Welcome Laura

The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed in my previous post that there was some red hair and blue velvet in the right of the photo of all the Sasha family and their Secret Santa gifts.

Ever since attending the Sasha Doll Festival in June 2012, my younger daughter has longed for a red-headed Sasha girl.  However finding one is hard because not so many of these lovely girls were made compared to the blond and brunette girls.  I watched some come and go on ebay for more than I could afford, looked longingly at several on Shelly's site which were also well out of my price range (aren't those early no philtrum red head girls absolutely stunning) and saw a couple I would have liked go very quickly from Shelly's site as they were snapped up by other lucky people.  However one girl stayed there for a while and her problem was probably the reason why.  I showed her photo to my younger daughter and explained the problem, but despite this my little girl was keen on her and kept asking to be shown her picture on Shelly's site.  Eventually I contacted Shelly and asked more about the problem (she sent me a photo) and how to hopefully cure it, made an offer which was accepted and the beautiful 80s red head with glossy hair arrived a day after being shipped.

Shelly's photo of the 80s red head girl, redressed

Her problem?  She had been redressed in a beautiful Russian coat, hat and boot outfit made from fluffy fur fabric, the seams of which had unfortunately stained her legs, tops of her arms and a little of her torso with almost black marks.  Baby wipes had not removed the stains which had soaked into the vinyl however Shelly was certain that daily doses of Oxy10 and patience would remove the stains eventually.  The active ingredient in Oxy10 spot treatment is Benzoyl Peroxide, however as I discovered, this product is no longer for sale over the counter in any UK pharmacy (unless you have a prescription).  Other spot treatments for skin problems do not contain this all important ingredient, so although I tried Clearasil for several days, it didn't appear to make much difference.  I found a UK-based seller on eBay who sent me a small tube of Oxy10 and I started twice daily treatment as it was only a few days before Christmas by this time.  After a couple of days I compared the photo Shelly had sent me with progress and could just start to see a small fading of the intensity of the stains and no damage to the vinyl which was very encouraging, so the treatment continued.

Shelly's photo of the stains

I washed the Russian outfit carefully and lots of dye came out in the water, eventually after several rinses the water ran clear, so hopefully all the potential to stain again has been removed.  The red head was originally an 80s white dress girl, but none of her original outfit had come with her.  I wanted to make a new dress for her, and will make a white dress of her own in due course, however I had long planned a blue velvet and satin dress for my younger daughter for Christmas and thought a matching outfit for the Sasha doll would be a good gift. 

Only a few days before Christmas I cut out the fabric for the child sized dress (I was sewing other gifts before this), followed by adapting a pattern and cutting out fabric for the doll dress.  Why do I always seem to do 11th hour sewing for Christmas gifts?!!  The child dress was complete 2 days before Christmas, and the Sasha doll dress completed at 2:45 am on Christmas morning (Santa arrived as I sewed on press studs!)

On Christmas morning I gave my daughter the dress to wear to church and she was thrilled with it.  The sleeveless bodice is blue satin (lined with the same fabric) with a long skirt of blue velvet, the outfit is completed with a long sleeved bolero of blue velvet, tied at the front.  My sewing machine hated the blue velvet but my daughter loves it.  During the afternoon, after she had opened several other presents (we spread gift opening through the day rather than doing it all in a rush at once), I gave her the exciting box to open and her reaction was perfect - she immediately hugged her new doll and wouldn't put her down.  I showed her the work in progress on stain removal and explained that brushing her hair must be done gently and only occasionally (she wants to keep it glossy and soft). 

After reading through the 'baby names book', she decided that 'Laura' will be the name of her new Sasha doll.

Opening the box

Oh wow! Look her outfit matches mine.

My little girl with her Sasha 'Laura' on Christmas day

My doll cabinet - middle shelf part 3

Back to a posting about my doll cabinet after a spate of nostalgia regarding my first play doll.

Beside the German band set sits a pippa type doll with no name. She is wearing an overall suit that belonged to my sister's Pippa doll Laura. I came across this doll in a junk basket of dolls on a stall a few years ago, the lower part of her torso is missing, so she has to wear overalls to cover her exposed ball jointed legs, a skirt and blouse just wouldn't work.

My Pippa doll Jasmine sits alongside the nameless non pippa. I got Jasmine almost by accident. We had come to the UK to spend Christmas with my grandparents in 1978, and I had brought my Sindy doll with me as we couldn't bring bigger dolls due to weight and space in our luggage. So Susie did not make that journey. For Christmas my sister was given the Ballerina Sindy whom she named Sue (I had a plain one that I had bought with birthday money) and we were each given Sindy related furniture, I remember receiving the Sindy orange tent and a plastic sleeping bag for Sally (the name of my Sindy) whilst my sister was given a Sindy sideboard and crockery. However I was also given the Sindy dressing table but when it was removed from the box we found it was broken. My Granny was very upset as this my Grandparents gift to me, so she promised that we would return it to the shop and I could choose something else.

Taking me to a toyshop (Tunbridge Wells) just after Christmas was perhaps risky, and for me was a very exciting experience, I couldn't believe my luck in being allowed to select something. I think Granny thought I would choose an alternative item for my Sindy (the dressing table was out of stock), but as soon as I saw Jasmine I just knew I had to have her, despite this being 'yet another doll'!

Jasmine is a Japanese Pippa - she came dressed in a duck blue kimono (which I still have) and I think I fell for her because she looked so exotic and different from anything familiar (well who was going to be tempted by domestic equipment for a Sindy when you could have a far eastern doll who could add a whole different flavour to play story lines). I was soon making additional outfits for her, and did buy one outfit in that shop (of the few that remained after the Christmas rush - yellow and purple football kit of all things when I'm not into the game!). My sister was given her Pippa doll Laura at her next birthday. I made a brown felt trouser suit for that doll that my sister didn't appreciate! (Laura was a sophisticated doll, in my sister's view the suit made her look frumpish).

Jasmine is displayed in her straw hat that I got from somewhere and a dress I made out of scraps of stretch jersey fabric. I've still got a few of her original bought and home made outfits.

Jasmine wearing a home made dress, black shoes and a straw hat

Jasmine has thick (now rather wiry) jet black hair
which means the hat perches rather than sits.

Identifying Susie (and Chrissie)

Posting up photos on Flickr has had some amazing consequences - I've succeeded in tracking down the pattern for Susie's clothes which inspired me to track down her coat pattern, and now another person on the other side of the world has realised that her doll is very similar to my Susie and wants to repaint her doll (Chrissie) using Susie's face as her model (Susie is flattered!) http://www.flickr.com/photos/beezmcs/3952062548/

However this has once again set me on the trail of trying to identify Susie. I suspect she may be a very late Roddy/Bluebell (Roddy Dolls were taken over by Bluebell Dolls in the mid 1960s), but have never been completely convinced because I haven't yet discovered a doll with a similar body shape, none of the Roddys I've seen online are exactly like her, as although some on ebay appear to have very similar length and shape arms, their legs and torsos are different from Susie's. See my post about Susie being restored for a photo of her body shape.

Susie has a vinyl head, a hard thick plastic torso and vinyl arms and legs. The only marking I thought she had on her head was a sort of G symbol near the air hole in the back of her head, but I've now discovered that she has "Made in England 18D" stamped on the back of her neck. She also has "14" stamped on the sole of each foot. Roddy dolls tend to have Roddy stamped on them and apparently Bluebell Roddy's have a distinctive circle around "Made in England" (which Susie doesn't have), but unless this has somehow rubbed off, I can't find such a clear identification mark of her maker.

Made in England 18D (but not in a circle)

The G type symbol (this photo is the right way up,
the G is on its face when Susie stands upright)

The soles of her feet with "14" stamped on them

The top of her feet, showing the detail of her toenails

A close up of one of her hands

I've found a small reference to the Roddy factory (in Tulketh Street, Southport, Lancashire) on a Southport forum http://www.southportforums.com/forums/printthread.php?t=50357618 but there is little else in the way of information about the firm online that I've been able to unearth. So I've sent off for a couple of doll identification books, and hopefully one or both of these will be able to help me identify who made my Susie.

Susie's face and shoulders in profile

Susie's vintage knitted coat

I've located the original knitted coat pattern of Susie's pink coat and hat, thanks to ebay. The pattern is a Bairnswear pattern, with the coat knitted in yellow. I'm glad my Nanna decided to knit it in deep pink instead, as the yellow with a dark green hat is rather a strong combination that wouldn't have suited Susie (well maybe the yellow, but not the dark green).

The Bairnswear pattern, with the coat and hat on the middle doll

I was pretty sure when bidding that the pattern was the right one, and this was confirmed when it arrived today as I was able to tell from the stitching details shown in the photo on the front cover.

Comparing the detail on the pattern picture

with the actual knitted pink coat

I tried the coat on my Gotz Anna and as I had thought the sleeves are the perfect length for her (too long on Susie), and what is more it suits her beautifully. The shade of pink does look good on her, but I'm tempted to knit the coat in a slightly darker pink or a smart navy or royal blue (to match her eyes). But this won't happen for a little while, as my elder daughter is still waiting for a jumper I started last year, which she has probably outgrown, so I shall have to start that again!

Susie and Anna with the coat and hat pattern,
currently being worn by Anna

Susie and her vintage knitted clothes

My doll Susie was given to me in 1970 by my Nanna who knitted clothes for her (I do not recall an original 'shop' outfit). The first photos of me admiring her are a bit blurred, but do show that she came to me in her knitted coat and beret, with white shoes and socks. However they don't show the dress, knickers and cardigan which could have been concealed by the coat.

Susie with her original hair - quickly getting messed up!

Certainly the photo taken a year later when I had a Triang pram show that Susie was wearing her green knitted dress.

Not the greatest photo of me,
but it clearly shows Susie in her green dress

Whilst browsing photos on Flickr at the weekend I came across a Gotz Sarah doll wearing a knitted dress, which although in a completely different yarn, was clearly the same pattern (though lenghtened a bit), and the description explained that it was from a vintage pattern - see http://www.flickr.com/photos/clothkids/3904043893/ so I searched through Clothkids photos and found two further photos of the dress in progress http://www.flickr.com/photos/clothkids/3723264427/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/clothkids/3701076566/in/set-72157606632892122/ and I instantly recognised the green dress on the pattern book in these photos. I made contact with Clothkids who told me it was a Hayfield pattern often available on ebay, and 3 days later I had my own pristine copy bought via ebay.

Susie in her green dress with the pattern
showing the green dress in the centre of the picture.
This photo doesn't show how close the green
is to the pattern photo colour, in reality they are the same shade

Susie wearing her cardigan over the dress, with my Gotz Anna.
This cardigan is the one on the bottom left front cover of the Hayfield pattern

I had noticed on the front cover of the pattern another dress that I remembered - the white yoke neck with pink pom poms - this was a dress that went missing during my childhood. On receiving the pattern I was able to confirm that the short sleeved white cardigan was also from this pattern book, as were Susie's green knickers that match her dress. It seems that my Nanna knitted the clothes using the colours shown on the pattern book.

Knitted knickers on Susie, and on
the boy Kathe Kruse doll in the pattern photo

However her pink coat and beret are not included in this pattern, so I'm now on the look out for the right vintage pattern. Her coat sleeves are actually too long so have always been rolled up, which means that the coat would fit the Gotz girls (I haven't tried). It would be nice to knit it for one of them, though in a different colour perhaps.

Pink coat and beret, not included in this pattern

Thank you Clothkids on Flickr for your help in finding the original pattern for some of Susie's vintage clothes.

My doll cabinet - bottom shelf part 3

The next character on the bottom shelf of my display cabinet is a little plastic boy costume doll in his green lederhosen, red tie, leg warmers and rucksack. He also has a cheerful green hat with a feather, so is probably meant to represent the same region as the bigger girl with a green hat.

Hiking boy

Beside him is a rather sinister looking little girl. Her eyes are sunken into her severely painted face, and her clothes are also quite dark, so she is rather spooky. I can't recall where I picked her up from, probably another market stall. Her mohair wig is glued on rather badly.

Spooky girl

The bigger costume girl beside her was bought for me from an antique shop by the same aunt who had sent me the American/Canadian Indian boy several years before. This was because while we were browsing, I couldn't put the doll down, so she decided to buy her for me. I named the doll Anastasia because she looked sort of Russian to me, and at the time I was reading about Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth.

Anastasia

Joy stands quietly in the corner. She is the same size as a Pippa doll, but is earlier and has rubbery bendy legs. She came with a single record and a special stand that fixed on the centre of the record when revolving on the record player, so making her appear to dance to the music. She is actually my sister's doll. The stand and record are long since lost, but amazingly Joy still has her original clothes, although has worn various Pippa doll clothes. The back of her head has been glued where the vinyl eventually split, her long sweeping beautiful blonde hair has been cut very badly and the rest of her body has been quite punished by small girl rough play. Poor Joy was one of our earliest dolls, and the scars she bore served to remind us to treat our subsequent dolls with more care. I could never bring myself to throw her away, I think she deserves a gentle peaceful retirement and I always liked her face.

Joy the disco diva

Beside Joy is a doll I picked up on a market stall for a pound. She is a Dear Judy doll and is still in her original packaging. I decided to keep her this way, so she has never been played with and is rather scantily dressed in a bikini.

Dear Judy

In front of all the dolls on the bottom shelf is:

my collection of frogs (a family of six) and two dragons,

my mother's three brass monkeys (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil)

and my miniture snow globe 36 mm (1.5 inches) high in total

Snowing

This little snowy scene belonged to the person who tested my for my Brownie Flower Arranger badge. I had to telephone to make the appointment (terrifying - I still dislike making phone calls to strangers), cycle to her house with all my flowers, do the arrangements in vases on her table, have my test card signed and then take everything back home again! While I was there I spotted the little snow globe in her display cabinet. I thought it was wonderful and said so. I was amazed when she gave it to me (didn't know the flower arrangements were that good!). I still find this whole experience surprising as nowadays for child protection reasons Brownie badges would never be judged by a Brownie visiting a private house (even if the judge was CRB checked, in those days the testers were approved), and the fact that it also resulted in me receiving an unexpected gift from the tester would also not be considered advisable or ethical in these Politically Correct times. But that was a different era in so many ways. The little snow globe reminds me that being brave enough to speak out in admiration for something can sometimes result in unexpected rewards. For a shy child this was a particularly nice way to learn to be a little bolder.

Sorting clothes

I still haven't had a chance to make Susie, my childhood Roddy doll, any new clothes. However today I raked out the bag of clothes that I had for my childhood dolls (including some I had made) to sort out. Several items (very creased) have gone to wash (in a bag) and will be ironed and repaired where necessary. But one little dress that I bought years ago on a home made dolls clothes stall at a large annual fete was clean and just needed a little ironing, and the shirt I had made to go with it was fine. So Susie had a change of clothes and now looks very fetching in orange and white gingham and white shirt.

One of my early childhood dolls was given to me by my brother, who won her on a tombola stall at a show when I was about four. She has the body of a baby doll (hard plastic) and a vinyl head, and came with long brown hair which seemed a bit odd on a baby body, so she was always treated as a child doll rather than a baby. Unfortunately her eyelashes are mostly missing and her hair inevitably got trimmed but fortunately never had the drastic treatment that poor Susie endured, and is still quite acceptable now, with no missing plugs. I named this doll Amelia-anne after the character Ameliaranne Stiggins (Ameliaranne and the Green Umbrella), as we had several of those books which had been my mother's. I've re-dressed Amelia in a blue gingham dress for these photos, a colour scheme which seems to suit her. Whereas Susie is rather a serious but sweet looking doll, Amelia is unfailingly cheerful and rather cheeky.

Susie and Amelia in their gingham dresses

It hadn't occurred to me what type of doll Amelia is until this evening, so I checked her over for marks and discovered 'Chiltern dolls' 'Made in England' on the back of her vinyl neck. She must be early 1970s but I haven't found anything quite like her in a quick web search, so have a bit more sleuthing to do. She is 13 - 13 1/2 inches tall, and looks like the 'Debbie' doll face, but with bent legs.

Susie, Amelia-anne and Anna (my Gotz doll) are on display in my bedroom. Occasionally my girls ask if they can play with them, and they always treat them carefully then put them back. At one point Susie spent a few nights on my younger daughter's bed with her Gotz girls.

Susie, Amelia and Anna

Susie and Anna
(about time Anna changed out of her skating outfit)

Gotz girls (and boy)

It is a while since I have been able to spare the time to post anything (busy 6 weeks) but now at last I'm stealing a little time from other activities to put in a little more about the growing Gotz collection in our home. Because yes, it is growing.

The girls clubbed together soon after Christmas to buy a limited edition Gotz Ice Skating Sarah doll - in her lovely pink lacy dress and white skates, with tiara - we found her on ebay. The girls named her Jayne, in honour of Jayne Torvill, who was on TV at the time in the Dancing on Ice series. Here she is with the other dolls, all of them dressed in their skating outfits that I made.


Before Christmas I had bought a Gotz Bavarian Peter doll via ebay and kept him hidden for months from the girls. I wanted to see how their Christmas dolls would be received before bringing him out. He actually became the model for some of the clothes I made for their dolls before Christmas, as I couldn't resist unpacking him from his box. Finally, at Easter time, I devised an Easter Egg hunt around our garden - the girls had to find pretty cardboard eggs that contained clues - a pictorial puzzle of Jesus on the cross, and put it together. The written clues included some underlined words which spelled out Peter's name and his clothes as well as the words share. Because he was a shared prize, and they had to collaborate in the hunt to earn him. Funnily enough my elder daughter was more delighted with a boy doll than my younger girl, who prefers the new ice skating girl.

I had made Peter a denim jacket the previous evening - it took 4 hours as it was quite complex. Here is a photo of him sporting his new jacket, jeans and boots.

Susie restored

Me with Susie when I was small.

Susie was my first play doll. I got her for my first birthday. My grandmother had knitted some clothes for her, most of which I've still got (the shoes and socks went missing very quickly). Unfortunately when I was about eight I gave her a very bad haircut, and her hair was brushed a lot too before that, so it went very wiry and frizzy. I knew as soon as I cut the hair that it was the wrong thing to do, and I vowed then that somehow one day I would get her hair rerooted, a big thing for an 8 year old to resolve.

Last year I finally honoured that promise to Susie and sent her off to have her hair expensively rerooted by a person who specialises in restoring Sasha dolls http://www.sashahospital.org.uk/medical.htm. Some restorers had told me to buy her a wig, which admittedly would have been MUCH cheaper, but this was not what I wanted to do, Susie deserved to be restored, I was having a difficult year and really needed to repair something from my childhood when other illusions about that time had been shattered. So it was definitely an emotional, cathartic thing to do, and I could finally afford to fulfil that wish.

Susie is a vinyl doll, probably made by Roddy, although there are no marks on her body to confirm this. She has a much nicer face than many Roddy dolls, but her lips had faded, her skin looked pale beneath the sticky grubbiness (even though I had washed her) and the restorer gave her a reconditioning wash before removing her old hair for the rerooting job, which took a couple of weeks. She smelled lovely after that.

The restorer sent me the first of two work in progress photographs which bowled me over, as it was obvious that Susie was well on the road to recovery (this was taken before her new fringe was cut).

However it was clear that she deserved more than the new hair, so her lips were repainted and her cheeks given new rouge to make her less pale. I had sent her fully clothed in her original hand-knitted outfit (somehow sending her naked in the post didn't appeal) and the restorer asked her mother to make new socks and shoes (she happens to fit Sasha shoes, though is about 17 1/2 inches tall, which is slightly bigger than the Sasha dolls).

When she arrived home again, my younger daughter's reaction was instantaneous - Susie received a big hug.



I want to make her some additional clothes, but have been rather side tracked by sewing for my daughters' Gotz Sarah and Zauberwelt dolls, however that is another story.