Picnic Party Mug Rug

My friend Nicole is known for so many things, not the least of which are the stunning patterns she's created for Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine, but to me she'll always be the girl who made the incredible quilted bag for the Sewvivor Challenge back in 2014 which featured a storm trooper and AT-AT walkers on the sides. Nicole is one of those people from the the online sewing family that I've known and loved for years, and it gives me so much joy to see her now publish her first book: Playing with Patchwork and Sewing. If you're looking for a skill builder book, this is the perfect choice. Nicole takes different techniques like patchwork, applique, foundation piecing and gives you three projects, each at varying difficulty levels. It's a great way to stretch your sewing muscles a bit and try something new.

There was no way that I was going to miss out on being a part of the book tour, but I warned Nicole that I might have to shrink something down into a smaller project to fit it into my schedule. She insisted that this was fantastic, that she -- like me -- loves to see people take her patterns and change them to fit their needs. So this, my friends, is the Picnic Party Quilt pattern. The blocks originally finish at 12" and give you a 60" square quilt, perfect for a lunch date outside on the grass. My squares, however, are sized down to finish at 1" and make a sweet little mug rug which goes nicely with a cup of tea in the afternoon. I pulled out some favorite prints for this one, including that beautiful kitchen print which was a Christmas gift from my dear friend Ayumi. I've been eager to use it ever since I opened the package last month, and I love how it looks in this project.

The back of my mug rug is one of my favorite old prints from the Katie Jump Rope collection by Denyse Schmidt from what now feels like a million years ago. But I love the way the brown centers of the flowers coordinate with the brown gingham that I used for the binding. Little details like that just make my heart so happy.

Let me know if you pick up a copy of the book in the next few months. I'd love to hear what you think of it!