I’ve been drooling over “Mug Rugs” over on Flikr for a while now. These are basically over-sized, quilted, glorified coasters. Or miniature place mats. And I love them. I couldn’t stand it, I had to make one. Since today is my and Mr. Wonderful’s first (dating) anniversary, I thought this would make a nice homemade, heartfelt gift for him. I realllllly wanted to free-motion quilt this, but I was worried I would mess it up. Maybe on the next one…
The front is a simple string block using scraps from my stash.
Front
And the back is just a blue scrap and a white scrap done in reverse appliqué (another first for me.)
Back
I quilted it using my quilting foot and using the width of the foot itself for spacing. Nothing special. In hindsight, I should have used a darker color thread for the quilting. It stands out a bit too much and takes away from the top, I think. I fought with closing the binding quite a bit. These small projects are a PIA. It finished out at almost 9×7. I say almost, because NOTHING I make ever comes out the right size. It’s more like 8.75×7.25 inches. So wierd. But hey, not bad for a first attempt, huh? I’m learning as I go. I’ll do a better job on the next one, I’m sure.
Nov 06, 2010 @ 11:52:12
I think you did a great job on your first mug rug. I joined a swap and now I get to make my first mug rug.
I think the heart quilting looks great. It reminds me of ripples in a pond after you toss in a stone.
I’ve been wanting to try reverse applique. Maybe I will give it a shot on my first rug.
Nov 06, 2010 @ 13:43:48
The reverse appliqué wasn’t difficult, but it’s not my favorite look because it leaves “rough edges.” But I knew I wouldn’t be able to appliqué the white heart over the darker fabric without it showing through. Thanks for stopping by!