Quick Mug Rug Project

The other day I decided switch gears away from quilting but hadn't decided on a project. After looking at some of my daughter's stump work and crazy quilt embroidery, I decided to work on some needle painting.

I went to Trish Burr's website and downloaded the free pattern for a pansy (really beautiful). Gathered my supplies and started embroidering.

Hours later I had completed the stem and part of the leaf, but wasn't very pleased with the results. Needless to say that project is 'on hold'.

Today while doing laundry (Monday is the traditional wash day in this household) I noticed how worn my potholders are getting. Knowing I have high loft batting and fabric galore, I decided to make a few.

But what pattern to use? I didn't want it to be too labor intensive, yet it needed to be pretty. I looked through my pattern books and decided on a hex block -- a pattern I've always wanted to try, but looked like way too much work for a big quilt.

The Encyclopedia of Classic Quilt Patterns had a template (which I modified).

Here are the little sixes all cut out. They're about an inch on each side. I tried to do a little "fussy" cutting to make the design more interesting when finished. Discovered that my small scissors did a better job of cutting the pieces than the large ones. No strip piecing here!

After hand sewing the hexes together, the batting and backing had to be cut to size. It was at this point that I realized the finished block would be way too small for a potholder. I could have added more hexagons to make it bigger, but couldn't decide on which fabric would work. Too much thinking for a Monday.

Here it is finished. It's the perfect size for a rug mug!






NOTE: This project took a lot longer than anticipated. Several hours actually. To make it go quicker next time I'll machine piece them instead of hand sewing. The Mug Rug is an inexpensive gifting project.