mapping it all out

Back in January, I hit upon an idea to get hold of a world map and embroidering on it to mark the places that I'd visited.  So far, so unoriginal.  But somehow this idea snowballed to find me carting a canvas that's almost as tall as me through the busy streets of town.  It was a bargain though, and it just fit in my car as long as I wasn't picky about things like being able to see out the rear window.

I also got hold of a large map of the world (on sale) and proceeded to trace the outline of every country onto my canvas in pencil.  This wasn't as easy as it first appeared, because I couldn't see the map through the canvas to trace it.  Taking a step back, I decided to outline all the countries in thick, black pen first, and then voila!  The lines were clear enough to trace onto my canvas.

All I needed for this project - canvas and map aside - was some black embroidery thread and a needle.  And so I am slowly and deliberately embroidering the world onto my canvas.  It's slow going largely because the canvas is enormous and reaching around it for each stitch is something of a workout.  But now that more of it is complete, it's starting to look pretty good.

Each line has to be covered three times - first to prick out where the stitches will go in the canvas, second in running stitch and third in running stitch again but this time filling in the gaps.  It's a work in progress, but a little here and a little there and it's going to come together.

This project has grown from a simple it'll-only-take-me-one-afternoon project, and I have grand plans for it.  Having invested this much time in it, it seems silly to stop here.  Embroidering the countries is just the first step.  But I am enjoying it!

Kisses xxx

P.S. Confession: I had to make the Atlantic Ocean slightly narrower in order to prevent Hawaii and Fiji falling off the edges of the canvas.  But that can be our secret :D