woven with strips of mint green scrapbook paper, and it holds the berries perfectly. I made a little hand written tag with the name of the ensemble on it; it dangles from the handle.

Even Gracie’s bracelet is berry themed. White berry blossom beads, yellow seed beads (blossom centers) and green seed beads (stems) are strung on stretchy jewelry cord. The tiny red heart bead (to show that this set was made with great care and love) even looks like a strawberry!

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Gracie’s cotton dress is of the palest cool pink. The berries and mint green leaves have a hand painted look to them which I find very pretty and delicate, despite being brightly colored. The white blossoms and doily shapes are subtle, but add to the delicateness of this print. The white inset cotton English Cluny lace I added to the skirt is the perfect accent.

The hand knit lace shrug is made with bamboo thread. It has a crocheted ruffle edging.

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The wide brimmed hat is embellished with a band made from the dress fabric. I appliquéd a wool felt strawberry to the hat that coordinates with the handmade berries.

All in all, I think Gracie is looking ready to celebrate National Strawberry Month, don’t you?

“Strawberry Season” will be available tonight at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

One More for March!

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Hello to you all! Yep, one more, and then March 2017 is a wrap.

My very spoiled Little Darlings worked out amongst themselves who would model this last ensemble. They decided that Alice, my Little Darling painted by Nelly Valentino, would be the one to get the job. I must say they chose well; she looks as sweet as sugar in this new spring set.

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Isn’t she a cutie pie! ❤ Alice shines in neutral, warm colors.

The fabric I used for this dress is the same print as used for “A Whisper of Spring”, but this one is in the warm palette. The colors coordinates with Gracie’s “A Springtime Garden Stroll”.

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This print is made up of salmon, blush pink shades, a bit of neutral gold, and a soft green. The background is the palest of peach, as light as ivory, but peachier. The hemline is edged with a beautiful scalloped English cotton Cluny lace in ecru.

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I chose to highlight the salmon color with a rayon ribbon sash and a hand made bow on the cloche hat. Alice’s cloche is crocheted with ivory cotton and white bamboo. The brim is edged with a feminine shell stitch. I like the brim turned up on the right side, a very stylish look. The bow is handmade with a multi pearl beaded center, and the knit leaf is in a soft green bamboo.

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Alice’s hand knit “light as a feather” cardigan is made with lace weight mohair/silk yarn. The floral embroidery coordinates with the dress.

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Alice’s spring basket is crocheted with blush pink cotton. Her little duckling is a vintage porcelain miniature, and sits atop a bit of green Easter grass. Alice’s bracelet is made with tiny pearls and pink seed beads. A peach/clear marbleized glass heart dangles from the bracelet. The tights are in the palest warm shade and are made with rayon Lycra® knit.

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Alice’s “Peachy Keen for Spring” ensemble will be available tonight (March 29, 2017) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

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I hope you all have a beautiful day! Thank you so much for visiting with me today.

❤

“Heavenly Hydrangeas”

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I love hydrangeas! I cannot grow them, but I love them all the same. I see hydrangeas blooming in neighbors’ yards seemingly without any extra care or attention, and they are so BEAUTIFUL! They don’t even want to grow for me, much less bloom. I did have one hydrangea??? grow for me, but the blooms were so tiny and not at all hydrangea-like, so I question whether it was a hydrangea or not. And, the fact that it actually grew leads me to believe that it was mistakenly marked as a hydrangea and NOT a hydrangea at all. Oh, well. . . maybe one of these days I’ll get lucky. I surely won’t give up!

My daughter brought home a couple of cut hydrangea blossoms for me the other day. The blue color reminded me of a dress that Sugar has been wearing for a couple of weeks now. I couldn’t decide on the embroidery to get it finished, so it waited for me to be inspired.

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Aren’t the blossoms gorgeous? And don’t they match Sugar’s dress perfectly! They were just the inspiration I needed. Sugar is one happy little Pukipuki.

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Clusters of colonial knots worked perfectly to give the feel of a hydrangea bloom. Since I love both pink and blue hydrangea blooms equally, I decided to use both of these colors along with white in my embroidery.

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“Heavenly Hydrangeas” will be available tonight (July 7, 2016) at 7:00pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com. You can find more information on this set at that time under the “Shop What’s New” tab.

Bye for now!