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.

Plain Sewing

 Mum was an embroidery teacher and produced many accomplished pieces like this  canvaswork photoframe for her City and Guilds. She was always being asked 'Does your Margaret Sew?' to which the answer was
" No, but she  loves fabric and is good with colour" ( I made batik as well as adding to Mum's stash by scouring jumble sales )

 When I did eventually start sewing it was patchwork (that love of fabrics) and Mum taught me to hand quilt. I loved that - a simple stitch which altered the texture of the cloth and the gentle rhythm so  soothing.

Which is why I've gone back to working on my 'travel project', to lose myself in some hand stitching while I brood on compositions and solutions to other projects on the go.
Kathy Loomis has a thought-provoking post on the continual chase after new techniques to the detriment of sustained work  which chimes with me.  I would also add  needless embellishment to that list-  the quote
“No technique before need.” is one to treasure. Back to some plain sewing!