Saturday, March 19, 2022

Final update on Traveller's Blanket

Hi! This is my last update on my Traveller's Blanket because the next time you see it, it will be done 😊 

Background stitching (quilting!)

It's been a long time in the making, but my Traveller's Blanket is nearly finished. Just a few more hours of stitching (or quilting). After that comes the difficult part - squaring it off, somehow binding it (or maybe a facing) and finally a sleeve to hang it up.

Traveller's Blanket - just a little more quilting 😊
Click on the image for a close up

This will be my second finished piece for an exhibition by Fibre 15 that will be held in June at the artPontiac Stone School Gallery in Shawville, Quebec. You'll be hearing more about it as I get my pieces ready!

Here are more details of the stitching.

The right side of the blanket was finished first

The middle of the blanket is mostly stitched

The left side of the blanket still needs stitching.

As  you can see, my stitching is rather organic. I hesitate to call it quilting, even if technically it is, because my stitches are not remotely even, or spaced or the same colour, so organic! 😊

Here are a few pictures of the stitching process. Mostly I echo stitched around the shapes but every once in a while I needed to shake it up! Since this block had lots of triangles, I used a chalk pencil to mark triangular stitching lines.

Marking stitching lines

Stitching a triangular pattern around the block

I radiated the stitching from this hexie.

Radiating stitches

What I learned

  • It's been a long process but I've loved most of it.
  • When I start changing my stitching pattern, it's because I'm bored! 
  • I love that the stitching is a big part of the piece by adding texture and colour without overwhelming it.
  • I'm nervous about blocking it because I know that my piece isn't square. I will probably have to re-stitch a bit of it, but I plan to mark it first and then undo the stitching so that they can be properly knotted. 
  • I will also have to strengthen some of my original stitching. A couple of the hexies are coming off, as well a the sea shells. Once I finish handling it so much, I'll check and secure all of these.
  • If all goes well, this piece will be finished by the end of March.😊 
  • In Related links below, I've added the links to my posts - from making the meditation blocks to working on the Traveller's Blanket.

Related links

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. I hope that you'll check these out. Remember that Muv is hosting Free Motion Mavericks this weekend, so go link up - I did! Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished or Not Finished Friday, Peacock Party, Patchwork & Quilts, Slow Sunday Stitching, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2022, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday


19 comments:

  1. I like the organic quilting!!
    this is such a beautiful piece!

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    1. Thanks so much Alycia. I hope that you're having a good week :-)

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  2. Ton quilting "organic" rend ton ouvrage bien plus intéressant je trouve, et les différentes couleurs de fils aussi. Bravo, bientôt terminé !!

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    1. Merci beaucoup Frédérique. J'ai vraiment hâte de la finir. Bonne semaine!

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  3. I really enjoyed looking at all the details in this and I love all the stitching. It is a wonderful piece :)

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    1. Thanks so much Janine. It really is a labour of love :-)

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  4. Wow, Andree! I can't begin to imagine how many hours of work this piece represents. Congrats on your finish on the horizon!

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    1. Thanks so much. I don't even want to count the hours - it's really a labour of love! Thanks.

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  5. This is really beautiful and I love the idea of adding little embroidered patches to a beautiful background.

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    1. Thanks Shasta, it's been a long process. It's nice to be almost done. I hope that you have a great week!

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  6. OH! Your dyed background fabric is perfect for organic stitching. Your embroidered blocks seem to show a glimpses into your heart. So pretty!

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    1. Thanks so much! I would have to say that the embroidered blocks all reflect the art that I've done - so yes, glimpses into my heart. Well said :-) Hope you're doing well.

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  7. Hi,
    Beautiful quilt...love all the different
    shapes and colors. Have a great day!

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    1. Thanks so much Sherrie. I see that you're following TAST - I did for a couple of years and bought her latest book. It's a great resource. Thanks for dropping by. Have a great day also :-)

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  8. The beauty of this piece is all in the details. Congrats on all the progress. Happy stitching!

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    1. Thanks so much Kate. I can see the finish line coming up :-) Hope you have a great week!

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  9. Okay, I'm going to sound like a broken record. This is absolutely beautiful and the organic quilting adds to the entire piece. Is this the fabric a friend passed on to you? Thank you so much for linking up to Put your foot down.

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    1. Hi Denise, thanks so much! This is actually my own hand-dyed fabric. I'm surprised that I found something to do with the background piece - it's so wild...I love it!

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  10. Hello Andrée, Your Traveller's Blanket is gorgeous! You have such an individual way of working, I can never visualise how your projects are going to turn out, and you seem to work on a tiny scale. Seeing all the elements come together is wonderful!
    Love, Muv

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Hi! I would love to hear from you and I will try to answer you. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a message. :-)