Smocking - A Trip Down Memory Lane

The post I wrote about being happy to be a mother started a trip down memory lane.  In retrospect I appreciate that it was a beneficial time to be a mother.  Society accepted broader roles for women, plus many of us had the choice of staying home  with the kids or working outside the home.  I attribute satisfaction with my motherhood  to being an at home mom with the luxury of having time, money, and energy to pursue my interest in needlework.  The beginning of my serious involvement was when the boys were about 8 and 10 years old.  Initially, it was teaching classes around my dining room table.  Eventually, that expanded to evening courses at the local college campuses and then to workshop and lecture tours around the country and Canada.  As the saying goes, "If Mama ain't happy, nobody's happy".  The balance of  my home life and involvement in the needlework world made me happy.
 

During my "prime time" years (mid 70's through the 80's), English smocking dominated my life. I taught the technique in 6-week long classes on three Milwaukee Technical College campuses. The photo above is the cover and introduction page of the book I wrote.  It's in a workbook format that reflects the 6-week session for beginners.  I had intended to write another for the advanced class, Series II, but never did.  My husband and best friend posed in the photos with me to save on modeling fees.

During that time I also wrote booklets as well as designed kits (Christmas ornaments and Easter eggs) and clothing patterns for smocking.   Those were produced and published by a company called Little Miss Muffet. This one for doll clothes is based on the most popular smocked outfits for children.

The models are the first two dolls in what ended up being an extensive collection.  I named them after my niece and nephew who's mother, Dianne Durand, had introduced me to this beautiful needlework skill.  Dianne owned and ran the Little Miss Muffet company.  She and I along with several other young mothers founded the Smocking Arts Guild of America* (SAGA).

There were also two books that included the patterns for doll clothes. "Book I" featured the "Kalico Kid" doll family.

The storybook tale of the Kalico family takes place during the Great Depression. In the story a well-off aunt sends a box of cast-off clothes to her sister, which was my inspiration for making these garments.

"Book II" features the Fischer Price "Best Friends" and Sasha dolls that were popular back then ...

The back cover featured the matching dresses I had designed and made for the little girl who lived next door to us.  Here's the centerfold picturing all the outfits offered.

It pleases me to see these books listed on eBay now and then. It's a secondary market, because they haven't been published for many years ... about as many years as I haven't been smocking.


*I'm happy to report that SAGA is still going strong even though none of us founders are involved. The way I see it, that's akin to good parenting ...  we each gave many years of work and  devotion to establish a good foundation so it could survive and thrive into the future.