Mug Rug!

Today I was inspired to make my first Mug Rug after seeing one on Craftsy.  The one on Craftsy was a fall one with a couple of pumpkins.  It was cute, but I wanted to try for one that was not seasonal and I could use anytime at my desk at work or in my sewing room.

I also think that small projects like this give you an opportunity to experiment and practice your fundamentals.  

My experiment on this little project was putting a roughly 1/8" seam around the edge before binding it.  I have been wondering for some time now if that would make the binding easier to fold over when doing my hand stitching on the back.  I think that it did make a difference on this project and I will probably use the technique again in the future.

I actually think you could get away with not binding this and just doing a 1/4 inch seam around the edge.  However, lately I have been on a big "frame everything in white" kick, and this project was no different!

Here is a shot of my finished project.  Start to finish...maybe a 45 minute project.  This (to me) makes it perfect for gift giving!  I am itching to try a square one with an applique monogram......I feel another project coming on!

Flower Basket Quilt

I did a post a little bit back about my design wall.  When I did that post I had thrown up some charm squares I had just gotten on it.  I could already see that it was going to be a beautiful quilt, and now that it is all laid out on my design wall, I am even more excited about it!  I am calling this quilt "Flower Basket" and it will be available on my Etsy shop when it is finished.  The pattern will also be available here on this blog when it is done.

I say this every quilt I make, but this is my favorite quilt so far!  It just screams spring and little girl!

Design Wall Heaven

I am super excited about my latest quilt project.  Granted, it is about 4 projects down the line from now.  But....when I threw these charm squares up on my design wall, I knew this was going to be a beautiful quilt.

Now, it's really too early to talk about the quilt (but the pattern will be available in the future when I complete this quilt), but I'm really posting to talk about my design wall.

This was, by far, the BEST few bucks I ever invested in my quilting room!  I always thought I could not afford a design wall, until I stumbled upon this idea online.  It works like a charm and is super cheap to make.  I LOVE having the freedom to arrange all my pieces, and rearrange them, and rearrange them some more until I love my design.  I also love that I can walk away from it for a day or two without it taking up space on my table or floor.

This design wall is made of:

1 Large Tablecloth from Wal - Mart.  Get an inexpensive one that is plastic on one side and sort of fuzzy/felt on the other side.

4 Command Strip Hooks

4 Curtain Rings with Hooks.  I got mine at Wal-Mart.  They are small rings with a clip built on so you just clip them right on where you want to.

That is it.  My fabulous other half measured and leveled for me so I knew how to evenly space out my Command Hooks.  I did have to trim and hem the end of my tablecloth a bit so that it did not drag on the floor.

You literally just press your fabric against the cloth and it stays where you put it!

If you don't have a design wall, or think you can't afford one, I highly recommend this cheap solution.  It has worked wonders for me!