Tag Archives: knit

Winter Flowers

I know there are no flowers blooming outside where I live in Illinois right now. However, there are flowers blooming here in my studio. I love being able to create my own gardens and I love sharing them with all of you.

Amelia Thimble is my little flower girl today. She has two flower filled sets to show you. I decided to change it up a bit and make both of these sets in understated palettes of color.

For more information on “Winter Bouquet” and “Winter Roses” please visit my “Available for Sale” page on cindyricedesigns.com .

Rose Garden Promises

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Right now in the middle of winter all most of us have are promises and hopes that rose gardens will again be in bloom to mesmerize us with their sweet scent and beautiful blooms.

In the mid 1990’s I had a rose garden made up of a couple dozen rosebushes of all different varieties and types. They were my inspiration for my cross stitch designs. I designed a series of rose bouquets, a series of single rosebuds, a Peace rose bouquet, and a design for brides using some of the pastel roses growing in my garden. I still have stacks of pictures I took of my roses, but sadly my rose garden is long gone.

These days I get my rose garden fix from public gardens. In the nearby suburb of Libertyville there is a beautiful rose garden in the center of town. There is also the Chicago Botanic Gardens which is one of my most favorite places to visit. I’ve written about it a bit here. You can visit their site here. They are even open year round. I’ve never visited in the winter, but I’ll bet it’s magical. And, if you get cold there are always the greenhouses.

If you love roses too, where do you go to experience rose gardens?

I’ve just completed an ensemble made for the Little Darlings. It is filled with promises of glorious roses.

For more information on “Rosy Promises” please visit my “Available for Sale” page on cindyricedesigns.com .

Cozy Sweater Dress Weather Continues

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Sweater Dress weather continues here in northern Illinois. While it is snowy and cold outside I love to sit in front of a warm fire with a cup of tea, coffee, or cappuccino and knit little dresses and sweaters that will be made into pretty ensembles for one of my girls (dolls). I love the simplicity of a sweater dress and the large area it presents for embellishment. It is like a blank canvas waiting to be painted upon.

Kaye Wiggs Millie is the perfect little model for a sweater dress. She is only 11″ tall with a slender body so I can nip in the waistline a bit and give the skirt a slight flare and it is very flattering on her. This sweater dress started out with a pair of printed tights that I ended up not using, but they gave me a starting place for picking the color palette. I ended up using more floss colors than I usually do for the embroidering on this dress. Each rose uses a different set of colors and the tiny hearts are embroidered in one of three slightly different shades of red. The slight variation in color makes a more interesting piece, I think. I am so happy when I learn a little something new.