Tag Archives: hat

“A Nostalgic Christmas”

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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

“A Most Magical Season”

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Do you believe the Christmas season is upon us? Seriously, I can’t believe it! November flew by at 100 mph. I think I am going to have to accept that I will only get a fraction of the holiday ensembles completed that I had wanted to. There simply won’t be enough time, even if I worked around the clock. So . . . that’s the way it will play out this year.

I do have something to show you right now though! 🙂

It is an ensemble for the Little Darlings. I finished this one about a week ago, but wanted to wait until we got our Christmas tree, so I could use it as a back drop. In front of the tree is one of my favorite places for taking photos. There’s something magical about the sparkly lights and ornaments.

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This is another Japanese cotton print that was impossible for me to resist—all those toys, candy canes, and cutie pie Santa! The illustrations have a vintage feel which I love.

The knits I made for this ensemble have a vintage feel too. The forest green wool cape is embellished with red seed beads and green embroidery. A little motif is on every one of the panels which are separated by lace eyelets. I found some old knitting patterns from the 1950s and they called this type of hat a cuddle cap. It is different from the headband hats that I’ve been making in that the cuddle cap sits back on the head and is slightly shaped. To complete her knitwear set, Gina wanted a striped scarf, so I made her a micro striped green/natural colored one with colorful fringe.

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This is my first ever hand knit Christmas stocking! I used a free pattern from Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits. Gina is thrilled with all of the tiny gifts it can hold. Her little Christmas tree is embellished with a star and ornament beads. She also has a gingerbread man, lollipop, candy cane, silver ornament, and a red berry/ribbon decoration tucked inside. I attached wooden skewers to the goodies, (except the tree) so they can be rearranged and easily peek out of the stocking. I added a tiny hand made tassel to the toe of the stocking too.

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Of course the doll motif had to be on the front of the dress bodice! Gina is also wearing a candy cane bracelet. I don’t think she can get any more festive, do you? She wishes you all a “Very Merry Holiday Season”!

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“A Most Magical Season” will be available tonight (November 30, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

“Christmas Love” and Thanks!

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Penny, my Linda Macario BJD, has finally gotten a little something new to wear for Christmas 2016. It took me a good long while to get this completed for her. Patient Penny had her eye on the prize and was patient with me. When completed, Penny told me the wait was worth it, and she loves her new Christmas ensemble.

I titled this ensemble “Christmas Love”, not only because of the red hearts scattered on the fabric, but also because love is the one word that can encompass the entire season; everything we do at Christmastime starts with love.

Speaking of love, I am in love with Penny’s sweet face. She has such an elfen expression, but sweet, not in a mischievous way. She’s pure adorableness!

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Penny’s knitwear is made with deep red lace weight merino/silk yarn. Bright red bullion hearts, forest green greenery, and ecru mistletoe berries are embroidered in two coordinating vertical designs along each front. Two coordinating motifs also embellish Penny’s headband hat. The traditional wreath miniature was embellished with bright red satin ribbon and a dangly heart. Her bracelet features the same heart, but a bit larger.

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I think for the first time ever I combined deep red with bright red, and like the results very much. Once again, I am apologizing for my inability to properly photograph reds, they look blurry to me. These photos aren’t horrible, but they aren’t like looking at the real thing, sorry.

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Isn’t the lace on this dress beautiful! It was gifted to me by one of my very, very kind readers. She told me she inherited too much lace from her dear friend and wanted to share with ME!!! What a sweet offer! Of course, I said yes. Well, when her package arrived I was gobsmacked! I had no idea what, or how much, would be arriving in the mail. I just have to show you…

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Unbelievable, no? Are you drooling? I cannot thank you enough, sweet M., for your generosity! All of these luscious laces will be making appearances in my future ensembles. I can’t wait to use them!

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