Tag Archives: spring fashions

Rose is Hoping Spring Arrives Soon

Hello! I hope you are doing okay even though… well, you know. Things going on in the world are very sad right now. Every day I pray for peace… I keep in my heart all those who need comfort and courage right now. ❤️

I want to show you what I finished for Rose in February. Rose is a 10″ Boneka Monday’s Child doll sculpted by Dianna Effner.

Rose loves her new springtime ensemble. I chose a beautiful pink/lilac tiny floral print for her dress. The full skirt is edged with white cotton lace; a bright pink grosgrain ribbon ties around the waist. Her hand knit cardigan is knit with a lilac tonal hand dyed merino yarn. It is embroidered with random rose/floral motifs in coordinating colors. Her spring hat is crocheted with cotton and bamboo threads. The hat band is made with matching dress fabric and ribbon. In my stash I found Rose a white teddy bear and embellished the foot pads with embroidery, made a matching bow, and gave Theodora a lilac colored blossom.

Rose is very happy with her new ensemble, but a wee bit sad as we’ve had cold weather return again here in northern Illinois. (I know it’s early March but in my mind feels like it should be April!) She is wishing the warm weather from last week would return so that she can stroll through the gardens and see what is starting to grow. Who can blame her! I am ready for spring too!

I whispered in her ear that next week is looking to be warm again; that seemed to put a little smile on her face. For now Rose has a teddy bear to cuddle and stay warm with.

Here are my ‘lilac ladies’ all eagerly awaiting springtime: Rose, Alice, Sophie, Gina, and Lucy. The taller ladies are my Little Darlings. The little red haired girl is Ann Estelle’s friend Sophie (Tonner’s Mary Engelbreit dolls). And you know about Rose. The other ensembles were previously made for past spring times and are being worn with love once again.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope the remainder of your week goes well. Sending you hugs and ❤️! Take good care.

Spring Sewing for Bella

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My Ruby Red Fashion Friend Bella has a new spring ensemble to show you. Even if the weather is not cooperating I am still developing spring fever. I love spring!!!

Hello to you! I hope you have had a very nice week. This past week I managed to spend quite a few mornings in my sewing room which made me very happy. I finished up a spring ensemble for Patience and made a new dress for my Boneka Rose doll. So, Patience is ‘patiently’ waiting for her photo shoot and Rose is waiting for me to embroider her cardigan and then complete the rest of the pieces for her new spring ensemble.

But, today it is all about Bella. I finished “Delicate Flower” a couple of weeks ago. Since then Bella has been modeling it in the sewing room and making all the other girls quite envious. I think she looks pretty darned cute–that sweet face…*sigh*

The rose print I chose for Bella’s dress depicts floral motifs with roses in warm pinks and lavender colored blossoms sprinkled here and there on a very pastel mint green ground. A coordinating rayon ribbon ties around the dress’s waist. The same ribbon is turned into two billowy hair ribbons which tie in place using crocheted ties. The dress’s skirt is embellished with fine cotton lace snugged underneath a tuck. The dress is completely lined with cotton lawn. All raw edges are encased within the lining and dress fabric.

Bella’s cozy cardigan is made with very soft merino wool which I hand dyed to a tonal pink. It features ribbed edgings and glass pearl beads for the buttons. I embroidered floral motifs to coordinate with the dress print.

Bella’s anklets are made with off white cotton knit. Her fresh water pearl bracelet is strung on stretchy jewelry cord with a matching pink heart dangle. The tiny wicker basket is embellished with a bow (hand sewn) made with the cardigan’s yarn. Three colors of blossoms are tucked inside. All are loose and can be rearranged in the basket or given to Bella to hold.

So, spring has begun in my sewing room and the girls are very excited. I think they chat amongst themselves wondering who will be next to receive something new to wear. So far, it is Bella, Patience, and Rose receiving new spring ensembles. Hmm, wonder who will be next…

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! ❤️ Enjoy! Oh, and Bella would love to know if you like her new spring ensemble…🌹

Sophie is My “Lavender Lovely”

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Hello to you! I hope you are having a very nice weekend. It’s nice and hot here in northern Illinois–very summery feeling.

This month is flying by, and I don’t have much dolly-related making to show for it. Granted I have been taking a lot of time to enjoy spring and all the beautiful flowers. And, we have had a birthday and a college graduation to celebrate this month. May has been busy. There hasn’t been much time to settle down and create in my studio.

Last month I started a new ensemble for Sophie and it is now complete. Sophie is a Mary Engelbreit doll by Robert Tonner. She is the best friend to Ann Estelle. Do you remember those adorable paper dolls Mary added to her Home Companion magazine? These dolls are those paper dolls come to life. The dolls were first sold in the early 2000s and were very popular among doll collectors. At one time I had Gracie and Georgia too. Sophie is my only remaining M. E. doll. By the way, she shares the same body as the newer Patsy doll by Robert Tonner.

Sophie’s cropped cardigan is knit with lace weight merino that I hand dyed to a pink violet. I used six different shades of violet and pink for the roses. I mixed them up in different combinations, tiny rose jewels. I used Patsy’s cardigan pattern to knit this sweater for Sophie.

Oh, this fabric! I think it’s one of my favorites. It’s a Kaufman lawn, Sevenberry Petite Garden is a line of small scale florals from Japan. I originally purchased it from fabric.com. They don’t have this exact print anymore, but they have some other lovely prints to choose from.

I crocheted Sophie’s summer hat using three strands: #10 cotton, #10 bamboo, and #20 cotton. To decorate the hat I used lace that matches the dress and muted turquoise velvet ribbon. I hand tacked both separately and pulled snugly on the trims so that they hugged the hat neatly. I LOVE mother-of-pearl and happily used one of my mother-of-pearl buttons for this hat!

I think Sophie is thrilled with her new ensemble. She’s been waiting patiently for one of her own that she can keep.

I published a new YouTube video showing bits of this ensemble in progress.