Friday, 23 May 2014

SWEETLY SMOCKED

Today was very cold with sunshine and showers! I decided to change some of the girl's into some of the smocked dresses I have been slowly collecting over the last six months or so.
Wanting to take their photo's outside I had to wait until quite late before I could venture outside and find a good spot.

Finally the sun shone and I had time to take some photo's of the girls.


First up we have Sophie Elizabeth wearing a beautiful pink dress with pink socks and pink JJ shoes.


A closer view of Sophie who is a Gotz Sophie made in 2000.


Now we have Belinda in blue and red, I was not to sure about the shoes with the red socks but once I took her outside the look seemed to improve.


A close up of the lovely Belinda who is a single fringe 68 Sasha.


Now it's Arabella wearing a lovely deep rich cream dress with pretty red flowers and green and white smocking with Rosie Bloom shoes in a deep red.


A closer view of Arabella my no nose girl, I just love her little snub nosed face.


And here is sweet little Paige wearing a lovely yellow and pink smocked dress given to me by Ellen Church especially for the Paige. It is teamed with pink socks and pale yellow JJ shoes.


Paige is a 69 Dungarees girl .


Ava was happy to pose for a photo wearing a lovely pale pink dress with a raspberry red floral pattern, it is teamed with white socks and white Rosie Bloom shoes.


Ava is a pale skinned slate eyed Gotz girl from the 60's


Claudia is wearing a multi coloured floral dress which has the shades of pinks, green, red and purple in the flowers. So she is wearing white socks with Purple JJ shoes.


The lovely Claudia is a 1970 Trendon Sasha.




Simone looks pretty in this blue and white smocked dress with white socks and Rosie Bloom shoes.


A closer look at Simone who is a 60's Gotz Slated eyed Sasha.


Calico Kate is wearing a dress of the palest green with delicate blue flowers, white socks and beige shoes.What Beige shoes! I can feel Kendal tutting as I type! I should have changed them I know!  And retied her hair but one out of eight's not bad? I cannot be perfect or It would not be me!!! I'll change them tomorrow honest!!


The lovely Callie my red haired slate eyed 60's Gotz girl.

So that's all the girl's who had a change of clothes today, next up I need to change the boys into spring summer wear.

I thought I would include these photo's of the view from the house across the first garden and through the gate to the Johnson's blue geranium on the far side of the flower garden.


you can see the grey sky at the top.


The sun manages to come out from behind the cloud for a moment.


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11 comments:

  1. My! My! You've been a dark horse quietly collecting all these delightfully lovely smocked dresses without 'letting on' to us!.....BUT then falling at the very last hurdle with Callie's beige sandals and golden yellow hair ribbon.....just when you were doing SO well with ALL the other colour combinations!!!!
    (If I lived nearer I'd be right over there sorting the little tot out as I know that you have other coloured ones that might have suited her dress better or she could have even 'borrowed' the white pair off Ava (or even Simone's navy) for the actual photoshoot.

    Super ending to the post with the two snap-shoots of a couple of 'garden rooms,' with and without the sun. Most appropiate too with it being the final day of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show!
    Enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend.
    I'd love to have these different areas in my garden but alas it's hardly big enough for even my one evergreen shrubs room!

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    1. I have always loved the smocked dresses and decided a good few months back to collect some for my girls.That's me Kendal always something missing, be it a skirt tucked up or a falling sock!
      If you lived nearer I'd let you come round and add the accessories ready for me to come home and dress them for their photo's , I'd probably get you to come back and take the photo's too, I'd be your runner !! Moving them here and there for you!!
      I love the Chelsea flower shop , we did go a few years back but although lovely , they did not sell many plants!! I like to take plants home with me!!

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  2. Lovely! This is one of my favourite styles for Sashas - and for children too. But then, I'm biased - I used to smock dresses for high end department stores in London - until I realized they were charging 1000% mark up!! Now the eye sight is fading, the work is too fiddly for me to smock for my Sashas but I do have some lovely ones I've bought.

    Come on, now Kendal! Did your daughter have new shoes to match every dress? Poor Dee, (or is it Paul?) already has huge expenditure in keeping the Village girls so neat. My lot are lucky if they can find socks in a matching pair.....LOL.

    Lovely garden shots too, Dee. Too wet here for anything but photos of a curtain of water cascading off the roof. Yuck.

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    1. You're 'dead' right here.....in fact now I come to think of it my daughter didn't posess a pair of shoes until she had some Startrite pram shoes when she started to walk at 18mths, and from then onwards only had one pair of brown Startrite bar shoes for the Winter and brown Clarks sandals for the Summner time..... although these were alongside her red Wellingtons, ballet and tap shoes, riding boots, gym pumps and a pair of flip-flops for the beach.
      NO best dress shoes in sight, never mind the colour co-ordinating...... although she did have three-quarter length fur lined red Clarks boots to keep her feet warm when playing outside for long periods in the colder months!
      She even wore her brown sandals, though polished 'up to the nines' for her First Holy Communion! Poor child! How ONE forgets!

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    2. Just think if you'd realised sooner you could have had your own smocking business and also a school to teach others! I remember doing some smocking in school when a child and even though that was only a dozen or so years ago I cannot quite remember what to do!! :)

      Thinking on it we only had one pair of shoes at a time, usually black for school which my Dad would polish every Sunday ready for the school week and then taught us to polish our own shoes as we grew older.
      So these Sasha kids are well spoilt with matching shoes and socks!!!

      Today it's been sunshine and shows again but more showers than sun!!! I hope tomorrows dry, I have by army of fencers ( Paul and Roy) erecting by fencing and I do not want any reason to put the job off!!

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  3. What beautiful dresses on gorgeous girls Dee! I love the smocked dresses, they are so pretty. I tried smocking a few times and was really happy with one dress I made for one of my dolls, my KW MSD wears it now and it looks great on her...I was so proud of myself, but alas, I have forgotten how to do it now and I just don't get the time either!!!
    I really do like the red socks and blue shoes combination that Belinda is wearing, she's a gorgeous doll and that look really does suit her. I dread to think what Kendal would think if she came to my house and saw my dolls sometimes. They are often in various states of undress and some are even lying down on my work table completely NAKED!!!! I do like them to be dressed but if they are modelling for me then it's a matter of convenience for some of them to remain naked for at least the time it takes me to finish the commission I'm working on. And when it comes to shoes, I don't have all of the colours that I'd like either, so there is a big fight for the few that I do have!!! LOL
    Anyway, back to your post, which is what this is all about after all, ;) Belinda is a delight and I think I heard her whisper, along with Ava, Simone and Calico Kate, that they wanted a holiday in Spain....now any good Sasha mummy would be only too happy to oblige, don't you think?
    :)
    Big hugs Sharon xxx

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    1. Smocks are lovely, I really should try doing some, just to see if I can remember! Or if not there must be a book on it!! I could buy it look at the pictures then put it on the shelf with all my other books waiting for me to have the time to use them!!! :)
      Glad you liked the red and blue shoe sock combo, I was entirely sure if it went!
      Having read the line starting ' lying down on my work table completely NAKED!!! ' I was relived to discover you was talking about your dolls and not yourself!!! lol
      I'm sure they would love a holiday in Spain although I would have to come as their assistant!! which would mean in the cooler months as I do not do heat !!! :))
      Hugs Dee xx

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  4. What a great post Dee and and thank you for braving the elements to capture these wonderful garden photos. I love Sashas in smocked dresses and your dresses are so very pretty. I love the colorful combination of your socks and shoes too. :) xx

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    1. Thank you Ginger, it's always a little worrying when you put two different colour's together in the sock and shoe area!!
      I do love to take the photo's outside if I can but we are having constant sun shine and showers at the moment so it's a case of rushing out before the next downpour!! :) xx

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  5. Needless to say, I too love the smocked dresses. I was going to say I liked the first one best but after having another look - I couldn't decide between them!
    I remember dressing my daughter in smocked dresses when she was a toddler. I've been wondering recently if I could look out her carefully stored little dresses and re make them for Sashas. But no doubt the scale would be too big and to be honest I probably couldn't do it. It's nice to dream though.
    I love your garden arch too, we had an arch made from the ends of 2 hedges but DH has trimmed it back as it was too high to easily clip - we could be doing with something you can train climbers over. Enjoying your garden posts too.

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    1. They are a favourite with most people :) I would save her dresses for the future, she may have a little girl of her own and want her to wear her smock dresses and if not then they may well be heirlooms by then.
      Thanks, we may be removing the arch because we are considering a new design for this part of the garden.The patio paving is very old and breaking up, so we need to replace it next year and this as led to a possible redesign ! I'll blog about it on the garden blog at some stage. The black metal rose arches came from a garden centre and slot together and not too expensive.

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