For as long as Scouts, Guides and Cub Scouts and their Leaders have sat
around a camp fire they have wrapped themselves in a blanket. Sometimes these
were the ones that Mum packed to keep her little darling warm in bed but
latterly they have turned into dedicated bragging pieces in the I've been
everywhere mold and, being typical kids, (or kids at heart) they soon decorated
them with badges of places that they camped at.
There are lots of different styles and designs and talk about pro & cons of
each. Also what should and should not be sewn on a camp blanket. The purists
suggest that only places visited as a Scout/Guide etc count. I am of the school
that if you hold to the purist view your blanket will be fairly empty unless
you do alot of camping. I would like to do that but work, age and home stop me.
(wah!). So I have been collecting and swapping with people over the Internet
since '94. and have built up a resonable pile that need to be sewn on to the
blanket (any volunteers?). I have started to scan them and cataloging prior to
sewing (well thats my excuse).
In time I hope to add a database lookup of the badges collected to this site so
stand by for that. Most are really nice one or two are "not so good".
The ones from Australia (Sarah & Alan Jones) and Canada (Debbie Freele and
lots of others) are great.
My own blanket is the coat style with hood (keeps the head warm) see the link
below.