Sasha Festival 2021 - post 2

Thursday was Registration and Meet & Great, and I didn’t take any pictures at either. I did collect donations for the raffle baby, get my registration information, eat enough nibbles to call it dinner, and catch up with some old friends and meet a couple of new people. All in all a successful start to the festival.

Around 9:00 I started assembling the raffle baby doll display. I had a general vision, but laying out the clothes and pinning then to the foam board took multiple tries. Arranging the shelf and toys was the fun part! I hope people like this as much as I do and buy lots of raffle tickets to earn funds for future festivals.

Here’s the description by the ticket box. A big thank you to everyone who donated items to provide lots of toys and clothes for this little guy.

The full display: lots of cute colorful clothing for both cold and warm weather, five pairs of shoes, diapers, a cozy place for a nap, a floor quilt in front of the toy shelf, and lots of toys and books.

Nap space with a nest, flannel blanket, stuffed bunny, bottle, and dummy. He may not need much coaxing to crawl over to rest once he’s done playing.

The toy shelf, made by my husband with his laser cutter, with six plastic bins filled with lots of toys and books. Baby is stringing some beads to practice his dexterity. Alphabet blocks, Fisher Price bus, phone, stacker, cars, Rainbow Care Bear, books about colors, a pull toy, a stacking wooden rainbow… Do you see any toys you or your children had as babies?

Right now he’s in a fran-made romper, but some lucky person is going to get to dress him over and over in this great wardrobe. Here are close ups of some of the clothing items made and donated by my generous Sasha friends:

This was a lot of work but also a lot of fun to dream up and coordinate implementation. It’s nice to see a vision come together into reality, though I couldn’t have done it alone. Thank you again everyone!

Baby Play Mat / Floor Gym

I was intrigued a while ago when Carol posted a picture on Facebook of a doll-sized play mat that she found on eBay. I did a bit of searching and found the seller -- and the fact that she also has an etsy shop, SewCute4U2 (coincidentally the shop owner's first name is also Carol). One of the joys of etsy is that you can request a custom order. The mat in Carol's picture looks to be the standard size available which is listed as sized for 7"-10" dolls. Its dimension are about 11"x11". 

photo credit Carol Bell Mitchell

Given that my Sasha babies are about 11" tall (closer to 11-1/2" to the tip of their toes), I wanted something a bit larger. I requested a custom order: we discussed it, she made a sample and showed me pictures, I picked fabric then waited for it to arrive. Easy peasy. It is here and I love it! As you can see, Madden loves it too; he's the first Sasha baby to play on it. The end result is roughly 13-1/2"x13-1/2". I like this little bit of extra room, which cost me $3 more than the standard size.

Carol posted another picture on Facebook last week, and I mentioned that I had a larger custom order in the works and would be blogging about it. She kindly allowed me to include her pictures in this post so that people can see the size comparison. She also noted that her mat fits nicely on a shelf, and that's something to consider if you have a display space that's 11" or 12" deep. I highly recommend this etsy shop and think you will be happy with either size if you choose to purchase one for yourself.

photo credit Carol Bell Mitchell

(12) Live from AZ ...

... End result of gift exchange (no "stealing" gifts this year, but swapping afterwards allowed). Boo is thrilled! Thank you Vivian!

Sasha Festival 2013 - post 8

One final post showing items I brought back from the festival. These are the table hostess gifts that Boo and I received -- well gift, as I hosted a table on Friday and there were no hostesses on Sunday. Sheila was the Hostess with the Mostest, and stuck with the Childhood theme like I did ... toys, games, tote bag, toy box, and a red "superhero" cape (modeled by Adeline).

Sorry for the very belated post. I forgot to click the "publish" button back in August and didn't notice. I've been busy with my job (started in fall of 2012, with a long daily commute), kids, menagerie, and too much volunteering. ;-) Hopefully I'll be able to carve out more time for blogging in the not-so-distant future.

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.

Happy Easter!

Adeline is all dressed up for Easter in an adorable rabbit outfit by Nikita (ebay seller eseascaper7) and shoes/socks by Ruthsdolls. I love the placement of the rabbit trio on the bodice and how it makes her blueberry eyes look almost blue-grey.

She has an Easter basket full of yummy treats from the Etsy shop USA Girl Dolls. I bought these last year, but due to a shipping snafu they didn't arrive until a few days after Easter. No worries - my Sashas didn't mind and the "candy" is still fresh for this year (and next year, and the year after that ...).

I think she looks rather sullen for a girl with such a large basket of yummy treats. Maybe its because she'd rather be eating candy than posing for pictures.

Happy Easter everyone!

Sasha Festival 2012 - post 9

I probably should have included this next picture in my previous post, since it was the "Lucky Dip" gift that Boo received for helping show the auction items. Each of the young helpers received something different, and all that I saw were fantastic. Boo is thrilled with her fairy outfit, which fits with the theme of the festival.


I bought another pram from a friend, who also threw in diapers, socks and tights for Boo's babies, and a few treats for me. The red and blue berets are the perfect colors for one of my sales table purchases.


I would have put a beret on Alison if I'd thought about it when I was taking this picture. Here are the clothes and shoes I bought from the sales tables (plus another knit baby outfit in white).


I was a bit rushed taking photos, so I left these sweaters in their boxes. The weather in NC is hot right now, but I'm sure you'll eventually see them on my dolls in future posts.


It's hard to tell with nothing else in the picture for reference, but those books are the perfect scale for Sasha. I had been admiring them online, and plan to buy more in the future.


Boo chose some clothes for her dolls from the sales tables. The middle baby outfit has a kitty pattern for Kitty to wear.


She also chose some little props from the sales tables, though the silver case, colorful purse, and tiny coins were all gifts from dear friends. Yes, the whoopee cushion works. She has all these treasures tucked inside the locking case (along with the hippo baby outfit).


I think these are the remaining new items we're bringing home. Boo won the puppy outfit in the raffle (it's not a baby outfit, but works on baby "Puppy"). The pink jacket was a gift to Boo from someone who won multiple raffle items. Along the side are three half-meter pieces of Liberty fabric that I purchased on sale in Stratford.


Hopefully I didn't miss anything while I was taking pictures in the hotel room. It's hard to believe how many extra things I have to pack, including several large delicate items. I'm heading home soon, and will work on a labeled picasa album/slideshow like I've done in past years. Until then, I'll leave you with a picture that I took as we were gathering our things at the hotel - Calla and Rose wearing their new frog dresses.

Sasha Festival 2012 - post 8

Here are pictures and descriptions of the auction items that Boo and I won:

(24) PAIR OF GREEN SHOES made and donated by Rosie Bloomfield. Worked in pale green leather, the sandals have a diamond open work pattern on the front and close with studs at the side.
(55) PAIR OF RED SHOES made in red leather with a side fastening and donated by Rosie Bloomfield. The shoes have their own matching shoe box.


(32) TURQUOISE SUNDAY BEST. A joint donation with a flowered cardigan knit by Lora Garrison coordinated with a turquoise dress smocked and sewn by Norvell Jones. Outfit includes underpants, socks, and burgundy Mary Janes.


(50) BERIBBONED BEAUTY made and donated by Marti Murphy. The dress is vintage cotton eyelet with various coloured ribbons threaded on the bodice and skirt. Petticoat, underpants and socks included with peach shoes donated by Jean Jenson.


(51) BABY DOLL AND CRIB donated by Dawn Law. The blonde baby has a beautiful pink decorated crib with mattress, pillow, fleece blanket, and coverlet. The baby has a white sleep suit, with a white smocked dress and panties, petticoat and pink shoes. (Baby Kitty is wearing the second outfit in this picture.)


(79) PRAM SET knitted and donated by Sue Palmer. The set comprises a jacket with ribbon accent, leggings, bonnet, mitts, and includes a wrap over vest and panties.


(86) GARDEN FURNITURE and depression glassware by Carolyn and Dominic Ruscio, donated anonymously. (This is from the 2000 Sasha Festival held in Huddersfield.)


I originally planned to include sales table and other items in this post, but am going to save that for tomorrow when I have more time to sort through photos.

More Happiness

My Doucet pram has arrived, and I'm very happy with this purchase also. It is in great condition, and I really like the texture of the black and how it contrasts with the white. I love, love, love it! Allegra is the first to play with it, and I think she feels the same way.

Doucet Pram

I made an online purchase today, and am so excited that I can't wait until it arrives to share! I have been searching for one of these for ages -- when I find one it's already sold or I get outbid. The seller had misread the label as Doucer instead of Doucet, which is probably the reason no one had snapped it up already. I'm doing a little happy dance, awaiting its arrival next week.

Happiness is ...

... getting a bed for your Sasha baby. This was the part of the auction we didn't win that made Boo most disappointed about losing.

I have one overjoyed daughter (with one very cozy Sasha baby). Thank you Dawn!

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.

Grocery Shopping

I purchased a Sasha-sized shopping cart for myself last year. Boo fell in love with it, but I didn't want to give it up. Instead, I bought a second cart and gave it to her for Christmas, filled with groceries (mostly from Lovvbugg on eBay). I also found her a couple of miniature shopping baskets (in the dollar section at Target - such a bargain!), one containing plastic fruits and the other containing plastic vegetables. This means she has plenty of supplies for her Sashas to go grocery shopping.

Boo with Rose and Calla, showing off some of their goodies:

Rose fills the cart while Calla pushes:

Rose and Calla are both wearing retro print dresses made by Fung Hicks, one with kittens and the other with Scottie dogs.

Village Blocks

I took many of the pictures for today's festival post yesterday afternoon. I was putting them on my computer after dinner, when my nine-year old son noticed the picture with the village blocks and asked what they were. I told him they were doll-sized blocks that I'd won at the festival, and that they were on the dining room table (where I'd been taking pictures) if he wanted to check them out. He set up a village scene to show me, then shifted it around to create another scene. Ah, boys and blocks. Then he surprised me by asking if he could make the baby play with the blocks (Cleo was still in the stroller, also on the table). I helped him get her out of the stroller and sitting among the blocks. According to my son, "The baby is eyeing the purple man."

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.