Merry Mug Rug Blog Hop

When my friend Jennifer asked if I would be a part of her Merry Mug Rug Blog Hop, I was so happy to join in the fun. A mug rug is just about the perfect holiday project: a quick finish that brings something special to your home in the middle of a busy season.

When I think of Christmas, I think of family photos. My grandmother, who passed away last spring, was constantly pulling out her Polaroid camera when I was a little girl. I was always mesmerized by watching those pictures appear like magic after a minute or two. Grandma loved to scribble notes on the white border at the bottom of the picture and put them up all over her house, especially in her kitchen. The one above was taken by my mom when I was almost four years old, and I love it so much. It's been over a year since I've played around with Polaroid quilt blocks, but I was eager to pull out Karen's great tutorial for my Christmas mug rug. These are so perfect for fussy cutting, and I had just the right fabric in mind: Merry Main Street by Alexander Henry. I love the retro nostalgia of this print!

My polaroids are framed in a white sketchy print by Carolyn Friedlander from Architextures, and the background is lime green linen Mochi Dots which I also used on the back of the mug rug. The piece is bound in a red and white scalloped print from Miss Kate by Bonnie and Camille.

I used red embroidery floss to stitch some scribbled notes at the bottom of each "picture" just as if they were pressed in a family album. The embroidery was all done without any tracing since I wanted it to look like someone really had just dashed off a few notes in a hurry.

This was such a fun project, and though I'd originally planned to give it away, I found that I just couldn't bear to part with it when it was finished. The mug rug is definitely going to be coming out with the Christmas decorations every year from now on!

Jennifer has a wonderful giveaway on her blog for a $30 gift certificate to Southern Fabric which you can enter through December 14. She'll also be sharing more fun mug rugs from other bloggers over the next two weeks, so be sure to check back for more Christmas inspiration. Now I'm off to find some tea and a few more of those cookies...