May Journal Quilt - Travellers Blanket Squares

 My   CQ  Journal Quilt for May is a trial piece for the Travellers Blanket I'm working on as part of Dijanne Cevaal's  online class. I couldn't decide on what shape of patch  to use  so am trialing squares and more organic shapes. These patches are all from my childhood : dresses  I wore or bought for mum's stash at jumble sales ( I had a feel for fabrics at a very early age ).  I've started a notebook to record the stories behind each fabric . The majority of stitching has taken place on train journeys ( journal quilts are an  ideal size for that)   

Beginning a Traveller's Blanket

I've long admired  Dijanne Cevaal's quilts and stitching ,  particularly the  Travellers Blankets ( having had my own travel stitching on the go  for years!). So I've signed up for the Travellers Blanket class, partly to extend my repertoire of embroidery stitches.

I bought this wonderful piece of indigo Khadi cloth  ( below) from her for this project.



Looking through my fabrics to find a suitable  muslin to back it with, I came across a very large  piece of African  tie dye bought over 20 years ago at a market in Morocco  very close to the border with  Mauritania. As it's  thin I've never used it apart from as an impromptu  net curtain  so  using a section of it ( it's joined down the middle) seems appropriate! 





The recommended ' wadding' is curtain interlining ' Bumph' as it's easy to stitch but the material I bought online  seemed too heavy. Again in my stash were some lengths of 1970's cotton and wool 'Viyella' (Mum used to buy 'seconds' in the nearby  factory shop  for winter dresses and nighties )
I  like how the wild patterns  show through the backing!

So already my blanket incorporates fabrics with meaning from my childhood and travels before I even start stitching! I've started  collecting scraps of fabrics  and look forward to sharing  stories with other members of the class.