Tag Archives: sweater

Bella is “Ready for Roses”

Ah, and I am ready for the roses to bloom, too! Hello there. How are you?

It is the last week of winter here in the northern hemisphere. Yay!!! We got about 6 inches of snow last week and it just started melting yesterday. When the snow melted off of the garden beds I checked on the little crocuses which were blooming before the snowfall and they still are. I don’t know how those delicate blooms can withstand 6 inches of icy snow weighing down on them for days, but they held up fine. They sure are little troopers.

Last fall my husband and I planted quite a few different varieties of bulbs and we are eagerly awaiting their arrival. The early ones have started showing, but no buds yet.

My Ruby Red Fashion Friend Bella is a bit impatient this year and has skipped right past the start of spring to late spring when the roses will start to bloom. She really cannot wait!

Bella wears a rose print cotton dress with two different styles of cotton lace adorning the skirt. A rosy pink ribbon sash ties around her waist. Faux pearl buttons decorate the bodice’s back.

Bella’s elbow length cardigan sweater is hand knit with merino wool that has been hand dyed and the rosy mauve color custom mixed to coordinate with the dress. I embroidered bullion stitch pink roses at the neckline. The cardigan can be worn open or will close with rosy pink glass pearl bead buttons.

Bella wears a crocheted cap in white bamboo thread. A wool felt blossom and knitted leaf decorate her cap. Her drawstring bag matches the cap in materials and decoration. So that she would have something to put in her bag I made her a tiny hanky in cotton lawn. (This is how I used to fold and iron my grandma’s hankies when I would help her out with her chores.) Bella’s bracelet features a rosebud charm and pearly heart to show that I made this just for her with love.

Bella would like to know if you’re excited for the rose gardens to come into bloom. I cannot believe spring starts next week, can you? Those rose gardens will be glorious in no time!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the week and the upcoming weekend! Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me. ❤️🤗

Evianna’s First Ensemble, “Spring Greening”

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Happy Sunday to you! I hope it is a good one. The sun is shining and the snow is already melting here in northern Illinois. The snowfall we had on Thursday ended up being a disappointment for me, but that is ok. The flakes were so fine that they could hardly be seen. I think we ended up with 5 inches of snow over the course of about 18 hours. Maybe the next one…

However, I still made the most of the day by staying in and finishing up Evianna’s first ensemble. It was very relaxing.

Evianna is my Christmas 2022 doll. I love getting a new doll for Christmas… or my birthday… or Mother’s Day. In fact, anytime! A box showed up yesterday and it was a dolly shaped box… but it was only a new filter for our water filtration. 😞

Evianna is the first Li’l Dreamer Dianna Effner doll. She is a sweet addition to my Dianna Effner doll family. I love her!❤️

I found this dress partially finished in a box from another doll. I guess it didn’t fit that ‘new’ doll well enough, so I abandoned it. It fits Evianna quite well, not perfect, but nice enough so I finished it and completed her first ensemble. I have no notes on which pattern this is, so I have to start from scratch for her second ensemble. Oh, well…

I dyed merino wool to get the palest shade of yellow green for Evianna’s knitwear. In the hank the yarn looked barely dyed, but when knit up it is definitely a beautiful yellow green and matches the dress florals beautifully. I made her sweater a bit longer to cover the bodice length and gave it a slight a-line shaping. After many hours of embroidering, and adding shimmery Czech glass bead buttons her sweater was complete.

The beret was looking for some adornment, so that too, got some embroidery.

To complete her ensemble I made pale pink cotton tights. Her tiny crocheted basket holds some pink blossoms. Evianna’s heart charm bracelet tells her that this ensemble was made with love just for her!

Evianna and I say ‘bye for now’. Thank you for stopping by for a visit with us today. We appreciate the company! Take care and enjoy the week ahead! 🤗❤️

Alisha is “Pretty in Pink & Blue”

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Hello to you! I hope you have been enjoying this mid February weekend. I am having a hard time believing it is February. The sun is shining and it is quite nice today. I am feeling April vibes not February vibes. There are some crocuses and grape hyacinths that have started showing their leaves in the gardens already. I hope they don’t regret coming up so early.

Now for what I’ve made for Alisha who is a Helen Kish doll. Yes, it has been awhile for her. She was long overdue for something new to wear.

Alisha’s soft and fuzzy long sleeve blue cardigan was made with two strands of lace yarn, a cornflower blue and pure white mohair/silk. When these two yarns are used together it produces a very soft shade of blue to match those tiny blue flowers in her dress. The cardigan is embroidered with pink roses, leaves, and deep pink colonial knots. Tiny Miyuki rainbow drop beads button up her cardigan.

Alisha’s dress is made with 100% cotton from the Guernsey collection by Brenda Riddle. It’s been in my stash for years–I have no idea the name of this particular print. However Brenda Riddle always has some very sweet florals in her collections. The print has the tiniest rosebuds in shades of pink with even tinier blue blossoms and greenery. Delicate white cotton lace edges the full skirt and a silk ribbon ties around her waist.

Alisha wears a crocheted beaded headband that is beaded all around with clear rainbow Delica beads and the blue lace yarn used for the cardigan. She wears a pink seed bead bracelet with a silver toned “Loved and Beloved” heart charm. Her tights are in pink cotton knit. She has managed to pluck a blossom out of Mom’s garden too. It has a bit of stretchy jewelry cord strung around it so that Alisha can hold it.

As you can see she is one happy little girl, and I think she is oh so pretty in pink and blue. Alisha just whispered in my ear that she’d love to hear what you think of her new springtime ensemble!