(3) Live from AZ ...

... A bit of free time after breakfast for we early risers.

Muriel and baby Kelly are watching Boo swim. :-)

Instant Princess

Since returning from the festival, I've been "chatting" with lots of Sasha folk via email and facebook. I mentioned to Sheila that Muriel was wearing one of the outfits she made (which I'd purchased with Muriel in mind), and of course she wanted to see a picture. I hastily snapped a few shots, and she looks so cute that I decided to share one here as well.

I love how the addition of a tiara (a table gift I received at the festival) turns her into an instant princess.

Sasha Festival 2010 - post 5

Like last year, I came home with a whole lot of Sasha-related stuff. In this post I'll show the festival souvenirs and other table hostess gifts that I received, saving the items I purchased or won (gift exchange, Children's Fund Auction, sales room, and helper items) for my next post.

At check-in I received: a festival bag containing maps and information about Switzerland, the Festival Journal, and a booklet with auction item pictures and descriptions; my auction paddle; and my name tag on a Switzerland lanyard. Also in this picture is the card with information about next year's festival that we received at brunch on Sunday; the theme is "Pieces of Time" and it will be held July 14-17 in Springfield, IL.

The festival outfit was spread out over the three meals. At Friday dinner we received a little beaded bracelet and a raffia-tied package containing a Bauernkind (farm child) outfit - underskirt, skirt, apron, shirt, and kerchief. Each outfit was one-of-a-kind, with coordinating pieces made from second-hand men's shirts. My outfit has a blue and tan color scheme, with a chambray apron. At Saturday lunch we received a box containing a little basket of eggs, and at Sunday brunch we received another box containing leather boots and Glorex Swiss doll socks.

I changed my mind about bringing Muriel at the last minute, so to compensate I'm letting her model the festival outfit:

And here are some pictures from the festival, showing the variety of colors and patterns:

There were several other items on the tables at various meals that I'm almost certain were received by everyone at the festival: a bucket, bandanna, stuffed bunny, cow, and ice cream cone, plus Swiss flags on toothpicks scattered about. There were little Lindt and Toblerone candy bars as well, but I ate them before I even boarded the plane for home. Also in this picture are the floral wreath and hair clip that I made at the workshops on Friday.

Tina and I hosted a table for Friday dinner, so I have the little tote bag of Swiss souvenirs that she and I created (I gave my special Lindt bar to the festival hostess). I sat at very generous tables for the other two meals, receiving clothing from the hostess as well as gifts from other people at the table (including saltwater taffy from Maine, which was eaten instantly and thus not pictured).  The dress on the left uses a vintage handkerchief for the skirt, while the pinafore on the right is made from vintage linens. I love them both!

Happy New Year

Muriel would like to join me in wishing everyone a Happy 2010! She's still wearing her Christmas outfit, a nifty Rudolph dress made by the very talented Helena in Canada (AKA eBay seller dolliepatch). Sometimes I see one of her creations and I just have to have it, as was the case with this dress. I think it's just perfect for Muriel, who tends to look best in "big girl" clothes.


I did not make any resolutions, though I did set some goals for the year. One of them is to continue blogging at least once a week. I have lots of ideas, it's time that I'm always short of (and good weather for taking photos). I have a dozen more dolls to introduce, lots of clothing to share, more props and display ideas, dolls and clothing for sale (check out my booth on bonanza), and perhaps even details of my own sewing attempts (another of my goals).

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.

Sasha Festival 2009 - post 1

I had an absolutely spectacular time at the Sasha Festival over the weekend! This was my first non-business trip without the kids, and it was nice to spend it in the company of such a friendly group. I had been looking forward to meeting several people I've communicated with who I knew would be in attendance. It was great to spend time talking and getting to know one another better. They were every bit as warm and wonderful as I imagined they'd be. You may have seen these names in previous blog posts:

Michele (in CO),


Tina (AKA Dolly Detroit),


and Pat (Sasha Spa).


I also met Gabi, who I knew would be blogging from the festival. Her posts and pictures do a good job of capturing all the activities and events at the festival, as well as the fun and comraderie. You should definitely check them out if you haven't already: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Here's Gabi at the sales room, having just purchased a toddler for herself.


I was fortunate to not only meet Peggy Trauger, but also win one of the items she made and donated to the auction. I rushed upstairs to get Muriel as the auction was ending, so that I could take a picture with Peggy and the outfit. That was a special moment for me. I won six auctions, and also several of the helper drawings; I will try to include pictures of all the items in a future post.


I met so many nice people over the course of the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed conversing with them all. It would be impossible to mention everyone, but I'll single out several people who I happen to have good pictures of and whose company I especially enjoyed:

JoAnn and Barbara,


Ellen,


and Elana.


In addition to the socializing, I created three craft items at the workshops: miniature postcards, a bead necklace, and a lilac hat. (I brought home the scrapbook packet but haven't created any memory pages yet). The postcards and necklace were relatively easy to assemble, but the lilac hat proved to be more of a challenge for me. I finally found inspiration with a very dark bunch of flowers.


Here is Muriel wearing her necklace and hat, along with Michele's and Tina's dolls also modeling their one-of-a-kind millinery creations.


And here are Tina, Michele, and I, holding our dolls at the end of the workshops. Good friends and good fun!

Meet Muriel

I've used Muriel as a model for a couple of previous posts even though she hadn't been formally introduced; something about her just begs to be played with. She is a 1970 Gotz no-navel "waif". Over the course of 39 years she lost her original clothes, acquired a bob haircut, and suffered a few dings.


She had quite an adventure before joining my Sasha family. From her eBay listing:

"She left the UK to travel to the USA where upon her arrival one of her legs fell off. It appears the bar that holds the hook in place had snapped and she had to go for a repair. Jan Johnson who runs the Sasha Spa and Repair Workshop has done a wonderful job fixing her leg with epoxy and whilst she was there she was treated to a full spa treatment. Muriel has been well loved and bears the marks to prove it. She has a rub to the end of her nose and a little graze to her cheek, her hair has been cut though there is none missing and her lips rubbed away with only a slight hint of colour remaining. She is looking for a new home as her new owner was unable to keep her though I know she really wanted to."

I imagine she's had plenty of other adventures she would recount if she were able to talk. And there are still more to come -- she's going to the Sasha Festival in New York with me next month.

Bavarian Outfit

I posted previously about two folk costumes I purchased off eBay. I have since purchased a third, this time a Bavarian style outfit. It was made by the very talented Susan Waite from Australia (eBay seller chirnside), who also made my Swedish folk outfit. She makes such high-quality outfits with an eye for detail, and is very friendly in her communications. I feel fortunate to own two of her creations.


Here's a closer look at the vintage trim on the cap. The rest of the colors coordinate so nicely with the copper and gold roses. It really pulls together all of the pieces in the outfit.


Here are the Bavarian and Swedish outfits together, being modeled by Muriel and Lucinda (my two Gotz no-navels). They both have a cap and an apron, but the colors and styles are very different -- and yet equally charming.

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.