If the scheduling for this post works I’ll be in London by the time it appears, leaving poor Paul to be the sole recipient of the cat’s nagging and attention-seeking. He’ll be joining me soon enough, though. And the cat-sitter will be spoiling Slinky rotten.

Last time I took a long trip overseas there was no question which crafty supplies to take: knitting, mostly socks. Since RSI forced me to give up hand knitting I’ve taken my small afro comb reed (or the replacement STOORSTÅLKA reed) to weave inkle straps. But since then I’ve caught a new bug: embroidery.

I can see many ways that embroidery could be a great travel craft, so long as the projects only require a small hoop. The tools and materials are light, don’t take up much room, and can be replenished most places you travel. You can take small projects or embellish items you’re already taking or acquire on the journey (I’m planning to stitch eyes on the back of my eye mask while on the plane).

I’ve put together a small kit:

Along with a clip on light, it contains two needles, a pin cushion with a magnet inside that can be pinned to my wrist or some other secure place, and a thread cutter:

My current project and another – both simple to do as they’re printed onto the cloth already and only require black thread:

Then there’s floss:

I’m really not sure how much floss to take. Do I pack a whole bobbin’s worth of a few colours, or a little bit of a lot of shades? A search of the internet brought up no suggestions or advice, so I’m doing both – and taking some pre-cut lengths for some projects I have in mind to do:

Some are for these pendant settings:

I’ve stuck double-sided tape inside ready for the finished pieces, and clear plastic shapes to sew the finished piece around. The last one is a disc of plastic I’ll try covering with fabric. I have a rough idea of the designs I want to stitch and have added reference photos to my iPad:

I’m telling myself I should be able to find floss wherever I go. I’m also sure I’ll find some of these things unnecessary and wish I’d included others. It’s more likely I won’t get all these done rather than run out of projects to keep me occupied. I have plenty of books to read, after all.