New works....

Hiya, I've been stitching slowly over the past month or so, so maybe it's not that slow really.  I joined an online class with Dijanne Cevaal, learning how to stitch a travellers blanket.  Initially I started the process of getting appropriate fabric so that I could natural dye my blanket and while I was making choices and ordering  I came up with the idea of making a smaller white blanket that I could natural dye when I'd completed the stitching.  I already had all the pieces necessary for the white one, so could start immediately.  I have used cheesecloth as the top fabric, with part of an old damask tablecloth for the backing and flannelette in the centre (as wadding).  All the patches that are on the front are either pure silk or pure wool and I have used silk, wool, cotton and polyester threads to stitch them down.  I've come to a bit of a stop now that all the patches are stitched, I'm not sure how to proceed with the rest so I'm just giving myself some time.

White blanket 1

White blanket 2

I have begun the pre dyed travellers blanket now and stitched 2 and a half patches so far.  This one has a top of pure wool (nuns cloth) a backing of silk and a wadding of flannelette.  I natural dyed all three pieces with eucalypt leaves, the top was folded and compressed between two flat surfaces to achieve the coloured edges, the other two layers were just dropped into the dye and swished around.  All the patches on this one have been previously natural dyed, some with leaf imprints, some plain and some with marks from various metals.  There are silks of various vintages and types and wools from  blankets so far.  I've not put all the patches on yet, I ran out of safety pins so will add as I go.  Living where I do I am aware of the rusting problem, especially over summer and as I plan to take my time with this stitching the safety pins may be there for a good while yet!.    Oh, and I'm using my own natural dyed threads for the stitching.  I can see that some of the thicker 'wool thread' may cause some issues, so I might have to dye some finer threads to add to my stash.   

I hope this makes sense, the photos may help you to understand what I'm on about.  Check out Dijanne's blog, she is starting another class very soon.

Eucalypt dyed blanket, first patch stitched

Second patch stitched.