Tag Archives: hat

“Christmas Caroler” for the Little Darlings

If you can’t beat them (the weather), join them (it). Not an option today! It’s very chilly, windy, and pouring rain. I REALLY had my heart set on getting Alice’s photos taken today, so I got lucky and figured out how to use the weather to my advantage and get her photos taken.

I put Alice in the kitchen bay window, and because it’s not bright (at all) the photos came out fine. I turned on all the warm kitchen lights, used a tripod, and used a board to block the glare on top of her head. They’re a little darker than usual, but I think they’re cozy looking.

Alice, my Little Darling painted by Nelly Valentino, is thrilled to be able to show you her first Christmas ensemble, Christmas Caroler. It’s a very traditional ensemble—even a little bit old-fashioned looking, which is a look I am in love with on her.

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Alice’s elbow length sleeved dress is made with a tiny holly print in deep red, greens, and bits of metallic gold. A deep red taffeta ribbon (with a brighter red edge) ties around the waist of the dress. Tiny ecru English cotton Cluny lace peeks out at the hemline.

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The natural colored lace cape is knit with lace weight baby alpaca/silk yarn for an extremely delicate piece. It closes at the center front with a gold-filled bead and loop. There are six full size panels on the cape; the right three panels each have a slightly different embroidery motif with the left three panels each mirroring its corresponding right panel

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The vintage-styled headband hat is knit with a slightly heavier weight natural colored yarn (wool/angora). The embroidered motifs at each end mirror each other. The headband ties under the chin on the right hand side. The ties are different lengths so that when tied the tails are equal.

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Alice’s accessories include a pair of red scarves in a deep red and a brighter red wool. They have fringed ends. The little sheet music is vintage looking with four different carols and a bookmark tied over the center fold. A little gold glass ornament is tied with a matching embroidery thread loop. The bracelet is made with garnet beads and 14k gold-filled beads. A red shell heart charm dangles from the bracelet. And underneath it all is a pair of red rayon Lycra® tights.

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While out caroling, I’m sure all of the grandmas and moms will be pinching Alice’s cheeks and telling her what an adorable little girl she is.

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Alice’s “Christmas Caroler” ensemble will be available tonight (October 26, 2016) at 7:00 pm, CST at cindyricedesigns.com.

Alice and I thank you for visiting with us today. 🙂 ❤

“Holiday Botanicals”

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Holiday decorating has begun in my sewing room and when Gracie dons her striped elf hat she really gets into the Christmas spirit. Right now she is looking for the perfect spot for her grapevine poinsettia wreath. Any ideas?

I love the colors in this botanical Christmas print: orange-y red, aqua blue, yellow green, a medium bright green, deep red, and pure white. Not that I don’t like basic red and green, but this palette is so fresh looking. (It is actually a little more colorful; reds are so hard to photograph.)

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The photo below is a bit brighter. The problem was that to get the dress bright, I’d have to settle for the color of the sweater to get over saturated. The photos of only the dress are a little more colorful.

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The sweater is knit with hand dyed Peruvian Highland wool that I hand dyed to a warm red. It has some subtle light and dark areas which give it a tonal feel. The yarn matches the warm orange-y red blossoms on the dress.

For the sweater’s embroidery, I chose to highlight the bright white poinsettias, but to keep them on the smaller size in an asymmetrical scattered composition. Three shades of greenery which match the dress are also used for the embroidery. Dark burgundy berries and garnet bead buttons tie into the deep red background of the dress. Again, sorry for the photo quality. The white blossoms are very white compared to how they look in the photo above. The closeup photo below is better, but the greens are appearing muddy, and they’re not.

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Gracie’s “Holiday Botanicals” ensemble will be available tonight (October 20, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

I hope you all have, or are having a great day! Bye for now, and thanks for stopping by.

Bit of News and “A Peek at Christmas”

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I’m wondering if you all have forgotten about my patterns that I promised to start writing! Definitely not! My first one is almost ready to be published. The pattern is written, but this morning I realized my cover photo may be too small pixel-wise, so I want to redo that. Also, there have been technical things that I needed “husband help” with. He needed to figure those things out when he wasn’t at work. New things always take time; it’s getting real close though. Thanks for being so patient with me!

I’ve been looking at my stack of Christmas fabrics for months now. I actually felt like starting to make something Christmas-y in August, but I held back. I didn’t want to skip making fall ensembles. But now, it is time to dive right into Christmas sewing!

My smiling Little Darling, Lucy, got the first ensemble for Christmas 2016! Lucky girl! I call this ensemble “A Peek at Christmas” because it is “just a bit” Christmas-y.

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This fabric is a lively red and green floral on a darker ivory ground. It is a cozy print, but not drab. My newest lace from England matched perfectly. I added it to the hemline for the green tights to peek through. A couple of red hand made bows at the hemline tie into the red waistline sash.

I felt this ensemble needed green tights, nothing else came close. For a whole day I worked on mixing and dyeing what I thought was the perfect shade of green. My fabric stayed in the dye bath for 1 1/2 hours; I stirred it every 15 minutes. Then, it stayed in the fix bath for another hour; I stirred that every 15 minutes too. The fabric came out uneven and, really too light. The next day, I kept my fingers crossed as I headed to the fabric store. Usually when I am looking for something in particular I don’t find it. Not only did I find the perfect green, I also found it in a different fabric; it’s a lighter weight Lycra® rayon blend; it has a bit of a sheen to it, so is a little bit dressy. And a bonus, it sewed up very nicely. Needless to say, this all made me very happy . . . and feeling lucky.

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For the sweater’s embroidery I used the same style of blossoms as on the fabric; I had tiny pearlized Delica beads that matched, so used those for the center of each blossom. Two shades of green and some burgundy bud flowers complete the mirrored embroidery. Mother-of-pearl beads in natural added the perfect touch for the buttons.

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A tinier version as what’s used for the sweater decorates the back of the dress as faux buttons.

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The last item I made to complete this ensemble was the crocheted drawstring bag. It is crocheted with the finest cotton thread in a color that matches the background of the fabric and the lace. For fun, I added a colorful and jingly dangle. Inside Lucy’s bag is her contribution the the Christmas tree, a bright red ornament!

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