Adios Amigos

These pictures of "The Five Amigos" (formerly three, then four) were taken at the same time as the pictures in my previous post. 

I wanted to document these five as a group one last time. Unfortunately I needed to sell a few dolls, since I'd decided to fund all new Sasha purchases through the sale of other Sashas. Hard to say goodbye, but two of these five are gone now, along with two babies (Cleo and an unnamed nightdress boy). Adios my lovelies, and best of luck in your new homes.

80's Girls Original Outfits

A while back I was perusing Sasha group facebook posts and realized that the newer dolls are so often overlooked in the excitement surrounding the older dolls. Of course the newer English dolls aren't all that new, since they're 30ish years old themselves. And while they lack the hand painting of the earlier dolls, they are still gorgeous in their own right.

Here is a group shot of all the 80's dolls in the house at that time, my six and Boo's two. From left to right: Cathy, Rose, Cameo, Calla, Cybil, Chloe, Cindy, and Iris. This picture is currently on the main page of the sashafestival.com website. 

It was a long photo shoot, with lots of chatting between takes.

And here are just my six, the Five Amigos and Iris (who never really warmed to the idea of being an Amigo). The size differences are really apparent when they're all lined up.

Cathy: Blonde Sweater. She has the most serene face, and just might be my favorite of this group (but shhhh, don't tell the others). She wants to be a pilot someday.

Cameo: Honey Blonde Silk Dress. She is so petite compared to the others, and likely from the early 80's. She also likes to stand with her toes pointed out - ballet training in her past?

Cybil: Redhead White Dress. She came to me in mint condition, still strapped into her box. Not a great way to spend 25 years in my opinion, but she's made up for it since.

Chloe: Cora Flower Dress. She came to me in gingham, but given her age this is the correct outfit for her. She is the first Sasha doll that I ever bought. Hard to capture in photographs, but very pretty.

Cindy: Brunette Red Pinafore(?). She came to me nude, and could possibly have been a Dancing Dress, Marina, or Red Pinafore. She toyed with being Marina, but decided the pinafore suited her style.

Iris: Black Haired Sari. She was named for the color of her sari. At one point I had four of these girls, ~1% of all made! When I decided to sell all but one, she wasn't the one I originally planned to keep. But she was my mom's favorite, which prompted a second look - and a second decision.

Hobby Day

Friday was Hobby Day for the second grade, and each child was asked to bring something related to one of their hobbies. Boo decided her hobbies were dolls, nature, and "screen time" (wii and computer games) -- and brought her dolls. I was thrilled! Calla and Rose were dressed in their fancy gowns, with name cards, a printout of blog posts featuring Boo, and information on the upcoming Sasha Festival. Alas, I didn't get to see it all set up on her desk.

I was lunchtime reader for the class though, and decided to bring some of MY hobby to share -- four of my Sasha dolls. I contemplated bringing a doll-themed book to read, but instead I brought "The Legend of the Old Man of the Mountain" by Denise Ortakales. I explained the doll connection to the class, but it was perfect in other ways too; they're studying Native Americans now, and I grew up in Maine and saw the Old Man of the Mountain on a Girl Scout trip roughly 35 years ago.

I enjoyed talking about doll collecting, reading the book, and answering questions about Sasha dolls and the Old Man of the Mountain. Several girls asked if they could touch my dolls before I left, and they gravitated to Giselle in her beautiful blue tutu (they were awed that someone made it for me). Kids are so much fun at this age.

I don't have any pictures from school, but here are the dolls that I brought with me. I figured they were a nice representation of the variations. And Sara, Lucinda, and Chloe are all shown in blog posts with Boo.

Since we'd been discussing hobbies, Boo and I worked on her Brownie Hobbies Try-It (badge). She brought the same doll items to her patrol meeting today. The Sasha London is on a bag from The Sasha Wardrobe which she carried everything in, and she had a picture of my doll cabinets as well.

Happy New Year

My posts have been sporadic lately, but I came close to meeting last year's goal of blogging weekly -- I almost averaged once a week, with 49 posts for the year. I also succeeded in sewing a bit, making 10 tote bags and three pinafores, as well as starting (but not finishing) a Swiss dress. I still have about a dozen dolls to introduce, and lots more clothing, props, and display ideas to share. With a new job keeping me busy, I'm going to try and maintain the status quo rather than make new blogging goals for this year.

In addition to the pale blue tutu, I received two other boxes with Sasha goodies in the mail the week before Christmas. The first box contained a baby walker that I'd won from Shelly on eBay. I'm so glad that I won this because it is the perfect size for Cleo (who's wearing a Dollydoodles sleepsuit here). She's hard to photograph, but oh so adorable.

The second box contained eight pairs of DollyBlue boots (plus a surprise pair of bright pink shoes!). Here is Chloe wearing a pair of pink boots that I won on eBay, along with a Sharon Clancy outfit that deserves it's own backstory. I'd seen this outfit for sale on eBay back in the spring of 2009, and thought it was really cute. I noticed the dress and bits for sale this past fall, but decided against buying it without the cape. Then a few weeks later the cape was offered for sale. Oh how I wished I'd bought the dress when I had a chance. Fortunately I knew the seller, and was able to contact the new owner of the dress to see if she would be willing to sell it to me. As a reader of my blog she offered to give me the dress; I felt awkward being given something that I'd asked for, so we agreed on a trade: a pair of purple DollyBlue boots that I'd bought with the cape. Thank you Chris, and Nikita too -- I love this outfit!

And thank you Carrol, for making me all those boots. After winning the pink pair on eBay, I contacted her about buying purple boots to replace those I'd traded, plus boots to match my three folk outfits (blogged about here and here). My original thoughts were black for the central European, brown for the Bavarian, and white for the Swedish, but with custom boots I wasn't limited by those colors. Unable to decide, I bought multiple pairs; these are great boots and I know they could/would be worn with lots of other outfits. I also have a fourth folk outfit now, which needed no boots since it came with wooden shoes. I was made by Helena in Canada, AKA the eBay seller dolliepatch, and modeled after an old picture that I believe is of Dutch girls. Don't these four look stunning?!

Any thoughts on which color boots look best: red or white with the Swedish outfit, green or brown with the Bavarian outfit? Here's a close up of the five boot colors being worn by the dolls in the photo above.

Sasha Festival 2010 - post 6

This will probably be my last post about the festival, though I'm sure many of the clothes and props pictured here will show up in future posts. After four days at the festival and almost a week organizing my pictures and documenting the festival online, it's time for me to focus my energy on non-Sasha stuff for a while. Here are the remaining items that I brought home, things I purchased directly or indirectly. How did I get everything home (including three dolls) without checking a bag?

I went shopping by myself in San Francisco on Thursday. I bought some fabrics and notions, a crafter's iron, a little Chinese doll, and three doll-size parasols (two are for Boo's dolls, Calla and Rose).

The gift exchange was Friday afternoon. I brought a gift bag containing a smocked dress (like this) made by Patty at The Sasha Wardrobe, velvet hair ribbons, and a little Chinese doll. I wound up with this cute outfit, a green Scottie sweater and cap with white corduroy pants, made by Beverly Schacht.

The Children's Fund Auction was Saturday afternoon, and raised a total of $6874 for two charities: Child Help and Save the Children. I was the high bidder for two items, a purple and white sweater and cap from Switzerland (made and donated by Amei Walder) and a Boneka smocked dress (donated by Bonnie Jean Kennedy).

The sales room was open on Saturday evening. I bought some clothes, a stroller, and ... a doll. Clockwise from upper left: a Boneka dress that was a gift from Nancy Miller when I purchased my doll, Boneka shoes that I bought from Nancy to go with my auction dress, pink and yellow wool sweaters knit by Erica McLeod, a pink commercial babygro resized by Sheila Foery, a red check smocked baby dress and panties tagged Millie Dingham, a blue floral smocked dress and panties tagged Laura Lindberg, and a swing-top and plaid capris made by Sheila.

Dawn Law had strollers and baby carriers for sale, made by the Spanish company Diset. As Chloe and Cleo demonstrate, the stroller is small enough to be pushed and large enough to be ridden in. And it even folds for storage or travel, which made it easier to pack in my carry-on bag.

The helper item tickets were drawn on Sunday. There were lots of lovely items, and I wound up winning two of them: a set of wooden village blocks made in Germany, and a lace collar knit by Erica McLeod. The lace collar came on a card that reads: "Lace collar for Sasha knitted in fine merino wool. The original of this pattern was inspired by one seen in the Swiss Village Museum in Wisconsin. The pin represents the edelweiss flower."

Here's a picture of my new doll, taken as the festivities were winding down on Sunday. She's wearing the dress I won in the auction, and the lace collar I won in the helper item drawings. She still hasn't told me her name yet, though perhaps I haven't been listening closely enough.

UPDATE: After lots of contemplation, she and I have settled on the name Juliette.

New Fall Dresses

The weather is finally cooling down here, so I've changed the "five amigos" into some lovely fall dresses made by Patty at The Sasha Wardrobe. I was thrilled to find five coordinating dresses at a reasonable price, and even more thrilled when I saw them in person. Perfect! It took a while to get all five girls dressed, mostly because I had a hard time deciding who should wear which dress, which shoes, and which tights/socks. And of course they all needed to have their hair brushed. Whew!

I wanted an outdoor picture with leaves in the background, which was easier said than done. They're all looking upward, since otherwise the sunlight overhead cast shadows on their faces from their bangs. It's as it they're watching something in the sky off in the distance -- an airplane, the clouds, or perhaps a hawk flying past.


I moved them onto the porch where the light was less harsh, but still no one wanted to look at the camera. I think they look lovely in their new dresses regardless.


Cameo (Honey Blond Silk Dress) is definitely the shortest of the bunch; she seems quite petite in comparison to the others. I'm pretty sure she's the oldest of the quintet.

Sasha Festival 2009 - post 5

This is my last post about the festival, highlighting some of the clothing I acquired there. The festival souvenir outfits were shown in a previous post, but I came home with quite a few additional outfits.

First is last year's festival souvenir outfit, modeled by Rose. (Dorothy isn't usually pictured as a blonde, but Boo really wanted one of her dolls to wear it.) I won this at the Children's Fund Auction as part of a group of 2008 Sasha Festival Souvenirs. Sweet!


Second is another outfit I won at the Auction, modeled by Cathy. Peggy Trauger made this top and jumper with an embroidered child flying a kite. She was at the Auction, and graciously posed for a picture with Muriel and me afterward.


Third is the dress I wound up with at the Sasha Gift Exchange, modeled by Chloe. It was made by Wilma Robards, who I spent quite a bit of time talking with over the course of the weekend. (The gift I brought was a Liberty floral dress made by Patty at The Sasha Wardrobe, which Tina wound up with.)


Fourth is a crochet dress I purchased at the Sales Room, modeled by Cameo. This dress was made by Barbara Jo Keats, who sold a wide variety of items crocheted using cotton thread. I was planning to buy a dress with a fabric bottom, but fell in love with this all-crochet one.


Fifth is another outfit I purchased at the Sales Room, modeled by Cindy. This beaded dress with leggings was made by Kathryn Goodwin. She also had some cute homemade leather moccasins, but I was out of money. Perhaps I'll buy a pair next year, but for now I have these black suede moccasins that I won in the Helper Raffle.


Sixth is a pale green smocked dress I won in the Helper Raffle, modeled by Cybil. I was too rushed today to iron it, so I'm only showing the top ... perhaps I should pretend I've just chosen to focus on the smocking. :-)


Believe it or not, there is still more! I won two baby outfits (one at the Auction and one in the Helper Raffle), but don't have a Sasha baby to model them - yet. I was hoping I'd win one of the auction or raffle babies. I also won three other auctions: a striped knit hat, a set of 10 Studio Doll Museum postcards, and some Sasha collectibles including a set of 20 Trendon postcards and a Sasha logo pin. Plus I won several other items in the Helper Raffle, including two tea sets. How did I manage to get everything home?!

Tina Gross ... aka dollydetroit

I previewed this post last month when I showed Boo and Calla in their bunny slippers. Calla's were made by a very talented lady named Tina, who also sells Sasha clothing (and bunny slippers) on eBay as dollydetroit.


The slippers are adorable, and she is a marvelous person to communicate with. I emailed photos to her and she coordinated each doll's slippers to their pajamas, with each pair arriving in a tagged baggie indicating which doll they were intended for. Here are my five getting ready for a slumber party in their pajamas (all made by Patty at The Sasha Wardrobe) and their new slippers. [Boo is adamant that I need to put everyone back in their pajamas and slippers and take another picture that includes Calla, even though she had her own slipper picture earlier.]


Tina's talents don't stop at bunny slippers, as I discovered when I won her "Wicked-inspired" ensemble on eBay. I love the little details like the lollipop and hat, and especially the shoes! One of my dolls will be a cute Munchkin next year for Halloween. It is being modeled in this photo by Muriel (a 1970 no-navel), who I will introduce at some point in the future.


Tina also did me a huge favor and replaced the elastic in the waist of Danica's pants, which kept falling down around her ankles. What more can I say ... I'm thrilled to know her and am hoping this is the start of a long Sasha friendship.

UPDATE: Tina has a website now: Dollydetroit by Tina Gross.

It's Pajama Time

I've been too busy to take Sasha pictures recently, but today I managed to find a free moment. Please pardon the cluttered background and bad lighting, but the dolls are in the family room and I didn't have time to move them to more photogenic surroundings. Boo received a bed for Calla for Christmas, and she's been hanging out there the past couple of weeks. I decided to put the girls into their pj's for a group photo with the new bed. Cindy, Cathy, Cybil, and Chloe are all wearing nightwear made by Patty at The Sasha Wardrobe. Calla is lounging in a pair of pajamas that Enid was wearing when I purchased her; they are tagged Nellie-Rose and were thus made by eBay seller maudie-mays. Everyone's hair is a bit mussed as there was no time for brushing hair either, but in this setting perhaps it can be construed as bedhead.

Merry Christmas!

My "playing" dolls are all dressed up for Christmas, and have been joined by a special new friend. I finally finished paying the layaway on my 1968 fringe girl! I will formally introduce Alison in a future post, but wanted her to share in the holiday fun.


Alison is at the far left wearing a red checked dress of unknown origin. She looks so petite compared to all these girls from the 1980's. Next to her, Cindy wears a smocked dress with a gingerbread men print from eBay seller specialdelivery2006. Then comes Calla in a Nellie-Rose gold star dress with matching bow from eBay seller maudie-mays. The Santa hats are also Nellie-Rose Doll Fashions. On the other side of the tree, Cathy, Cybil, and Chloe all wear festive dresses labeled "Hand Crafted By Molly". I purchased them second hand, but believe that eBay seller molly31_7 is the same Molly.

Michele in CO

I discovered Michele while looking for Sasha clothing online. Until recently she had a website on AOL Hometown; that service has been discontinued for all users, but she can be reached by email if anyone wants some knitting done. I had her knit me up four cardigans (two short-sleeved and two long-sleeved) in colors I selected. We were both busy with work, plus she had to order some of the yarn, so the whole process took a while. Neither of us was speedy with our email replies, but we kept in touch through the whole process and I really enjoyed our email exchange - such a nice person to be dealing with. My sweaters arrived about the same time as the cooler weather, perfect timing for the girls to show them off. I also received a special gift to compensate for the delay, which wasn't necessary but was very thoughtful. Here's Chloe modeling my gift dress and bolero, and Cindy in one of the short-sleeved sweaters (the other is royal blue).


Perhaps it's the color, but the dress makes me think of Easter. Once my Christmas chaos is over, I need to put in an order for more dresses in other pastel colors. If only I can find some Sasha-sized Easter baskets...

The long-sleeved sweaters are pink and deep red, and match quite nicely with the dresses on Stella and Anika (though this was completely unplanned). They are my only two "display" dolls in sleeveless dresses, which makes the cardigans even more suitable. I took some ribbing from my husband about them being cold when he found me putting on their sweaters, but I think they may wear them until the spring.

Treasured Trouseau

At first glance this might not seem like cool-weather clothing, but the outfit includes a coordinating cardigan. I took a picture with the dress alone to show off the funky pattern and the buttons on the gingham ribbon. I would like a dress like this for myself! It's from Treasured Trousseau, (eBay seller nameless). She does actually have a name, and seems like a very nice person from our email correspondence.


As one of Treasured Trousseau's first customers, she also sent me a gift -- a designer label shirt and shorts set. Very thoughtful and very cute. I'm looking forward to more auctions from this designer (and hopefully more winning bids).

Five Amigos is Enough!

Looking at the four amigos standing together in the dining room, it felt like something was missing. Four dolls (a nice even number), two with long hair and two with short (an even split), two with blonde hair and two with dark hair (another even split). Yet I had another name from my searches -- starting with "C", five letters long, and of Greek origin. Cybil was missing. I should emphasize the WAS because she isn't missing anymore. She adds a nice asymmetry to the group, and a bit of pizazz with her copper-colored hair. I'll make her formal introduction later in the week.


The girls are all dolled up in clothing from eBay seller justsew1940. I'm not sure the best way to describe these outfits (Modern? Trendy? Current??), but they look like things my young daughter and her friends would wear. I've switched where they're standing so you can see the trim on the jeans, which were hidden in the first configuration.

Make That Four Amigos

It is getting a bit cold for here for summer dresses, so I changed the girls into more appropriate clothing for fall. Still lots of green in the trees though, as we haven't had any frost yet. Except for the shoes on Cathy and Calla (the blondes), everything they are wearing was purchased from The Sasha Wardrobe. I think my new sweater girl looks so much sweeter wearing pink than she did in her original beige.