Sasha Santa secret swap

I'm participating in my first online organised swap - the wish upon a star' Sasha Santa Secret Swap being organised by Lorraine who has a blog at 'Sewing & Knitting for Sasha'.  I cannot of course reveal who I'm sending 3 Sasha related Christmas gifts to, but I have been knitting busily in the evenings during the last week or so ever since I received the email asking Santa for some gifts.

Wish upon a star swap

Some of my inspiration has come from the glorious colour combinations and patterning on Sasha Doll Style as well as from the wool in my collection.  Nicolas James has been modelling the results so far (and is very envious of the doll for whom the items are intended).  I've got one more item to make (we were asked to choose 3 from a wish list of 5 items).  But as the third item is likely to be sewn rather than knitted, and I can't start sewing until the weekend at the earliest, I've started knitting a sweater for Matilda the Aussie girl who sadly doesn't have many winter clothes of her own since she came to these colder shores almost 2 years ago!  Belle will get a sweater too for Christmas, in fact I'm planning that my daughters dolls will each get a little parcel from the Christmas tree which will contain new clothing made by me.  So whenever I can spare the time(!) in the evenings until Christmas I shall be busy with the pleasurable fun of making doll things.

Sasha family

I'm sure I'm not the first doll collector to think that ebay is dangerous.  I've been looking at Sasha dolls on various sites including ebay for a while.  But had always resisted buying one, though I'm not sure why.  I suppose one of the reasons is that our girls have a large Gotz family now, and adding Sasha dolls to the collection seemed crazy, especially as Sasha dolls are so sought after and often sell for a lot of cash. I saw a Sasha doll a long time ago in a museum but haven't seen one 'face to face' since then.

I love the naturalism of the modern Gotz play doll faces so they seemed good compensation for not having a Sasha doll (of the Trendon or Gotz vintages).  But it didn't stop me being intrigued and eventually in early September I saw a Sasha baby (early 1970s, girl with dark hair) which no one else had bid on and which appealed to me.  I was the only bidder (at the last minute) and won her.

Mabel's ebay photo

A few days later she arrived.  I knew the Sasha babies were small, but was struck by her smallness and slimness, especially compared to modern baby dolls which always seem so chunky and over proportioned. She nestles very nicely in a child's arms and I can see why Sasha Morgenthaler designed her that way.

Baby Mabel came with no clothes (or box) and she was a little grubby, though didn't smell bad.  Her elastic is very slightly loose but she still poses well.  Someone had taken a small chunk out of her fringe once but fortunately not right down to the roots.  I carefully washed her, taking care to not allow any water into her body (using a cotton wipe damped with warm water and the mildest shower gel - Simple range) and carefully washed her hair.  One or two hairs did drop (I was expecting this as some dark haired Sasha dolls have this tendency). Her face paint is fine.

One small yellow knitted jumper we had for another doll fitted Mabel and I knitted her a pair of knickers (she still has no nappy).  I sent off for a pattern which I knitted in 4 ply rather than DK and with smaller needles (it was meant for a 12" baby doll which was a little chunkier than the Sasha baby) and have knitted her an all in one sleep-suit with hood.

A couple of weeks later I saw a dark haired Sasha girl on ebay which appealed to me.  It is funny how many of them I could happily look at and continue the search, but on seeing this particular girl I knew I had to try and purchase her.  It was a long week of watching.  At the last minute another bidder made a bid, but I held my nerve, kept my budget firmly in mind and won her.

Florence's ebay photo

Florence arrived in record time and in beautiful condition.  She had only ever been displayed, so although lacked her box, did come with her leaflet and with her clothes still perfect.  Her hair is glorious - glossy and with the factory curl.  She was the first full sized Sasha girl I had ever held and is a 1980 Sasha Marina.  I bought a pattern for a bolero cardigan (grandmas_patterns) and knitted this for her in fuchsia pink with the picot edges worked in hand spun wool I've had for a long time (from a small collection I'd brought from a South African farm about 25 years ago).

Mabel and Florence join Amelia (Chiltern), Susie (Petalskin Palitoy), Anna (Gotz),
Jakob (Kids N Katz) and Doreen (Petalskin Palitoy) in my doll display

A brown haired boy was next on the wanted list.  Although I like the blond Gregor boys, a dark haired boy was preferred by all the doll collectors in this household, so I kept watching.  A few weeks later a 'buy it now' I'd had my eye on lowered the buy it now price and also gave an option to make an offer, so I offered and it was accepted.  My Gregor came with his box, leaflet and even his football - he is the footballer from the mid 1970s.  I don't think he had even been displayed and is in super condition.  Although all three Sasha dolls are mine, the girls had a hand in their naming (referring to our baby names book!) and we settled for Nicholas James (which was the name my sister would have had if she had been a boy).  He is James for short though.

Nicholas James's ebay photo

A pattern book for baby dolls from 12" - 22" yielded a simple sweater pattern which I adapted (it had shoulder buttons, so I made a back opening instead).  I used two different colours from my collection of hand spun wool.  I'm quite pleased with the results.

Florence's bolero cardigan

Nicholas James in his sweater

Mabel wears her sleep-suit

No more doll collecting for me this year - my doll budget is used up for the time being and my lovely Sasha family looks great and is providing a lot of entertainment.  Almost every night at bedtime when I read a story to my younger daughter she asks for one or other of the Sasha's to hold and play with while she listens. Florence has even been to the theatre and to a concert cradled in my daughter's arms.

Comparing their eyes - NJ has softer brown eyes than Florence

Nicholas James, Mabel and Florence in our garden in their new knitwear

Meet Matroshka

I've taken photos of doll happenings this year and haven't had the time until now to write about them.  So this story starts on Easter Day.

Once again my girls did an Easter Egg hunt around the garden, this year I planted clues in the eggs and they had to match up questions and answers about Easter.

The completed Easter Quiz

 

Their prize were Real Easter Eggs (the only commercially produced egg in the UK with the Easter message printed on the box) and a joint gift of a Gotz Matroshka doll.

A Real Easter Egg

It seemed appropriate to give them this particular girl because Russian nested dolls, which always remind me of Easter Eggs, are called Matryoshka dolls. I did suggest they could call her Marie or Maria or Mary, but they decided to keep her exotic name.

 My elder daughter examines the new doll

 Matroshka from the side

She has the same face as my younger daughter's first Gotz doll (Ice Skating) whom she called Samantha.  I like this face better than the more popular 'Sarah/Hannah' Gotz dolls (who are lovely).  Matroshka has long blond hair and an outfit of tartan, faux fur and white jersey fabric which includes a Russian nested doll printed on her white top.  Both my girls were delighted with her.  I'd bought her in TK Maxx earlier last year at a much lower price than RRP, but was served by a rude young male cashier who commented that dolls were creepy.  I refrained from telling him that it was the height of bad manners to pass derogatory comments on customer choice and taste to a customer's face, though it was tempting to suggest that he keep his thoughts to himself (I think he was too young to ever have watched 'Are you being served'!)

Matroshka quickly became a favourite in the doll family and when we travelled to Germany for May half term to the Black Forest for a Fair Organ Festival which takes place every 3 years, my girls decided to take Matroshka, Peter, Matilda and Belle.  The Aussie girls hadn't been on a trip to Europe and for Peter it was like going home, as his original outfit is Bavarian.  We have the matching girl outfit (Gotz Dirndl dress) so this was taken for our new blond girl to wear.

We always stay at a small family run Bed & Breakfast in a little valley above the town when we visit the festival. It has the most glorious views down the valley, a stream running endlessly beside it (which you can hear from the bedrooms at night), serves fresh trout as well as home made Black Forest Gateaux (the chef owns the hotel and it is his speciality) and the service is friendly and welcoming (my girls love it).  My elder daughter is learning German for her GCSEs and practised her elementary German with their warm encouragement.

 Matilda tries to share my younger daughter's ice cream in the hotel

Belle enjoys the glorious sunshiny view from our breakfast table on Saturday morning

Belle did visit the Saturday of the organ festival and Matroshka and Peter came out on the Sunday, but carrying the dolls about town all day is tiring for small arms after a while, so they only came to meals at the hotel after that.

 

A monkey and barrel organ at the festival - these monkeys are very rude
and squirt water at you if you get too close! 
They are operated via a series of levers and have
various hand movements, some of them rather naughty!

A vintage doll for sale in a side street at the festival

Matroshka and Peter in front of an Alfred Bruder fair organ outside an organ workshop

Matroshka, Peter and my younger daughter outside an organ workshop

Matilda and Belle in their new party dresses in the hotel at dinner time

We stayed a couple of extra days after the festival was over and had a relaxing time exploring Waldkirch a bit more than we usually do.  We came across a delightful toy shop where I held a baby Kathe Kruse doll for the first time and saw several others, they were beautiful and very tempting but I resisted.

 Peter and Matroshka outside our hotel on the second last morning

In their Bavarian outfits outside Gasthof Altersbach, Kandel Pass, Black Forest

Matilda and Belle at breakfast the morning we left

(the clouds were low and heavy with rain)

Miniature books from Barbara Brear

When we were in South Africa for Christmas 2010, we enjoyed a special visit to Barbara Brear who makes incredible miniature books.  As a child growing up in Cape Town I thought I was the only miniaturist around, but have discovered long since I moved to the UK that the miniatures scene in SA is thriving.  Several years ago I came across Barbara's website whilst searching for information about miniatures in SA.  I subsequently saw one of her books in a museum display at Stellenbosch 6 years ago, and I've long wanted to own one (or more) of her 1/12th scale books.

Two years ago I finally decided it was time to invest in a couple of books and sent her an order.  However instead of asking her to post it internationally I asked if it would be okay for my sister to collect my order and bring it to me, as she was visiting the UK.  Barbara was very obliging and very kindly welcomed my sister and my nieces to her home to collect the books.  They had the treat of seeing the beautiful dolls house which Barbara had built during a week long workshop in England and shipped out to SA for completion.  I had seen the house on Barbara's website, and my nieces and sister were very impressed with it.

There was another book which I had my eye on, and having received the 2 beautiful finely crafted books (one 'open book' and one fully printed book), I knew I wanted a third, so I sent Barbara my order for the Victorian Children's poetry book and asked if I could collect it.  She was very welcoming when we arrived and my husband, daughters and I were enthralled by the dolls house and Barbara's description of how she had made many of its contents and of course the amazing books.  It was an enormous privilege to have met Barbara and her husband in their home and to have been made so welcome.  Her work is very inspiring and it has made me long to get working on my dolls house again, however that has had to wait as our new home which we moved into only a week after returning to the UK has needed plenty of decorating (and 9 months on there is still work to do).  My Greenleaf Westville reminds me every day that it is the main incentive for getting the human house done so I can concentrate on the mini house again!  I have finally managed to find the time to photograph my three books, but my photos don't do them justice.

My three Barbara Brear miniature books are:

Rip van Winkle (a South African tale) - a fully printed book
Mrs's Beeton's Cookbook - an 'open' book perfect for the kitchen table
Victorian Children's poetry - At home again - also a fully printed book

 Mrs Beeton, Rip van Winkle and Victorian Children's Poetry
(Mrs Beeton came temporarily mounted on a cocktail stick,
this will be removed)

 Opening Rip van Winkle

 These photos don't do the fine text justice - I couldn't get the camera
to focus closely enough, but the printing is clear and readable

Propping open the Victorian Children's poetry book
using Barbara's business cards

Propping open Rip van Winkle

using Barbara's business cards

Mrs Beeton's cookbook by Barbara Brear

And how about a few photos of my unfinished Greenleaf Westville dolls house:

Miniature Clock from Grahamstown

Recently my aunt visited us from South Africa.  She brought me my combined birthday/Christmas present which she had commissioned last year from a miniaturist in Grahamstown, as she had spotted his work at the annual Arts festival in the city.

A long time ago, just before I left South Africa, my best friend and her mother gave me a lovely little chair and occasional table made from Yellow wood and Imbuia wood, a popular and enduring combination in SA, and I was delighted. What a pleasure it was to discover that the new gift from my aunt was made with exactly the same types of wood.

This miniature Grandfather clock has a working movement. One of the weights had come off the chain in transit, and I haven't yet fixed it back on, so the photo of the front shows that the weight is detached. But apart from that the clock is beautiful. It was made by Koos Jonker of Grahamstown (he doesn't appear to have a website).

And the long blog silence?  We moved into our new home in January.  We ripped out all the old smelly carpets during the following weeks as we sought to get settled, we built a new much larger workshop in our back garden (with plenty of space left for the garden), then in April and May we gutted the old kitchen and installed the new kitchen ourselves just after the electrician completely rewired the entire house.  We've also made improvements to the garden, have had some relatives to stay (meaning the spare room has been pressed into service) and my husband has been boarding the loft.  My Westville dolls house sits on its table in our bedroom waiting for the various other full sized home improvements to be done (we have no wardrobes, so need to build them) so that I can get back to miniatures.  I have given a talk to the local Trefoil Guild about my dolls and miniatures collection, and have done some doll related sewing during the past 6 months, and now that major upheavals in our home are less urgent I'm planning some more creative miniature work.

Tidying up

Today I helped my elder daughter clean and tidy her bedroom.  Why?  Why couldn't she do it herself?  Because teens always seem hopelessly lost in their own mess and this one did have good reasons - we've recently had the house rewired, so all rooms are covered in dust, we hadn't unpacked all the boxes in her room because it would have made the job even harder for the electricians and we needed a clothing storage solution for her (no wardrobe or chest of drawers, as our old house had built in).  So I've bought her a cheap temporary clothing storage solution until we can put new flooring down and build in proper wardrobe, then we cleaned the room. 

This meant moving her dollshouse (Mrs Harvey's shop) but at least it also meant being able to plug in the dollshouse afterwards, as the electricians have fitted a socket in the right place for the dollshouse.  So we're one step closer to her being able to get Mrs Harvey's things out of the storage box again which is exciting, and by the end of the day my red haired teen was admitting that she was pleased that her room is at last starting to look like it should.

With all the work we're doing to the full size house (we're doing the kitchen up too, so are cooking, eating and washing up in the garden - thank goodness for the wonderful hot April this year), I keep looking forward to my next miniature goal - I'm planning to start sewing again in June and this will include encouraging my teen to finish the sewing of Mrs Harvey's curtains (half done).

Have you guessed yet?

Sorry, since posting at the end of January, February flew by with so much to do in our new home, my younger daughter's birthday and my full-time job, so blogging and the dolls have had little of my attention.  But I did mention a new addition to the skating doll family in the 26th January post, and I have managed to photograph him when I took some photos of the Greenleaf Westville house (which will appear here soon).

Ever since the first 6 Kidz 'n Catz dolls came out in 2009, I've had my eye on this little lad.  Maybe it was because he reminds me of my elder nephew at a certain age, maybe it was because of the jointed elbows and knees, or his beautiful clothes, including a sweatshirt featuring the Eiffel tower.  Even after seeing the more recent boys in the KnC range on-line, he is still my favourite of the boys.  I finally purchased him in a 10% off sale from Bambolina in about September last year, but kept him hidden from the girls until after our move.  I also got lucky on ebay about 6 weeks before our house move, as I managed to purchase the KnC ice skating outfit for £10 (it normally retails at £36), and although it smelled slightly smoky (brand new), 2 days in the sealed bag with a washing powder tablet soon removed the smell.  This meant that his first outing was on the second night of the new Dancing on Ice series, when we'd only been in the house for 5 days and were still surrounded by boxes of books etc.  I introduced him as my doll - they can play with him, but he lives with Susie and Anna in my room with Panda, Bruin and my husband's bear in the doll corner of the bedroom (my doll cabinet is now hanging on the wall above the chest of drawers where the bigger dolls sit, and my Westville house is on its table nearby).

Jakob sitting in his skates

I have kept his KnC name of Jakob.  His original trousers don't really go very well with the KnC skating outfit, so he now wears Peter's spare black skating leggings with his burnt orange skates.  I haven't had time to make him any other clothes, and will not be buying the KnC outfits as they are much more expensive than the Gotz clothes and I'm capable of sewing them myself.  His feet are a little smaller than the Gotz dolls, but he can wear their shoes with socks.

Jakob

Jakob is 18" high, so is shorter than the Gotz girls, Peter and Ron, though is about the same height as Harry and Hermoine.  His jointed arms and legs do make him a little easier to dress than the Gotz girls, though the elastic in them can pull into funny poses, which means reposing him to look more natural.  His hair is a wig rather than rooted, but looks very natural, his face is beautifully sculpted and tinted.  The girls like him because he is flexible so can really look like he is doing skating moves.

 Jakob with Anna and Susie in their skates