25 August 2013

Sasha Festival 2013 - post 7

Hard to believe that I came back from the festival over a month ago and still hadn't finished taking pictures of everything. Note the past tense "hadn't" as opposed to "haven't"; I unpacked the final suitcase and hastily took pictures yesterday. And I do mean hastily, with Esme as my lone model making quick changes and little time spent on composition.

First up are a couple of dresses that Boo bought for herself in the sales room:
A New Zealand fabric dress made by Lorraine Tyler.


A Shirley Temple dress (plus tights) made by Wilma Robards. I wasn't sure if the ribbon was intended as a sash or a headband, but I tied it in her hair since that's what Boo does when she is Shirley Temple for Halloween (which she has been for the past three years - she'll outgrow her polka dot dress eventually, unlike Sasha).


Next, my sales room purchases:
Two baby dresses, a blanket and booties, and a smocked bishop dress, all from Millie Dingham.


I still had a bit of time after I'd taken pictures of everything, so Esme modeled the bishop dress.


A sundress made from vintage linens by Marti Murphy and a pair of Macon Street Studio sandals made by Monica Jarpey (along with a second pair of MSS sandals).


Here is a close up of the sandals. I'd seen the purple and silver blinged pair online and desperately wanted them - lucky me! Monica had a bunch of cute styles, many of which can now be ordered through her blog.


An outfit made by Ann Chandler, hand-sewn from vintage fabrics. Esme is showing off the undergarments first, as they're too nice to remain hidden.


And then the full outfit, including wool felt shoes. My favorite part is the pinafore, which was made from a tea towel with applique and embroidery.


A knit baby romper made by Pat Pellerito, bought as a gift for Boo's new baby Kelly.


My final purchase in the salesroom was a nifty saddle-style Sasha doll stand made by Lauri Bolland's husband Eric. (Esme is wearing the same undergarments and shoes, but has changed into the dress I received in the swap.)


Though it would be visible with pants, the stand is pretty-much concealed by a dress. I think I should have bought more than one ... perhaps one for each of my dolls someday.


Here is a picture of the dress where you can see the detail better. It's tagged "Jinny Lee Collections", made from a vintage handkerchief by Virginia Myers.


Boo's kid-swap swag (they had a separate swap for the kids this year).


An assortment of gifts and helper items:
I won the dress in the helper raffles; the pink-haired doll, pail, and green panties were helper items that were given to Boo by generous folk who saw her disappointment at not winning anything. The other items were gifts as well. One of the purple leis was given to me by Meg, but everything else is Boo's. She was given the shoes at Sunday brunch as a gift for Calla and Rose who had to stay home - isn't that sweet. People like to give gifts at the festival, especially to the children.


I'm not certain who any of these came from, but all were given to Boo at Sunday brunch while I was wandering around taking pictures. I hope she remembered to say thank you! And yes, there are three taggie blankets, one for each of her babies.


This studio-style dress and pantaloons set is tagged by Heidi Wheeler, and I'm pretty sure it was Boo's gift for helping out with the auction and helper raffles.

24 August 2013

Return to MY Childhood

I was a table hostess for the Friday luncheon at this year's Sasha Festival. In 2010 I co-hosted with Tina, and we created something in line with the "Return to Switzerland" theme. This time I did a spin on the "Return to Childhood" theme, creating a gift that returned to MY childhood in the late 60's and early 70's.


This was a family project. My mother crocheted ponchos for me, miniaturizing an old pattern and modifying it to fit easily over Sasha's head. My husband made 1:3 scale copies (just covers, no pages) of three favorite books I'd saved from childhood. I found tiny tan teddy bears similar to my own bear Fletcher, discovered miniature Magic 8 balls at a party store, and created daisy headbands -- I remember tying together stems of dandelions to make hair pieces as a child. And Boo served as the model for a big-little photo that I used on cards explaining the story behind the gift. Everything went into a little plastic milk crate, as if it had been stored away in an attic for several decades.

One piece of the gift isn't pictured here because it wasn't finished yet, black cord necklaces with peace sign charms. I did not have a suitable crimping tool for the style I'd planned to make, so my husband offered to bring his home from work for me to use. This didn't happen until the last minute, at which point I was scrambling and decided to postpone them until next year. Simon stepped up and assembled the necklaces for me while I packed on Wednesday evening, making me (and the people who sat at my table) very happy.