Jumping on the mug rug

I kept reading about mug rugs on all the great handmade blogs I subscribe to and just had to make one, too. Ah, crafty peer pressure.

Here's my first go:


A mug rug is a good chance to try a few new things on a small scale. I hadn't done much piecing or machine quilting before, so I learned a lot along the way. And I got to try binding again, this time without my coach to get me through the tough spots. Although I ended up doing a quick online search when I got to the corners and just could not remember the trick. God bless the internet!

Mug rugs are also a great way to use little scraps. I dipped into a scrap bag I got at a great fabric shop in Burlington, Vermont (www.nidovt.com) for my second mug rug, not quite done yet:


I think this one is already a step up from the first. I did more piecing and with smaller bits. I normally wouldn't pick these colours (yellow - eww), but I really like them together. It's very bright and cheery. I need to quilt and bind it, then it's onto the next project. I am thinking I need to start one of my quilt kits. Considering how slow I am with sewing, that should keep me busy for quite some time. A very long time.

Elusive organization

Here's the current state of my new craft room. It's pretty good, but needs a bit more tweaking. There's lots of room for cutting fabric and spreading out projects. There's plenty of storage. There's separate space for sewing and beading (after a rather tricky process of moving the desks around in the cramped space by myself when the large desk proved too wobbly for sewing).

I don't expect perfection in a craft room. It seems complete organization is elusive and a mess always appears once I start on a project. As long as I can find things and have room to work, that's all that really matters.

This is the sewing area:


On the other side is the beading area and storage cupboards - one for fibre and one for fabric. I was a bit surprised/guilty/aghast at how these two cupboards filled up quickly.


I'm really eager to paint the room, but just can't bear the idea of moving everything now that I've got the room set up. The colour I've picked is a kinda crazy and totally awesome pink. Check out dragon fruit on behr.com. I was inspired by this year's Pantone colour of the year - honeysuckle. I may also throw in a few dashes of last year's colour - turquoise. I recently bought paint for four rooms, so I'm a bit relieved I need to do those (far easier) rooms first.

Sew, sew wrong

The whole process of making a chenille blanket is wrong, wrong, wrong. Fabric is meticulously sewn together, then the scissors come out to cut it all up. Crazy town! Thankfully the result of all that painstaking sewing and snipping is a super cuddly blanket.

Cottony dreams

These pillowcases were a bridal shower gift for a friend. I used two lovely Kaffe Fassett cotton prints with deep reds and purples.


It seemed silly to cover the fabric with wrapping paper, so I tied them up with a ribbon and slipped the card underneath.

Sunny side

Like all kitties, Ariel loves lounging in the sun, even if that involves a lot of squinting. (Thankfully her unsightly bulges are in the shadows!)

Getting there

I hope soon to have a presentable after photo to go with this before shot of my new craft room.


I recently bought a few things from Ikea to help me get the room organized, but ironically the disaster only grew. Thankfully I have enough room in there now to get back to crafting and projects that keep my focus enough to ignore the chaos.