Mug Rugs!

 

I'm hosting my bee group here today and I made them each a little gift. I made mug rugs with star fish since I was in a Caribbean mood from my recent cruise. I made them assembly line style...

I cut scraps of batting into 5" x 7" rectangles, and backing fabric into 5.5" x 7.5" rectangles

Then I cut a bunch of scraps into random 6" strips. I just made a pile that looked like it would be enough, I didn't count. Each mug rug will require a different number of strips based on how wide the strips are.

Then I started sewing and pressing "quilt as you go" style. Meaning, I sewed through all of the layers every time I added a strip, so that it was getting quilted while it was getting pieced. Once the entire mug rug was covered, I trimmed the edges even with the batting to 5" x 7",

Then I drew starfish on freezer paper and pressed it to a piece of white wool. I then cut out the shapes and removed the freezer paper.I used a blanket stitch on my machine to applique the starfish to the mug rugs.

I then used another batik fabric (actually leftover strips from a previous binding) to bind the mug rugs. I then practiced my machine binding on them. The last two were even good! The first few were okay, but it's one of those things that require practice. Batiks are good to practice on because they will hold a crease and not slide around too much.

I sure hope my bee friends like their little goodies today. I live so far out in the country that I feel like my friends deserve a reward just for getting here!

Enjoy every stitch!
Diane