Mug Rug Hugs

Two of the online quilty groups of which I am a member are hosting Spring Mug Rug Swaps. These mini-placemats are sew easy to make and sew much fun!

Above is the photo of the one I sent to my secret "muggee" on the Q&N Forum. Since Denise has now received her gift and has been officially "mugged" I can post the piccies.

There are many cute mug rug patterns and tutorials out there. Next time you pour yourself a cuppa and sit down at the 'puter do a little "Mug Rug" search and you will find lots of these cherry little quilts.

This one I designed myself using the 6" Quick Curves Templates from Eliza's Backporch as a easy cutting tool.

Here are some photos of the sewing fun.

I fussy cut the violets cup from a piece of fabric, which is from the "Flowers of the Month" fabric line, that I received in a swap two years ago and made a strip set in coordinating TOT purples, white and kelly green fabrics to cut the outer template piece for the block. Then I sewed the curve by simply finger folding the two pieces to find and match the center of the curve where I placed one pin as a guide. Once I place this under the presser foot I remove the pin before I sew. Easing the fabric without stretching is the key to sewing a good curved seam. I am always careful to line up the edges and maintain that 1/4" seam until the end. Then I always press the seam towards the inside piece so that the seam lays nice and flat.

When I started piecing curves I used to use a Curvemaster foot, but now I just use my regular 1/4" foot. I used to use tweezers to hold the end edges together, but now it is comfortable just to use my fingers to hold the ends. Once you have done it a few times, curves are really easy and fun. I like "throwing curveballs" in to my quilts these days. To this block I just added another strip of a darker purple fabric as left and right borders. Then I machine quilted it and sewed on the binding strip using my walking foot. After trimming and folding the binding over the edge, I hand-sewed the binding to the back as usual. These little quilts are so quick and easy, that even I can make one in less than two hours.

This little mug rug was one of the last things I made on my "Li'l Bro," my basic Brother sewing machine. Right now he is at the shop being cleaned and cared for while I sew on my shiny new toy ....

I have been drooling over the Janome MC6600p for at least two years but would not spend the money on myself. My hubby wanted to surprise me with this present, but in the end we went together so I could test-run before we made this significant purchase. I brought the makings of another mug rug like the one above and sewed it right there in the store. Sorry, I did not bring my camera with me. As it is, the salesman probably felt I was moving in. I even quilted it there. All I have to finish is the hand-sewing on the binding. That first little quilt made on my new "Sew Sistah" I will be keeping. ;)

I will also be keeping this little mug rug which is a twin sister to the one I sent to Denise. I liked this bright mug rug "sew much" that I made one for myself, too, so I can enjoy my cup of coffee in style while I type this blog post ...



:) Pat