Ok, the phenomemom of mug rugs is sort of making me giggle! ;) Isn't a mug rug just a fancy word for "coaster"? That's what I thought a first. Then I stumbled upon the subtle difference. Hmmm.... well, I guess technically it is different, because not only is there room for a MUG, there is also room for a TREAT or cookie, and chocolate is ALWAYS a good thing at my house :)!! I can never pass up a scrumptious cup of Hot Chocolate!!
So being that I have the most wonderful mug that I could ever want-- I got this beauty at Joanns- it HAD to have a "rug". I had seen it for $15 and drooled over it, but was in no way, shape, or form going to ever fork out $15 for a MUG! Then, several months later, I was parusing Joanns and, out of the corner of my eye, saw my lovely mug- on the Clearance table!! It had actually been a pin cushion on a lid, but the lid was all broken. However, the lid was not connected to the mug, just sitting on top, smashed. The tag read $1.50. For REAL??!! I didn't even want it as a pin cushion, goodness, you couldn't have put more than 10 pins on the tiny thing anyway ;). I checked to make sure it said "dishwasher safe" and off I went, thrilled at my find! I love it for the print, the colors, and a quirky little thing- the thumb notch in the handle. The notch is my favorite part- no slipping and oh, so comfy.
My mug started feeling left out, as I have been seeing all these purtty mug rugs popping up all over Cyberspace. I had also been eyeing the gorgeous Value Quilts I have seen too. So I decided to try the technique on, what other than, a mug rug! I got to work cutting teeny squares, drawing diagonal lines, sewing, ironing, snipping, etc.
Then the fun part, laying out the design! I would love an entire quilt like this, but I would definitely have to go bigger squares- millions of these would make me go nuts ;). I went for an off-center look and love it! I know my lines are not matched up perfectly- still working on that, and when I have bigger pieces, it doesn't seem to be an issue- must have just been the teeniness that got to me -HA!
I quilted it in loops. I wanted to try something new, but I love loops, so I knew I would be sad to look at it and not see loops. So loops it was! I will try another pattern next time. Then I got the binding cut, sewn together, ironed in folds, and got busy binding. My mug was still waiting patiently for me :).
Voila! Fini! Isn't it just darling, and room to spare for the treat, cookie, whatever our hungry tummy desires :) Such fun. Now I can see why these are all over! They are quick, fun, and ca-ute! Maybe I need a family of mug rugs- teehee! Better get busy...
