Springfield Or Bust!

I was so pleased with how Desiree looks in her new dress, that I decided to make a new dress for Adeline too. I had some fabric in my stash with just the right shade of blue for her eyes (which are much darker than Desiree's). I also decided to remedy her encounter with a junior hairdresser many years ago, by arranging a visit with a senior hairdresser. Fortunately the woman who cuts my hair is a good sport.

Here's how Adeline looked before, with her hair shorter on her left side.

And here's how she looks after Miss Amira worked her magic, evening up the sides without sacrificing much length.

Now she's just as cute as can be in her new dress and a pair of red cat shoes.

Boo and I fly out tomorrow morning, and we're all packed and ready to go. I'm not bringing a computer, but I will have my iPad, so I may try to do a bit of blogging while we're on the road. Notice I said "may try" not "definitely will", as I have no idea what it will be like traveling with Boo.

Meet Adeline (after)

I finally sent Adeline to Pat's Sasha spa in Florida, and she returned home in December (this is one of the posts I was planning before Christmas but didn't get around to creating). The lighting was bad for her "before" pictures, but even discounting that she looks so much better now. Pat cleaned her inside and out, restrung her, washed and dried her hair, and re-rooted some hair plugs.


She had 11 hair plugs fixed -- there were just nubs here at her hairline.


Her original stringing was thin white in the arms and striped in the legs, so I'm pretty sure she dates from 1968. Knowing that, she would have been dressed as Jeans (which I would call brown corduroy overalls), Brown Cord, or Blue Cord. As planned, I dressed her in a 1960's blue cord outfit with replacement socks. From a distance, she looks almost like new ...


... except that she was the victim of a young hairdresser at some point, so her hair is somewhat uneven. It's slightly shorter on her left side at the front, and has a shorter layer on her right side at the back. It's a bit dry at the ends, but has lovely shade variations.


Up close she has a graze on her nose and her lip color is pretty much gone, but just look at those beautiful blue eyes!


I was planning on keeping Adeline as part of my collection, but have decided to offer her for sale at my bonanzle booth instead (I have plenty of late-60's blondes already, and am saving for a special doll I've found). I should have her listed there sometime this week.

Meet Nola (before)

Nola is my third Gotz no-navel. Like Lucinda, she is from 1969; like Muriel she is a "waif". Over the course of 40 years she's lost her original clothes, acquired a bad haircut, and had an eyebrow nearly rubbed off. In spite of all this, she is an absolutely beautiful blue-eyed redhead. I took her outside today for some photos in the clothes she arrived in, a blue knitted dress and panties. (I've seen this pattern at some point, but don't recall where.) -- see update below



Her stringing is tight, but something is amiss as her right arm wants to stay twisted back. When that is sorted out, I'll decide if I want to do anything about her hair and/or eyebrow.

UPDATE: Victoria left a comment and mentioned seeing this dress on Bettina's website. I checked her "Mode" (fashion) photos, and saw a very similar dress labeled "Dolls Designs". After some web surfing, I found the pattern (bearing the picture I recall seeing): "Dolls Designs" KP50 by Patricia Evans and Jane Woodbridge. I think I must have seen it on eBay at some point.

Publish Post

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.

Meet Desiree (after)

I've been meaning to write this post for almost a week, but have been busy because the kids are out of school for the summer. We've had rain for several days, but fortunately I took pictures of Desiree before the wet weather arrived.

Desiree was another grubby girl when I purchased her on eBay, plus she had several marks on her right leg and her stringing was very loose. All of that has been fixed now by Pat Pellerito, who did a great job restoring her. As I mentioned in my last post, my dolls returned from Florida "looking fresh and wholesome with ribbons in their hair". Desiree's hair is now pulled back at the sides in pale blue ribbons, which influenced my clothing decision for her. She arrived in a tattered brown cord dress, which I believe was her original clothing. I contemplated buying her a "new" brown cord outfit from Sasha Doll UK, but the hair ribbons were just perfect with the classic gingham dress.


This dress is from around the right period as it has snaps at the cuffs (It came with Hayley, who is also from 1969, and I believe the original owner purchased at about the same time as the doll). I have shoes that came with the dress, but they are currently being used by another doll while I figure out how to repair a broken snap.

Her bangs are a bit short, but they look like they were made that way and not chopped by a previous owner. And the pale blue really brings out the color of her eyes.


If anyone has knowledge or even suggestions about repairing/replacing snaps, I'd appreciate it. I have a pair of white ankle strap shoes that are missing the "male" half of one snap, and the dress shown above is missing the snap on one of the cuffs. Any help with fixing these would be greatly appreciated!

Meet Hayley (after)

My three dolls are back from their trip to Florida, where they received the full spa treatment from Pat in addition to restringing. She did a really nice job cleaning them up, and they returned looking fresh and wholesome with ribbons in their hair.

Hayley is no longer a grubby girl. She was washed inside and out, and had some small marks removed. She can also hold a pose again, which makes her much more fun to photograph.


She will probably return to her original braids eventually, but I am continuing to keep her hair down for now. She looks so sweet with it pulled back -- thanks Pat!


UPDATE: I braided Hayley's hair for some Dungarees comparison photos. Here's how she looks with braids:

Meet Desiree (before)

Desiree is another eBay find. She wears a gold wrist tag, and from her stringing I believe she is from 1969. I'm pretty sure she's wearing her original brown cord dress (which is damaged at the hem), though her pants, socks, and shoes are long gone. She is too floppy to stand, or even hold her head up properly. Fortunately that will be fixed soon as she's currently traveling to Pat's Spa for restringing along with Hayley and Hester (who hasn't been introduced yet).


I still need to clean/style her hair and decide what to do about her clothes, but I can see the potential that she holds in her beautiful blue eyes and pink lips.


UPDATE: I don't need to worry about Desiree's hair, as Pat is going to wash it. I sent her three dolls, and in addition to restringing she's giving them her spa treatment (washing and drying their hair and washing their bodies inside and out) and removing some marks from their bodies. I can't wait to see them, as I'm sure she will do a fantastic job with their restoration. Look for future posts on all three dolls once they return from Florida.

Hair Care

I'm getting ready to send Hayley off to Pat Pellerito's Sasha Spa in Florida for restringing. She already looks a lot better now that I've washed and conditioned her hair. I used products from Wiggin' Out which are formulated for synthetic fiber wigs and hairpieces, and am quite pleased with the results. Her hair is still a bit dry at the ends, but so much nicer than it was before.

Meet Hayley (before)

I wanted a Redhead Dungarees for quite some time before I managed to acquire one. Whenever I found one online it was already 'sale pending' or I was outbid at auction. I finally managed to purchase this doll, from 1969. She's far from perfect, but I think she'll clean up nicely. She has all her original clothing which is in good condition. Since this picture, I've cleaned them in a perk/boost solution from Twin Pines of Maine. Her stringing is loose so she doesn't stand well, but I know that's a simple fix (now I have two dolls who need to head out for some Sasha spa TLC). Her hair is a mess, but fortunately it doesn't look like it has been cut anywhere. I think it will be much improved with a good wash and her original braided hairstyle. I just purchased some shampoo and conditioner designed specifically for synthetic wigs, so hopefully I'll find time for that project soon.


UPDATE #1: Here she is with washed and conditioned (but not braided) hair.

Meet Adeline (before)

Sweet Adeline,
My Adeline,
At night, dear heart,
For you I pine;
In all my dreams,
Your fair face beams.
You're the flower of my heart,
Sweet Adeline.

Adeline is an eBay find. She was a bargain (at least in my opinion) because she has been well-loved and is in need of a little TLC. I believe she is was produced in 1968. I call her my "Mystery" Blonde because I don't know how she was originally dressed: blue cord, brown cord, jeans, perhaps even gingham if she's from 1969 instead. She came to me wearing a cute dress from Dolliepatch which Boo is already begging to put on Calla. I'm going to dress her as a blue cord girl with an outfit I purchased from Sasha Doll UK -- a fabulous website for both shopping and dreaming.


After the Holidays I plan to send Adeline on a trip to the Sasha Spa. She has a nose ding and some scrapes on her face that will probably remain, but a few of her flaws can be easily fixed: she is a bit grubby, her arms no longer hold a pose, and several plugs of the first row of her bangs have been chopped.


On the plus side, her bangs are thick enough to conceal the chopped bit and her hair is quite nice overall. It's a bit dry at the ends, but nicely two-toned with a part on top. Her lip paint is basically non-existent, but her eyes are glorious.


I will post more pictures of Adeline after her R and R.

Meet Cathy

I decided to purchase another "playing" doll to counterbalance the long locks of Cindy and Calla. Keeping with the theme of my other girls, the obvious choice was a Sasha Blonde Sweater (112); she is the only Trendon Sasha produced with short hair. As I posted previously, the doll I purchased needed restringing, but she now stands and poses nicely. Thanks Pat! She looks quite bland in her original "beige" outfit (what were they thinking with this?). I don't think she will be wearing it much beyond these pictures.


Her hair is still a bit funky from laying in her box for so long, but I've brushed and styled it a bit and it's starting to look better. I was worried she would be mistaken for a Gregor at first, but no longer feel that way.

Restringing

I purchased an addition to our "playing" dolls from an online toy store, a 1980's Sweater Girl. She arrived in her original box and clothes, looking marvelous. Well, except for one problem -- her leg/neck stringing is completely shot. This makes her all floppy like a rag doll, which I found very distressing at first. Fortunately there are a lot of great online Sasha resources, and I was able to find someone who can repair her. She is at the Sasha Spa in Florida now, being repaired by Pat Pellerito. I will make her official introduction when she returns.



UPDATE #1: She has returned from her trip to the spa, relaxed, refreshed, and ready to strike a pose! I'll post more about her once I've had some time to take pictures.
UPDATE #2: Here's the post: Meet Cathy.