Author Archives: mountainmullins

About mountainmullins

Sasha doll collector primarily plus other interesting dolls. I inheirited my love of dolls from my dear Mother and also her collection. My first Sasha doll was Gwennie, a redheaded studio doll. Since Gwennie, I have collected other Sasha dolls and love their individual personalities created by their eye painting, hair color and styling, and dressing them. It is such fun to share with other collectors!

Please meet Verity at Home with a Happy Harvest

Image

16

A beautiful studio doll sold recently and her beautiful face and outfit have inspired Janet Myhill-Dabbs to create this lovely rendition.  I have named her Verity.

We went outdoors on the front porch for our photos today.

Verity is very shy and a dear little puppy made friends with her right away.

Janet made this beautiful green gingham dress for Verity, a previous Pintucks girl, with the lovely smocking and white collar.  She knitted her very fine socks and made her nice green leather shoes. Her plaits are tied with velvet ribbons that are the palest of pinks.  Verity admired my medal of Mary so I let her wear it with a silver chain.

What is that lumpy, warty looking thing next to Verity’s puppy? Hmmm…more to come.

My beautiful Verity.

Verity, turn and look at all of those warty looking things!

“Mommy, I don’t need to turn and look because look beside me!  They are here too on this side of the porch railing.   They aren’t moving so I think we will be okay”.

I agree Verity, you are not only wise but beautiful.

More close up photos of Verity.

  

A slight smile maybe?

Verity, I must tell you that this is a goose neck gourd and we have been blessed with an unexpected harvest of these lovely, interesting gourds this year.

“How very nice Mommy. I see more on the other side of the porch and I think they are lovely “.

More close up photos of Verity because I love this beautiful girl and so does the camera.

“Oh Mommy, look what I found!”.

“A big bowl of these warty beauties, don’t you just love the colors too?  Oh look, a pumpkin too!  How exciting is this!”

A quick look at the area out back which is next to a large brush pile.  If you look closely, you can see another tiny gourd still on the vine.

On top of the brush pile, the gourd vine has spread and is growing profusely. See the gourd hanging from the vine?  Amazing because last year, Janet and I drove to see Dorisanne in New York and we stopped and bought local gourds near Dorisanne’s house.  After they had died, Rick threw them in the brush pile and now nearly a year later, we have lovely new gourds!  What a wonderful way to remember such a special trip.

Not exactly a pretty sight but just to show you the ugly brush pile that produced our beautiful, lumpy, warty gooseneck gourds.

Verity is enjoying her new home here at Sasha Shangri-La.  Her puppy is a sweet little friend for her to hug and hold until she meets her brothers and sisters.

I am so happy you are here dear Verity.

We want to thank you for visiting with us today. We hope you enjoyed this post of Verity and our happy harvest.

Verity and I are sending you hugs and happy wishes for the weekend and week to come.

A Waterlogue image to enjoy.

Zurcher Spielzeugmuseum – The Real Sasha Shangri-La

Image

17

At the end of the holiday in Italy last year, Tricia and I were able to go to Switzerland and have a wonderful visit with Brigitte.   Brigitte was a kind and generous hostess and on our last day we traveled to Zürich.  After stashing our luggage in lockers at the station, Brigitte led us to the wonderful museum featuring Sasha Morgenthaler creations. (Link below)

We had another very interesting visit in Zurich, after the museum, but that will be shared in a separate post since this museum post is very lengthy. I hope you will prepare a cup of tea and enjoy these photos.  If you have seen them before, perhaps these images will revive your interest, show you a different angle or a different lighting, and provide you additional and renewed insights to the delightful talents of Sasha Morgenthaler.

http://www.zuercher-spielzeugmuseum.ch/index_en.html

The fantastic displays in the museum are encased in glass and so there will be reflections plus you will see the back of some dolls that are facing outwards on the opposite side. These photos are not in a logical order and you might see a head shot later in the photo lineup from the full length photos. Also, please be tolerant of the photos that are a product of my camera phone and my very shaky hands in nervous excitement of actually being there in Zurich, in person, and with so many studio dolls!   I hope you will be able to enjoy your visit as you see the inspirational Sasha studio dolls in abundance and Serie dolls as well. The real Sasha Shangri-La.

The Prince.

A four legged beauty.

Boys galore and don’t you love seeing them all together?  Each one is very unique and so charming.  One thoughtful girl in bright pink towers in the background and a friendly zebra nudges the barefoot boy.

A poorly captured Pierrot to the right of the photo and a divine bebe propped up on an upper pedestal.

A beautiful bebe.

The fabulous existentialist girl and boy.

An oh so sweet child in dungarees and striped shirt.

A remarkable blonde boy and girl. Her coat is a work of art by itself.

A closer photo of the girl in bright pink. I can’t help but notice the lovely waist tie of the blonde girl from the back.

Tools of Sasha’s trade.

A most handsome boy in brown corduroy trousers and black jacket. Even the small Steiff bear with his mouth open looks to be amazed to see such a fine boy.

I love this beautiful blonde girl with her plaits and holding on to bebe dear. So very touching.

A beautiful head painted by Sasha and would be an A-I studio doll if joined to the proper body.  Such beautiful painting on this tricot covered mold and lovely red hemp wig.

A photo of a working table which I think would’ve been in Sasha’s studio.

A head mold.

Another photo of this precious pair or should I say trio?

An amazing Japanese girl dated 1952.  A most beautiful child looking so serene.

The existentalist pair in these two photos. I struggled with the glare and I hope you can especially see the wonderful boy and his purple corduroy slacks, purple and white striped top with scarf, plus a smart shiny black jacket with matching hat.  The girl is equally beautifully dressed with her fur coat, colorful scarf, slim white slacks and sleek black boots.

Close up of the handsome boy wearing the brown corduroy trousers.

A sweet girl in her apron and sandals. You can see the rick rack trim on her undergarment that is typically seen on Sasha’s undergarments.

Yes, another angle of this happy girl and bebe.

A card game created by Sasha Morgenthaler.

An unexpected Kathe Kruse wide hipped girl stands behind a delightful doll house and to our left of these two lovely studio dolls.  The girl with the plaits is a favorite of mine.

I could have spent hours absorbing this display alone.  As you can see, all children love a doll house.

I was delighted to see these two lovely Munich Art dolls.  I think this was my first time to see a Munich Art Doll in person though I have seen them in books and in several Theriault’s auction catalogs.

How lovely to see these girls shopping and looking so beautiful in their corduroy dresses.

Amazing displays.

This pretty girl, in her checked gingham dress, looks at home with other dollies of days gone by.

A tilt of her head and her high arched brow both speak to me as to say that she is inquisitive and observant.

A little angel all in white is tucked sweetly into this corner.

A biography and timeline for Sasha Morgenthaler.

An existentialist look to this pale girl in black sweater and slacks with a discreet scarf wound at the neckline.

A most beautiful girl wearing a remarkable dress with the fabric flowing on a diagonal in the center while the white lines of the fabric draw our attention to her neckline, cuffs and hemline. A most wonderful creation!

A pale girl wearing a fabulous creation of a maxi coat in leather with matching slacks, belt and boots and a white knitted top. She has a wistful and far away expression.

A sweet child in white with a remarkable hat.

A very pale and serious girl wearing a stunning white dress.

Photographs of Sasha and her family and at work.

A print of a painting by Ernst Morgenthaler illustrating his wife, Sasha, her sons, and the housekeeper in the background.

A perfectly pouty brunette in a pale pink dress that reminds me of the Serie brunette girl’s dress called “Party Pink”.

A serious and thoughtful child.  Several more close up photos.

A lovely display of Sasha vinyl dolls.  The round platforms rotate in circles to help you see all the dolls.

A gorgeous girl.

I am showing this most beautiful Sasha Studio girl with her very full plaits once again.  Her green eyes are perfect with her green printed dress. I love her ribbons too.  I love everything about her.

A handsome red headed boy.

Her lovely white dress with lace trimming on the bodice, cuffs, and hemline accentuates the diagonal patterned fabric. Her brown hair, eyes, necklace, sash, and shoes all make for a perfect picture of this beautiful girl.

Two beautiful girls in lovely white gowns.

A dreamy expression with this beautiful girl and she has a wax-like appearance to her face.

Additional photos of the vinyl dolls and outfits.

There were many fantastic antique dolls on display.

A lovely Sasha Doll tucked beside a most interesting train display.

Look here! A Gregor waving to get our attention.

Additional lovely Kathe Kruse dolls.

Baby Sasha waiting for his stroll.

As you can see it is an extraordinary museum and I would love to spend much more time there to really see and think about the amazing displays of dolls and toys.

A couple of Lenci dolls among doll friends.

A towering and full doll house is a wonderful backdrop for our beloved Sasha dolls.

I took a few photos of Zürich from the museum window.

Upstairs the displays continue of space toys and familiar toys to include Star Wars.

A wonderful poster on display.

A happy surprise to see these two Sasha babies sitting in a cradle tucked away on a side shelf.

I hope you have enjoyed this post of remarkable Sasha dolls along with the other lovely dolls and toys found in our human history.  I am so grateful to Brigitte for her warm hospitality extended to Tricia and me during our stay and for bringing us to the toy museum in Zurich.  This visit will forever stay with me in my heart.

Summertime and the Living is Easy

Image

15

Hello from Cathy who is so happy to show you her new summery dress made by Marianne of Nomacustom on Etsy.  We love the pretty floral print and the rick rack trim.

Cathy is a very early Gotz girl with her ochre eyes and her no mold line torso.  She is a petite girl with nice silky hair.

Cathy up close.

I love the contour of her pretty face. It gives her a most innocent expression.

Cathy sends you a big hug.

Well, look here…we have Gertie, one of the favorite girls here at Sasha Shangri-La.

Gertie is dressed in a pretty floral dress with a frilly white blouse. The maker is unknown and the outfit was found on Shelly’s most enjoyable site.  Her beautiful locket is a gift from her twin sister Edith who lives with Janet.

Most of you know that Gertie is a repaint by the very talented Janet Myhill-Dabbs.  She was previously a much loved Pintucks girl.

Gertie is a very sweet sister to all of her siblings here on Cow Creek.

Gertie sends her love to you.

Now we see Faith, a beautiful 1968 Fringe girl.  She is dressed in a pretty floral frock with an eyelet blouse.  The maker is unknown and it was found on Shelly’s wonderful site.

Faith was a very lucky eBay find years ago and she was my first fringe girl.  I love her very much.

Faith up close.

I really like the blue side panel of this dress. It is unexpected and beautiful to see.

Faith sends her love to you.

The three girls in their floral frocks enjoying a perfect summer’s day.

Gertie

Cathy

Faith.

A full length photo of Faith. Her white leather sandals were made by Jean Jensen.

A full length photo of Gertie.  Her denim sandals are from Sashapotamus.

A full length photo of Cathy.  Her pink leather shoes are from Sashapotamus.

These pretty girls want to thank you for visiting visiting with us today. We hope you enjoyed  this summery post.  We hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful week to come.

Goodbye to you our friends from all of us at Cow Creek.

 

A waterlogue image to see.

 

A Loving Tribute to Jen

Image

12

Gracie and I want to send a loving tribute to Jen, maker of the Alexissofie clothing.  Jen has recently lost a battle with cancer and she will be greatly missed by our extended Sasha family around the world.

Gracie loves her pretty dress made by Jen. We want to send our love and our prayers to Jen and her family and friends.  Thank you for bringing beauty into our lives. 💐

Early Boys Rising Early

Image

12

The boys insisted on going outdoors early today before the rains came and poured and poured.   We dressed in summer clothes and sandals, rounded up our puppies, and grabbed our camera.  We heard the thunder rumbling in the distance and even felt its  vibrations under our feet as the dark clouds rolled over our blue skies.  We managed to dodge the raindrops and snap a few photos before dashing indoors.

Most of you know Finn, a 1967 Frido NP boy.  The year 1967 was the only year for NP boy production and the boys do not have eyelashes.  The 1967 girls do have lashes.

This brunette boy is Bronson. He is a 1967 NP and luckily, he has non-falling hair.

This handsome lad is Ferris. He is a 1967 NP boy with very different eyes than those belonging to Finn.  Both blonde boys have all platinum hair.  During that year, the blonde boys were either all platinum blonde or all a darker, golden blonde.

Here are the 1967 NP boys living at Sasha Shangri-La.

I am very fond of these lads.

Close up photos of these dear lads.  I like to see the eye painting up close.

Bronson’s eyes and brows are very bold and nice.

My beloved Finn…so sweet.

More close up photos.

Bronson is wearing a navy gilet by Dollydoodles, colorful  shorts by Lorraine Tyler, and navy leather sandals by Jean Jensen. His pup is Woody, a carved wooden dog.

Finn is holding his favorite pup named Fetch.  Finn is wearing a Sashapotamus t-shirt, a Levi denim vest, wonderful flag shorts by Lorraine Tyler, and light blue leather Birkenstocks  by Marti Murphy.

Now, we have Ferris wearing a t-shirt by Sashapotamus (yes, Ferris is extremely intelligent and loves chemistry), fabulous black cargo shorts by Sharon Humphreys, and gold leather sandals by Jean Jensen.  His blonde puppy is very clingy and we called him Fido.

Finn, Bronson, Ferris, and I thank you for visiting with us and we hope you enjoyed this post.  We are sending you hugs and happy wishes for today and the week to come.

Bye bye from all of us here on Cow Creek!

A Waterlogue image of the boys.

 

A Sunny Day at Sasha Shangri-La

Image

18

This beautiful summer farm girl has come to live here at Sasha Shangri-La.  She is beautifully painted and outfitted by Janet Myhill-Dabbs.

This pretty one told me her name is Sunny.

Hello there Sunny.  This is a quick post to introduce you.

Sunny loves flowers and she helped to arrange this mason jar of sunflower and daisies.

A few more photos of our farm girl here on the farm.

A beautiful day today on Cow Creek.

Sunny wants to thank you for visiting with us.

We both hope you all have a wonderful week.

A sweet wave goodbye from Sunny.

Note: A peek at Sunny’s foot with her pedigree.

A Waterlogue image to enjoy.

Sunny standing with her sister, Gertie.

I “Gotz” to Come Clean

Image

18

I am happy to say that these four lovely and all blonde ladies are now part of the Sasha family here at Sasha Shangri-La.  As Sasha enthusiasts can see, each one is different from the other and they each arrived over the past year. No excuses for my delays.  I just failed to properly introduce them upon their arrival.  Though, I have to say, I have really enjoyed each one very much. So, let us begin with introductions.

This slate eyed beauty has beautiful and luscious hair.  Her name is Holly.

Next is a very special button nose or no nose girl with beautiful ochre eyes.  Her name is Ellie.

This amazing slate eyed girl has a fantastic pout about her.   Her name is Hayley.

Lastly, is a pale faced slate eyed girl that is very feminine even with her contrasting bold brows.  Her name is Emma.

They arrived wearing their original outfits.  I wanted to introduce them as they came before safely storing their clothing and beginning to redress them.  What fun that will be!

Holly is wearing brown cord farm pants and white blouse, white sandals and a green duffle coat.  Ellie and Hayley are both wearing a brown cord dress and brown leather shoes.  Hayley has her original blue threaded wrist tag which dates her as an early production girl.  Emma is wearing a navy and white checked dress with navy leather shoes.  It is always nice to have original outfits for our Sasha dolls.

A couple of close up photos of sweet Emma.

Close up photos of Hayley and her dreamy eyes.

Close up photos of Ellie and her beautiful expressions.

More photos of Holly, Ellie, Hayley, and Emma.

 

Hayley’s eyes.

Emma’s eyes.

Ellie’s eyes.

Holly’s eyes.

Thank you for visiting with us today as I catch up with the residents of Cow Creek.  My photos were taken indoors due to reoccurring rain storms in recent days with alternating high temperatures. It is better to stay inside for now.  I hope you enjoyed this post and that you have a wonderful day and week to come.

Pretty Waterlogue images to enjoy.

 

Holly

Ellie

Hayley

Emma

 

 

 

A Sasha Doll Fan in the Family

Image

14

During her visits, my beautiful daughter-in-law Mollie really loved spending time with dolls and especially the Sasha dolls here at Sasha Shangri-La.  Her favorites were the babies which was a nice surprise.  So this past Christmas, Santa gifted her a brunette Sasha baby and she named her Trixie.  She took these photos of baby Trixie.

A warmer coat for Trixie to wear this past winter plus a sweet bear friend to keep her company.  This special panda bear was made by the very talented Janet Myhill-Dabbs and  was given to Mollie by our family as a Christmas present along with Trixie.

Baby Trixie this Spring sitting with loving hands of support.

 

We recently celebrated Mollie’s birthday with a cookie cake and sweet panda bears on top since she loves pandas.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner out. Plus the opening of presents and one of these presents was……..

A very sweet black Sasha baby plus a hand made panda outfit that fits perfectly.  The outfit was made by a lady living in the Ukraine and found on eBay.  The original Cara outfit has been stored in the box.  What a dear baby! No name yet but soon I expect.

Later, Mollie took photos of the babies together.  I am so happy that she loves dolls and also loves Sasha dolls.  I am hoping she will be able to attend a Festival sometime soon.  Isn’t it nice to see another generation loving our treasured Sasha dolls?

Thank you for visiting with us today. I hope you enjoyed this short post and that you have a great week ahead.

A Waterlogue image of Trixie for you to enjoy.

 

 

Pearl after the Storm

Image

12

It has been too hot to go outdoors to take photographs for several days. Today, a downpour of rain happened and as soon as it was over, I went outside to take the photos in a much cooler environment though humid.  You may notice a golden hue to some of the photos caused by the sun’s rays pushing through the clouds and mist just after the storm.

This is Pearl and she is happy to wear a new, lovely dress made by Fanny Boiten earlier this year. It fits her perfectly and I love the color with Pearl’s red hair.

Pearl is a graphic eyed NP girl probably made in the later part of 1966 at the Trendon factory in England.

Very nice trimming on her dress and I love the rose print of the fabric.

Pearl is holding a sweet dolly and wearing great shoes made by Marti Murphy.

A few photos of pretty Pearl.

A close up photo of Pearl.

Pearl and I thank you for stopping by and we hope you enjoyed this post.  We also hope you have a wonderful week to come.

Pearl says stay cool everyone!

The following Waterlogue images are for you to enjoy. The first two are the same photo but using a different coloring option. The second two images are also of the same photo using different coloring options.

Additions from the Sasha Festival

Image

22

Finally, I have photos of the new goodies brought home from the 2018 Sasha Festival held in Minnesota.  The first photos were taken indoors due to the extreme heat we are experiencing here at Sasha Shangri-La. These first photos were of items that I had set aside due to our having some overnight guests. I was able to find these quickly but alas, I could not find the rest of the items set aside until today. I had checked just about everywhere 2-3 times and finally gave up and retreated to my little prayer space to seek some peace and to ask for help in finding the lost treasures. While sitting there, I happened to look down and there was a large birthday tote bag that I saved from Ricks birthday party on June 29th. I looked under the tissue paper, and there the lost items were hiding very well in plain sight.  Answered prayer for my forgetful mind. I hope I am not the only one who misplaces things!

Experiencing great relief, I wasted no time and went straight outdoors to take the remaining photos plus a few extra shots. It was already hot and in the upper 80’s just before noon.

Here we go!

The first round of photos taken indoors:

A baby nest made by Granny Peggy.

A beautiful shawl made by Diane Duke.

The Festival  luncheon gift wrapped in this nice felt bag.

Adorable outfit inside the bag with suede moccasins.

Front and back of the amazing Festival outfit received at dinner Saturday night.

A lovely gift given by the Minnesota ladies to those who were a hostess during the festival.

Gifts given by our table hostess, Frances.  The shorts and striped bloomers were gifts in registration packets.

I bought the dress from Frances and bought the boy’s romper suit made by Sheila.

This beautiful, studio size Christmas dress and the gorgeous sweater set below were gifts from dear friends.

I purchased two pair of Marti’s Birkenstocks and I really like these colors.

A sock purchase plus I received another mug rug below made by Frances.

The second round of photos:

 

I won three auctions and this is the first.

Finn is modeling my big auction win and I understand they added up all the monies to be $15,000.00 for children’s charities before the corporate matches. Wonderful! This remarkable sweater and hat were designed and made by Diane Duke, the perfect navy pants were made by Judith of Dollydoodles and the outstanding leather boots were made by Noreen. What a great outfit!  Finn will never want to change outfits ever again and he managed to smile with temperatures in the high 80’s while modeling! Fetch was brave too!

Please see the extraordinary details on Finn’s boots. The block design is even on the inside of each boot as well as the outside. Amazing! Noreen even included an extra set of ties in the shoe box. I am so happy with this win.

My second auction win is an amazing knitted sweater made by Catherine French. Catherine donated 5 sweaters and so there was a Dutch auction for them. It began with everyone standing that wants a sweater and the auctioneer begins with a starting bid and then increases the bids. People sit down when they no longer want to bid any higher and auctioneer continues until there are only 5 people remain standing. The sweaters were all different and the ladies that were organizing the auctions wins selected the sweaters so there was no room for debates.  I loved all 5 sweaters so was very happy with this nautical styled one.  Here are some close up photos of this remarkable knitted treasure.

My third auction win is a nice group of items. It caught my eye due to the red leather sandals.  I think they are from the Gotz girl named Lilly and nice to have for girls or boys.

Purchases from the sales room are seen in the following three photos.

Baby outfit.

Fun outfit.

Baby coats.

Festival readings and ID lantern.

A great Festival parting gift.  It is wonderful to experience the generosity of Sasha collectors. What a special group of ladies in Minnesota!

This is Morgen, a very special Gotz girl who was painted by Sasha herself.  I wanted to show her in this pretty smocked frock made by Millie Dingham and pink leather sandals found on Shelly’s site (maker unknown). Morgen holds a pale pink Steiff bear.  I just love Morgen and so I have taken a lot of photos of her. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

It was a little windy so please excuse stray hair.

A very sweet girl.

Millie even smocks the back of the dress.

Extra touches like lace trimming is so nice to see.

Morgen and Finn both thank you for visiting with us today.

Back in the air conditioned house, we find sweet Gracie snuggled in between Ben and Gigi and she sends her love to you all. She said we were crazy and absolutely nuts to go outdoors in such hot weather especially wearing knitted clothing. She loves her new sweater coat that was a Festival helper win and she insists it is a dress and one too hot to wear outside in July. So Gracie will stay snuggled up indoors with her brother and sister.

“Love to you all” said Gracie.

“Bye bye” said Gracie. “Have a great day and week to come” XXX

 

A few Waterlogue images for you to see.