Scrappy Mug Rug Swap Round 3

I was lucky enough to participate in another fabulous round of the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap on flickr. Making and using mug rugs is absolutely addictive, and the flickr group is incredibly creative and inspiring.


I received a fabulous mug rug from Dawn this round. It is so lovely, I put it right to work on my desk. It has colors I love (red and aqua!) and some adorable little birdies, plus some embroidery. Fabulous, I say!

mug rug in use

 She was also sweet enough to include some charm squares of the fabric she used for me. I want to think of a perfect project for these sweet squares!

mug rug & charm squares

For my partner, and since I waited until the last day to mail I won't say who that is, I made a green and grey chevron mug rug. I hope she loves it as much as I do - I had a hard time sending it off in the mail! 

finished mug rug

mug rug in action

I used this binding tutorial from verykerryberry, and it made a world of difference in this smaller format! So I can definitely say I improved my binding technique this round. The back has a special little surprise on it, but I'm going to save that for my next post! 

PB&J February: Work in progress!

As I said before, February is my month for the PB&J quilting bee. I have sent some bright and bold fabrics out to my fellow bee members, and cannot wait to put this quilt together.

I used a fat quarter bundle of Kaffe Fassett fabrics for the fabric this month. I asked my bee members for wonky log cabin or square-in-square inspired blocks out of these fabrics, and provided an inspiration gallery on flickr for them, so they could get a feel for what I'm looking for.

Here are the fabrics I started with, pre-cutting. (Colors are a bit off, because I took this picture in the dark!)

Fabrics, pre-cutting

And after spending an evening cutting them into varying size strips, I put together 11 packages that looked something like this!

strips and strips

Most of the packages have been confirmed received, and one speedy bee member has already finished blocks, so here's a little sneak preview! 

block from Chrissy

Needless to say, I cannot wait to get these blocks together and into a gorgeous quilt! I bought a grey kona to play around with borders and possible sashing once I get all the blocks together.

Sew Fresh Fabrics Scrap Quilting Bee

One of my most favorite online fabric stores, Sew Fresh Fabrics, posted at the beginning of January asking for participants to make a quilt from their scraps that will go to Project Linus and Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS (you can read all about here on their blog). And I was lucky enough to be chosen for the first round!

I received my package of "boy quilt" fabrics, and am looking forward to making my 12.5" square block this week. Just look at these wonderful scraps I received! 

such a lovely package!

seven fabulous fabrics to work with

I will be sure to post pictures of my block once it's finished. I want to be sure and feature the great prints on some of those fabrics - the castle and cars, especially! 

PB&J: November, December, & January!

I finally caught up on my PB&J Bee blocks today, getting January's block in the mail just 2 days late. And just in time, because February is my month! I'm hoping to have my fabric all cut this afternoon and in the mail by the end of the week. I realized I haven't shown blocks since October though, so this post will catch us up. 

November

This was Ashley's month, and we made a variation of Little Miss Shabby's Scrapbuster #2 block. Ashley sent us scrap squares and white fabric, and asked if we wouldn't mind adding in some of our own scraps (which I was happy to do!). I got a little carried away cutting squares from my scraps, and made Ashley two blocks. I love these blocks, and have put them on my "to-make" list. 

November block #1

November block #2

December

December's block was for Corley in Pennsylvania, and this block was both new to me and fell outside my comfort zone! We made wonky house blocks out of beautiful warm colors with a blue sky behind them. My house isn't very wonky, but it was fun to make. 

December house block

January

And last but not least, January's block for Jill. I've had this block bookmarked since I first saw it, and was thrilled to make it for Jill. We made a liberated wedding ring block, (using another of Little Miss Shabby's tutorials) and this was my first foray into foundation piecing. I used a shorter stitch length and ironed a lot (as recommended), and the block was actually easy to put together. 

January liberated wedding block

So now we're all caught up! February is my month, and I have a fabulous set of 33 Kaffe Fassett fabrics that I'm going to send out to my fellow bee members. Can't wait to get them all packed up and sent out!