Tag Archives: shrug

“Summertime Smiles”

Do you believe it is the end of August???!!! Wow! It’s been a good summer weatherwise in northern Illinois–we’ve had lots of hot and sunny days–lots of beautiful weather to smile about. I hope you’ve had the same.

I recently finished a summery ensemble for the Little Darlings, and I want to share it with you. Lucy (painted by Helen Skinner) is modeling “Summertime Smiles”. We had a relaxing photo shoot in the backyard under the trees on one of those beautiful days.

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The creating of this ensemble started with the fabric. I found this summery floral in my stash and wanted to use it immediately. The graphic blossoms are in shades of bright pink, golden yellow, light aqua blue, and kelly green–all favorite summer colors of mine.

Lucy’s dress features tiny tatting lace hand stitched the the hemline. A thin bright pink satin ribbon ties twice around her waistline. Her dress is completely lined with white cotton lawn and all raw edges are enclosed within the lining.

Lucy’s knitwear is knit from hand dyed merino wool in bright pink. Her lace shrug is knit in a simple lace pattern with a crocheted shell edging. The beret is knit with my beret pattern and embroidered with coordinating flowers.

White cotton anklets, a colorful bracelet, and a two-flower bouquet complete the 6-piece ensemble.

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I hope you enjoyed seeing my latest make for the Little Darlings. Thank you for visiting.

Next up, are one or two apple orchard inspired ensembles.

Enjoy the week! Take care and stay safe. Sending you virtual hugs! ❤

First Week in August

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Happy Sunday to you from sunny, hot, and very humid northern Illinois.

I’ve kept busy this week, but not sure where it all went to, which is probably the norm for me–the weeks rush by. I had to look at my planner to see what it is that I happened to accomplish, or not accomplish this week. (I guess I did enough.) 🙂

I finished my blue ensemble for the Little Darlings. I am calling it “Summery Blue in the Garden”. Here are some photos I took of Gina modeling it. Thanks to all who helped me with my fabric choice. I think you all picked a winner!

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Another finished project this week–the second sock to complete a pair. I also started another second sock that will complete another pair. At one point I had four single socks completely knit (not much use to us). I have two complete pairs and two singles left to work on. My ‘four pairs of socks’ project is getting there. This yarn is so bright; there’s going to be some colorful feet walking around here soon.

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I also knit a shrug and beret for my next Little Darlings ensemble. The beret is knit from my beret pattern. The shrug (sorry, no pattern) is knit in a simple lace stitch pattern with a crocheted shell edging added once the underarm seams have been sewn up. I’ve made lots of these in the past for the Little Darlings and the MSD sized Kaye Wiggs girls. They seem to love them!

If you’d like to see more ensembles that feature shrugs here is the link that connects you to all my blog posts that were saved with the ‘shrug’ tag. FYI, there is a group of words in the right sidebar (scroll down past my pattern covers and social media icons) where you can click on a word and see all of the blog posts that were saved with that tag such as shrugs. The larger the word the more posts there are saved with that tag.

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We had a wedding in the family yesterday. My nephew married his college sweetheart. She is a sweet and beautiful girl whom we welcome into our family with open arms. We are so happy for them both!

I hope you’ve had a fantastic week and wishing you a great week ahead. Thank you so much for visiting with me today! How was your week? Any plans for the one coming up? ❤ ❤ ❤

“Blossoms for the Bees”

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We’ve had so many bumblebees buzzing around our garden this spring. I love watching the fuzzy little guys, and how they almost disappear inside trumpet-shaped blossom. I don’t have any snapdragons growing in my garden this year, but I have in past years, and they really do disappear inside these blossoms, so cute.

Keeping with the bee theme, Gracie is wearing a dress covered in trios of bright blossoms which are on a subtle hexagon honeycomb background.

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Gracie’s dress has a wider neckline which looks pretty with shrugs. The hemline is embellished with cotton tatting lace that I applied by hand. The lace was a gift, but I am guessing it is vintage and handmade. The circles on the lace look perfect with the circle-shaped flowers, and the lace’s color matches the fabric exactly.

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Gracie’s yummy lace shrug is knit with lace weight merino wool in red violet heather. It has a crocheted shell edging.

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I thought a hexi-shaped purse would be so cute with this ensemble. This one is made with two crocheted granny hexagons and a leather strap. It can be worn cross body, over the shoulder, or wrapped around Gracie’s hand. Inside the bag is a little bouquet of flowers. There is even a little extra room for other found treasures. In my stash I had one bumble bee button. He found his way onto Gracie’s granny square blossom.

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Gracie’s hair decoration is made by hand with three colors of crocheted merino wool blossoms which pick up the colors in the dress. I’ve added a little green merino wool leaf and a handmade organza bow. It slips in place with a handmade wire bobby pin.

Anklets, panties, and a bracelet complete this summery ensemble.

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