End of an Era

Sadly Australian Smocking and Embroidery Magazine is no more, the last issue - Issue 100 has been printed and winging it's way across the world.    25 years on from it's inception, things change and sadly it's no more, though Country Bumpkin promise smocking still.  The sister magazine Inspirations is still being printed.

My last copy arrived in the mail yesterday.

It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was sad and nice at the same time looking back through the years and remembering the hundreds of garments I've smocked, taught or made for gifts.  I don't smock nearly as much as I would like any longer things change, but I am trying to make more of an effort to smock more, Katherine has barely had any smocked garments from all that I have made, though there are couple hanging in her closet that were Sarah's (she's 19), went to visit my niece Emily (about to turn 13) and have come back to Katherine, in fact there is one there right now that will probably fit and it had many hours of work, must remember to try it on her tomorrow.

Anyways back to the item at hand.   The girls at CB ummed and ahhed over what should go in the magazine and in the end decided that the staff would pick their favourites and go from there.  Sometimes it was the design, sometimes the child, but all as always gorgeous photos from Andrew the photographer.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that several of my garments made it into this issue, never more stoked that finding that my very first garment from Issue 53 Child of Nature featured on page 8.

I made this garment with much encouragement from Robyn Beaver, who was a past editor, the fabric was gorgeous, the design just worked and the little girl wearing it was just a doll.

The pattern that I drafted from scratch during a TAFE course on pattern drafting, evolved into a couple more dresses, as the design was so popular for long hot Australian summers.

I also discovered Ava from Issue 91 - designed for Katherine :) and on page 66

and 

Mexican Summer from Issue 65, I remember how long it took to stitch all that honeycomb stitch and stitch on the beaded fringe, but it's a gorgeous purple sateen dress for an older girl.

I must go through and take pics of all my published designs as I've had quite a few now.

I'm very sad to see the magazine go, it's lead to alot of different things for me in my life, and hopefully we'll see more smocked designs from the team at CB, in one form or another down the track.