Inspirations Index | Issues 1-100

Reaching the milestone of 100 issues of Inspirations Magazine is certainly an occasion for celebration, but it is also an occasion for reflection. It’s an opportunity to look back over the expanse of all 100 magazines and consider what that means both in terms of where we’ve come from and where to from here.

Today we’re going to talk at bit about where we’ve come from through the lens of our brand-new publication Inspirations Index | Issues 1-100.

Needlework is a lifelong pursuit – once hooked, it’s with you for the rest of your days. It is also a pursuit that takes a lifetime (or two or more!) as the longer you’re hooked, the more projects you find to stitch. Then, as your collection of Inspirations Magazines grow, the problem is compounded further: the more magazines you have, the longer and longer the list of projects to stitch grows!

Helping everyone keep track of the ever-growing list of projects published in Inspirations was identified as a problem that needed solving early on.

In 1999 the very first Inspirations Index was released, which covered issues 1 through 24 and provided a list of terms and names you can search through to help locate projects you were interested in. Kind of like a telephone book for projects.

In 2004 a second edition of the Index was published covering issues 1-42 and this time it was divided into three sections, Articles, Contributors and General.

When the third edition was released in 2013 for issues 1-75, photographs of each project were added, a step-by-step index created, and a list of errata included, all of which increased the usability significantly.

Today we are officially launching the 4th edition: Inspirations Index | Issues 1-100 which as the name suggests, catalogues all 100 issues of the magazine and is now the ultimate search tool for all things Inspirations.

Index 1-100 has been re-built from the ground up, with input from industry expects and high frequency readers, to help make searching for projects easier than ever before.

The project image library is now listed in issue number order, so you can start at issue #1 and peruse all the projects from each issue right through to #100.

Images for each project are now larger, cover images for each magazine have been added and overall a new design and page layout has been implemented for improved ease of use. The errata have also been updated.

Consider these statistics:

That is A LOT of content and probably the most exhaustive anywhere in the world, so trying to narrow your search to find exactly what you’re looking for can be tricky. Here are a few quick tips.

LOOK UP INDEXES – Often you may not know the name of the project you want and sometimes the project names are not related to the subject matter, so typically we suggest starting with the Project Type Index. Here you can search for a design element such as Clown or Dragon, or search by object type such as Blanket or Gloves. Popular items are often grouped together under a category, so Camel is listed under Animals and Pansies under Flowers.

CHOOSING BY TECHNIQUE – A popular way to choose your next project is by technique, so you can either use the Technique Index where issues with projects featuring that technique are listed, or by using the Step-by-Step Index you can look up a specific stitch and then find a project which uses that stitch.

VISUAL SEARCH – if you’re not 100% sure what you’re looking for, the best way to use the Index is to flick through each page of the Project Image Library until you find something you like. The Index will then tell you the issue number and page number the project can be found.

Here at Inspirations Studios we’re working on an ambitious plan to ensure every single project from the entire Inspirations library will be available to purchase either in print, or in digital. If you find a project you want to make, but can’t find where to buy it, please email us at news@inspirationsstudios.com and if we can’t tell you where you can purchase it, we’ll try and release it as a digital pattern for you to buy ASAP.

Everything we do at Inspirations is about making the world more beautiful one stitch at a time, and with the release of Index 1-100, our hope is we’ve made it a little easier for you to do the same.

To celebrate the new Inspirations Index 1-100 we thought it would be fun to look at the very first project that appeared in Inspirations and the most recent one.

Embroidered Slippers – Issue #1

The very first project that appeared in Inspirations Magazine was on page 4 in issue #1 and called ‘Embroidered Slippers’ by none other than our very own Susan O’Connor.

There is something incredibly serendipitous about the fact Susan was the very first designer to grace the pages of Inspirations and now, 25 years later, is the Editor-in-Chief and holds the record for the most number of projects published in the magazine to date… and counting!

Embroidered Slippers is a pair of silken slippers hand worked in long and short stitch and features Susan’s trademark love of pansies.

This week we are pleased to announce that Embroidered Slippers is also the very first project from issue #1 to be released as a digital pattern.

Purchase your own piece of history today with this classic project now available to download.

Pomegranate & Rose – Issue #100

In another fascinating twist of serendipity, the last project in issue #100 which acts as a book-end for the first 100 issues, is Pomegranate & Rose by Anna Scott, who herself was Editor-in-Chief of Inspirations Magazine before passing the baton to Susan.

Pomegranate & Rose is a superb silk and goldwork design of flowing stems laden with fruit and flowers and is also available to purchase as a digital pattern.