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!

Pieced Gingham Coasters

I'm guest posting at the Fat Quarter Shop blog today for a new series called Pattern Makeover where I'm sharing these pieced gingham coasters that I made by adapting a pattern from Farm Girl Vintage by Lori Holt. Head over there to take a peek!

Candygram Mini Quilt Tutorial

I'm doing a guest tutorial for my dear friend Caroline over at her amazing blog Sew Can She today! With Valentine's Day coming up, I've got candy on the brain -- mostly because my daughters have decided that Smarties are their new favorite treat. This fun block takes about fifteen minutes to sew and would be just as cute on a pouch or mug rug if you're needing a quick teacher gift for the holiday. Head over to her blog for the free tutorial!

Quilt Petite Mug Rug

I have a wonderful book to share with you today: Quilt Petite by Sedef Imer for Tuva Publishing. You all know how much I love a quick project, and when you throw in colorful patchwork...well, that's all I need. This book is full of darling little projects that are easy to sew in a day or two.

For my post, I chose the Vintage Floral Mug Rugs. The original project directions actually make 2 rugs, while giving you optional instructions for making just 1 as I did. Sedef's versions are even scrappier than mine and look so fantastic. I used Heather Ross's new Sleeping Porch collection, buttery soft lawns in a rainbow of colors. The shades were so intense, that I decided it would calm things down a bit to have a simple contrast between a saturated and low volume print in each block. I quilted the piece 1/8" from either side of every seam.

The mug rug is backed in linen, edged in crocheted lace, and accented with a label made from a piece of twill tape. It's always those little extras that make things even more fun!

This was such a fun project, and there are so many others like it in the book. The Hexie Doll Quilt and Nine Patch Mini Quilt are calling my name already. There are a ton of talented people on the Quilt Petite Blog Tour as you can see below. Be sure to also stop by Sedef's blog for a fabulous giveaway!

November 6: Sedef at Down Grapevine Lane

November 7: Wynn at Zakka Art

November 8: Sarah at A Little Happy Place

November 9: Bridgette at The Family Hearth

November 10: Heidi at Fabric Mutt

November 11: Minki at Minki's Work Table

November 12: Ange at A Little Patchwork

November 13: Lauren at Molly and Mama

November 14: Michelle at Cole & Taffy

November 15: Nadra at Ellis & Higgs

November 16: Amy at Nana Company

November 17: Faith at Sarana Ave

November 18: Debbie at Happy Little Cottage

November 19: Erin at Why Not Sew

November 20: Amanda at Jedi Craft Girl

November 21: Melissa at Oh How Sweet

November 22: Stacy at Stacy Olson Design

November 23: Ayda at Cafe Nohut

November 24: Peta at She Quilts A Lot

November 25: Amanda at A Crafty Fox

November 26: Keera at Live Love Sew

November 27: Sharon at Lilabelle Lane

November 28: Kate at The Homemakery

November 29: Jemima at Tied With A Ribbon

November 30: Jodie at Ric Rac

December 1: Anorina at Samelia's Mum

December 2: Alisha at Ministry of Fabric

December 3: Xanthe at Wife-made

December 4: Cheri at Tinker With This

December 5: Kristyne at Pretty By Hand

December 6: Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop

December 7: Veronica at Vivid Felicity

December 8: Shari at Doohikey Designs

December 9: Jina at Jina Barney Designz

December 10: Emma at Emma Jean Jansen

December 11: Sedef at Down Grapevine Lane

Happy sewing!

Tiny Toffee Blog Hop

My friend Susi has been making the most unbelievable paper pieced hexagons for a while now. Some of her patterns are offered free on her blog, while others are sold in pattern sets in her Tiny Toffee Designs Etsy shop right here. She's hosting a blog hop to celebrate the release of her newest set (find all the participants on this post), and I'm so happy to be a part of it today.

The Dream Big Collection includes the adorable elephant above, a swan, a pencil, flying geese, mountains, a star, and a heart. The detail in these is absolutely incredible. I love them so much!

My assigned hexagon was this little trio of flying geese. I decided to pull out my small stash of Liberty prints for this one. Each of the triangles are made from the same floral print, though I highlighted different elements of the design in every one. Making these paper pieced hexies is both harder and easier than it looks. You have to be careful because if your fabrics shift even 1/8'', it can radically change the design, but on the other hand, it's still just standard paper piecing. And the beauty of it is, you don't need much fabric to do it!

I pulled another 6 squares of Liberty for the surrounding hexagons, creating a traditional flower pattern. Between you and me, I noticed a mistake on my center hexagon after I had sewed all these together, so I made another center and just stitched it down on top of the first one, giving the finished center an almost 3-D effect when you see it in person. The entire flower was stitched down onto a square of yarn-dyed linen. I added a crochet lace border using a treasured bit of trim that I received in a birthday package from my dear friend Annabel, and backed the mug rug in another piece of Liberty.

I love this little project. It's sweet and romantic and will look oh so pretty on my sewing table. And I enjoyed working with her pattern so much that I'm scoping out Susi's shop for another set. This one is probably going to be next on my list...just in time for spring.

Fall Mug Rug

From the moment my calendar turns to September, I'm ready to welcome fall back with open arms. That means pumpkins on my dining room table, molasses cookies in the oven, and sweaters in my closet -- even if it's still too warm to actually wear them. I also had fall on the brain when I was doing this week's fabric audition, a stack called Autumn Bonfire, which I put together to make a mug rug for my dad's new desk. 

This was the original bundle that I pulled for the project. I ended up changing a few prints slightly, but I basically stayed with this mix of gold, tangerine, and navy blue. 

A Charley Harper print took center stage, surrounded by the other rectangles, giving me a mat that measures approximately 9 x 12". I backed the piece in a wonderful map design by Tim Holtz and used a brown wicker print by Juliana Horner for the binding. 

And there it is...another little glimpse of fall in my house. How I love it!

Sweet Tweets Blog Hop

My enormously talented friend Erin of Why Not Sew has written a darling book called Sweet Tweets: Simple Stitches, Whimsical Birds, and I'm so happy to be a part of her book tour today. These pages are full of adorable little projects featuring vintage style patchwork and Erin's beloved little free-motion applique birds. For today's post, I chose to make the Birds & Bees Hot Pad since it featured the hand sewn hexagons that I love to stitch. I pulled lots of favorite new prints for this piece, including many designs from the Spring Cotton + Steel collections.

Though I didn't have the materials on hand to do the applique in the corners of the pad as the instructions called for, I decided to use the petal templates as a guide for some hand quilting with red Aurifloss thread. I absolutely adore the way it turned out. With a little navy binding to frame the edges, it makes a beautiful giant mug rug for the nightstand by my bed. I can't tell you how much I love seeing it there every day!

Erin's book is full of fun small projects, just perfect for the instant gratification sewing that I try to fit into each week. I love how personal each one is, and I especially admire the way she works so many special touches into each piece like optional crocheted borders and the tiniest pieces of patchwork. I will definitely be working from this book again!

You can follow the rest of the tour according to the schedule below, and if you'd like to win an e-copy of Sweet Tweets for yourself, please leave a comment on this post. I'll choose a winner by Friday! 

Tuesday, Sept.8 - Erin (Introduction post) Why Not Sew?

Wednesday, Sept.9 - Heidi Fabric Mutt

Thursday, Sept.10 - Debbie A Quilter's Table

Friday, Sept.11 - No Post

Saturday, Sept.12 - Jacque Brown Dog Prims

Monday, Sept.14 - Amy nanaCompany

Tuesday, Sept.15 - Svetlana s.o.t.a.k handmade

Wednesday, Sept.16 - Renee Sewn With Grace

Thursday, Sept.17 - Martingale Stitch This! The Martingale Blog

Friday, Sept.18 - Heather Vintage Grey Handmade

Saturday, Sept.19 - Clara and Jennie Clover & Violet 

Monday, Sept.21 - Amanda Jean Crazy Mom Quilts

Tuesday, Sept.22 - Cindy Live a Colorful Life

Wednesday, Sept.23 - Carla Grace and Favour

Thursday, Sept.24 - Mary Molly Flanders

Friday, Sept.25 - No Post

Saturday, Sept.26 - Erin, Big Giveaway Post!!! Why Not Sew? 

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! Congratulations, Margaret!***

The Good, the Bad, and the Lovely

So far this summer I've only had the chance to sew one thing: the little mug rug you see above. It was a small project, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Give me rainbow patchwork and a whole lot of low volume text prints, and I'm always a happy woman.

I took the time to hand quilt this little piece with AuriFloss in a soft shade of raspberry. Quilting by hand is something I definitely need to do more often. It was a lovely, quiet pause in the middle of what has been one of the craziest times in my life. In this wild roller coaster called "settling in" we've experienced just about everything there is to see...

We've had the good times: scouting for fresh peaches in Fredericksburg, enjoying family meals at some great local eateries, playing tourist at the River Walk, having movie nights with the girls at home.

We've had the bad times: watching water pour out of the light in the kitchen ceiling due to an overflowing toilet upstairs, adjusting to the thriving Texas insect culture, and going three weeks straight with something in the house -- the dryer, the air conditioning, the plumbing -- breaking down every...single...day...

But then there are those magical moments, the ones so lovely that they don't seem real. Sitting in rocking chairs chatting with our neighbors as the sun goes down. Watching my daughters gasp in delight at their first encounters with deer, frogs, and all the other local wildlife that we didn't have in the suburbs of Southern California. Splashing in the pool -- our very first pool -- with the entire family while the girls hang around our necks and sing silly songs. Life has been going past me at warp speed for the last few months. I'm seeing my daughters grow up faster than ever before, and I know these golden weeks of summer won't last forever.

So I don't mind putting down the laptop -- and yes, even my hand quilting -- to catch these memories before they drift away...

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...

Polaroid Mug Rug

My brilliant friend Kristy of Quiet Play has another great pattern coming out for those of you who enjoy paper piecing. After seeing this Polaroid camera on her blog, I was absolutely charmed, and I was even more thrilled when she let me test it out for her. Discovering that I was out of black fabric didn't stop me -- I pulled out my fat eighth bundle of Architextures (which didn't include the black prints), and decided to go the navy blue route. It's a little busy, but I like it. I threw in a few blocks from the Polaroid block swap I did through Debbie's blog earlier this year, putting it all together to make a good sized mug rug.

The back uses one of the great ledger prints from Architextures. That green strip at the bottom almost makes me think of a composition book.

Add a mug of tea and a few oatmeal cookies, and I'm ready to go...

Linking up to the Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link-up.

Zakka Mug Rug

This week's Zakka project came in under the wire what with everything else going on this week. I also had a hard time figuring this one out...not because it was a difficult project, but because I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. For starters, I needed a mug rug for a long narrow ledge on my desk where I keep my glass while I'm working (keeping it anywhere below the ledge during the day guarantees that one of the girls is going to reach up to knock it over on my computer). The long shape didn't seem to fit well with the book's design. Between trying to figure out the design, the fabrics, and the colors, I managed to scrap at least a dozen different ideas before settling on this one. I'm not 100% happy with it yet, but it's growing on me.

The fabrics are a mix of scraps by different designers including Sweetwater, Cosmo Cricket, and Denyse Scmidt. I also embroidered some raindrops from the cloud using a few pieces of floss. My favorite side is probably the one with the large raindrops, but I included the rain cloud on the other side so as not to completely neglect the original idea. In any case, my water cup is resting happily on the mug rug as I type, and I have to say -- it looks pretty good.

Have a wonderful Sunday and be sure to stop by here tomorrow. I'll be participating in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, and I have my prize package all ready to go. I can't wait to spend some time visiting everyone else's blogs tomorrow -- you will definitely want to check it out!

Linking up to the Zakka Along.