Sasha exhibition for a local literary festival

Every year the town where we live holds a 2 week literary festival in late January/early February, with a variety of events, mainly talks about books, literary topics or illustrated visits to places around the world plus some musical events with a literary flavour. 

I have participated before, sometimes giving talks (about our street organ and the church organ), mostly attending talks by others, and also playing in our church band in an interactive concert for children (Shake, Rattle and Sing). 

As the Sasha Festival was held locally last year, we created our two Dress a Sasha displays with their much more solid backdrops than we had been able to do for USA Sasha festivals, and we couldn't quite bare to dismantle them after all the work we put into them, so Laura, Miranda, Nicholas James and Timothy have stayed on display in our house ever since in their costumes. This was partly because I had the germ of an idea for the local literary festival. Petrana's theme of English Garden had prompted me to illustrate a favourite story book and my daughter to recreate a pre-Raphaelite painting about an English legend. We also had our 2012 English Sasha Festival Dress a Sasha entries to use, especially as one of them depicts a local nursery rhyme.

At one point I contemplated a talk to explain our displays and the versatility of Sasha Morgenthaler's doll creation for telling stories but a talk was likely to only be attended by adults. What I really wanted was to put on a mini exhibition which would encourage engagement with the themes and stories illustrated by our Sasha dolls and perhaps encourage people to try their hand at creating stories with dolls, props and toys. So I devised what I called a story time and literary treasure trail to complement the exhibition.

I negotiated to use a museum display cabinet already in the local library, it usually displays certificates and trophies won by our local Gardening group who beautify the town. The group very kindly removed all their items from the cabinet for what we thought would be 2 weeks. I think they were happy to do it when I explained two of the displays featured gardens, also they're a lovely group of people.

The day before the festival began, I took a couple of hours off work to set up the exhibition display. First the library manager and I had to adjust the level of the suspended glass shelves in the cabinet, which meant removing both glass shelves (thick heavy toughened glass but we didn't want to drop them!) then adjusting the support rods then placing one shelf back and safely storing the other shelf. This is because I needed height for the displays. I had spent the previous weekend gathering everything needed for the 2012 displays and substituting a couple of items which we no longer owned (a soft toy cow and toy dog for Hey diddle diddle), plus doing some boot swapping because I had reused the 2012 long black boots in 2024 and they were definitely needed with the 2012 outfit.

Setting up the 4 displays was a lot of fun and very satisfying. It was also gratifying to have the positive reactions of the library staff when they came to see how it was going. Then the library manager helped me put up the trail clues around the library walls, her enthusiasm and excitement was infectious. I had an answer sheet for people to use and place into a box for a prize draw once the trail is taken down.

The library manager has promoted the trail and exhibition locally, with the result that one of the local junior schools decided to bring a class of children to use the exhibition to support a creative project they are working on, apparently they brought another class the following week, after the literary festival was over. It turned out parents asked the library to keep the trail and exhibition up for a few weeks longer so they could use it for a half term activity. We checked with the literary festival organisers plus the gardening group and town council who all agreed it could stay up for longer. I had a lovely email from one of the gardening group who did the trail with her 12 year old grandson, they both enjoyed it. The lights in the display cabinet were repaired shortly after we set up the display by one of the gardening group, then PAT tested to ensure they were safe to use.

As two of the displays feature nursery rhymes, the library manager and I brain-stormed ideas of how to use those with the youngest children who visit the library for story time. I happened to mention that we have some old nursery rhymes arranged for our street organ and showed her pictures of the organ. The result was the fun we had at the weekly story time session during the literary festival - we brought the street organ into the library for the children, their parents and grandparents to enjoy singing along to the nursery rhymes we had, plus singing others we don't yet have on the street organ. My husband now has a list of another 9 nursery rhymes to arrange and add to the 6 we already play! This session was also part of the literary festival (though the library does story time every week, the two in the literary festival had special literary themes).

So for your enjoyment, in this post are photos of the Sasha dolls on display, plus some photos of the trail sheets around the inside of the library.

We're already discussing a display and trail for next year, possibly featuring our 2017 and 2022 Sasha festival Dress a Sasha entries.

Hey diddle diddle - updated from the 2012 Dress a Sasha assembled by my then 8 year old daughter

Fair Rosamund - 2024 Dress a Sasha by my daughter 

Fair Rosamund and Hey diddle diddle on the upper shelf

Ride a Cock Horse - my updated 2012 Dress a Sasha display

Ride a Cock Horse

Reuben as the ostler

A Secret Garden - my 2024 Dress a Sasha

Mary, Dickon and Colin in the Secret Garden

The Secret Garden and Ride a Cock Horse in the display cabinet

Library books of nursery rhymes, dolls houses and The Secret Garden

The literary trail sheets were on walls and windows around the library.

Start of the literary trail Sheets 1, 2 and 3

Sheets 4 and 5

Sheets 6 and 7

Sheets 8 and 9

Sheet 10

Sheets 11 and 12

Sheet 13

Sheets 14, 15 and 16 then instructions to go upstairs for the next sheets

Sheet 17

Sheet 18

Sheets 19 and 20

Sheets 21, 22, 23 and 24 on the wall beside the display cabinet

The display cabinet from the side

Today, as half term is over, my daughter and I removed the displays from the cabinet and adjusted the shelves back to their former positions in readiness for the gardening group certificates and trophies.

I took these photos just before we removed the doll displays earlier today after 5 weeks on display in the library.

Fair Rosamund and Hey diddle diddle with the lights on in the cabinet

The Secret Garden and Ride a Cock Horse just before we removed them from the cabinet

The display cabinet open and lit up just before we removed the displays

Me with the doll display just before we removed it today

Knitting my childhood outfit for Trudi

At the end of 2023 I decided to attempt a replication of an outfit my Nanna had knitted for my second birthday gift - a top and skirt with straps. I searched for the pattern she had used but wasn't able to find the exact pattern online, though I did find similar vintage patterns for knitted skirts with straps and knitted blouses which I was able to adapt and rescale for a 20 inch Sasha Studio doll. I commissioned some sandals to roughly match those I wore in one of the photos of me wearing the original outfit (thank you Lisa Hartley).

I bought 2 ply jumper weight Jamiesons & Smith of Shetland yarn (purchased via Woolwarehouse) to make the outfit and plotted out the flower garland design for the skirt on a spreadsheet grid, which is the tool I use for plotting out stranded knitting patterns. I don't think I got the proportions of the skirt and flower garland band quite right, and the skirt is a bit longer than the 'just above knee' look I had as a child. I knitted socks in finer yarn (1 ply), by Jamiesons of Shetland.

Trudi has had the outfit for several months now - I finished it before the Sasha Festival in Milton Keynes during June but was too busy and stressed about job issues to do anything about photographing it at the time. So at the close of 2024 it seems a fitting time to look back and reflect on this creative project before planning future craft projects for 2025 (after I finish knitting a current project for one of my daughters). 

I have photographed Trudi standing on the quilt given to me by my friend JoAnn when we attended the 2022 Sasha Doll festival in the USA. Despite adjusting the colours a bit on the computer, the skirt colour looks more orange in the photo than it does in real life.

Photo of toddler me in the original outfit with Trudi wearing the replica knitted outfit

Me wearing the knitted outfit on my second birthday

Me wearing the knitted outfit outdoors in the street where I grew up in Cape Town

Gigi meets my Heather Maciak girls

Gigi, my 8" Ruby Red Galleria doll, is the latest of my little collection of 8 and 8.5 inch dolls from various different makers - Heather Maciak, Heidi Plusczok, Kruselings and Ruby Red Galleria. The three Patsi dolls I have by Heidi are slightly taller than the others however their clothes and shoes fit the four Heather Maciak dolls and I have discovered the shoes also fit Gigi. The Kruselings have plastic shoes and longer feet. They have very slim bodies, so some of their commercially made clothes probably will not fit the named artist created dolls.

After photographing Gigi receiving her new grunge outfit, today I got Jenny, Lexie, Annie and Emily out of their box and redressed them for Christmas/winter. Jenny and Lexie were excited to at last try on the ice skates which Heather sent for a them a few years ago when she was closing down her website and disposing of spare outfits.

These photos show the four Heather Maciak dolls with the Ruby Red Galleria doll, who is lightly taller than them (even with Jenny and Lexie wearing ice skates). Gigi has glued on eye lashes and painted facial features while the facial features including eyelashes of Jenny, Lexie, Annie and Emily are painted. It is interesting to compare them. Gigi has many moveable joints (shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles and neck) so is very posable though ball-jointed dolls have very visible joints which look a little unnatural, while although the others are 5 jointed dolls (neck, shoulders and hips), they are very expressive in their poses.

L-R: Emily, Gigi, Lexie, Jenny, Annie

L-R: Emily, Gigi, Lexie

Jenny and Annie

The only way to view Heather's wonderful website now is on the Wayback machine, the complete website was a wonderful catalogue of all her gorgeous doll creations and outfits. Gigi's grunge outfit is definitely more 'edgy' than the traditional children's clothes worn by my four Heather Maciak dolls. I'm not sure what Heather would think if I made grunge or 'goth' inspired outfits for Lexie, Jenny, Annie and Emily (both my grown up daughters wear goth these days).

Merry Christmas outfit for Gigi

I was looking for a particular outfit for my newest to me doll, the 8" tall Gigi by Ruby Red Galleria. It was the grunge outfit for Ten Ping/Gigi dolls. After making enquiries in a doll group, it turned out my Sasha friend Fran had two of the outfit and she sent me one as a Christmas gift all the way from the USA! 

As you can see, Gigi and Bouncer were keen to open the gift but had to wait until Christmas Day. It was only in the evening, after singing carols in the morning in church, Christmas dinner, all family gifts had been exchanged and we had watched the newest Wallace and Gromit adventure on TV, that I finally allowed myself the fun of photographing Gigi enjoying her new outfit.

Gigi and Bouncer contemplate the parcel from the USA

The exciting parcel from Fran

"Wow" exclaimed Gigi when she saw the outfit in its box

Gigi dressed herself as Bouncer looked on

Gigi just after she had put on the boots

Gigi in the grunge outfit from Fran

Gigi on Christmas Day in her new outfit

The outfit includes a tartan skirt, a black strapless tank top, frilly knickers, black socks, black boots with red hearts and laces, the brown leather jacket and a black studded handbag (purse).

Thank you so much Fran for your kindness and generosity. Both my daughters have voted this outfit as very cool and one they would wear themselves.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Gigi explores Beningbrough Hall and garden

My newest 8 inch doll is Gigi (Ruby Red Galleria 15th anniversary doll). I had wanted Gigi or Ten Ping for a while because they are so poseable, small and robust (vinyl) so make very good travel dolls. 

Gigi arrived with 2 outfits, got changed into the second outfit (crop trousers and t-shirt) then I put the Llama Jacket and hat on her with some boots borrowed from Jenny and Lexie so she had a suitable outfit to wear for exploring a National Trust house and garden on an autumnal day.

Gigi visited Beningbrough Hall and gardens near York, she took Bouncer the dog for the outing.

There was a fabulous harvest display in the shop courtyard

Gigi and Bouncer couldn't resist standing with the pumpkins for size

They went through the walled garden to the woodland.

Beyond the walled garden Gigi and Bouncer discovered a massive oak tree

Gigi and Bouncer at the oak roots

Beyond the woodland walk was a view of the meadows where many cows grazed

At the edge of the walled garden on the path to the new Mediterranean garden most roses had finished blooming

Miniature rose bud in the garden

Gigi and Bouncer liked the purple blue and white flowers

Gigi and Bouncer with the purple blue and white flowers

In the new Mediterranean garden Gigi and Bouncer discovered ground cover flowers at their height

They heeded the request to be gentle with the newly planted garden

 Further into the Mediterranean garden they enjoyed looking across the garden from a rock

Gigi and Bouncer in the Mediterranean garden

Gigi liked the purple flowers

Gigi and Bouncer discovered a lily pond beside Beningbrough Hall

There were some large fish in the pond but they were hard to spot

Gigi and Bouncer went past the back of Beningbrough Hall to find the woodland playground

In the woodland playground was a large carved acorn

Gigi and Bouncer at the foot of the large carved acorn

A pair of large carved acorns provided an opportunity for Gigi to climb! Bouncer stayed below.

Gigi waved an autumn leaf from the acorn

After the woodland playground, they found the Victorian Laundry rooms.

The Victorian laundry sign

Wooden clothes pegs of various sizes in the Victorian Laundry. Sometimes people made dolls from clothes pegs.

In the Victorian Laundry, the 'wet room'

Gigi and Bouncer were interested in the wooden patten shoes the laundry maid would have worn

In the Victorian Laundry

Washboards and sinks in the Victorian Laundry

Drying racks in the Victorian Laundry

Gigi admired some of the fine garments on display in the Victorian Laundry 'dry room'

This Victorian underwear had been patched carefully

Wonderfully detailed lace baby gown

Next they went through the front door of the house and visited the ground floor rooms.

In the house Gigi encountered the enormously tall red bed

The red bed in Beningbrough House

Upstairs was a special exhibition on loan from the British Museum of prints from the original delicate water colour collages by 18th century artist Mary Delany, who started creating her incredible botanical collages aged 72!

One of Mary Delany's botanical collages on display in Beningbrough Hall

One of the exquisite botanical 'mosaiks' by Mary Delany

Some of Mary Delany's work on display

Gigi and Bouncer had a go at designing their own flowers in the Mary Delany exhibition

Gigi was deciding where to place the flower in Design your own flowers

Bouncer and Gigi discovered they could view the lily pond from the house

There was a large armchair with a cushion which instructed 'sit here' so Gigi and Bouncer did!

'Sit here'

Outside again they decided to return to the walled garden.

Gigi and Bouncer at the entrance to the walled garden

Gigi and Bouncer with giant leeks in the walled garden

Gigi and Bouncer liked the borage and dahlia flowers in the walled garden

Late flowering borage, nasturtiums and dahlia's in the walled garden

The south facing glass house in the walled garden

Gigi and Bouncer went into the glass house

The squashes in the glass house

Bouncer tried to leap up onto the squash while Gigi watched

Gigi and Bouncer at the front gates of Beningbrough Hall

Gigi and Bouncer enjoyed their visit to Beningbrough Hall and garden