USA 2017 - Sasha festival part 4

After viewing all the Dress a Sasha entries and voting on Friday afternoon, some of the children asked to be allowed to swim in the hotel pools - there was an indoor and outdoor pool.  So Fran and I went to watch and chat as they had fun in the outdoor pool. 

Having fun in the Marriott hotel swimming pool

Then after a quick shower and hairwash for my girl, we had an early dinner in the hotel restaurant, though I went to pack away our Dress a Sasha entries while we waited for our food as the voting had finished and the rosettes were being put out.  Each entrant was given a tiny Sasha necklace in a clear ziplock bag to thank us for entering.  I will blog about the other entries in another post.

The Children's Fund Auction is the event which most people at the festival look forward to keenly as it is fascinating to see how high the bids go for all the wonderful donations.  We came in to the ballroom where it took place just as they were finishing announcing the Dress a Sasha results - my girl won First prize for her entry (she had no competition, however people said many kind and complimentary things about her scene and creativity).

Pin the Tail on the Donkey with its first prize rosette

I had taken some photos of the first few CFA entries but didn't manage to complete the set (see Theresa's blog for the whole set).

Lots 1, 2 and 3 of the Children's Fund Auction

Lots 4, 5 and 6 of the Children's Fund Auction

Lots 7 and 8 of the Children's Fund Auction

The children love to help with the Children's Fund Auction which this year was conducted by Sheila as Marti was unwell so unable to attend.  The children take it in turns to bring up an item and hold it up for all to see while the bidding takes place.

Sheila welcomed us to the Children's Fund Auction

Expectant audience for the CFA

View of the first lots in the Children's Fund Auction from my table

My girl holds up lot 6 (doll not included)

I hoped to bid on a couple of items but the bidding went so high on the items I wanted (mainly anything smocked for my girl!) so my paddle went down.  I hadn't managed to look at or photograph all the items either, however Theresa did a great job of blogging every item after the festival.  I sat and recorded in my list what each item went for as I had brought over donations from Lorraine (Henry's Yearbook) and Gregorpolis (knitting by Lorraine) and my own donation of hand made toys for Sasha.  It was interesting to watch and sometimes when the bidding went very high, it became very exciting.

Holding lot 16 (doll not included)

Lot 41 (Henry's Year book for 2016)

The slides for Lot 41 (Henry's Year book for 2016)

Evening dress outfits - Lot 52 (dolls not included)

Lot 55 was Halloween themed

The toys I had donated to the auction (in lot 57) were the 3 kits from the Sasha Celebration weekend (2015 train engine and tender, 2016 marionette, 2017 push-along duck), a wooden sailing boat (Horizon) and an item I had made specially for the Festival, which is one of only two I have made.  It was described in the list as a wooden rocking horse, however it was not a rocking horse, it was a 'Little Wooden Horse' on wheels, along with a new hardcover copy of the Ursula Moray Williams book 'The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse' which had inspired this creation.  I made one horse to donate and one to keep for my Sasha family.  It is entirely made from wood, with brass screws to hold the wheels on, stiff thread for its tail, and is painted in bright enamel paints.  Below are the photos I took of it to send to Marti for her slides.

The little wooden horse, right side

The little wooden horse, left side

The little wooden horse, right diagonal view

The little wooden horse, left diagonal view

The little sailing boat Horizon

The sailing boat with its box

The Little Wooden horse with its box and the book

The complete set of toys for Sasha by DollMum in Lot 57

At the festival my daughter took lot 57 up for the bids.

Lot 57 on display

My daughter holding Lot 57 (with a towel over her shoulders as her hair was still damp!)

Sheila auctions Lot 57

I was delighted to see the bids go up and up for lot 57 to $95 and was very pleased that Anne S (who had restrung Mabel for me earlier in the day) was the winner.

The Children's Fund Auction raised over $11,000 for children's charities, which was fantastic. 

After the auction, my girl could be found playing chess with her two Sasha festival friends in the hotel lobby with the giant set of chess. I could imagine the Sasha dolls using that set to play 'Wizard Chess' from Harry Potter but we didn't set this up as there wasn't any time during the festival.

The girls playing chess

It had been a long, fun and interesting Friday at the 2017 Sasha Festival.  The next post will be about Saturday at the Festival.

You can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the 2017 Sasha Festival in separate posts.

Secret Santa Swap 2014 - part 1

I participated again in Lorraine's Secret Santa Swap for Sasha dolls this year, even though I was really short of time to make things.  In the event I was a week late posting the items I made for Marijke in Canada, however fortunately she received them before Christmas (and the parcel got through Canadian customs despite the dire warnings I had received at my local UK post office about customs and importing toys to Canada).

The following message came to me from Marijke about what her Sasha and Gregor family hoped to receive:

Dear Santa,

My Sasha family consists of 5 girls: Sasha blonde blue gingham, Kiltie, Pintucks, Cora flower dress and Sasha red hair white dress; four boys: Gregor dark blue jeans, Gregor schoolboy blond, Caleb (early, small) and Gregor red hair blue suit; and two babies, Baby Bear brown hair and Baby white suit (also early), both girls.

Five of the family arrived quite recently, and are in need of clothing like jeans, shirts and hoodies for the boys, and overalls or sleepers for the babies. None of the dolls have pajamas as yet, although there is quite a bit of flannellette (winceyette?) hanging about my sewing table. I very much enjoy sewing for my Sasha family, but time can be a deterrent; for example, at the moment the sweater knitting has had to be put off as there is a wedding shower gift being made for next week, and I signed up for a Christmas bazaar at the end of the month. My real life daughter has bought all kinds of sock wool, for Mom to knit up for her, and there are sweaters for both my daughters’ BJD’s partially finished that need to go off to their owners.

My Christmas list would include: a boy’s shirt

                                                      unisex jeans (fake fly fronts most welcome!)

                                                      a masculine hoodie

                                                      a baby overall

                                                      a baby sleeper

If there are non-sewing Secret Santas,  a ball of fine yarn would be wonderful as it is very difficult to find that here; also, enough fabric to make a pair of jeans or a sleeper. The kids are collecting toys at the present, but toys are weighty, and these kids live in Atlantic Canada, so mailing costs need to be kept in mind. There is only one book at present in their size. Colouring pencils would be great, as would backpacks or school bags. Another useful item would be tiny hair clips, all those girls have so much hair! And wool felt for berets, which has to be ordered via the internet here; the shops only carry polyester....

Thank you.

In the event the clothes I made were unisex jeans and a baby overall. I also enclosed a Passion for Sasha long sleeved t-shirt which I'd bought at the Chat 'n Snap in October (I didn't have time to make a shirt or hoodie to go with the jeans).  I included one of my model sailing boats (the one with the dolphin on the sail) and one of my skipping ropes and some mini Christmas chocolate eggs.  Fortunately these toys were not too heavy to post.

Nicholas James and baby Mabel model the clothes,
with the toys and chocolates for Marijke 

baby Mabel wears the overall/romper

The pocket detail on the back of the jeans,
the front had an opening fly (fastened with a press stud)

As you can see from Lorraine's blog post about what people received, Marijke's Sasha family are making good use of the toys and have worked out who wears the clothes.

My daughter and I compiled a wish list for Secret Santa which I emailed to Lorraine.  When our parcel arrived, we put the little presents in my sewing room to wait for Christmas day - see my next post.

Jenny and Lexie visit Washington DC

I was extremely fortunate recently to have the opportunity, for work, to attend a conference in Washington DC.  It was my first ever trip to the USA and to say I was excited was to put it mildly!  About 3 weeks before the trip I happened to mention to Lorraine in an email that I was thinking of buying the third 3 Ann's book about Sasha dolls and having it shipped to the hotel for me to collect when I arrived but she made a much better suggestion and put me in touch with her friend Norvell, whom I knew online via the Jenny and Lexie (Heather Maciak) collectors group.  Norvell contacted me to say that she would be in Washington DC at the same time as me and we made arrangements for the Sasha Identification book to be sent to her apartment.  Suddenly I was even more excited about the trip than before, I had known of Norvell for about 4 years and was delighted that we could meet.

Norvell picked me up from the hotel, gave me my beautiful book and took me for a drive around the centre of the city to see some of the main places, such as the Washington monument, the Capital building (dome covered in scaffolding), several of the Smithsonian Museums, the White House (from a distance, you can't get close by car), Washington National Cathedral and the Pentagon.  We found a restaurant on our way to the mall at Tyson's Corner and had lunch.  I had brought my Jenny and Lexie dolls with me, Norvell had one of her Sasha dolls sitting on the back seat and had her Lexie with her which was fortunate as I had brought her some gifts I had made for Jenny and Lexie.  While we had lunch I gave her the gifts (Sasha 1 miniature sailing boat, a miniature beeswax candle from a shop local to me and some local leaflets, some Scottish shortbread biscuits and two miniature hobby horses for Jenny and Lexie).  The hobby horses were scaled down versions of the hobby horses I have made for the Sasha dolls, I started making them as soon as I knew I would meet Norvell.

Norvell's Lexie was pleased to try out her new hobby horse at the restaurant.  We compared the two Lexie dolls - Norvell's Lexie has slightly bolder freckles on her face than mine, apart from that they appeared to be identical.

Norvell drives me over the Potomac river towards
the Washington Monument and Jefferson memorial

View of the Capitol building from Norvell's car

View of the back of the White House from Norvell's car

Norvell helps Lexie ride her new hobby horse

Lexie and her hobby horse

I took the following photos of the two miniature hobby horses I designed and made before we flew to the USA.

The two hobby horses for Norvell's Jenny and Lexie dolls

The other side of the two hobby horses for Norvell

Close up of the two hobby horses for Jenny and Lexie

My Lexie and Jenny try out the hobby horses before we flew to the USA

I think they are hoping I will make them a pair of hobby horses for Christmas

After we had lunch, Norvell and I drove to the mall at Tyson's Corner and went to the American Girl doll shop - however that is for another blog post.

Chat 'n Snap 2014 - part 1

In preparation for the Chat 'n Snap my younger daughter helped me box up the planes and boats, she also decided on outfits and dressed our Sasha family (7 dolls) and we decided to take my Kids 'n Cats doll Jakob as well, because we knew that there would be a few others at Dee's Chat 'n Snap.

When we got the hall, even though it wasn't officially opening time yet, the place was buzzing with conversations about dolls.  People were busily setting up their stalls and discussing the many course dolls, the Studio Doll project dolls, the table load of toddlers and crowds of other Sasha and Gregor dolls who had travelled from far and wide to a village hall in Hertfordshire for the day.

It didn't take us long to set up our Toys & Games for Sasha & Gregor table as we didn't have many items to sell.  It gave us a chance to look around at what everyone else was selling and have some conversations too.  We met friends we had only ever known online (such as Sharon from Spain).  Sales were not permitted until 12 noon and no one was allowed to reserve anything in advance, so when Dee announced that sales were open there was a mad dash to the sales tables as people swooped on the items they had spied earlier.  My girl tried to get a coat and hat set from Vintage Sasha but the crowd around the table was too much for a small girl and she stood back while all the coats and hats disappeared within 30 seconds!  She did however manage to buy a gorgeous pale blue dress with pink flower decoration from Sarah and hopefully we'll get a Vintage Sasha coat and hat set soon.  Miranda changed into the dress straight away and soon had a parasol (which my girl found on Jane W's stall).

It was fascinating watching (from a stall holder's perspective) what people were going for in the sales - most people were purchasing outfits and shoes for their dolls, though wigs were popular too. Even for seasoned sellers it was hard to predict what people would want, Lisa H had made up lots of winter boots but people wanted sandals!  There were more stalls and more stock to choose from than last year, I think only Vintage Sasha sold out.

On my toys and games stall I sold two aeroplanes, a boat, two glove puppets, one skipping rope and one hobby horse.  My girl knew that I was giving her money from our stall and when she saw that sales were slow she didn't ask for more cash though I did give her some more.  She was lucky enough to receive gifts from 3 people during the day which was really kind: a panda hat from Gayle, a guitar (I think from Chris M) and some money to spend from Kendal - she purchased a mini slinky and had great fun with it that day and the next. I went around the sales tables and bought some items as well (which will feature in future posts) - I had come with cash to spend.

During the afternoon Dee drew the two raffles.  We'd bought several tickets for each but didn't win anything. We also admired the amazing fairground which Dee and her husband Paul had created on the stage (for another post) and had several more conversations with various people.  My girl was thrilled when Dawn L allowed her to hold her toddler and a baby, Dawn had curled the toddler's hair and she was delightful.  My girl decided she had to start saving up for a toddler, so saved her last £10 of spending money towards this goal (it has now been banked and she has a cash book to keep a running check on her toddler fund).

To help her toddler fund I have listed all unsold items from the Chat 'n Snap on the playthings page.

The day was over all too quickly.  I'd like to thank Dee and all her helpers for a great Sasha Chat 'n Snap, it was lovely to meet so many Sasha enthusiasts again and admire the dolls.

DollMum's Glove puppets, sailing boats, spitfires and hobby horses

Florence, Reuben, Miranda and Nicholas James with the Garden Games
(with Clemence the bear)

The model boats before the sales started

The model spitfire aeroplanes on sale

close up of 3 of the planes

close up of the other 2 planes, the one my elder daughter painted is on the right

Jakob holds the DollMum contact cards 

Miranda in her beautiful new Vintage Sasha dress with a parasol 

Raffle 1

 Raffle 2

The baby from Raffle 2

Dawn's gorgeous toddler holding
Clemence the bear who had sneaked into our bag
to see the Sasha's at the CnS