31 August 2009

1968-69 Blue Cords

My husband took the kids to the park yesterday afternoon, which gave me some free time to take my blue cord dolls outside for comparison photos. I took pictures of my three 1969 Blue Cords back in April, before Delia's arrival. This time I added Audrey (from 1968) to the mix as well.

Here are the three with similar bangs: Dolores, Delia, and Audrey. Dolores and Delia look quite a bit alike, but Audrey's 1968 eyes are different from their 1969 eyes. (As usual, clicking on the photo takes you to a larger version.)


Here are the four 1969 girls lined up: Dagmar (a side part), Devereux, Dolores, and Delia. Delia doesn't have an ID bracelet yet, but I'll make her one eventually so she's not left out of the "club".


Here are all five of my blue cord girls lined up: the four 1969's as pictured above (Dagmar, Devereux, Dolores, Delia), with Audrey added at the far right. Her dress is quite faded, but it's the earlier wide version.


Here's a different grouping of the 1969's, with Devereux and Dagmar in back and Delia and Dolores in front. It's amazing how different they look considering they're all the "same" doll.


And the same grouping with Audrey added to the middle of the back row. She looks more delicate/dainty to me than the other four.


What a beautiful group of blonde haired blue eyed girls. I love them all!

26 August 2009

Sneak Peek

Earlier in the year, I noticed a doll for sale on Shelly's website (Sasha Doll UK) referred to as a "Redhead Sneak". She was a late-60's brunette that had been rerooted with saran hair by Bettina and styled as a Dungarees. Alas, the doll was sold by the time I'd checked the site. I wanted one. A month or two later there was a similar doll, also sold by the time I'd checked the site. I wanted one even more. So I emailed Shelly, who put me in touch with Bettina in Germany. We chatted back and forth via email and she agreed to make me one of my own. Rerooting is a time-consuming process, so it took a while -- but it was well worth the wait! My doll just arrived from overseas and is getting settled in. I'm going to save her official introduction for a bit, but thought I'd give you a sneak peak of my redhead sneak using the pictures that Bettina emailed me as she was working.

Here is the head at the start, belonging to a 1969 brunette who had falling hair. She looks almost pitiful in this picture, and yet still so beautiful.


Just for fun, Bettina emailed me a picture of the half-finished head. What a contrast! And she looks cute with all those braids.


Here's "Lady Godiva" with all of her hair. Wow! It was tempting to just leave her like this, with no bangs/fringe and really long hair.


Instead, I asked Bettina to style her like a proper 1969 Dungarees girl. She emailed me pictures of the finished doll, but I don't want to spoil the surprise now. Look for Rowena to be formally introduced in the next month or so.

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Bettina has a website with lots of lovely Sasha pictures. The English Version doesn't appear to be complete, so I navigated the original using my rudimentary German knowledge from high school (many years ago): fotoalben=photo albums, mode=fashion, schuhe=shoes... I discovered a brunette Gotz wearing a yellow dress and socks that looked surprisingly familiar -- like an outfit I recently purchased off Shelly's site. It's currently on Muriel, so I emailed Bettina a picture. It is indeed the same outfit (she made it by hand from the original Migros patterns); Bettina sold the doll and the new owner didn't want to keep the outfit. What a neat conicidence!


The Sasha Hospital page is under construction in the English Version. Alas, my German isn't good enough to translate everything on the page. I know she does rerooting, and I believe she does restringing too. If you're looking for someone to help your ailing Sasha, send Bettina an email and see if she can help.

19 August 2009

Meet Delia

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed some trends within my collection. Most of my dolls fall into three general groups: 1980's English (my "playing" dolls), Later Gotz from 1995-2001 (almost all with their original outfits), and 1968-70 (both English and Gotz, many with their original outfits). Within the later group there are several themes: no navels, side parts, redhead dungarees, and blonde blue cords. Today's introduction falls into the last category; she's another 1969 Blonde Blue Cord.

Delia came from an estate sale, and I believe her clothing is all original. Under her dress she is wearing white ribbed underwear (both vest and pants) and blue cord pants. She is the only one of my blue cord girls who has ribbed pants under her blue cord pair. I'm not sure if she got lucky at the factory, or a previous owner added them from another outfit.


Her hair is two-toned blonde with some factory curl remaining, and her face paint is lovely.


Her lips are paler, but I think she looks a bit like Dolores. I'll try to post another set of blue cord comparison photos soon so you can decide for yourself.

13 August 2009

Collapsible Chairs

Most of my dolls are displayed in a case, but the five 80's girls (seven if you count Boo's two) just stand/sit/lie around the house. I've been thinking it would be fun to buy some props and create little scenes with them. I found these nifty chairs on eBay recently. They're similar to the chairs my family uses when camping or watching soccer, and they're just the right size for Sashas. Since there are two chairs and Boo has two dolls, I think Calla and Rose may claim these as their special seats. Now all they need is a campfire and some marshmallows to roast. Or perhaps someone else will sit in the chairs and watch Calla and Rose play soccer.