Dolls by Sasha
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Doll Gallery
  • Dolls
    • Andre
    • Carmen
    • Cordelia
    • Delphine
    • Federica
    • Joel
    • Margot
    • Maggie the Mermaid
    • Mariel
    • Mimosa
    • Mitzi
    • Mitsuko
    • Olive
    • Oralia
    • Suki
    • Winifred Harmonia
  • About
  • Contact

Olive, Opal and Oralia and the Singer Sewing Machine

12/3/2017

4 Comments

 
Picture
It’s the Holiday Season and I’m at the kitchen table having a cup of coffee and a Snickers bar. As usual, time keeps flying, and again, a year and six months have passed since my last post. Since then, Liz and I made three dolls for Miracle Mile Toys, a wonderful store that just moved to its new location at 5464 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The dolls are styled after Raggedy Ann, but with original faces and other touches. I call them Olive, Opal and Oralia, in the tradition of each doll having a name starting with “O,” after my little grandson, now four. “O” carried the dolls into the toy store last Friday in their wooden box and delivered them to Christine. They now sit on shelves throughout the store, playing with the other toys at night, after the store closes.

Picture
The dolls have hand-embroidered faces, eyes looking to the right or left, and red felt hearts. They wear bloomers under their dresses so they can do cartwheels, climb trees, ride bikes and do anything else they choose. They’re tomboys, after all, and can easily change from a dress into jeans and a tee-shirt. They have red and white striped leggings, black boots and wear their long hair in pigtails or braids, so they can run faster and climb higher. The dresses are made from a small floral print fabric from International Silks and Woolens. Finally, the dresses have pockets to hold small treasures found while playing outside, or for coins for the gumball machine.

Picture
My love of rag dolls began years ago when my three year old daughter got a Raggedy Ann for Christmas. Then, in 2011, she brought back a Raggedy Andy found in a thrift store in Costa Rica. He was losing his stuffing and had to be taken apart and rebuilt. After that, I made a series of Raggedy Ann’s with different colored hair, and helped my niece, Sally, make an Andy. Raggedys are fun to play with because of their bendable arms and legs and soft, cuddly bodies. I made hair made from tee-shirts strips, stretched and sewn on in separate bundles, so it can move and fly around in funny ways when the doll does flips and cartwheels, as rag dolls love to do.  

Picture
Picture
While putting the finishing touches on Olive, Opal and Oralia, making pockets for the dresses, the bobbin case on my 1993 Singer got loose, the fabric kept getting stuck in the needle plate and I was pulling my hair out. Luckily, I found the instruction manual and no trip to the repair shop was needed. (There used to be a place called “Vac and Sew,” on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, where I fixed the foot pedal once.) My Singer Sewing Machine has a 25 year warranty, which is still good. A great invention, the sewing machine, and my Singer is one of the best!
Picture
Since my last blog post, Raphael and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and saw some wonderful impressionist paintings, not to mention the Met itself!  And this past fall, here at LACMA, we saw two great exhibits: Chagall and Carlos Almaraz. Go, if you can.

Have a great Holiday! More in 2018!
 
Sasha
 

Picture
4 Comments
Sophie
12/7/2017 09:11:20 pm

So excited about these new dolls, I especially love their little floral dresses with tiny pockets!

Reply
Emo England link
3/18/2021 06:29:39 pm

Loveely blog you have here

Reply
Where in the World is Karla link
9/7/2021 08:20:05 pm

This is a ggreat post thanks

Reply
Jeffrey Lee link
11/5/2022 08:28:33 am

Image board factor game east field. Seek trouble reduce color determine woman. Low visit effort mission news friend war.
Increase seem answer whom artist get second. Argue community we.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2017
    June 2016
    December 2015
    December 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    Anabel
    Andre
    Art Dolls
    Ballerina Doll
    Blonde Annie
    Bottle Cat
    Bottle-Cat
    Boy Dolls
    Cafam
    Can-Can
    Carmelita
    Carmen
    Chocolate
    Christmas
    Cinco Hormigas Rojas
    Clothespin Dolls
    Cordelia
    Costa Rica
    Crafting
    Creativity
    Delphine
    Doll Clothes
    Dollmaking
    Doll Making
    Doll-making
    Donette
    Dugout Buddies
    Federica
    Getty Museum
    Giocometti
    Halloween
    Hollywood Bowl
    Hyacinth
    Inspiration
    Lacma
    Las Tiradas
    Margarita
    Maricruz
    Mariel
    Matisse
    Mermaid
    Mimosa
    Mirabel
    Mitzi
    Moulin Rouge
    Muddslinger Pots
    Nutcracker
    Oatie
    October
    Olive
    Opal
    Oralia
    Pacific Standard Time
    Paulette
    Picasso
    Polka-dots
    Pomegranate
    Popeye
    Puerto Viejo
    Rageddys
    Raggedy Andy
    Raggedy Ann
    Raggedy Annie
    Raggedy Anns
    Raggedys
    Sallie
    San Jose
    Sashay Skirts
    Sewing
    Small Dolls
    Suki
    Surrealism
    Tea Party
    Tea Set
    Tomboy Dolls
    Winnifred
    Winnifred Harmonia

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Doll Gallery
  • Dolls
    • Andre
    • Carmen
    • Cordelia
    • Delphine
    • Federica
    • Joel
    • Margot
    • Maggie the Mermaid
    • Mariel
    • Mimosa
    • Mitzi
    • Mitsuko
    • Olive
    • Oralia
    • Suki
    • Winifred Harmonia
  • About
  • Contact