Mug Rug Madness

My new favorite thing to sew is mug rugs.  They are like mini quilts for your desk!  I received my first one last Christmas as a swap gift and it has been gracing my home work desk ever since.  Before that time, I’d never paid attention to them and thought they were just fancy giant coasters.  They are SO MUCH MORE!!  They catch coffee drips from my youngest using the spoon to have her “little tiny taste of coffee” and condensation from iced coffee.  They are perfect for a pile of crackers or cookies (yes, I eat piles of cookies.  I can tell you are jealous).  They are easy to throw in the washer to wash out the remains of said cookies and crackers and coffee drips.  I am a new quilter, so they are also a good way to practice techniques.  Binding seems confusing and intimidating?  Not if you are only doing about 30”!  I can hand sew that in less than time than it takes me to watch a movie! (probably faster if I wasn't watching the movie...)  Worried about quilting?  If you screw up a mug rug, it can mysteriously disappear and no one (perhaps a spouse…) asks where that giant pile of expensive fabric went.  They are quick, so it’s easy to spend a few hours and make one!  Or if you are speedy (not me!) you may even be able to finish one in less than an hour!  I suspect those people who claim to make them in only half an hour are related to the elves in the North Pole.  Or magic.

Here are some of my creations.  An Owl mug rug for one of my BFFs.  I paired with some instant mocha mix and she said it brings a happy spot to her desk at work.  This was my first attempt at applique and it turned out pretty cute, even if I do say so myself.  Not perfect, but that’s the beauty of ‘handmade’ gifts!  I machine stitched the binding on this, so it’s a little wonky.

 

That led to this one for my brother…I won’t put up the picture of him wearing it as a hat because I’m a cool sister.  And because I can’t find it.  This was a spoonflower fabric that I simply sewed to a backing and appliqued a star onto.  I was experimenting with my quilting as you can see…and I think the binding was hand sewn down.
 

 That led to more adventurous quilting…teensy 1 ½” HST (half square triangles) to make this mug rug for another BFF that loves Tinkerbell.

And my quilting was a little better on this one, so I actually took a picture of the back!

 

 

After making these as gifts, I decided I needed another one for myself to celebrate moving into my new office.  I was hoarding…er, saving onto this fabric because I loved it so much.  I only bought fat quarters of each print, so I had to find the perfect project for them!  And the best news is that this used such a tiny amount that I still have a lot left!

 

 

 

Check out the back, look at how almost straight those lines are!  I decided to try the wrap around binding method with the sewing machine, not perfectly straight, but after washing it is slightly less noticeable. This mug rug is a little narrower than my previous ones, but I only have a little desk and a lot of computer and space is at a premium!  It still fits my water bottle and coffee cup side by side, no room for cookies though.  I may need a separate cookie mat.

More of my mug rug madness soon!