The Day of Small Things

I had had my suspicions for a few weeks and sensed that all was not quite the usual. There were promises that didn't eventuate and other things that made me wonder. 

Eventually, it came - the email that I dreaded. The last two Express Publication Craft magazines (Australian Patchwork and Quilting and Handmade) would both be closing down in June 2018.

It's been 13 years since I took my first tentative step into designing original patchwork, quilting, and embroidery projects. I have been blessed to have an outlet for my designs over all those years with more than 200 designs published. Eight Australian magazines regularly published my work ... and they paid me enough to buy more fabric to make more projects!

[Pocket Notebook Trio - pattern available here.]

And now there are just two of those eight left. The six that closed down almost exclusively used Australian designers. Of the two remaining, one seeks designers from all around the world, and the other only publishes six times a year. 

In other words, my outlet has shrunk to almost zero.  There is one other magazine which also has limited space for an Australian designer and also only publishes six times a year, which I will try at some stage, but you get the picture - an era has ended! 

So where am I at? I can't stop creating!!! I can, however, stop buying! I reckon I have enough fabric to last me for quite a few years! So number one decision has been to now buy nothing but basics - things like threads, batting and freezer paper.

[Cherished Letters Coin Purse - pattern available here.]

Number two decision is that I will continue to design and write up patterns and offer them for sale in my Craftsy Store. Every little bit helps and the small income I receive from pattern sales helps augment our not very large Age Pension.

Number three decision is that, for a while, it will be the Day of Small Things, rather than large quilts. I have been asked to share a table at a Boutique Craft market at the end of the year, so with that in mind I have been making items that might sell there.

The first five photos above are of pocket notebook covers which I think are cute and they are quick to make and very practical. A few pot stands have been added  and I plan to make more coin purses. 

I'll show you another time some of the other things that have come off the sewing machine.

[Hot Pad Trio pattern now available here.]

So life will be different. I am hopeful, of course, that some other door might open. Meanwhile, with four or five projects a week going into the "End of Year" box, I should always have a 'last minute gift' available ... and it could mean the family might be inundated with 'hand-mades' for Christmas!

Val