Sunday 8 January 2017

MORE OF MY GIRLS: Natasha, Poppy, Zoe, Amelie


4 more of my girls in Winter clothing ready for a brisk stroll through the local woods. 


Natasha, a wide-faced blonde Trendon (1969) is wearing one of Gillian Nash’s Llama sweaters and a Hagnolly Kilt. With her tights and trainers she looks like she’d like to go for a run!


Poppy is a mid-sixties sleight-eyed blonde Götz. Hat, cardigan and socks by Rosie Laird. She uses this lovely 4ply Shetland wool for her knitwear. Her skirt was made by Carol Ann Marsch and the shoes are JJs. 


Zoe, a later Trendon with lovely red hair is wearing a corduroy dress by Jadzia and a cardigan by Diane Duke. Boots by Lisa Hartley. 


Here is Amelie, a sweet-faced Trendon honey-blonde Silkdress. So different from Phoebe. She, too, is wearing an outfit made by Rosie Laird, including a tweed skirt. She looks like a stylish Scottish Lass! Shoes by Marti Sanders Murphy. 

Saturday 7 January 2017

IONA'S POEMS: The Water Dragon


Iona loves to write stories and poems. I think she’ll be a writer; she seems to have the gift. Here is one she wrote today for school. With illustration! They are doing ‘Dragons’.



 The Water Dragon

Far away in the distance,
Asleep on a rock there lies,
Still as a boulder the egg of a dragon
The sky wrapping it in a blanket of fog.
Without warning, twitch, twitch, crack!
First a tail,
With sapphire scales,
Then a claw,
Then another, then another,
A nose, nostrils flared,
Sniffing the air,
The shell shatters into tiny shards,
Eyes blue as the lake where the mother lives,
Scales sharp, as the father’s roar,
Horns, quartz white, his fierce protectors,
Must go to his mum, must go to his mum,
Trees murmur “this way, this way!"
He staggers through the autumn leaves,
Red, orange and gold,
He can taste the coldness of the air,
The lake’s ahead!
He scrambles down the bank
His feet splash in the water
He’s happy. He’s home

Iona Rowland, aged 8 ¾


Thursday 5 January 2017

RAFFAY’S BIRTHDAY CARD - 2015


For Raffay’s 10th birthday I designed a card with a mini story. Like all kids, boys and girls, he is really into Minecraft. Hooked, is the expression I am looking for. This sequence features one of my favourite Sasha girls, Hanna. She is very useful in the Sasha room because she has the ability to look extremely disapproving. With all the shenanigans that go on there, it needs a stern face occasionally. 

Raffay, get your feet off the table!



Jeez! What’s her problem. Girls are soooo bossy. 



Wednesday 4 January 2017

RAFFAY'S BIRTHDAY CARD!


One boy and his drum!


My grandson Raffay has many talents (naturally!) and interests, but he is particularly fond of playing is drums! 
He is a boy who also loves his Sashas. So, this year, I designed a birthday card which I thought  he might like. Here it is! He is giving a concert performance to some of the Sashas. Amazing how well behaved those babies were!



I did ask him, whether he was now too old to receive Sasha birthday and Christmas cards. His answer 'No way, Grandma'. Oh I just love that boy. 

Tuesday 3 January 2017

MY SASHA GIRLS: Molly and Marika


Molly is an early 70s Trendon. She came with a badly cut blonde bob, which was vastly improved by Zoe, Gillian’s daughter. Even so, her hair was a huge bush and I tried to tame it with the boiling water treatment. Alas, in her case, the volume of her hair seemed to increase with this treatment and, yet again, I took the scissors to it and bought her a wig. I am still hankering after an exact same Sasha, with a lovely, if less bushy bob. I shall keep looking. In the meantime, I think she looks really cute with this particular wig. 

I love nice knitwear. One of my favourite knitwear designers is Gillian Nash. I have a huge amount of GN knitwear to choose from, but this is one of my favourites. The little ra ra skirt is by Carol Anne Marsh and the socks are by Rosie Laird.



Marika is my one and only Götz NN (No Navel). She is named after my Mom and I have given her the same birthday, i.e. the 5th of January. She has a classy bob which I love. Here she is wearing a Diane Duke exclusive. I love Diane’s work. She is extremely talented, as we all know. I think this pattern is called Mirage, but if someone wants to correct me on this, please feel free. The dungarees set is made by Stela Aranghelova and the shoes are Lisa Hartley. 




Monday 2 January 2017

MY SASHA GIRLS: Phoebe


Phoebe is a Honey Blonde Silk dress (brown eyes). One of my favourite Sashas. I just love her expression. Unfortunately her hair wasn’t as well cared for as the rest of her and in a mad moment I decided to just cut it all off. I regretted it as soon as I had finished. I tried various wigs on her, but I think this one is the one that suits her best. She is wearing a dress by Petrana and a beret by Janet Mayhill Dabs. The boots are from Lisa Hartley. All my tights are made either by Lel Shaw or Michelle Sharpe. The Schnauzer is called Max.