Sasha Doll Style

9 November 2010

I have finished all the photography for the new Amethyst Dreams Collection of Sasha and Gregor clothing.  The website should be updated by tomorrow morning.  The first half of the collection was placed on Sasha Doll Style website last night.  Amethyst Dreams Collection

Sasha (fringe girl circa 1968) is wearing a richly coloured wide rib sweater knitted in Araucania hand painted wool.  I used the same lovely wool to knit her ear flap hat.  Her scarf and socks are knitted using a dark indigo wool.  I used the same wool to knit the edge on her hat and both wools are used for the plaits.  Her bootleg style trousers are made using a lovely Amethyst coloured finewale corduroy.  Gorgeous outfit.

David (my 1972 gregor) is wearing a cute outfit.  I used crazy zauberball sock wool for his sweater and hat.  I loved the long repeat in this yarn which gave a very modern look to the graduating colours.  His socks are knitted using a lovely lace weight shetland wool which picks out one of the colours in his sweater.  His straight leg trousers are made from mid blue denim.  The trousers have pockets at the front.  The outfit really suits David.

Sasha (Jeans 1968) is wearing a lovely striped sweater dress.  I have used the same lovely Araucania wool and indigo wool to knit the dress in fine stripes.  I used the indigo for her cuffs, polo neck collar and welt.  Also used the indigo to knit her modern style hat.  I spent a lot of time looking for fabric to make her tights.  Couldn't find the right colour anywhere and then I saw a woollen sweater in a shop that was just the right colour.  I brought it home and cut off one sleeve.  Perfect.  The outfit is completed with chestnut Uggs.

Sarah (mid 70's brunette) is wearing a beautiful outfit.  Her sweater is a gorgeous mix of purples and magentas.  Wonderful depth of colour.  Her earflap hat is made using a Lorna's Laces Sock wool.  Her bootleg style trousers are made using a gorgeous mauve needlecord.  Her socks are made using the same wool as her sweater.

I used this outfit for modelling the duffle coat which is a wonderful magenta needlecord lined with a darker contrasting mauve lining.  Mauve leather thong used for the loops and wooden toggles.  Beautiful duffle coat.

My brunette Sasha re-root is wearing the cabled sweater.  It has two cables at the front and double moss st for the background and sleeves.  A polo neck collar and rib cuffs and welt.  I have used the same lovely 4 ply dusky pink wool for the double moss st socks.  Her bootleg trousers are also mauve needlecord.  I have used a lovely Fyberspates hand dyed sock yarn for her hat and scarf.  Very soft.

Katie is wearing a beautiful sweater dress with polo neck and front pocket hand knitted using Lorna's laces wool in Black Purl colourway.  Her earflap hat was knitted using the same wool and edged using a lovely pinky/mauve bamboo yarn.  I has a gorgeous sheen and the colour sets off the dress and hat perfectly.  I used both yarns for the plaits on the earflap hat.  Her leggings are made from pinky/mauve cotton jersey.  A very attractive outfit.  She is wearing black slip on shoes. 

8 November 2010

It seems like a long time ago that I began choosing the colours and looking for inspiration for my new Amethyst Dreams Collection of new clothes for Sasha and Gregor...

These are some of my very favourite colours and I have found it very difficult to stop...

In the end the collection has 12 knitwear outfits...  I do have several other outfits that were started and are in various stages of completion but I realised that I found this collection so inspiring that I could continue working on it forever... so a halt had to be called... 

I shall revisit it at a later date with the other outfits when they are finished...  but for now I have some very patient people awaiting their commissioned outfits...

I had intended most of these outfits to have little black ankle boots with them... then I realised that I had forgotten to order them... oops... ordered now but will take a couple of weeks to arrive...

I couldn't resist photographing these two outfits together.  Sasha waif who is as yet unnamed - used to be a 1972 Gregor but his falling hair became a real issue so has been rewigged with a lovely Trendon Sasha Princess Wig.  She is wearing a White Horses in Starlight sweater with a matching hat and socks... Her bootleg style trousers are a lovely mid blue denim.  I love knitting this sweater... Fairisle is such fun to work.

Greg (from 1970) is wearing a sweater knitted using the same lovely Trekking sock yarn as the background yarn used for the White Horses sweater.   I teamed it with a contrasting pale blue 4 ply wool for his hat, scarf and socks... He has straight leg mid blue denim trousers.  A gorgeous outfit on him that brings out the lovely colour of his eyes. 

Sasha is modelling the 3rd outfit in this group.   I was inspired by the lovely 4 ply multi colour sock wool...  As it was quite a "bright" wool I wanted to tone it down so teamed it with a gorgeous dark teal 4 ply wool...  This has been used as the main colour for her sweater.  I also used it to edge the fun ear flap hat and for the plaits...  I decided that it would be cool if her hat and socks were  bright and cheerful...  I couldn't find the right shade of teal corduroy so opted for a very dark green needlecord for her bootleg style trousers.  A very cute combination.

I love this group of outfits...  It has the two pale coloured outfits within it... 

Ffyon my lovely Trendon Pintucks from 1982 is wearing a gorgeous Fair Isle yoke sweater... The main colour is worked in a 4 ply ivory wool which sets off the light blue, denim blue and pale pink used for the colourwork.  She has mauve/pink lace weight hand knitted socks.  Her trousers are mid-blue denim bootleg style trousers.  Her outfit is completed with a lovely ivory hand knitted hat.  A lovely outfit.

Gregor (from 1968) is wearing one of my favourite outfits from this collection.  I really love how this sweater turned out and the gorgeous colour combination... of the mauves, purples, lavender, denim blue and zesty green.  I used the same sock wool for his hat.  His trousers are sewn from lavender coloured needlecord and have pockets at the front.  His striped socks are knit using two colours of lace weight shetland wool that pick out colours from the sweater.

Natalie looks very pretty wearing this sweater that features a pretty multi coloured fairisle zig zag edging pattern worked in a lovely Jitterbug sock wool...  I love the ivory setting off the pretty colours... It works really nicely...  I made a hat to match the sweater using the lovely fairisle rib for the edge.   After trying the sweater with a few different colours I settled on a strong magenta needlecord for her trousers.  They are straight leg style with pockets at the front.  Her sweater fastens at the back with two buttons that are exactly the same colour as her trousers.  This allows for the sweater to be worn with the buttons to the front for a different look.  I waited until I had chosen the trouser colour before choosing the buttons as I thought it would be nice to have them matching.  She has pink and white track shoes.

6 November 2010

I don't usually take photographs of my workspace as I am not the tidiest creative worker on the planet... the boxes contain custom orders in progress and the beginnings of future collections while I collect together colours, fabrics, threads, buttons, shoes and inspirational images...

The last pieces for the Amethyst Dreams Collection are under way...  cut out and in the process of being made... It has been a wonderful collection of outfits to work on and I have really enjoyed the process...

Work would have been finished today... but I had a stressful day so the sewing will be finished tomorrow and photography will start on Monday morning... I like to take photographs in natural light... so most photos are taken in the morning... I shall be putting this Collection onto the website in a slightly different way... hopefully about 4 outfits per day over the middle of next week.

31 October 2010

Hope you have a wonderful Halloween going trick or treating...

Eating freshly baked apple pie like my mum used to make...

And having loads of fun at your Halloween Parties... 

When we were children my mum used to have amazing Halloween Parties...  I based the Sasha Halloween Party story on what we used to do as children...  It was so much fun...

27 September 2010

I have been knitting a lot of socks recently... in the evenings, I have been relaxing in front of the tv or an anime dvd, knitting socks for myself...  very enjoyable...

However, the outfits for the new collection were also at the stage of needing their socks... so now I am knitting lots of pairs of Sasha sized socks to match the outfits...

Tiny socks are so incredibly cute to work on... when I finish the next 3 pairs I will be moving onto hats...

16 September 2010

This collection is still very much at the in-progress stage... but is coming along pretty well...

Isn't this the cutest Gregor?  He is so handsome... bought him on ebay a few months ago... I need to restring him but haven't had the time yet.  He has beautiful eyes and dates from 1968...

I haven't decided upon the socks or accessories to go with these outfits yet but I definitely know the yarns I am using and have thoughts and rough ideas sketched out in my notebook...

I love the colours I have used in these outfits.  I adore using textural patterns.  The hand dyed wool used for the scarf and hat is truly beautiful and very soft...

15 September 2010

I have taken quite a lot of the photographs for the baby's bedroom...  Although I still need to take some additional shots hopefully at the weekend when there may be the opportunity of having similar light conditions... I hope...

I have loads of ideas for the story and even know what the title will be... for a change...

14 September 2010

The new Amethyst Dreams Collection is coming along nicely...

I am at the stage of knitting little socks... hats... bags...  I love the hand dyed Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock wool that I used for the earflap hat... it complements the wool used for the sweater so perfectly...

In the case of others... sewing trousers and choosing footwear...

For some of the outfits I have finished the jumper and am deciding on the best choice of contrasting yarns to create the accessories to go with the outfit...

Need to start sewing the dresses soon as I have completed the smocking...  I have loved working with these colours they are a dream to work on... hence the name...

5 September 2010

It never ceases to amaze me how ideas seem to keep arriving...  I start off collecting images within a colour family for my inspiration noticeboard...  a photograph of the noticeboard is in my samples sketchbook on the page above...

Then the fun starts as I start going through my huge collection of wools, yarns and fabrics... choosing colours that work within my chosen colour theme...

At which point I am ready to start sampling... I am thinking all the time about different weights of fabric and yarn... different textures... how the colourway will work together as a collection...

In my notebook I think about the different shapes and styles that I want to create in the collection... how they will look on the different Sasha dolls... which Sasha dolls I want to use for modelling each of the outfits...

and suddenly the collection is taking shape not just in my imagination... or on the page of my notebook... but on the Sasha dolls lined up on my shelf wearing beautiful outfits at different stages of development... and in my minds eye I can visualise what the new collection will look like when it is finished...

4 September 2010

I have finished my sampling for the next collection of Sasha outfits... 

But my mind is an absolute blank at the moment for a name.  Technically the colour scheme is analogous colours using the purple/blue/magenta colour families but I think I want to have something nicer for the name like Starry Nights... or... Purple Daze... or...

I always find that seeing the colours and samples together with images that inspired me really help to focus my mind on the final look I am visualising.

This is a two page spread of some of the samples...  I am still deciding on the accessories for some of the outfits such as styles of hat, scarf, bags, mittens, socks... etc...  But which I choose is dependent upon whether the outfit is for a Gregor or a Sasha.

A closeup image of my thoughts for the hat/sock combination to go with the boys sweater that co-ordinates with the White Horses in Starlight outfit...  I try to choose colours that will enhance the colours that are in the trekking maxima wool that I chose for the sweater...  At the moment for this outfit I think that the light blue used for the main colour works beautifully...

31 August 2010

Continuation of the Mini Mochi sweater is coming along... slowly...

The first sleeve is finished...  As I like my sleeves to match and the colour variation in the ball of yarn were not going to allow me to get a repeat without a lot of wastage if at all...

I carefully unravelled the yarn and cut it at the end of each colour repeat (tricky as the colours blend through each other beautifully) and then divided each of these exactly in half so that I get the movment of the colours on the sleeves to match each other as perfectly as possible.  I just like them to match and if they don't I am not as happy with them. 

It is turning out to be a very pretty sweater.

30 August 2010

A lovely new free knitting pattern for Sasha and Gregor dolls.

I have created a page for the knitting patterns so they will be easy to find. 

I hope you will enjoy knitting it.

The Sasha in the photographs is Sarah the first Sasha doll I ever bought for myself and the second Sasha doll I have ever owned.  She is a pretty brunette girl from the mid 70's.  When I bought her I had never even heard of falling hair.  I was incredibly lucky that her hair is perfect.  Probably because she had been played with and not stored in an attic.  She has beautiful eyes and her fringe likes to flick over to the side.  Her other main attribute is that one leg is quite a bit shorter than the other so she stands rather nicely. 

When she arrived in time for Christmas, I brought her down to show my mum and we placed her on the mantel piece beside Jane and just sat looking at the two of them together... 

This pattern is for the 3 colour version. 

I used a similar pattern knitted using 2 colours for the sweater that is photographed with the other free pattern on the blog for the scarf and hat.

29 August 2010

My apologies that I have not been in touch with anyone over the past week by email.

I lost my beautiful black and white cat called Beryl (aged 8) unexpectedly and did not achieve much through the week.  I did write a list of everyone I needed to contact on Friday 20th but didn't turn the computer on.  I have taken to writing a few blogs on a weekend and then I schedule them through the week.

I was in shock on Monday and needed something to keep my hands busy.  Brain was not in gear at all.

So I started knitting myself a pair of socks...  I have knit many tiny Sasha sized socks with the turned heel and grafted toes but never actually knit a human sized pair...

I was not in a pink/purple or even a blue mood... So I lifted out the Jitterbug in Salted Caper...  When this colourway arrived in the post a couple of months ago, I knew it was not right for the Sasha dolls and vaguely wondered what on earth to do with it.  Not really a colourway I liked... actually... I have no idea what possessed me to choose it... I think... I thought it would work with a forthcoming Sasha collection...

I cast on and started work...  watched a couple of my favourite Studio Ghibli movies... ended up surrounded by tissues... and knitted... and knitted...

By Wednesday I was able to wear them.  On Thursday I cast on for a new pair of socks but this one is a more complicated pattern and unfortunately my brain still is not quite in gear so I am only 2/3rds of the way down the leg in the first sock in the new pair... knitting them in Noro sock wool...

Thank fully...

My brain doesn't feel all clogged up with damp cotton wool anymore and I am re-entering civilisation again...

20 August 2010

I know I should be working on the duffle coat... and I have been working on it...

but Murder She Wrote was starting on BBC1...

and this ball of Mini Mochi by Crystal Palace Yarns was just calling to me...

it arrived before I went away and it has been sitting waiting for me to come home...

sitting on top of my stash, I hadn't even put it away in the appropriate storage box... (yes I have 26 storage boxes full of gorgeous wool all wound into balls and sorted into colour families awaiting use)

but the colours in this ball are just so beautiful that my resistance melted away...

the yarn is unusual... very little twist in it but incredibly soft to the touch...

15 August 2010

I knitted this cute hoodie for my nieces while I was in Kent...  The main colour is a lovely multi coloured hand dyed Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock wool...

The contrast colour is a rich mauve colour... that matched the trousers I had made them previously...

I don't usually use such a wide wale a corduroy for the Sasha dolls but it does look nice in this colour... and is perfect for the children to play with...

This hoodie is based on the pattern by Suzanne Lewis...  I can never knit anything without changing it and I have changed a number of things in this garment...  can't help myself... the tweaking designers bug just takes over...

14 August 2010

The coloured wool I have used for this fairisle pattern is one of the beautiful Colinette Jitterbug colour range...  This snap was taken by my sister Pip when she was visiting Kent from Wales... 

Pip loves work in progress photos... I took a quick snap to see how the hat was turning out to go with the sweater...  Love using the fairisle rib... always shows the colours up rather beautifully as an edging...

Sasha looks very pretty wearing the sweater that features a pretty multi coloured fairisle zig zag edging...

  I love the ivory setting off the pretty colours... It works really nicely...

This is one of my favourite Sasha dolls... She was an ebay purchase a couple of years ago... She was wearing an early Sasha outfit that I really wanted although Sasha herself dates to 1970 according to her string colour, neck bar and shade of vinyl as well as her height...  When she arrived one of her eyes was very faded and barely visible... The other eye had very heavy eyelid painting which didn't suit her but the eye paint was similar in style to the other Sasha I had from the same year.   So I took out my acrylic paints and cleaned off the eyes and spent a couple of days painting eyes on a paper pad until I had the look I wanted.  I wanted her to look like her eyes had never been damaged and used a grayish blue colour...