Christmas Mug Rug Blitz!

[sew].

Mug Rugs are a great gift. Bigger than a coaster, smaller than a placemat, perfect for a drink and a treat. So very much fun and quick to sew!

Pinwheel Christmas Mug Rug: Sew Charm Squares into Half-Square Triangles

I have two friends who sew with me, and I think they're converted - they recently took the plunge into patchwork and made mug rugs. Really, mug rugs are the perfect introduction to quilting - its a small project but you get practice with rotary cutting, 1/4" seaming, proper pressing, making a quilt sandwich, quilting it, then binding it. Of course, we use the cheater binding where the backing flips over to become your binding. Much easier for this type of project. 

Strip-Pieced Christmas Tree Mug Rug

These make great gifts and many of my friends and family are going to receive one! Add a mug, some tea or hot chocolate, a couple of candy-canes or cookies, and voila. Handmade goodness.

It's as simple as piecing together squares and rectangles in a way that's pleasing to your eye (and uses up your scraps!). We trimmed our piecework to a 5x10" rectangle, then quilted it. I really love this size - I learned this method from taking Andrea's Sewing Summit class, and you can find her tutorial right here, cheater binding and all. Easy peasy. And did I mention fun?

More Christmas Mug Rug Madness

My sewing friends and I are doing some really heavy duty Christmas sewing together this weekend (an annual event we hope), and to kick-start our fiesta we have decided to have a mug rug exchange among us (also an annual event we hope!). 

What can I say, we are desperate housewives.

This is as wild as I get with mug rugs. I actually prefer the straight-line quilting, I think its more modern and fresh. 

Want to know what else is on my sewing list for gifting?

Well, I hope to make some Prairie Bonnets for the little girls - they love all things Little House and these look quick and easy:

Bonnets from My Cotton Creations

I also hope to dabble in an apron or two. I've purchased and downloaded Jona's pattern - the Shopgirl Apron. There are actually a ton of free tutorials and apron patterns available online but I liked the curved lines of this, its reversible, and she has a killer method of making bias tape from half a yard of fabric - she sews a Mobius Strip! You know I like math, right?

I also printed out the free tutorial for her sweet little One-Hour Christmas Apron - I will probably do some fun patchwork and maybe add a box-pleat or ruffle along the bottom edge. Isn't it cute? Thank you Jona!

I think this version is pretty special also. Love all the patchwork in this Everyday Hostess apron:

Hmmm, what else will I be making for gifts? Probably won't have time for much more, but I'd really like to try these fabric "paper" dolls from The Prudent Homemaker.  I sure love what she did with them, my little girls would be over the moon with these! 

And maybe a baby doll carrier if I get really ambitious using Sewbossi's free tutorial. Isn't it sweet?

So I've probably gotten carried away but better to have plans and dreams than to not. Did I mention an unfinished rag quilt that's been cut and ready to sew for a dear son of mine? And a Snowfling Mittens kit that just arrived from Tanis Fiber Arts? Yeah, there's that too. I'll bring it along in case my sewing machine breaks down. You never know, and I like to be prepared.

And finally, I've made some slow progress on a plaid Hollyburn, which mostly involved very calculated cutting. Which kind of exhausted me and I put it away for a bit.

Well hey, its on to reading. My son's current classic is Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, and while I think most people know the story or have seen a movie version, I have never actually read the book. But I am certainly enjoying it now on the handy dandy kindle. Its an easy read, not too long (I'm over half-way and I've only put in a few hours), and its so intriguing!! Loving it, loving it.

Looks sinister, huh? It is.

And that's a wrap my dear sewing and reading friends. I'll be back later to link up with Elizabeth for needle and thREAD. In the meantime, two words.

Mug Rug.

And here is that needle and thREAD link.

xo