This is a soulful tale told by Little Dawn, a 1960’s Gotz girl who most certainly is a waif with neck caving, hair thinning and overall wear and tear from many years of giving love and being loved by others. Like many of us that have our “bumps and bruises”, both internal and external, Little Dawn definitely has had her share of thumps over the past 50 years or so and yet she stands sweetly before us today. 🙂
Hello everyone! My name is Dawn but Mommy calls me Little Dawn because I am a bit smaller than most, if not all, of my brothers and sisters. My previous Mommy was Dawn Law and my Mommy adopted me at the Cincinnati Sasha Festival. I have not stopped loving my Mommy from that moment on and I love Sasha Shangri-La. ❤
I have a big family of brothers and sisters. Here are some members of my Sasha family and we were all made in Germany long ago. You cannot see me because I am in the back row behind Annie and Penny. I wish Mommy had a wider shelf so we could all stand together side-by-side. I love all of my family! 🙂
Here are a few of my other sisters that I dearly love. ❤
And here are a few more of my beloved sisters. There are more sisters on the back row that you cannot see and I love them too. ❤
This past weekend, Mommy lifted me out of the back row and she said “Oh my Little Dawn, you are still wearing summer shorts from last year! I can hardly believe it has been that long since I have spent time with you.” I smiled at Mommy and told her that is was okay. I know how busy she is and there are other brothers and sisters that need her time more than I do. Mommy looked sad though and she removed my summer shorts outfit and began to brush my hair which was so very nice. Then Mommy plaited my hair for the first time ever and when she finished with my plaits, I turned to see that Mommy was now smiling. She told me that I was beautiful and that my plaits were perfect for my sweet face. I am so glad that Mommy was now happy. 🙂
She then placed the dearest little ladybug clip in my hair and I knew then that Mommy thought I was really beautiful. She put a new blue dress on me and I feel pretty. 🙂
and Mommy put matching ribbons in my hair. ❤
Mommy told me that I was the prettiest girl she had every seen and then I saw a tear forming in her eye. I asked Mommy why she had a tear. She wiped her eye and sat me in her lap and told me that she had thought that she would put me up for adoption and I would have a new Mommy. She had thought to send me to a new home looking my prettiest ever and so she found a new dress for me. I then felt a tear in my eye but Mommy quickly said, “Little Dawn, I cannot part with you and send you to another Mommy. This is your home where you should surely stay.”
Mommy gently wiped my tear away and gave me the biggest hug ever. Mommy then said let’s go take some photos of you Little Dawn and share with others how pretty you look in your new blue dress and your new hair style.
I felt so very happy and so very special. We went outdoors and I posed for many photos and most of them you see here today on the blog. 🙂
I know that I came very close to leaving Mommy and my brothers and sisters here at Sasha Shangri-La and, though I am sure a new Mommy would love me too, I want to say that I am so happy to be able to stay here on the farm. I think Mommy is happy that I am staying too. She is smiling a lot now! Mommy put me right next to her on the bedside table. I really like the view here because I can see everyone now. I am going to help Mommy place my brothers and sisters that are in the back rows out into the room for all to see. I think we can do it and then everyone will feel special too! 🙂
I hope you enjoyed my “near miss” tale and the very happy ending for me and for Mommy. Thank you for visiting with all of us here at Sasha Shangri-La. We appreciate you spending time with us. ❤
I also hope you have a beautiful day today and I am sending happy wishes to you for the rest of this lovely week coming after Easter. 🙂
A parting gift for you of a waterlogue image of me! Love to you from a very, very happy LIttle Dawn. ❤ xxx
p.s. Little Dawn lived happily ever after on the farm at Sasha Shangri-La ❤
Sasha Shangri-La 
How lovely that little Dawn finally got some attention and it turned out well for her. I am sure there are many a Sasha household were a Sasha is suddenly given some attention and then finds themselves travelling to a new home ! But also just as many as with you Little Dawn , where spending some time with you, mummy realised that she really wanted you to stay !
So a happy time for you both, you get to see more of where you live and mummy gets to see more of you! a good result :)xxx
Thank you Dee! It was a real struggle for me because I was thinking of adopting her out and honestly, after I braided her hair, I knew Little Dawn was not going anywhere. ( I am a real “sap” when it comes to plaits.) She is a darling little waif and she recaptured my heart. ❤
After I posted this, I read your post and your resolution to move dolls and things out the door. I think I will be doing some of the same here but not with the Sasha dolls…at least not for now.
So you are right, it is a happy time to reconnect with this little dear girl and to set my sights on other dolls to rehome. 🙂 xxx
Oh my gosh! This story almost brought tears to my eyes. I am so happy that you decided to keep Little Dawn, Ginger! She is a WAIF to behold and enjoy always. Even though she is a little rough around the edges, her true beauty shines through in that very special face that can only been had in the Gotz 1st production. It makes me happy to know she now has a new dress, and hair style too. Nicely done Ginger. Give Little Dawn a hug for me too.
Hi Cathy! I was really in a struggle this past weekend because I thought in my mind it was time to adopt out Little Dawn but I had not run that decision past my heart first. Sometimes I under estimate how much I care for a doll or just plain forget how much I felt at one time. It is easy to do when you add dolls to the family and the older ones eventually go to the back row. Kind of like the old saying “out of sight, out of mind”. But there are some dolls that will never be “out of heart” :). It was as I was braiding Dawn’s hair, that I knew she had to stay. 🙂
Thank you for the very kind words for Little Dawn. I think her face is special too and she now has a new lease on life! I just gave her hugs for you! 🙂 xxx
Phew that was a close call there but I’m glad it all has a happy ending. We’ve had those near misses here too…..one had me absolutely sobbing and I’d already been paid an adoption fee, thankfully the ‘almost’ new mummy was very understanding and it all worked out in the end. But I have to say that little Dawn does look sweet with her blue dress and her new hairstyle, I’m so happy to hear that she stays with her big happy family on the farm 🙂
Big hugs to you both 🙂
xxx
It was Sharon, so very close! Thank you for sharing a near miss story and I am glad the almost new mommy was so understanding. No mommy was found yet for Little Dawn so that made my decision easier. I am glad you like her dress and her braids. She does not have an official center part but it worked just fine. We are sending big hugs to you too! 🙂 xxx
Hi Ginger, I’m glad too that Little Dawn and you realized your close bond before it was too late. Not many of my Sasha family have ever departed either — just four. Three were carefully placed in their new homes, but I don’t remember who adopted the fourth. I do remember all of them well and miss them occasionally, which feels more like regret that I ever sold them.
Hi Anne. Thank you for the lovely comment and I am so glad Little Dawn is staying with me! It is getting much harder to part with any Sasha doll. Since I have a lot of other types of dolls, and mostly my mother’s dolls, these will be the dolls that I will be adopting out for now. I just do not want any regrets and I, too, have a few regrets of dolls that have departed. I plan to keep 1-2 of my mother’s dolls and the rest will be rehomed in the near future. The Sasha family members will love the additional space! 🙂 xxx
I also have a little tear in my eye reading your story Little Dawn. What a lovely and patient soul you are and how pretty you look with love in your heart now! I love the dress so much and your braids are just perfect for your delicate face. I have to let you into a secret, I too have a little Gotz girl who has been on the back row. I made her an outfit yesterday and have now started to call her Little Dawnie! I think many of us have a ‘Little Dawn’ in our life and may now think twice about our forgotten treasure.
Thank you Auntie Janet. I am so happy that you think I am pretty 🙂 I have been very patient but it was worth the wait. I love my new dress, my plaits and my view of Mommy’s room makes me smile. 🙂
I am so happy too that you have a little Gotz girl named Little Dawnie and I hope she is able to spend time on the front row! She is so lucky that her Mommy made her a special outfit. Sending you and Little Dawnie hugs and kisses. ❤ xxx
I have sent you some photos of my Little Dawnie Ginger, let ‘Little Dawns’ unite ❤
Thank you for the photos Janet. Your early Gotz girl is beautiful and so is her knitted outfit. I really like the idea of featuring the “back row” Sashas and reconnecting with our forgotten treasures. ❤
Maybe this is an idea you can pass on to Brigitte for a feature week?
Ok, I will contact Brigitte about the idea. Who knows? 🙂
The 1960s Gotz waifs are some of my favourite of the Sasha Dolls and Little Dawn here is no exception. She has such a dear sweet face and with her hair in plaits and a new dress on looks totally adorable. NO way could she be moved on after this TCL care bonding time! .
Whilst there are many attractive and stunning dolls (and with their perfectly made bodies) amongst the Frido/Trendon series they so often lack this heart-tugging appeal of these little Gotz mites
I’m so pleased to hear that Little Dawn has now moved from her back row unseen position to the pride of place, her mummy’s bedside table..There’s NO greater position than that!
Thank you Kendal and I knew you would agree that Little Dawn must stay here with her Mommy. What could I have been thinking of ??? I agree that her face is very sweet and the plaits are just what her hair needed! I remember clearly now that her little face and her heart-grabbing expression were the main reasons that I adopted her. 🙂
Little Dawn will be staying on the bedside table for a good long time. I enjoy seeing her side profile as much as the straight-on view. Plus her wonky leg, that I think may be a bit shorter than the other leg, gives her stance a nice “swing” or a feeling of movement. She is quite the little model. ❤ xxx
Aww a sweet tale and a happy ending.
I haven’t yet been able to part with a Sasha, there are a couple that I have thought should move on to pastures new but…when it comes round to it I haven’t had the heart! So I can fully understand why Little Dawn has found her forever home.
As we all know that’s the magic of Sasha.
Wishing you all a happy time together.
Hi Rosie! Thank you for the lovely comment. Yes, it was a very happy ending and Little Dawn is with me right now standing sweetly on my bedside table. 🙂
I think it is very hard to adopt out Sasha dolls and I understand why you have not parted with any of your lovely Sasha family. They are wonderful dolls and they bring us so much joy. I agree, Sashas are magical. ❤
I have adopted out some Sasha dolls and I know they are all in wonderful homes with nice Moms. Even then, it was not easy to do but knowing how happy their Moms were to adopt them did help me. Thank you for the happy wishes for my cherished Sasha time. 🙂 xxx