WOOL!

The Gillian Nash Knitwear Collection!

Fabulous in Fair Isle

Splendid in Sockwool!

Pirates with Pizzaz

A few more...

3 boys, a girl and a dog. 'Sit - good boy'.

A FEW PICTURES FROM THE ARCHIVE

The Boys

As with the girls, a lot of the fun in owning Sasha boys is dressing them up, then putting them into situations that 'real' boys might find themselves in - and then taking the inevitable pictures!

Romy in his whites. This gorgeous outfit was made by Alexissofie

Howzat! Raffay bowled. Romy batted the ball straight to Teddy who made a superb catch.

Outfits by Alexissofie. Raffay's and Teddy's Cricket Sweaters knitted by Postiesbabe.

This is Raffay wearing the very first outfit I ever bought from Petrana. It came beautifully boxed and it was a joy receiving it!

For my birthday last year I received a couple of dresses from The Doll Works. I love gingham dresses and the Sasha wardrobe  contains a fair number of those. These are a fine example of the genre!

Three pretty girls in Summer frocks! Yasmin is wearing a dress by Justsew. Iona and Imogen are in the birthday dresses from Andrea at the Dollworks

Shall we have some cake?

Iona is wearing a dress by Jadzia. The beautiful dress Lissi is wearing comes from America, but I can't remember who made it. It would be ideal, if all garments came with sewn-in labels. After all, they are 'designer' clothes for Sashas!

Just a few more...

Iona, Phoebe and Imogen in dresses by Jadzia. Hat by Dee

Some more dresses by Jadzia

Some of Petrana's dresses

Three splendid Kilts - by Hagnolly

Iona, Zoe and Hanna are doing a spot of Scottish dancing!



SASHA, THE MODEL

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of a Sasha simply has to take pictures of her!”

Well, we all love to take pictures of our Sashas. It is not surprising. They are extraordinarily photogenic, fairly posable and extremely patient and forbearing. The end result is almost always very pleasing. There is something very 'human' about these dolls. Sasha Morgenthaler has succeeded in her quest and produced a miniature 'child'. I have put up a picture in our hall of Hanna (Granddaughter) with all the Sashas in the garden doing various things. People invariably ask whose birthday party this is, until the realization strikes, that these are actually dolls.  At first glance what you see is children having fun! I don't think you could produce this effect with other dolls. Their proportions are all wrong. I could be proved wrong on this point, of course!

Here they are, but without Hanna

A detail taken from the above picture: Hanna and Tabatha playing with Lego.

Hanna is wearing a dress by Hagnolly. Bolero by Gillian. Tabatha is wearing a dress by Jadzia.

Some more pictures from my archive. They were taken last Spring.

Having a chat in the garden. Clothes: Iona is wearing a Hagnolly outfit. The others are in Jestsew outfits. Hat by Alexissofie. Bolero by Stomar

My shoe is undone

I think Raffay is showing off!!!

The girls are wearing outfits by Justsew. Raffay's sweater is one of  Gillian's and the pants were made by Petrana

This garden is a jungle!

You are not kidding!

(Yasmin seems to have lived in her Dirndl last Spring!)

YASMIN'S OUTING TO THE BOTANIC GARDENS, CAMBRIDGE, SPRING 2011

I think this page needs a bit of an introduction. My husband likes taking photographs when we are out and about. For some reason he always wants me to be in the picture, somewhere. He thinks that having a person in a landscape photograph gives it 'focus' whatever that means. In my opinion, this has ruined many a good picture! Last year, when we decided to visit the Botanic Gardens (again!), he packed his camera, as usual. I made it quite clear that I was not going to 'model' for him. "What you need is a pretty girl", I said. "Unfortunately we don't have a pretty girl, so you will have to do", he replied. Quick as a flash I said: "We do have a pretty girl. Let's take one of the Sashas!" To my amazement, he actually thought it was a good idea. I felt a bit of a fool posing 'Yasmin' in various locations. I thought people might look at us as if we had lost our marbles. I need not have worried! This is ENGLAND! No one batted an eye!!!

For the purposes of this blog, I cropped the photos to put the focus mainly on Sasha! Yasmin is wearing a gorgeous 'Dirndl Dress' by Ruthsdolls. She calls it 'Bavarian Costume'.

A mass of Scilla on the way to the pond

Where are the ducks today?

In amongst the Alpines

Now is this a Prunus or a Cherry? Whatever it is, it is stunning

Yasmin dancing in the sunshine!

The Winter Garden

The new Cafe, part of the Sainsbury building

A white Daphne in full bloom

The Fountain, with a view over the garden

A LITTLE HISTORY!

(An essay just to remind me)

Yasmin's Sashas were kept in the attic, together with their clothes,  lovingly placed in an airy cot, wrapped in cotton sheeting. From time to time I would go and have a look at them: a beautiful blonde Gingham girl and a fair haired Nightshirt baby boy bought for her in 1974/5 as a Christmas present. I knew that one day I would have to give the dolls back to their rightful owner, but before I did that, I wanted to find out more about Sasha dolls. I wanted to know whether you could still buy them and whether you could still get clothes for them. On the off chance that there was information out there, I googled 'Sasha dolls'.

Well, I was soon immersed in a world of Sasha! Sasha (and friends) going for a walk in the mountains; Sasha (and friends) helping with the garden; Sasha playing with her toys; Sasha modelling her latest outfit etc. etc. Oh yes. THE CLOTHES! Sasha boutiques. Sasha shoe shops. Sasha accessories. Ebay!!! The clothes on offer took my breath away. These were dolls' clothes? They were just amazingly beautiful and perfectly crafted miniature children's clothes. And expensive! I could not believe the shoes! Lace ups, T-bar Sandals, Ugg Boots - you name it, your Sasha will look stylish in shoes which match her outfit. People all over the Western World seem to be besotted with these dolls and prepared to spend serious money on them. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE??? Well, I am ashamed to say, I have become one of them! But I needed an ally in my folly. Hanna, my Granddaughter seemed the obvious candidate.

A nice doll came up on Ebay and I asked Peter, my son, what he thought about a Sasha doll for Hanna as a Christmas present. 'How much?' he asked. 'Well, the bidding stands at... but it may go higher.' 'Are you mad, mother? That much for a doll?' Needless to say I did not bid for this particular doll and she went for a very reasonable price, as it turned out.

When another one caught my eye I asked Hanna directly. Unfortunately, she had overheard the shock reaction her father had to the price of the last doll, and Hanna being Hanna decided that this was too expensive a present. Undeterred I then asked Mina. her mother. I wanted the unvarnished truth and her real opinion. There was a lot of debate, but in the end she had to agree that Hanna had been very much taken with Yasmin's Sasha when she came to visit and would probably love one. So I went online and bid for a beautiful dark haired Sasha doll on Ebay... and won! The price I had to pay was twice as high as the last one I had been interested in. MORAL: DON'T DISCUSS THE PRICE OF FISH WITH YOUR SON!

The doll was going to be a surprise Christmas present for Hanna. Under the pretext of looking for clothes for Yasmin's Sasha, I asked her opinion on various outfits available on Ebay. This way, I got a trousseau together for her doll. I filled up a trio of little suitcases, plus a Christmas bag I made for her with the clothes and put the lot under the Christmas tree. Sasha was dressed in a stylish red coat, beret and boots made by Alexissofie and was placed next to the little suitcases.

On Christmas Eve Hanna was charged with getting all the presents from under the tree and giving them out.  She couldn't figure out, why the 3 little suitcases had a label which said 'To Sasha'. She looked very perplexed. So I told her, that these belonged to the Sasha doll under the tree and asked her to have a look at her. That's when she noticed a card Sasha was holding which said: 'I belong to Hanna.' Hanna burst into tears with absolute joy. Although she had seen the doll under the tree, she didn't think it was for her. We were all of us surprised at her reaction. We didn't realize that she would be so delighted to receive a Sasha. She is not really a 'doll' person. But, Sasha has woven a magic spell even over our little scientist. I  bought her a second one shortly after Christmas. This time a lovely blonde. Her two dolls are named Lily and Emma respectively and have a permanent place in Hanna's heart. And what is more, her little sister, Tabatha, LOVES THEM TOO! As to Yasmin, whose Sasha  started it all, well, her 4 year old daughter Iona found her first Sasha doll this year under the Christmas Tree! A Red dress brunette. Apparently, every evening, she is put into her pyjamas and taken to bed. I can see a dynasty of Sasha lovers emerging before my very eyes...

CHRISTMAS 2011

Sashas preparing for Christmas Eve...

It's nearly Xmas Eve. Rebecca, Lissi, Lara, Hanna and Romy are off to get the tree. What a fine collection of coats! Rebecca is wearing a padded jacket by Hagnolly, Lissi and Romy are cosy in their Ruthsdolls Duffle coats. Lara is wearing a knitted coat by Liz and Hanna is showing off her Alexissofie coat. It is OK to be warm, as long as you don't sacrifice style!

Here it is! A fine specimen! Our work is done! Let the others do the docorations!

I think we did very well! Now where are our presents!

The girls are all wearing clothes by Jadzia. The baby's dress is by Alexissofie and Raffay's sweater was made by either Dee or Michelle (I must learn to tell these two apart!!!)

GILLIAN - PIED PIPER OF THE SASHA WORLD

(or where Gillian leads, I follow!)



I had often drooled over the lovely Sashas on Shelley's website. There was a sweet Sasha Velvet which I coveted. I don't know why the thought didn't occur to me, that I could actually buy her! And anyway, I didn't really NEED any more Sashas! Then Gillian sent me a picture of her latest Sasha (OMG - I bought another one) which she had found on Shelley's site. A light went on in my head - and then panic gripped me! I immediately logged on to SASHA DOLLS UK hoping that Sasha Velvet was still for sale. Well, it was inevitable really! I named her Lissi, after my favourite younger cousin.

Lissi wearing a ballet cardigan from Sashadollsclothes . Pleated skirt by Alexissofie

Then, by good fortune a Goetz Angela appeared on Ebay at not too exorbitant a price. I needed to find out what was so special about the Goetz redheads, so I bought her. Hmm. Is it me, or do the Goetz dolls have a slightly cross expression? A bit of discontentment showing? Anyway, I called her Lara. She might grow on me!

Lara in the inevitable Gillian Nash sweater. Trousers by Stomar

Lara in a gorgeous outfit by Jadzia (Skibniewska). Hat by Dee (Annislynne). Boots from All About Dolls

Having realized that I had no resistance, I allowed myself to be captivated by this beauty. Honeyblonde, slightly haughty Phoebe

Phoeby in a pleated skirt by Jadzia. Jacket by Linda Holmes.

Taking my lead from Gillian once again, I developed  this desire to also possess a Sasha with short hair. I saw a waif on ebay. She looked in perfect condition, apart from the fact that a child (probably) had taken the scissors to her hair. She is, indeed, a lovely doll, but her hair was a mess. I called her Molly.

Molly in an outfit by Jadzia. Hair restyled into a sweet Bob by Zoe, Gillian's clever daughter. I think it really suits her. So cute!

Browsing through the Sasha listings on Ebay I came across a lovely, wide-faced Sasha from the States. Looking closely, I thought there was a strong resemblance between her and Iona. And yet, there was a difference in the face structure. Iona seems to be wide-faced around the mouth, which makes her look a little pouty. This one seemed to be wider in the face from the forehead down. In any case, I was hooked. She was to be Iona's twin. Name: Natasha

Natasha wearing an outfit  by Jadzia. Pinafore an blouse.

I really hanker after a Trendon blonde, Gillian confessed. Don't we all! As it happened, there was a beauty on Ebay! Shame to let her be bought by someone else. I named her Rebecca!

Rebecca wearing an outfit by Jestsew. Tights by Wendy

So, this is it for now! Apart from the babies of course! There is a lot of talk about redheads at the moment on various blogs. I wonder how long I can hold out before I succumb to the lure of another redheaded beauty. We'll see