Jungle Sampler

I mentioned in an earlier post once about the cross-stitch sampler I want to make for Dashiell. Here's a picture of it. It's from a Dutch magazine, Ariadne (Baby en Peuter), back from 1990, before Ariadne in general turned to suck.

Ariadne used to be a monthly craft magazine, mostly 'fiber arts'. I think it started somewhere in the 60s or so (at least, I saw old ones from the 60s when we dug through my aunt's stuff), and was always full of stuff to do. It came with a removable workbook in the center, which had all the patterns and instructions. It would contain sewing and knitting patterns, cross-stitch charts, various other crafty how-to's. I've never really seen a magazine like it since... the only one that comes close in the way that it has free patterns in the inner worksheet is Burda, but that's purely sewing.

And then in the 90s it changed, and started leaning more to home decorating. And now it's really nothing more than a buying guide for home furnishings (and a lot of it in the kind of french country style) with the occasional craft project thrown in.

I think my mother has a complete run of the magazine from the 1980s, and after my aunt passed, I got a bunch of them too. The 80s ones have the best patterns... stuff that's not so outdated or can be easily updated, and just really nifty ideas and patterns. Of course it's still back in Holland with the rest of my stuff, waiting to be shipped out here.

And so I ramble...