Chat n Snap 2017

This is a picture heavy post of the fifth Chat 'n Snap organised by Dee in her village hall in Hertfordshire.

Christmas Shop Window display, Chat 'n Snap 2017

At the Sasha Celebration in May, Emma F and I worked out a plan to make it possible for her to attend the CnS again, this time with her young daughter, who had not attended a Sasha event before.  As a result of our planning, on Friday afternoon I collected two happy, excited Sasha collectors from the station and brought them to our home.  Emma's daughter was thrilled to discover that my sewing/doll room had been converted into her bedroom for the weekend (fold down bed) and she didn't mind having a shelf of dolls and their furniture with her in the room all night!  She also found a knitted outfit for her baby girl Sasha which my girl been given from the raffle at the 2016 Sasha Celebration weekend but had never put on her doll.

Before and after dinner it was non-stop dolls and miniatures talk for Emma and me. My girl helped with changing some of our dolls into their outfits for the CnS and my husband showed our young visitor how to hand-turn the little street organ to get music from it. Despite all the excitement, Emma's daughter did get to sleep in good time (she was tired after a day at school and travelling). 

On Saturday morning we picked up Jocelyn on our way so we had a car load of happy people and dolls travelling to the CnS.

We brought four dolls and one teddy bear to go in the big display which this year was a Christmas toy shop window - the kind that made you press your face up to the glass with excitement as you spotted the dream doll or bear you wished you could have for Christmas.  Dee's husband had made special staging for this display and various people had brought some props too.  I helped a bit with positioning some of the dolls on the staging under Dee's direction when I was setting Susie (my first doll, Palitoy Petalskin) and Anna (my Gotz Christmas 2008 doll) side by side in the non-Sasha section.  Then I placed Laura and Florence, wearing their 2017 Sasha Doll Festival souvenir outfits in the Sasha section.  I put Bruin (my late mother's childhood JK Farnell teddy bear wearing a coat and hat she had made) in the teddy bears' picnic section.

Dolls gradually joining the non-Sasha end of the display, Susie and Anna in the middle

Once we'd put all our dolls on display (including the others who were standing on the tables at the other end of the hall), we had a look at the stalls setting up to sell dolls, clothes and accessories.  There was strictly no buying before 12 noon, but plenty of chatting and looking.

Making final adjustments to a stall

Jane's knitting

Two gorgeous NP girls for sale (I wish)

Time to chat now their stalls were set up

Loads of variety

Marilyn's lovely smocked clothes and patterns

Michelle's stall

Dee's daughter selling raffle tickets

Dawn's dolls for sale

Some lovely things on Chris's stall in the foreground

Back at the display I found that Bruin had been placed in one of the picnic chairs, I had put him in front of the table as I wasn't sure if the chair was reserved for another bear.

Bruin presiding over the picnic tea

The Sasha side of the display with teddy bears too

Two lovely bears on chairs

Florence and Laura with Dawn's guardsman

Florence and Laura in their 2017 Festival outfits made by Karen W

Wonderful studio dolls dressed for winter fun

Beautiful studio dolls in Dee's magnificent bed and bedding

Cuddled up for a Christmas story in bed

The non Sasha side included a great variety of different types of doll

The stalls were almost ready and it was approaching midday when I took this photo of three gorgeous red haired Sasha dolls on one stall before the rush began.

A trio of superb reds

Dee counted down to opening time and the shoppers were soon purchasing the items they'd seen while waiting.  My girl went straight to Dollydoddles for a pair of baby sleepsuits she wanted for Leo and Theo. We also bought some pretty smocked clothes from Marilyn, some Christmas tights for my toddler girl Louisa and a few other items.

Buying begins

It was lunchtime but that didn't stop people from chatting about dolls! My girl did a bit of smocking too and received some helpful advice from Marilyn and I did a small amount of knitting while chatting.

Deep in conversation about tiny doll makeovers as I knitted

The raffle had two tables of prizes donated by people as they arrived.

Raffle dolls

Raffle prizes

On the side tables people had placed their dolls which weren't for the shop window display.

Four lovely friends

Pretty girl in her best dress

Laura's Dolls in Devon book with her Studio boy in the background

Dolls belonging to Emma and her daughter.  The baby wears a knitted outfit my girl gave to Emma's daughter when they arrived at our home.

Two girls in Dungarees

Dawn's curly haired baby and wobblers

Serie dolls, Course boy and a bear

Serie dolls and the course boy

Such a lovely lineup

Some lovely dark rerooted girls, including Jocelyn's dolls

Jocelyn's girl resting between chatting

Two super re-rooted girls

Knitting challenge fairisle sweater wearers and friends

Beautiful knitwear on these girls

Our Sasha dolls who came to the CnS with my pram

Wonderful Studio dolls

Yet more dolls were arriving for the Shop window display and the big chair at the top of the display had someone to sit in it.

The Sasha side of the display

A sumptuous Santa cape

The middle of the display with a big doll in the chair

Ice queen fur cape on this newcomer to the display

A collection of Natterer dolls

Two NiNi dolls enthroned in chairs

The non Sasha side of the display

My Susie and Anna in their original outfits (my first birthday doll in an outfit knitted by my Nanna and my 2008 Christmas doll)

My Gotz Anna in her original outfit - Sissel Skille face sculpt and painted eyes

Two Natterers and a Little Darling in their best outfits

A Schoenhut boy

Two Xenis dolls

Kathe Kruse doll

Closer view of some of the Sasha dolls

A big teddy bear joins the picnic

A little girl and her polar bear

It was raffle draw time.  We didn't win any of the dolls however my girl was pleased to win some items she had her eye on and other people were very generous and gave her things they had won.

The first winner of the raffle

One happy winner picks the next ticket

Another happy winner with a baby

The youngest winner picks a prize

My girl chooses a prize

It had been a wonderful day at the Chat 'n Snap.  We packed up and loaded the car, said goodbye to people, made an unexpected purchase (more about that in another post) and drove home.  It was another evening of eating and talking.  Then the next morning I took Emma and her daughter back to the station for their train home in the north.  It had been such fun hosting visitors for the CnS weekend and now a certain little girl knows what a Sasha event is like, I'm sure she will be hoping she can attend some more doll events in the near future.

Thank you Dee and all your helpers for organising the Chat n Snap 2017 so that everything went smoothly, it was great to catch up with other doll friends and that wonderful display was a simple idea but extremely effective and eye catching.