She's Nuts!

Guess what Santa brought MamaT for Christmas! She got a new sewing machine!!! Not being much of a seamstress she has made do with a vintage 1968 Singer sewing machine (straight stich only), which has served well for mending and such and still works great (even though it is even older than I am). But lately she has been wanting to make some curtains and such and thought it time she graduated to something that could handle a larger variety of projects. We “Skids” (that's a term Johnny Raven coined for Sasha Kids) are secretly hoping to be the primary beneficiaries of MamaT's new toy. It bodes well that her very first project in testing out the machine was a Sasha sized gunny sack dress.

Here's the story on the gunny sack dress. MamaT bought her husband a bag of pistachios last fall that came in a nice gunny sack. When it was empty, she didn't know what she would do with it, but threw it in the wash anyhow. It turns out it shrunk substantially, and when she pulled it out of the wash, her first thought was that it was the perfect size for making a Sasha-sized dress. There was just enough material at the top of the bag (barely) to cut for the sleeves. Now MamaT says she is the last person to give out sewing advice, as her skills are minimal, but she is learning. In fact she is happy she only sewed the sleeves backwards twice yesterday. Once half a shoulder seam was facing out and had to be picked out, and once the cuff hem was facing the outside, but it turned out she needed to trim the sleeves shorter anyhow, so she just cut the hem off. That made hemming the cuffs a challenge. But she managed to finish it, and now Tasha (who you will meet later) has adopted it as her nightdress.

While I am posting, I am also including a photo of a very reasonably priced outfit we got not too long ago from seamstress, Diane Scarbrough, the same Diane who recently posted some cute smocked dresses on the SashaL list (and on Ebay as seller dfscarbrough). I don't think she has a website, so I will post a website for another fine seamstress, Sandy Wessel. There are many fine Sasha seamstresses out there, and it will take me awhile to post all their sites.

http://home.mchsi.com/~swessel/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html

Lastly, I'm posting a Winter Wonderland photo inspired by Ted Menten's blog. MamaT used similar methods, so I was really not as cold as I look in the photo. And yes, it's possible to do a better job pasting the images together if you take more time with it.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!!!

Cora and the Diversity of Sasha Dolls

Cora Morgen is my name, and it is about time Sasha granted me a turn on the blog. I have been after her to let me have my turn ever since I arrived in late July. She keeps on insisting we have to go in the order we arrived in MamaT's possession. How silly is that? Now by raise of hands, I want to see how many people out there really care that we get introduced in the order that we arrived here. See there, I don't see a single hand raised, and Sasha, you don't count. I wasn't asking you. I already know your opinion. And so I have had to wait around for Cara and Patrick and Sandy AND Lona all to take their turns first, not to mention several turns for Sasha. I know Lona, for one, would have been happy to let me go first. Then when it finally WAS my turn, MamaT got busy working on some job application and Christmas letters and she has absolutely been HOGGING the computer all the time. I know a lot of folks have been looking for a new entry for a long time, so I think you will say along with me, it's about time I got my turn.

Now you did get a sneak peak at me late last summer when I was priviledged to be the only doll MamaT took on an outing to Glacier National Park, (although Sasha and Angela Karinne used to live in the park when MamaT lived there). That was pretty amazing and so beautiful. I really liked the bighorn sheep we got to watch. I made friends with her granddaughter, Ryin, that day too. MamaT says I was a breath of fresh air after Patrick and Lona, because I was not the fixer-upper sort. I came in perfect condition, missing only my box. And that makes MamaT smile too, cuz she hates having boxes to store. I am a “warm-toned” Cora doll with a flowered dress produced by Trendon between 1980-84. There were 2 styles of flowered dresses. The other had a dark blue background, and both were very pretty, I think. In my former home, I had a brother, Caleb, and I still miss him, though my new family is very cool, even if Sasha can be a bit anal at times. Black dolls were first produced in 1972, as Cora, Caleb, and an unnamed baby girl. The earlier dolls had dark black skin, like native African born blacks. Beginning in 1980, they started producing lighter or warmer-toned black dolls, more like American and probably European blacks. In 1984, the baby girl was named Cara.

Now I want to talk to you about the diversity of MamaT's doll collection. She has a relatively small collection (by Sasha collector standards), but has tried to include as much diversity as her budget allows in our small family. Here is how the family (and our diversity has grown).
--First there was just Sasha, an English Frido produced blonde girl.
--Then Angela Karinne came along, so there was a German Redhead and an English blonde.
--Next is Gregor, so then there was a brunette, English Trendon boy, and 2 girls as above, one by Frido and one by Gotz.
--Next a dark black baby Cara is added, so she had a baby, a boy, and 2 girls, with black, brunette, blonde and red hair.
--Then another redhead boy was added, so there were 2 boys, 2 girls and a baby.
--Next we got a honey blonde baby, so we had every hair color produced in just 2 boys, 2 girls, and 2 babies.
--After that MamaT got a brunette 70's girl for her birthday, so there were blonde, brunette, and redhead girls, along with the 2 boys and 2 babies.
--Then she needed a warm-toned Cora doll and that was me. I am also the only short-haired girl in the family (besides the babies). Only one other short-haired girl was produced by Trendon, the sweater blonde. There were some unisex dolls produced in the 60's by Gotz that could be whatever the owner chose. And when I arrived, she had 4 girls, 2 boys and 2 babies.
--This fall MamaT got custody of her sister's 3 dolls, to be introduced later. Now she is beginning to get some duplication with a twin for Margot, a younger brunette girl, and a redhead trendon girl. But she likes having an English version each of a blonde, brunette and redhead girl.
--So what could be next to further increase our diversity? We still don't have a toddler or a fair skinned Gotz doll. A doll like Iona or Ollie could fill both of those roles. We could add South American Yamka and an Indian Sari doll. Then we still need at least one 60's Gotz doll, and a least one Limited Edition doll, like Kiltie or Velvet. Then one could go on and collect a doll in every outfit ever produced. Then we don't have an example of a course doll either or a custom repainted Sasha. And there is no end to the diversity represented in the studio dolls, but there aren't enough of those for every Sasha collector, so we stick with enjoying photos of those. These are just some fun fantasies, but we do love all the diversity in Sasha dolls.
--signed Cora Morgen
P.S. And speaking of diversity, for today's link, you'll see a number of example of customized repaints on Sasha dolls.
– http://www.dayco.org/pages/PageFiveTest.htm

On Re-stringing Sasha Dolls

I believe I promised an entry on this topic some time ago, and I keep stalling, because I think it may be complicated to fit the directions in with the pictures. I'm not sure if I can clearly explain this, but I'm determined to try. As Sasha dolls age, eventually the stringing cords that hold us together can wear out. I was well played with by MamaT growing up, and from time to time when I lost my head, MamaT's Mama always knew exactly what to do, and was always able to get me back in shape. MamaT thought Gran-Mama was magic in her abilities to fix me, but she was a nurse by training after all. At some point or another along the way, Gran-Mama replaced my arm stringing and didn't know the importance of keeping original strings with Sasha dolls, so my arm strings were tossed and replaced with regular elastic. Fortunately, I still have my original leg stringing which is white with both green and purple flecks, positive proof of my age.

Up until this past year, my stringing was quite loose for a number of years. I could still stand—as long as I was balanced just so... But you could knock me over with a feather any time. Since my arm stringing was just ordinary sewing elastic, MamaT figured she couldn't do too much damage by attempting to replace my arm stringing herself. Then when Patrick arrived with his stringing all strunk, she immediately replaced his leg to head stringing, and next replaced my leg stringing (leaving the original string tucked inside my body). And when Lona arrived, she also needed to be restrung after her odor problem was resolved. MamaT took photos when she restrung Lona and is gradually getting better results from her work, so now I'll share her restringing methods with you.

Now before I go any further, I will recommend that you first consider sending your doll to a “Sasha Spa”. Prices will vary depending on what attention your doll needs, but after doing this on our own, I will say that $20 for a Sasha restringing is VERY reasonable. Below are links to a few different people I know of that do Sasha doll restringing and other repairs. If you know of others who should be included in this list, please post a comment.

http://home.comcast.net/~johnson-n-johnson/SASHA.html
http://www.oursashadolls.com/order.html
http://www.sashadoll.com/repair/repair.html
http://www.sashahospital.org.uk/

However, for the die-hard do-it-yourselfer, here are a few tips on restringing a Sasha doll. I expect there is more than one way to do this, and I can't gaurantee this is the best way, but it is a way we've found that works for us.

1). The Big Picture. First, you need to understand how a Sasha doll is strung. One loop of string holds the arms together. A second loop is connected to both legs and the head, as crudely shown in the diagram below. This is for an older doll. Post-1975 dolls have a ring/neck assembly, we'll address later. When you do measurements later, you will be figuring the size of loop needed between these hooks when all the limbs/head are in place.

2). Tools. Next you will need tools for the job. These include:

>Round elastic cord, at least 1/8” thick, but 3/16 or 1/4” would be better if you can find it.
>Metal tubing that just fits the width of your elastic (can be found at hobby stores). Kelly of "OurSashaDolls.com" above reminded me to point out to be sure not to use rust-prone metals, like steel. I used brass tubing, but copper tubing would also be okay. These oxidize, but they don't rust, and they only corrode in a very wet environment. My elastic loops look like hair bands, but the metal connectors on hairbands are made from steel and will rust. Kelly says there are hairbands available that do not have metal connectors, but I don't know if they come in the right size for Sasha restringing or not.
>Superglue
>String
>Scissors
>Long hook – Ours was made from 12 gage copper wire
>Needlenose pliers (2 pair if possible)
>If you are working with a ring assembly, you will need a small hook similar to those found on the legs and arms of your doll. Like these hooks, it should have a hook on both ends to hook on both the ring and the elastic string. You might also need cutting pliers or a wire cutter if you are making your own hook out of copper wire like we did. It needs to be very sturdy metal.

3). Measurements. Hold your elastic against a ruler and measure the maximum a given length of it will stretch. Most of the elastic we've seen will double in length, but you should check your specific material. Use a string (non-stretch) and whatever ingenuity you've got to figure out the size of loop you need between the hooks when the doll is all together. This part is tricky and hard to explain. The measurement you are looking for will probably make more sense once you've read through all the instructions, so do that first. Your first measurement is the size you would have if there were no stretch in your elastic. If you have elastic that can double in length at its maximum stretch, the size of loop you really need should be 75% of the loop you measured without any stretch. The elastic should be stretched to about half its capacity when the doll is in normal position. If the string is not stretched enough, your doll will be too loose. If it is stretched too tight, the stringing will wear out too fast, or worse yet, it could damage the shape of your doll. Once you've figured out the size of loop you need, you can cut the elastic to size. The amount of material you use will be surprisingly small. If your elastic is on the thin side, you may want to double the size of your loop and then loop the elastic around your hooks twice for a little extra strength if that makes sense. Just ignore the last sentence if it doesn't make sense.

4). Elastic Loops. When you have the right length of elastic, slip both ends into either side of a short piece of metal tubing that matches the width of your elastic. Put a drop or so of superglue at the mouth of the tube on each end. The glue should wick down the elastic inside the tube aways. While superglue dries quickly, you should let it dry several hours or overnight before stretching your elastic again, so it will be good and set before you put pressure on it. Other methods we tried included tieing the string in a knot. Getting the right size loop was even harder with this method, and the knot always seemed to slip and not stay in the same place, so we gave this method up. We also tried crimping the metal tubing onto the elastic. This worked sometimes, but not all the time, and ends up wasting a lot of tubing with failed attempts. The superglue technique worked consistently for us, so we like that method.

5). Leg to head restringing. If you are replacing both leg and arm stringing, do the legs first as they are more difficult. If your doll has a ring neck assembly, you need to hook a double ended hook on the ring (see photo). Hopefully, you read all instructions before you begin, because I'll remind you here that you need to measure your loop from the end of this hook and not from the ring when you are doing your measurements. In most cases the original stringing will still be on the ring and will just hang loose inside the body when you're done. Since this doll had smoke issues, the stringing is being stored separately from the doll.

Now hook either end of your leg loop on the hooks on your doll's legs (see photo). If your doll is missing a hook, you can buy a similar hook or make one from sturdy wire. If an end of the hook is closed too tightly to get string on or off it, it may take 2 pair of pliers or maybe a vice clamp and some pliers to adjust the hook opening so you can remove the old string and hook on the new. DH's can be helpful here too. Put your long hook down through the neck of the doll and grab the elastic with the hook. Make sure you have both sides of the elastic so you will have a double elastic in your hook as shown in the photo, and not just one side of the elastic.

The next step is a two person job, so find an assistant. One person will need to pull the elastic up to the neck of the doll with the hook. This will be at its maximum stretch. The second person should attach the head hook to the string. When the head is hooked on, you can unhook the long hook and let the head pull into place. Needlenose pliers can come in handy for helping get the elastic on and off the hooks as needed. The legs and head should all be snugly attached now.

6). Arm restringing. If you also need to attach arms, now hook your arm loop to the hook on one arm. Put your long hook through the opposite armhole and grab the other end of your elastic loop. Pull the elastic through and hook the second arm on this end. Unhook your long hook and let the arms pull into place. Now you should have a doll that can stand and hold his/her arms up. Voila! Try setting one foot flat, and the second foot on its toe and balance the doll. Sasha's can do this. Pretty cool, eh?

We've gotten a little better at this with each doll we've restrung. It does take some practice to get just the right tension you want. Most of us restrung dolls are still slightly on the loose side (which is better than being too tightly strung), but we can hold any pose we want now, so we're happy with that. I can even balance on a slanted log now (see Sasha's Summer Adventure entry), which I never could have done a year ago. So I will tell you from a personal experience--A properly strung Sasha is a happy Sasha. Hope you have good luck with yours!

Smokey the Doll

Hi, Sasha says it is my turn to introduce myself. I told her she could it do it for me, as I feel a little shy about writing about myself to anyone who finds this on the intranet, but Sasha insists I write my own. I am a Sasha Brunette “Pink Dress”, #103, made in 1979-1982 by Trendon in England. Most likely I am a 1979 girl, because the dolls made in the 1980s had much lighter skin. My name is Lona Rachelle, which MamaT says is after a special little girl, although her name was Rachel. Also Lona is the heroine in a fairy tale by Dare Wright about a courageous and kind-hearted princess. In the storybook, Lona was portrayed by a Lenci boudoir doll and by Dare Wright herself (more well-known for her Lonely Doll books).

I was a birthday present for MamaT's last birthday from her husband. I needed restringing, but he had already helped with a couple of restringing projects, so he knew that could be done. I arrived exactly on MamaT's birthday. She was so excited she opened my box right on the front porch. It was a lovely spring day, and she sat down on the porch and gazed at my face in the sunlight and fell head over heels for me instantly. At least that's what she tells me. After a few minutes, she took me inside, and that was when she got a whiff of my hair, which reeked of cigarette smoke. The seller hadn't mentioned this. The seller picked me up at an estate sell, and later said she hadn't detected any odors, although she was a former smoker. I was also sold “As Is—No Returns.” MamaT got a lot of feedback from the SashaL list about this transaction so she learned a lot of lessons. In no particular order, some of these lessons were:
--If odors are not mentioned in the listing, ASK. If the seller says they can't smell, don't bid.
--Even if you didn't ask every possible question, it is still the responsibility of the seller to divulge major defects, and cigarette odor is a major defect. You don't have to take the “as is---no returns” clause entirely at face value.
--Contact the seller before attempting any sort of rehab on the doll. If the seller really wants to be fair, and realizes they made an error in divulging major defects, they should be willing to accept a return or make an adjustment in the sale price.
--Kitty litter, activated charcoal, fresh air and indirect sunlight are all effective at mitigating smoke odors.

Working under the assumption that a return was not an option, and since MamaT had already fallen for me, she didn't seek for a return, and she had no idea you even could ask for a price adjustment. So she set about cleaning me up first thing. Always before cleaning a doll, she reviews the do's and don't's of doll cleaning on Susanna Lewis' site (see self-help Sasha care). She washed my hair, and the first rinse water was disgustingly yellow. However, she was delighted to discover that I have naturally curly hair. She thought she was going to be washing out all of my lovely curls, but it turns out our hair has a memory, and tends to bounce back to its original form, even if our bangs have been retrained to stand straight up. MamaT also cleaned the nicotine residue off my body. With the surface cleaning accomplished, she did a search on the SashaL website for tips on cigarette smoke odor removal, and found several suggestions. She didn't think stuffing the doll with bounce or using Febreeze sounded like really good options, as that would only mask and not eliminate the odor and who wants to spray a chemical on their doll? Another suggestion that did sound good was using a negative ionizer, but those aren't conveniently available everywhere, so she didn't try that.

Here's what we did for my odor problem. MamaT got a plastic bin and covered the bottom with kitty litter and mixed in a jar of activated charcoal. I've heard wood charcoal briquettes for barbecuing could also work. I think near the end she also put a little baking soda in the mixture too. She put in some blocks and set a cooling rack on top of the blocks, and then she placed me and my shoes on top of the rack. I was all in pieces at the time. She then put the lid tightly on the plastic bin, and left me for a week. At the end of the week, she gave me an airing for a day. She put me outside in the fresh air on a sunny day, but not in direct sunlight (we dolls hate direct sunlight). She also turned my various body parts periodically during the day. After that I went back in the bin again. This went on for about a month or so where I'd spend one day a week in the fresh air and the rest of the week in the kitty litter bin.

Finally, MamaT determined that I no longer had such an offensive smell, and the other dolls conceded they would be willing to stand next to me after all. I have been out of the bin for about 4 months now, and MamaT just gave me the sniff test. She says she can't detect any odor in my hair at all, and nothing to notice on the outside of my body. However, if you pull my leg and sniff inside my body, you can still detect some odor, but it's not terribly strong. MamaT has never smoked and can't stand the smell, so I'm happy she thinks I'm tolerable now. She is really happy with the results of the combo kitty litter and airing treatment. I'll post a photo of the bin we used below. I was too embarrassed to pose nude so Sasha painted a swimsuit on me. Isn't that silly?

Lastly, I want to mention that we recently discovered there are two other Sasha blogs out there. How fun! One, Sasha Street, is by Ted Menten, known as Teddy Bear Ted, a long time Sasha doll and teddy bear enthusiast. MamaT has a copy of a very nice article he wrote for Dolls Magazine in 1983. See his post for 10/21/08.
http://sashastreet.blogspot.com/
The other blog is by Franberry, another avid Sasha doll collector. She was the first follower of this blog. Both of these blogs have more frequent updates than we do. Check them out!
http://sasha3times.blogspot.com/

Wishing all of you a great day from Lona Rachelle
P.S. Sasha recently added a hit counter to this page. She already had close to 1,350 hits to this blog and MamaT's blog before she added the counter. She figures easily at least 1,200 or more of the hits were for this page before the counter began.

This Old Skirt

I have some new exciting news about a very old skirt. MamaT just went to visit her Mama on a vacation. While she was there, she found a stash of random old toys, and in that stash, she happened to spy my original skirt!!!!!!! It is truly amazing it has survived all these years, being separated from me, in with toys that have been available to lots of grandkids to play with. But I think there were no dolls my size in the box, so it must have just been ignored. This being the case, it is amazing no one ever tossed it out. Okay, MamaT's Mama (our Gran-Mama) grew up in the Great Depression and doesn't throw much of anything out, so I suppose that was in our favor. But MamaT and all her sisters do “help” Gran-Mama reduce her clutter from time to time, so things still get thrown out sometimes. But happily, happily, my old skirt has survived all these years. The not so good news is we think it has shrunk a little. Either that or I've put on a few ounces over the years. It does still fit around my waist, but it's pretty snug, and it's much shorter than my replacement skirt. Of course, the skirt was made in 1969, and we did wear our skirts shorter then. You can see my newly recovered old skirt in the photo (click photo to see it close-up). I'm also wearing tights compliments of Susan at Little Princess Frocks. Susan was so kind to send consolation prizes to all the non-winning stay-at-home raffle contestants during the 2008 Sasha Festival weekend. Here is her website:

http://www.littleprincessfrocks.com/lpf/clothes_sasha_subcat.htm

MamaT also returned home from vacation with THREE more Sasha dolls!!! These are her sister's dolls, but she has graciously allowed us long-term custody at our house. MamaT's sister let her daughters play with them, so they still need some clean-up, and her sister promises to look through the doll clothes for missing shoes and articles of clothing. There is a redhead white dress, (which was next on MamaT's wish list), a brunette red pinafore, and Margot's long lost twin, Sandra (or Sandy). Her sister says her daughters were more attached to their American Girl and Magic Attic dolls and never appreciated the Sasha's as much, so she sent them to our home where they will be very well appreciated. MamaT doesn't seem to realize what a workload she is creating for my blog. I just can't seem to get all the dolls introduced as fast as she keeps getting more dolls. She swears she is going to slow down about acquiring more Sasha dolls. Time will tell. The last photo of the purple dress shows another dress MamaT found in the toybox that Gran-Mama made for us dolls many years ago.

Hello Dolly, Margot Monique!

I want to type my OWN entry. PLEASE, can I try it mySELF! Xcxbnb czxnbmbc, hnc mnnbvx mcnv./
How's that? What does it say? What do you mean it doesn't say anything? It's supposed to say, “Hello Everyone! How are you?” Well, I can't reach those other letters. What's wrong with these letters? Oh, well I guess you can type for me then, but FIRST you have to promise you will only type what I want you to type and not every word I say like you did with Cara. Is that a deal? Well, is it? Well, you better not anyway. Or else I'll be mad at you. Okay, I think I'm ready to start now.

Hello Everyone! How are you? I am fine. My name is Margot Monique. The name on my box was Sandy, but I don't have my box any more. We don't like boxes here. They are no fun anyway. You would think so too if you had ever been tied up in one. I am MamaT's only honey blonde Sasha. Most blonde Sasha's are plattnumb blonde, so it is special to be a honey blonde. Sandy dolls like me were made from 1981 to 1986. There was another honey blonde baby too named Rosie made in 1983 to 1986, so you see I was the original honey blonde baby. Rosie wears a nightgown all the time, but I like playing more than I like napping. Cara is my buddy. I think I am older than her, but she says she is older, because she was manyufrakshured first and has been at MamaT's house longer. There was a honey blonde Sasha introduced the same year as me in 1981. She wears a white silk dress. She was made until 1984. Then in 1985, they introduced a honey blonde party doll. She is all ready for a birthday party. I hope it is my birthday party. I can't wait to grow up. It seems like I've been waiting a loooooong time. I haven't even gotten to be a toddler yet! Then I could reach more letters on the keyboard. There was just one sandy blonde Gregor, called Hiker. He was made in 1986. Since the factory closed in late January that year, less than 400 Hiker Gregor's were made. There was only one redhead baby, and she had blue eyes. Her name is Ginger. I have brown eyes. MamaT says that except for not having my box (which is ok by us), I am absolutely perfect in every way. I have no flaws whatsoever, and she says I'm bootifull too.

Well that's all I can think of to say, but you don't have to type that. How should I end it? Should I just say goodbye everyone? I think I will. Goodbye Everyone and have a really super good day too!--From Margot Monique

P.S. I almost forgot to give you a website. I bet you will like Melody's site. Her name starts with M like mine. Melody paints custom dolls and her doll, Tilily Tangerine, has traveled all over the world! Here's the site:

http://www.melodymock.com/AllegroMelody/index.html

The Advice Columnist is IN: Sasha Doll Values

I got a very interesting question on my blog. Partly because the answer is so long, and partly because it may have some general interest, I am going to answer it here in a blog entry. The question is about the values of some Sasha dolls. But before I answer I have to start with a disclaimer. No one in our house is an expert in doll values. MamaT has been watching dolls come and go on Ebay for the past couple years. For a little while she watched a wide variety of dolls to see what they sold for, but now she just watches a few of particular interest to her. We don't know how well that reflects their true value, but it is an indication of what people are willing to pay right now, although it can be highly variable depending on who is watching when the auction ends and what else is on sale at the same time. I will give some ranges of what MamaT tells me she's seen dolls go for typically, with the lower end for dolls that have been played with, may have some flaws and may not be wearing original clothing. Since your dolls are in excellent condition (unplayed with, no odors, blemishes, or falling hair, and with wrist tags in tact), you might expect them to more likely fall in the upper half of these ranges. These are in American dollars. I guess pounds would be a little less than half these numbers.

To our friend in Holland: Be sure and look at the comments in Patrick's column again for one more note specific to you. Based on the information you have shared with me, this is what I can tell you about your dolls with MamaT's comments on their probable value:

1. Blonde Baby “Sundress” #502, produced 1979-1986
2. Black Baby “Cara” #519, produced 1984-1986

Baby dolls typically sale for between $50 - $175 or so. I have seen asking prices more than $200, but they frequently don't sale. Not all babies are equally popular, but I think both of yours are popular dolls.

3. Sasha Redhead “White dress” #108, produced 1979-1986

Sasha redhead white dress $200-$400. I watch this doll a lot, and it only rarely sells for less than $200, even when the condition is not great.

4. Gregor Dark “Denim” (assuming he is brunette), # 4-301 or 301, This doll was produced beginning in 1968, but based on stringing color, yours would be between 1975-1986. Older dolls have a darker skin tone. If his tone is about the same as your other dolls, he was probably produced in 1980 or later.

Gregor dark denim, I would say usually sales for $100-$200 for the 80's dolls. Older dolls could go for more.

I am less sure about the value of the following dolls because I have not often followed final sale prices on these dolls.

5. Sasha Blonde (20th Anniversary) No. 1, produced in 1985

Sasha Anniversary, I am going to guess $150-$350. She is a special doll, but not so rare as some of the others.

6. Sasha “Harlequin” #184A, produced in 1986. This was a limited edition of 2500 dolls. Your doll should have the year and her production number on the back of her neck. Harlequin's were the only production dolls with a highlight (white dot) added to the iris in their eye.

For Harlequin my guess is $275-$500.

I will also paste in a few links to some Sasha doll sale pages, so you can see some current asking prices for various Sasha dolls:
http://www.sashadolluk.co.uk/16226.html
http://www.sasha-dolls.com/page17.htm
http://www.oursashadolls.com/kelsnewsalepage.html
http://www.sashadollstyle.co.uk/For_Sale.htm
http://www.sashadolls.com/
http://letsplaydolls.com/sasha_dolls.shtml

We hope that answers our commenter's question. I'm adding a little more information on Sasha doll values in broad cost categories for general interest of my readers. My disclaimer, besides the fact that I have NO expertise in this arena, is that I will make no guarantee on these values for any longer than about 60 seconds after they are posted. They are not valid in all states (or countries), and some restrictions may apply. Those are standard clauses in America. I don't know about Europe.

Several thousands of dollars: The most valuable of all Sasha dolls are the studio dolls made by Sasha Morgenthaler herself.

Several hundreds (e.g. $500+) to few thousands: Course dolls are handmade dolls made in workshops under the direction of Sasha Morgenthaler or her primary assistant, Trudi Löffler. The Götz Sasha dolls produced in the 1960s would be in this category, even in really bad condition they sell well. Some of the early Frido dolls from 1966-67, the no-philtrum dolls, will also sell in this range when in excellent condition. These dolls had a lot of hand-painted detail on the eyes, and are particularly stunning. The redheads are especially popular, as they were less common and gorgeous to boot. I try not to take offense at that. I like red hair myself, but MamaT won't dye mine. The most popular of the Limited Edition (LE) Dolls probably fall in this range, closer to the $500 to $1,000something end. These would be dolls like the Sari doll, Princess Sasha, and Yamka. In a similar range, but less likely to top $1,000 might be 1990's Gotz Limited Edition dolls like Marianne and Ruth and the toddler dolls from the same era.

$300-$500: I think most of the other Trendon Limited Edition dolls would usually fall in this range. All dolls produced in 1986 when the Trendon factory closed were limited to less than 400. Sari and Princess Sasha were already mentioned above, but Sasha Wintersport and Gregor Sandy Hiker might go a little higher than some of the LE's since they are more rare, and he was the only honey or sandy blonde Gregor produced. Other 1990s Gotz dolls also fall here. These sold for around $300 new and seem to be selling for about the same price now.

$100-$1,000: English dolls from the 1960s and 70s vary widely depending on condition. We've seen other Kilt girls like me go for both extremes depending on their condition. I'm afraid collectors would probably put me towards the lower end since I am nowhere near mint, but according to MamaT, I am priceless, so that is not an issue.

$100-$300: Most of the Trendon dolls from the 1980s would usually sell in this range. The redhead girls are less common than blondes and brunettes, so they go on the higher end. Cora and Caleb are both popular too, Cora slightly more so. Gregor's tend to sell for slightly less than similar Sasha's and babies go on the lower end more in the $50-$200 range.

And that's my speal on Sasha doll values in terms of American dollars. Our value in terms of non-monetary benefits to those who love us is an entirely different story.

Patrick's column with tips on vinyl stain removal

Good Day All! Sasha says it's my turn to have a go at the Blog. I'm not the fastest typist, but with Gregor running the mouse here, we make a pretty good team. My name is Patrick Terrence. I was manufactured in England, but my red hair proves I must have some Irish or Scottish relatives somewhere. I'm known as a “blue cord Gregor,” produced between 1982-1986. I was introduced at the same time as Sasha Sweater, the only short-haired girl produced by Trendon. You'll see in the photo that I'm not wearing my original white shoes, but am sporting a very cool pair of sandals instead. MamaT purchased me from a nice lady on the Sasha-L list. Well that's not very specific. I think all the folks on the Sasha-L list are the nicest of people. It was actually Carolyn Campbell, a very fine knitter of Sasha clothes. I didn't belong to Carolyn, but to another friend of hers. Here is Carolyn's website.

http://www.picturetrail.com/carolynsdollknits

I have white arm stringing and brown leg stringing. MamaT was forewarned I had a few flaws before she purchased me, and I arrived just as I had been described. My arm stringing was perfect, but my leg stringing was strunk. Hmmm. That's probably not a real word. My leg stringing was permanently stretched to its maximum length with no more give left in it whatsoever. I think strunk would be a good word for that. I couldn't keep my head on at all, and the strings extended a few inches past my leg joints. You could say I was one loose goose. So I was in serious need of new stringing before I could be displayed. Sasha will be devoting a whole entry to the process of stringing in the near future, so I am not going to go into that today.

I also arrived with some stains on my clothes and on my feet. An excellent reference for doll care is found at Suzanne Lewis' site (already referred to several times on this blog). There are recommendations both for cleaning clothing and vinyl stain removal, and this is what MamaT followed to clean me up. Here's the link to the cleaning instructions.

http://www.sashadoll.com/repair/help.html

There are a lot of references to products by “Twin Pines of Maine.” They specialize in cleaning products for a collectibles and dolls. Here is a link to their website if you want to order any of their products.

http://www.twinpines.com/

The vinyl stain removal technique was especially impressive. I had purple spots on my feet and lines around my ankles that looked like ink stains. I think I remember having a pair of shoes with dye that bled onto my feet. MamaT wrapped me in a towel and used a generic tube of 10% benzoyl peroxide (BP) cream, applying it with a toothpick to the stains. Heat makes the stain removal process work faster, but you don't want to get our vinyl so warm that it gets soft, so you have to be cautious. MamaT couldn't watch me all the time, so she just put me near a low temperature heat source for a short while (maybe 30 minutes or so) in the morning, again in the late afternoon, and once more just before bedtime. Under a lamp with a warm light bulb would work well. Sunshine would work too when it's available, but you wouldn't want to leave a doll in direct sunlight. That gives us headaches you know. She'd check me frequently while I was near the heat and didn't let me get too close to it. She put fresh BP cream on every 24 hours or so. It can lighten the vinyl slightly, so you don't want to run the treatment too long, and you should wash the vinyl well when you're done, but it is better than having stains. We only wish we had taken before and after pictures, because the treatment worked extremely well. I've heard that this treatment does not work so well on the green stains left by corroded snaps.

So with new stringing, clean clothes, and no more embarrassing stains on my feet, I feel like a new man, or at least a new doll, and I must say I do look good posing with any of the Sasha girls. Once again, I hope you all have a great day! --Patrick Terrence

Cora goes to Glacier National Park

Lucky Cora got to visit Glacier National Park, Montana on Friday. She says it was a picture perfect day and driving through Glacier feels a lot like driving through a picture postcard. It is so stunning and spectacular, it almost feels like it can't quite be real. Here are a few photos, but she says everyone was too busy gawking at the views to get photos of everything they saw. Scroll over photos for captions.